Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 00:00:28 -0600 (EST)
From: Jason Haas <jhaas@linuxppc.com>
To: news@macgeeks.com, pr@macintouch.com, news@maccentral.com, pr@ogrady.com,
Subject: [Announce] LinuxPPC to become a non-profit organization

LinuxPPC to become a non-profit organization 

Move will strengthen LinuxPPC operating system and community

January 25, 2001 -- WAUKESHA, WI ­LinuxPPC Inc. has formally announced its
plans to become a non-profit organization (NPO). The NPO will focus on
the development and promotion of the Linux operating system on the PowerPC
processor. It will also be better able to support the growth and
development of the operating system.

Transition marks a return to LinuxPPC¹s roots

Like many other free software projects, the LinuxPPC operating system was
largely built by volunteers. Non-profit organizations are designed to
organize such efforts, rather than have a for-profit corporation
controlling it.

Original intent of company founders being fulfilled

In 1996, Jeff Carr registered the linuxppc.org domain with the intention
of creating a not-for-profit organization. However, LinuxPPC Inc. was
formally created in 1997 as a for-profit corporation because it was less
difficult and less expensive than creating a NPO.

Since that time, it was feared that a NPO would fail to keep up with the
apparently burgeoning ".com" sector. LinuxPPC Inc. was very careful not to
take on any investors. Luckily, it was able to survive without taking on
investors, and turned down several offers. With the recent collapse of
that sector, becoming a not-for-profit organization seems to be a safe and
logical move.

Advantages of being a NPO

There are myriad advantages to being a non-profit organization. Unlike a
for-profit corporation, contributions and donations to a NPO cannot be
used as distributions to the owners. This guarantees that the donated
resources go directly to the benefit of the NPO¹s mission. As a
not-for-profit organization has no stock or shareholders, there is a much
more even distribution of power and control.

Many of the ideas and principles of non-profit organizations perfectly
match the ideas and principles of the free software movement. With that in
mind, becoming a NPO is a natural step in LinuxPPC¹s evolution.

Disadvantages of being a NPO

One potential disadvantage of being a non-profit organization is the lack
of investment and venture capitol. Investors are not interested in
investing in something that will not yield any return, and there is no
return on investment with free software development, and. Thus the normal
advantage to being for-profit corporation is inapplicable.

However, many people are willing to donate money to support free software
development. For example, LinuxPPC users have donated over $20,000 to the
Free Software Foundation and Linux International, two organizations
dedicated to promoting free software.

Donations from LinuxPPC also expected to become more frequent

Over the course of its history, LinuxPPC Inc. has made many hardware
donations to Linux developers. These donations have often resulted in
software being ported to LinuxPPC, and were crucial moves in making Linux
compatible with certain Apple computers.

The most important donation was probably the donation of an iMac to kernel
developer Paul Mackerras. Prior to this donation, the iMac was not able to
boot Linux. Within weeks of the donation, the iMac became compatible with
Linux.

In the past, the company has donated PowerBook G3, Power Mac G3, and Power
Mac G4 computers to kernel developers. All of these led to the machines
becoming more compatible with Linux. In the application realm, the company
donated an iMac to the AbiSource project, ensuring that AbiSuite is ported
to LinuxPPC.

Transition expected to take several months

Given the amount of planning and pre-transition effort involved in
becoming NPO, LinuxPPC probably will not become a non-profit organization
for several months. When the transition if made, LinuxPPC Inc.¹s services
and assets to be taken over by the organization. There will be no
disruption in services in the meantime.

About LinuxPPC Inc.

LinuxPPC Inc., headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin, develops and
distributes the most popular Linux distribution for PowerPC computers.
Formally incorporated in 1997, the company has been making Linux for the
PowerPC for more than three years. The company sponsors development of
Linux on PowerPC through hardware donations and developer sponsorships.

The company is a member of Linux International and the Motorola Computer
Group Partner Program.

Contact Information

LinuxPPC Inc. 262-436-2000 http://www.linuxppc.com/

PowerPC is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation and
is used under license therefrom. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus
Torvalds.