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imbrandon
December 2nd, 2007, 06:06 AM
UPDATE you can also Digg this story to help me out http://digg.com/linux_unix/Help_an_OpenSource_Developer_Get_a_New_Computer

I’m a developer, and my primary tool is my computer. Unfortunately, about 3 months ago, my computer died an untimely death, and I have resorted to using a pentium 200MHz machine with 256MB Ram, which lets me keep up with regular communications, but significantly slows the pace of development.

As a computer is a big purchase, and represents most of what I want to receive for the holidays, I’ve set up a fundraiser (https://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2007-12-01.9926355325/groupaction_view) so that people who wanted to help towards this gift could do so without needing to purchase the entire thing (and to avoid the all too common problem of receiving 8 video cards and no RAM).

www.fundable.com allows me to accept pledges via paypal but NOT collect any unless the goal is met, so if you feel giving and pledge something, it will only be charged if the goal is met ( this is set at $250, which seems to be the minimum for a decent system, if more is collected, I can look at something better). You can read more about how fundable works from www.fundable.com/faq (http://www.fundable.com/faq), and I’m more than happy to answer any questions via email, IRC, Jabber, etc.

http://www.imbrandon.com is my homepage for those that dont know ( and my contact info is on there ) and I just posted this to my blog also.

Fundraiser Link : https://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2007-12-01.9926355325/groupaction_view

( also linked from my blog )

Thanks everyone, and have a great holiday season :)

maniacmusician
December 2nd, 2007, 06:15 AM
Good luck with this, I hope you get some donations. I'm fairly broke myself at the moment, so I can't really help much. I have all of $15 in my account right now, and I'll have 100 after my next paycheck and after I subtract all the payments I need to make and the things I need to buy. The rest of the $100 is going to have to go to christmas shopping, unfortunately.

But I sincerely hope that other people aren't in the same situation as me and can actually afford to donate you 10 or 20 dollars.

23meg
December 2nd, 2007, 06:16 AM
I've just pledged $10. $50 is secured already; looks like you'll make it, and I hope that's the case.

imbrandon
December 2nd, 2007, 06:59 AM
@maniacmusician

thanks for the thought, sometimes thats all that matters arround the holidays, and I hope it works out that you have a great one !!

@23meg

Killer, thanks a bunch, you dont know how much this means to me.

ubuntu27
December 2nd, 2007, 06:02 PM
Never knew such a website existed.

Anyway, I am going to bump this thread for all to see.
Hope you get a nice computer :)

imbrandon
December 3rd, 2007, 01:05 AM
@ ubuntu27

Yea its a very cool website.
and thanks for the bump :)

t3chb0y
December 3rd, 2007, 01:30 AM
I might have some somewhat old spare parts I don't use but then I'm fairily broke at the moment...got anything in particular you're searching for?

imbrandon
December 3rd, 2007, 01:35 AM
UPDATE you can also digg this story to help out http://digg.com/linux_unix/Help_an_OpenSource_Developer_Get_a_New_Computer

imbrandon
December 3rd, 2007, 09:01 AM
woot, got $80 secured in 24hours, thanks alot for the help yall, dont forget to digg the story even if you cant pledge.

rowanparker
December 3rd, 2007, 05:22 PM
I'm still at school so not yet earning so I'm afraid I can't pledge but I can digg it for you.
Good luck with this and I hope you get a new computer!

Depressed Man
December 3rd, 2007, 05:24 PM
I'll be sure to donate after I get done with my papers and finals.

regomodo
December 3rd, 2007, 05:34 PM
i'm with the trollish posts at digg.
i had contemplated getting a new comp before the summer so i saved up a few quid from each weeks wages.

If you look hard enough i'm sure you could get something for free

svtfmook
December 3rd, 2007, 05:57 PM
UPDATE you can also Digg this story to help me out http://digg.com/linux_unix/Help_an_OpenSource_Developer_Get_a_New_Computer

I’m a developer, and my primary tool is my computer. Unfortunately, about 3 months ago, my computer died an untimely death, and I have resorted to using a pentium 200MHz machine with 256MB Ram, which lets me keep up with regular communications, but significantly slows the pace of development.

