Here are my thoughts:
1) This is not a 'competition' to measure one dev against another - it is a way to reward one specific developer for participating in a 'group' goal
2) In some way (I don't know the method) the group would 'elect' one dev who was willing to accept the challenge. (If more than one dev, then maybe more than one project...?)
3) Willing contributors would pledge some amount of real money to the project. I pledge a minimum of NZ$50. No amount is too small - everything helps. And I would propose that any contributor could withdraw their pledge at any time (some people may feel uncomfortable with the final design proposals, or have changed financial circumstances etc etc...)
4) The group would (after MUCH discussion I imagine) choose the specifications / goals of the project. I think a "fat" puppy running on the recent laptop (complete with usb3 if possible) would be the goal. This group list should cover such things as the types of software to be included (ie which Wordprocessing package, which browser or browsers, etc etc), the type of peripherals to be attached (could we agree on the most Linux friendly printer / multifunctional and include one of those in the reward package??) and a whole variety of other parameters. I imagine there would be a HUGE range of requests. Maybe even stuff like a fully functional CAD package?
My main parameters would be that the puppy would fit on a CD (but that is probably being unnecessarily restrictive) and have a very good chance of running on a wide range of pretty new hardware.
5) Speaking of hardware - I would probably set as my goal a PC that is a common model, still on the shelf, and NOT running UEFI. (I am a little paranoid about UEFI so am very open to hear the feelings of devs like 01micko, pemasu, jb etc about whether avoidance of UEFI has any merit for this project or not)
The overall goal of the project is to produce a well-crafted, fully configured puppy that runs on a specific high-spec recent laptop.
Are there any other puppians who might consider pledging some specific amount? (No amount too small...). Are there any devs who would consider (even remotely) taking up such a challenge (or even helping shape the project)?
What hardware specs?
What software to include?
What distro packages to use as a base? (I'd probably let the dev choose that...)
I would hope this would not detract from CE efforts - it would possibly even assist them - but I do feel that a project targeted at specific new hardware is something many puppians have been asking for (even though my own hardware is pretty bleak and old
![Smile :-)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
I think it would be necessary to ensure the goals of the project - and the specific hardware - were clearly defined before the dev starts work - then we just let them go at their own pace. It would be asking too much to expect the dev to react to every new suggestion AFTER the laptop has been allocated. This would be a different approach to our normal puppy projects where contributors try the new Puppy on many different types of old and new hardware - generating an ongoing stream of unending development. This crowdfunding project would aim to support one common type of new hardware that we might expect to find on Ebay in 4 or 5 years time second hand. That way wealthy Puppians could buy such a laptop and use it now, and the rest of us could try to get one cheaper in a few years (when everyone else is using Android wristwatches for their computing...)
(There could be an opportunity later for a thread dedicated to making the final puppy work on other hardware - but that thread would not be part of the project - just a thread anyone could contribute to)
And of course - if the project gets off the ground - how to collect the money and when?
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