[LWN Logo]
[Timeline]
To: <letters@lwn.net>
Subject: press release
Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 11:53:56 -0800

Open Country announces beta site
Seeking Linux software submissions and talent

    Open Country.Net of Santa Clara recently announced that their web site
www.opencountry.net is active, in beta stage, and they are eagerly seeking
members of the open source community to test it out and give their feedback.

    Open Country is a community publisher, looking for home/small office users
of Linux that have written programs that they might want to share with fellow
users, while receiving rewards for their creation.  They also plan to include
those who might be interested in writing, promoting or testing open source
software.  All efforts will be rewarded, and include free, un-biased software
review by Open Country's top "Geeks" (Linux Gurus).

    Open Country was founded in 1998 by Paul Cubbage of Los Gatos.  (Two new
executives have been added to the team, with an announcment to come later this
week.) Long considered a "Unix Guru" in Silicon Valley, he has enlisted a
talented team of "true believers" as he calls them.  (Most work for deferred
salaries, stock options or small stipends while awaiting funding.) Ever
optimistic, Cubbage says, "We've several contingent funding offers, though, so
all this sacrifice should be rewarded soon."  He was once the head of APX, the
Atari Program Exchange which used a similar model, finding end users of Atari
software that wanted to share their stuff with the world.  A lot of former
Atari programmers are now Linux "hackers".

    "Being rewarded with royalties, prizes and other incentives gives everyone
a chance to be involved in the Open Source Movement," said Cubbage, who is a
big proponent of spreading the corporate wealth.  "We also plan to give back to
the community in a big way, once profitable (expected by 2002)."

For more information, or to submit a program or idea, please visit their
site at Opencountry.Net or phone their headquarters in Silicon Valley at
(408)248-8530.