As a computer is a big purchase, and represents most of what I want to receive for the holidays, I’ve set up a fundraiser (https://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2007-12-01.9926355325/groupaction_view) so that people who wanted to help towards this gift could do so without needing to purchase the entire thing (and to avoid the all too common problem of receiving 8 video cards and no RAM).

www.fundable.com allows me to accept pledges via paypal but NOT collect any unless the goal is met, so if you feel giving and pledge something, it will only be charged if the goal is met ( this is set at $250, which seems to be the minimum for a decent system, if more is collected, I can look at something better). You can read more about how fundable works from www.fundable.com/faq (http://www.fundable.com/faq), and I’m more than happy to answer any questions via email, IRC, Jabber, etc.

http://www.imbrandon.com is my homepage for those that dont know ( and my contact info is on there ) and I just posted this to my blog also.

Fundraiser Link : https://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2007-12-01.9926355325/groupaction_view

( also linked from my blog )

Thanks everyone, and have a great holiday season :)
wait, how does an entire computer just "die". maybe all you need to do is replace a $15 power supply. or a $50 motherboard. or $40 RAM.

very rarely will a computer stop working with no solution requiring replacing the entire system.

Vadi
December 3rd, 2007, 06:03 PM
Yes. That's why the goal is only $250. That's like, that everest pc.

Anyway, I did my job, it won't hurt to help out a ubuntu dev :). Not like I got the OS for free anyway!

svtfmook
December 3rd, 2007, 06:07 PM
what was your system specs and what did your computer do when it "died"?

maybe i'll just buy your computer from you for $250.

Lostincyberspace
December 3rd, 2007, 08:31 PM
yeah auction your parts on ebay bet a couple grand from the people who bidd on everything

mmichalik
December 19th, 2007, 01:32 AM
Brandon,

I just made a donation to your cause.

I happen to use Ubuntu extensively and appreciate all of your hard work.

Mike

jinx099
December 19th, 2007, 02:10 AM
Its nice to see so many people being generous and donating without a second thought! Tis the season!

However, I'm very skeptical of this. Something doesn't seem to add up here. Tech savy users, like most on the forums I'm sure and especially the OP by looking at his blog, aren't just going to buy a new PC when it "breaks". That what non-computer people do. What broke, and what does that cost for a reasonable replacement?

Wouldn't a Debian and Ubuntu developer have more than one box? I'm sure a dev would have at least one dedicated development box. :confused:

How can a full-time UNIX sysadmin not be able to afford a new part, or computer for that matter? You've got to be making at least $50k/yr. Why can you not just buy a $250 computer with a credit card if you don't have the cash?

It seems more likely to me that this is a scam and the guy's account got hacked or something. IMHO

My apologies if this is legitimate and you are in financial crisis.

matthewcraig
December 19th, 2007, 02:34 AM
Brandon, I was looking for Ubuntu developers who were in need of something this holiday season. I was happy to make a donation to your computer drive, because I appreciate the work Ubuntu developers put into stable releases. I would have even bought you a beer, if you had said it would make you happier about Ubuntu developing. :)

imbrandon
December 19th, 2007, 02:59 AM
@all asking about what hardware died exactly:
the processor and motherboard due to overheating when a cpu fan died and the temp in the bios to auto shutdown was off thus burning up the cpu and cpu slot
( and for those of you saying why don't you have another computers etc as a developer, I do have other computers , most of which are donated build machines for the ubuntuwire.com network, thus the only workstation i have in my home is a p200 atm )

@those that think my account was "hacked" feel free to contact me in any way i have listed anywhere to verify i haven't been

@those that say "you make enough money" well sure i make a fair amount of money but I have other priorities that money has to goto right now like rent and Christmas for my children, I don't mean to take food from anyones mouth thus I ask only those that have the extra means to help

@all else who have donated THANK YOU VERY MUCH , it helps more than you know.

Brandon

Vadi
December 19th, 2007, 03:53 AM
You have enough for a gOS PC now! :)

Lostincyberspace
December 19th, 2007, 04:42 AM
Wow $310 and in time for christmas.

toupeiro
December 19th, 2007, 06:36 AM
Kinda strapped at the moment, but PM me if you don't get enough money. I have a 64-bit board and chip (few years old) I could donate should you need it. It'll at least be something beefier than a P200.

jinx099
December 19th, 2007, 06:58 AM
@all asking about what hardware died exactly:
the processor and motherboard due to overheating when a cpu fan died and the temp in the bios to auto shutdown was off thus burning up the cpu and cpu slot
( and for those of you saying why don't you have another computers etc as a developer, I do have other computers , most of which are donated build machines for the ubuntuwire.com network, thus the only workstation i have in my home is a p200 atm )

I bet your mobo is fine. What kind of CPU do you need?

