Re: Offer to access IBM i (at version 7) to produce Open Source software and API examples

Cool idea, and thanks for taking the time to put the idea to reality!

I guess the issue many have is access to a machine to do personal
development on - period. But if one of the requirements is that they have a
completed and wiki-documented open source programm/project *before* they get
the free 90-days, well, how do they get there from here? Do they need to
risk $150 (i.e. the required amount up front for a shared LPAR - $50/month
with minimum 3 months) in hopes their free app is cool enough to win the 90
day free slot?

Am I reading the offer correctly? Not that I don't like a good challenge at
gambling, but....

Aaron Bartell
www.MowYourLawn.com/blog
www.OpenRPGUI.com
www.SoftwareSavesLives.com



On Fri, Nov 26, 2010 at 9:56 AM, Jim Oberholtzer <midrangel@xxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

Cross posted on Midrange-L and Web400 Mailing lists with permission from
David:

Larry Bolhuis and I have discussed the recent conversation regarding
open source and IBM i access etc that started the*[WEB400] IBM i in the
cloud (was social media)* discussion. One of the questions raised was,
why should I pay for a system to give away code? So, while we don't
agree with the premise that other open source endeavors are without
hardware/OS/Development tool costs (Please do not devolve this offer
into a discussion of relative costs/benefits of various
systems/platforms), we would agree that ordinarily the cost of entry for
an IBM i system for an individual developer might be a bit steep. So,
we are offering the following:

Use an iDevCloud shared partition for 90 days /_free_/. During that 90
days the developer taking advantage of the offer would be expected to:

1. Post 3 wiki articles on Midrange.com with original working
examples (not out of the IBM documentation) of how to use an API.
The example may not duplicate an API that is already done, and it
must work. May be in RPG, CL, COBOL, or JAVA. We would like these
to be submitted monthly.
2. Post one open source program that:
* Is original
* Runs on IBM i
* Works!
* Performs a non trivial task
* May be written in RPG, CL, COBOL, JAVA or PHP ( for the
purposes of this offer PHP is included as long as it
accesses DB/2 and/or MySQL where the data engine is DB/2 or
other IBM i functions, a data queue maybe?) .
3. Must be active (meaning posted something) on Midrange.com (any
list) subscriber for at least 30 days. Exceptions to this
requirement may be granted on a case by case basis.
4. All the code must be licensed as Free Open Source Software from
one of the licenses listed athttp://www.opensource.org/licenses.
You may pick the specific license.
5. When your Wiki submissions and programs are complete, send and
email with the specifics to the iDevCloud Help Desk.

You can see the basics of the shared partition at www.idevcloud.com
<http://www.idevcloud.com>

Limited to first 20 people. Larry and I are the final determiners if
the code posted matches the requirements, but we will be taking the
advice of several experts (who may identify themselves if they wish).

In order to get started, send an email tohelpdesk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:helpdesk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>. We will need your name and contact
information as well as a valid email address that you will consistently
respond to. You must get started prior to December 31, 2010.

--

Jim Oberholtzer
Co-owner of iDevCloud.com

*Thank You!*
The iDevcloud Team.

www.iDevCloud.com
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