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by waddlesplash 2204 days ago
Yes, there are occasionally contracts paid out by the Inc. to developers to work on things, but this depends on a developer having the opportunity and willingness to do so, since the funds will eventually dry up and they will be out of a job.

We had two major contracts (for a few months) in 2012-2013 to finish and then integrate the package management system, another in 2013 for the new kernel scheduler, and then one that lasted almost a year around the same time working on the WebKit port used in the built-in web browser (which ended because the money ran out.)

Haiku, Inc. currently has over $100k in the bank as per it's last financial report, but at only $20k (usually less) in donations a year, it's obviously not enough to be sustainable past a year or two for even a single developer. If there was actual sponsorship by the community or otherwise, then yes, a number of us would be willing to work on Haiku full-time.
1 comments
logicprog 2204 days ago
I'm sure you guys have considered crowdfunding, so if I may ask, what's the reason you're not going for that? I think a lot of people would be willing to spare some money to see this get done, especially if you could put together a nice documentary/marketing video to explain why it's a cool project.

I myself am not exactly sure what I'd like to use Haiku for. I'd probably consider it if I had two different systems, one for development (which I need to use Linux for) and one for everything else (I just need LibreOffice and a usable browser).

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waddlesplash 2204 days ago
Well, I'm not quite sure what the philosophical difference would be between the "donate now" buttons with the green meter showing yearly donations, and a formal "crowdfunding campaign"?

Overall, we are in a kind of "valley" of sorts: Haiku, Inc. gets more than enough money to pay for infrastructure and occasional miscellaneous things like that, but a long way away from enough to hire someone full-time for an indefinite period, and it's difficult to get people to contribute larger sums for a full-time developer that may become possible in half a year, two years, or ten years.

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