Tundro Walker
December 19th, 2007, 07:35 AM
Not to sound rude, but I guess I'm skeptical about this, too. I mean, Mark Shuttleworth can't afford to spend $500 to get one of the Canonical employee Ubuntu dev's a new computer? Maybe I'm making an assumption here that a) you work for Canonical, and b) that Canonical underwrites the cost of any hardware its programmers / developers need.

23meg
December 19th, 2007, 07:37 AM
Maybe I'm making an assumption here that a) you work for Canonical,

Indeed.

jinx099
December 19th, 2007, 07:50 AM
I think that is a false assumption based on his bio on his blog:

Beware; here be Dragons

I’m a 1978 edition from Kansas City, Missouri. Although over the years I have lived in many other cities throughout the USA like Nashville,TN; Center,TX among others Kansas City is where I have always considered “Home”. I currently am Living back here with my wonderful wife Misty and our Children.

I’ve been in the IT industry for more than 10 years in some form or another, Starting off in Tech Support at a startup ISP in the Age of 14.4 dial-up to today when I’m currently employed as a Unix and Linux Systems Administrator. I spend many free hours a month working on My Operating System of choice, GNU/Linux ( specifically the Debian and Ubuntu Flavors )

This page is incomplete, More details to follow …

I am still very skeptical, the whole thing is just too bizarre and illogical. Why not just repair your broken PC?

imbrandon, where is your blog hosted?

Tundro Walker
December 19th, 2007, 08:03 AM
Yeah, just got done reading his blog.

So, my assumption has changed too ... he's an independent person not affiliated with Canonical or supported by them directly, instead choosing to develop for Ubuntu and Debian in his free time and out of the goodness of his heart.

(Wow, don't you hate it when folks talk about you as if you're not in the room, Brandon? :))

Well, the fund-raiser has already reached it's goal. Wanna start another one? Maybe more folks can pitch in and get you a better computer? Or, start one for something Ubuntu-related, like perhaps setting a goal of donating $1000 total to supporting UbuntuWire or Canonical's Ubuntu division or something. I'd be willing to donate as long as I know it's going to a good cause.

Maybe we could start a Christmas tradition of just setting up an Ubuntu-related fund-raiser towards a charity everyone can agree upon, and everyone that wants to can pitch in, with the ultimate donation made to the charity in Ubuntu's name. (Of course, if that were the case, why don't we just donate to Ubuntu?)

Any thoughts on this?

Lostincyberspace
December 19th, 2007, 08:46 AM
He already has enough money so stop worrying about it and is 10-20 dollars that much of a big deal anyway, at least at that low total.

Tundro Walker
December 19th, 2007, 10:01 AM
1) Yes, he's met his goal. That's why I suggested another fund-raiser should start so folks (like me) who wanted to contribute but didn't in time could contribute toward something.

2) Yes, $10, $20, even $1 is a lot of money when you find out what you thought was a charitable cause actually turned out to be a scammer who was making the rounds during the holiday season bilking kind-hearted folks out of their hard-earned money. As the mafia would say, it's not so much the money, but the principle of the matter. Because not only did they take advantage of you, but they learned they could get away with it (rewarded bad behaviour). Some of us were concerned that this might have been a scam. Don't be a jerk to us just because we're cautious with our money, and don't blindly hand out $20 to anyone who asks for it.

EDIT:

Nevermind, I found a link in the "donate" thread and donated to Canonical.

imbrandon
December 22nd, 2007, 01:14 AM
Thanks to all that helped me out, yea maybe we can do this once a year for a Ubuntu related cause ( not me next time of course )

I posted a follow-up on my blog if you want to go read about it.
http://www.imbrandon.com/2007.12.21/new-computer-followup.html

matthewcraig
January 11th, 2008, 09:48 PM
> ... maybe we can do this once a year for a Ubuntu related cause ...

What a terrific idea, especially when this would be more organized. Imagine the Ubuntu Foundation choosing one person who had spent a considerable amount of time developing essential software, announcing they would match the donations, then allowing the community to make small donations to the cause. In the broad scope of things, $300 or even $600 is a tiny sum to ensure an active open source developer has the tools he needs to continue his work. It seems to me well worth the time of companies who do business in open source to organize future fund raisers.

I know there have been charitable foundations created in the past for open source projects, but I personally do not feel comfortable donating to something where I cannot see the results. Being able to see the specifications of your new system (yay for more 64-bit testing!) makes me feel confident that my donation went to something worthwhile. I suspect many others feel the same way.