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Miro Asks Users To "Adopt" Lines of Source
Posted by
kdawson
on Tue Apr 28, 2009 06:20 PM
from the pray-you-don't-get-refactored dept.
from the pray-you-don't-get-refactored dept.
soDean writes "The FOSS video player / downloader Miro is asking its users to support development by 'adopting' a line of source code for $4 a month. Each adopted line of code comes personalized with a little avatar character that will grow older over the year. PCF, which makes Miro, says they think the project is the first of its kind and they believe it's a chance to 'to have a truly bottom up funding base.'"
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what happens (Score:5, Funny)
when your line of code dies?
Re:what happens (Score:5, Funny)
Or maybe if someone decides to deprecate your method just to spite you?
Parent
Re:what happens (Score:5, Funny)
It gets buried properly, it gets inserted into the Duke Nukem Forever project.
Parent
Re:what happens (Score:5, Funny)
I just adopted this little gem:
}
I hope they won't port it to Python any day soon, though...
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Too late.
You'll have to settle for:
try:
or
else:
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Not to mention that I already own tons of files full of lines with 'old' code.
The room is full of it, some lines have even beards.
Why adopt another one is beyond me.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Is this the Tamagotchi model of development?
Smart FOSS Marketing! (Score:4, Insightful)
Finally an Open Source project with some real marketing geniuses on board! That alone deserves celebration.
I don't think this will quite work, but it's a step in the right direction. Will users get to pick which line they adopt? You could even imagine an auction system. Some lines might become very trendy: "I own the main function declaration of the program, but that cost me $500".
I'll ask the people on my entrepreneur network [fairsoftware.net] if they like the model!
Re:Smart FOSS Marketing! (Score:4, Insightful)
Change $4 to $1 and they might get more bites.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Agreed. $4/month = $48/year. Great if some people do it, but they will get more bits at $12/year, or $20/year.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
$4 per line per month?????? This must be the most expensive code in history. What are these guys smoking?
Re:Smart FOSS Marketing! (Score:4, Funny)
Hey, you haven't seen how much my company pays me to write one line of code.
Parent
Re:Smart FOSS Marketing! (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Finally an Open Source project with some real marketing geniuses on board! That alone deserves celebration.
Firing them from a cannon into the sun? But hey, at least I've heard about their project now!
This whole adoption thing is a step in a really bad direction: the users only need to hear about the source code if the binary isn't working for them. Of course, make it available and talk about it in receptive circles, but I don't think the target audience wants to hear about it. (It's a torrent client combined with a media player).
It sucks for exactly the same reason the EULA-dialog with the GPL in it does: it for
Re: (Score:2)
Finally an Open Source project with some real marketing geniuses on board! That alone deserves celebration.
I don't think this will quite work, but it's a step in the right direction.
It doesn't even really need to work in order to "work". Even if they don't make any money from this promotion, they landed themselves with a story right here on Slashdot, which has probably exposed their software to a lot of people who hadn't heard of them before.
Re: (Score:2)
When I first read it the first thing I thought of was Wikipedia. I've made minor edits to a couple articles, and every time I do, Wikipedia automatically puts those pages on their watch list. When someone else edits those pages, I can quickly look at those edits. I tend to be interested in those articles, and help refine subsequent contributions. In effect, I've "adopted" a part of that article. It might be interesting if OSS projects structured their projects such that micro-contributions are easy to
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Nonsense.
Do you really, honestly think that there is even a remote possibility that they'll have more adopters than lines of code? Or even close?
Re: (Score:2)
Way to spam an unrelated link, dumbass.
But, but, but... It's not spam, it's astro-turfing... er... no, wait. I know, it's marketing!
Where's Sally Struthers? (Score:5, Funny)
"For only $4 a month, you can give this line of source clean electricity and information to process and grow."
Re:Where's Sally Struthers? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Revolutionary (Score:4, Funny)
$4 a line?? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Can't tell for sure if you're joking, but the average commercial programmer only generates something like 10 SLOCS per day (can't remember the exact number). Hopefully companies are paying their developers more than $40 per day :).
