Re: Question to candidates: on-line services

[Brian Cameron <brian cameron oracle com>]

Gil:

On 05/26/11 17:27, Gil Forcada wrote:
> Hi members,
>
> Everyday more and more services are offered on the cloud and there's
> also initiatives powered by Free Software (tomboy on-line...).
>
> One of the main problems for Free Software projects providing cloud
> services is the hardware/administration/connection expenses which are
> mostly a no-go for a Free Software project without any backing from a
> big corporation.

Thanks for the great question.  The GNOME community already provides
a lot of great on-line services ranging from source code control
systems, a CRM system, and a significant web presence.  So, I think
it is important to recognize that this is not something completely
new.  The main development is that such services seem to be more
end-user focused rather than developer focused.  I helped in these
efforts by helping to push the Tomboy Online hackfest in the past
year.

One challenge that has been hampering efforts in this vein has been the
fact that GNOME's server hardware has been aging.  Over the past couple
of years, the board has been working with the community to address
these issues, but there is more to do.

> As a member of a the future board will you look for ways to promote and
> look for resources to offer these free software cloud services? Maybe
> part of a funding campaign (be a Friend of GNOME and have a Tomboy
> on-line account for free).

Most specific decisions on how to run Friends of GNOME and do such
promotion is handled by GNOME Marketing Team.  Many board members are a
part of the Marketing Team, so there is some overlap.  I am supportive
of any campaign to improve the presence of GNOME and free software
online services.

Brian