I mostly develop Dusk OS and Collapse OS on my own time. I began a sabbatical in 2023 to maximize the time I spend in this sensual dance with von Neumann, but my funds aren't illimited. Without income, I might have to go back to working on modern software (or mow lawn, that's how disgusted I am by modern software).
I really like working on these projects and if I could somehow manage to extend my sabbatical until the end of capitalism, I'd jump at the opportunity.
These projects have a rather narrow audience and I don't think crowdfunding can be an option. I've dabbled a little in it with Tumble Forth with little results. There sure is a crowd interested in those projects out there, but it's a small one. I'm tempted to indulge in delusions of grandeur and come to the conclusion that my work is for the elite, not the mob.
No crowdfunding, alright. What about aristofunding? I persist in thinking that these projects could become important for a great deal of people and communities and I don't think I'm completely crazy yet. With some luck, this thinking could be shared by some rich philanthropist somewhere. If this happens, I want to be clear: the door is open.
My service offering will hopefully allow me to extend my sabbatical from modern software indefinitely, which is awesome. But what would be even awesomestest would be a carte blanche, something only philanthropy could provide. It would allow me to focus entirely on the projects' roadmaps. It would also create some space for other developers to take on Dusk OS and Collapse OS service offerings. In other words, it would speed up development speed tremendously.
The great thing is that life is rather cheap where I live, so something along the lines of 50k CAD a year would be plenty to fund me.
To be clear, I'm looking for philanthropists, not bosses, hence the price tag. Funding me wouldn't change the projects design goals, but it could steer my priorities. If there's an aspect of those projects that you'd like me to focus on and if that aspect is in line with existing design goals, then I'd be happy to devote significant time to it.
Moreover, unless you want to stay anonymous, I'll be happy to publicly praise your forward thinking in funding those great projects.
So that's my proposition to you, rich philanthropist. My name is Virgil Dupras and I can be reached at hsoft@hardcoded.net.