Re:$4 a line?? (Score:4, Interesting)
Hopefully companies are paying their developers more than $40 per day :).
Depends on whether those jobs have been sent overseas.
On a related note, I'm genuinely curious: what's the average salary for developers look like in the countries to which companies often outsource work, like India and China?
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
China is pretty awsome - around 3K/year for a software engineer. 4.5K for a manager. This is in USD and is a few years old. Might be higher now.
India is more like 10K I believe.
We have an outsourcing consulting company in Tempe and they do all the work in Mexico. I believe their people make less than 20K/year there.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
On a related note, I'm genuinely curious: what's the average salary for developers look like in the countries to which companies often outsource work, like India and China?
If this is to be believed:
http://www.payscale.com/research/IN/Job=Software_Engineer_%2F_Developer_%2F_Programmer/Salary [payscale.com]
Software Engineer / Developer / Programmer with 5-10 yrs experience makes a media salary of around 430k Rupees. (between 8.5k and 9k US.) Interestingly, 10-20yrs experience is actually lower. (I'd guess they've got less i
Re:$4 a line?? (Score:4, Interesting)
We have a group in Shanghai - we've got pretty well qualified guys in our office, we pay them 14,000 RMB per month (~US$2,000). They get about 8,000-10,000 of that with the rest going to the government in payroll taxes.
More average developers come in at between 6,500 to 8,500 RMB per month.
Parent
Re:$4 a line?? (Score:4, Insightful)
Hah, I know! I write thousands of lines of code a day!
My coworkers keep telling me I could do the same thing in just 10 lines of code of decent, maintainable code by refactoring and using abstraction, but I'm pretty sure they're all just slackers.
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Don't forget the 1/2 of your time you spend researching, writing documentation, and going to meetings.
Working as a professional software developer is a lot different than hacking around on your 10k line hobby project.
Comments? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Comments? (Score:5, Funny)
Do I get a discount if I adopt a comment?
Only if its inaccurate and misleading.
So yes.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
I'd pay extra if it had swearing.
http://www.vidarholen.net/contents/wordcount/ [vidarholen.net]
The Sims (Score:5, Insightful)
Now the developers at Miro will spend all their time making sure their emoticons age properly instead of actually coding!
Way to make a killing (Score:3, Insightful)
At $4/month that would be a nice way to make a killing in profits.
Of course the result will be something roughly like the whole pixel advertising schemes in the end and Miro itself will suck, but hats off for the a good scam to make money of software.
Closest thing I heard (was:Way to make a killing) (Score:2)
Recently we evaluated a static code analysis package from a vendor (that shall remain nameless) that wants to charge us by the line. The code in question is just over half a million lines of C code. At the (presumed) rate of ten cents a line, that's easily 50k USD. I can't think of a better business model (other than the route MP/RIAA have taken.)
What happens (Score:2, Redundant)
What happens if your line of code is the cause of a major bug? Do you have to hide your head in shame?
I have been gypped (Score:5, Funny)
Whole Function or Class (Score:5, Insightful)
If they let you adopt a whole function or even a whole class, this could be a cool way of not only making money but also minimising bugs.
People who adopt are likely going to read the code they get so this is a good way to get lots of eyes on the source.
Just a thought..
Re: (Score:2)
and a brilliant one at that.
rent? (Score:3, Funny)
If I adopt a line, can I charge other lines rent for using it?
Comments? (Score:2)
Kind of expensive... (Score:2)
$4/line per month? Hell, I should try and get some code into this project... if I can get 2000 lines of code adopted, I'll make $96K/year for the rest of my life. Seems I'll be able to retire before 30 after all. :)
There's the signpost up ahead... (Score:2, Funny)
Forget adopt a child... (Score:5, Funny)
Cheap trick... (Score:5, Funny)
I get this on the page:
Hello there! It looks like you are visiting from Europe
Did you know that there are more Miro users in Europe than in the United States, but more than 99% of our financial support comes from American donations and philanthropies?
Europe loves open-source, right? Help us make something great!
Sounds like they're trying to cash in on our hatred for the U.S. :)
Having used Miro (Score:3, Funny)
10 REM
Re: (Score:3, Funny)