Hi

This might be a bit stupid/controversial, but I still want to know if anything like this exists and/or what you think about it. I searched for this answer for about 2 seconds in Google and 4 seconds here at Linuxquestions.org, but didn't see anything interesting.

Question: is there a central site offering different rewards in cash to anybody able to write specific programs?

Meaning a site that e.g. states that Mr. X offers $$$$.- to the first person able to program & insert into the mainline Linux kernel a module that supports a certain CI-card (hehe..., in my case I would like CI-support for the DVB-manthis module;o) )?
Or e.g. $$$$ for a program able to perform text-to-speech outputting some "human" speech (not like the one of festival, which worries me each time I hear anything coming out of it)?
Or e.g. $$$$ to incorporate raid5 into btrfs?
I could go on... .


I thought about it yesterday, when I read the news about Hector Martin who wrote open source drivers for Microsoft's Kinect (C) and who got 3000.- USD from Adafruit (whatever it is).

Additionally there is at least another site (unluckily I forgot its name) where people can offer rewards for all kind of stuff (arts, travelling, building something, ...). On this site the whole is triggered by who offers "the thing".


I can think about 5 big problems of this idea:
1)the requirements (define the scope).
Meaning that the scope will have to be defined so well that it leaves "no easy achievement" to the programmer. E.g. anybody could write a module for a DVB-card which doesn't actually work, hehe... => you'll have to define what "module works" means (of course, only for nasty programmers).
2) the $$$$ have to be transferred.
Here probably an intermediate instance/foundation should be involved. The task of that instance would be to cash the money before anybody starts working on the request, check the results, and if the results match the request then transfer the money to the programmer (of course, only for nasty programmers and/or nasty "orderer") or if it doesn't or if the available time has elapsed to refound it.
3) the honour?
The name of who programmed the SW might very well go into some comments of the source code but perhaps even the name of who sponsored it should?
4) Linux was historically built, and especially tested, mainly by people using their free time.
Offering money to stimulate the open source community is a bit contradictory. But let's not forget that many things were developed and tested by people who were sponsored/supported by real companies - I therefore don't think that this would be a big problem if it doesn't become the main way of introducing changes into Linux (and other OSs). We can probably say "no passion = no open source"?.
5) the maintenance of the code - related to point 4.
Great if something is done, but that code will have to be maintained by somebody.
The community won't be able to take over the maintenance of all kind of code that is written. Perhaps here even some kind of feedback would be needed to know which program is used by most of the poeple in order to know which one deserves maintenance and which one doesn't.


I think that the biggest problems are probably 1 and 2.
1)
Writing good requirements is really hard. I am a programmer & IT-analyst and saw a lot of requirements which could eventually easily be circumvented. The problem of not getting "what you want" usually happens when you use 3rd companies/contractors to implement a certain SW - they will do of course exactly what you told them to do (what you wrote in the documents), not what you eventually meant them to do ;o) - of course if I would work in such a company I would do exactly the same otherwise you end up working for free.
2)
mh, what was the second one.... ah yeah - the most important one! the CASH!
Well, I have no clue here who/what could take over the role of "justice".


Well, I think that I already wrote enough in this small textbox - what do you think?
Of course I am interested in both perspectives - the ones of the programmers and the one of the Auftraggeber/employer.

Thanks!

google freelance or freelance coding

freelancer.com, getafreelancer.com, etc.

Wow, 6 seconds searching for an answer... Reminds me of a time when I was in Mexico and ran across a tourist who'd just arrived on the morning train and said that he was there to learn all he could about the indigenous people from the area. I had been there for years and ask him how long he intended to stay -he said he was leaving on the 2:30 afternoon train...

Wasn't Linux International trying to do a program where they subsidized developers? I can't remember and am not feeling the desire to look it up.

If you open one, you may become quite popular.

There used to be something called rent-a-coder - not sure if it's still running.