In an effort to expand its ranks, the Linux Foundation has improved its selection of perks for members. New perks include hardware discounts and the availability of a lifetime e-mail forwarding account at the linux.com domain.
The LF was formed in 2007 when the Open Source Development Labs merged with the Free Standards Group. The organization is responsible for maintaining the Linux Standard Base (LSB) project and also employs Linux creator Linus Torvalds. The group has largely been funded by its corporate sponsors, which include many of the largest companies in the technology industry. Last year, the LF launched an individual membership program, inviting Linux enthusiasts to pay annual dues for various privileges.
Members receive a linux.com e-mail forwarding account and discounts on various conferences hosted by the foundation. The LF obtained the linux.com domain from SourceForge, Inc. earlier this year and has been transforming it into an information hub and social network for the Linux community. The e-mail addresses are not permanent, however, and could disappear if the user neglects to pay the annual dues.
In a bid to increase its membership, the foundation has added several new perks. One of the changes is that users can now pay a flat one-time fee to make the e-mail address permanent. Existing members can get the lifetime e-mail address for $150. New members can get a package of one-year membership and lifetime e-mail for $250. Regular annual dues are $99. Another significant new perk is hardware discounts from Dell, HP, and Lenovo.
I’ve been eyeing Dell’s new 537s with Ubuntu, so I decided to put the new Linux Foundation membership discount to the test. The discount is offered through Dell’s Employee Purchase Program (EPP). Ironically, I had serious difficulty finding the Linux-based computers through Dell’s EPP storefront (you can’t get the discount if you just aim your browser directly at dell.com/ubuntu). “Linux” isn’t included in the “Operating System” filter at the EPP portal (though, surprisingly, FreeDOS is). I eventually found the tiny “Open-Source PCs” link towards the bottom of the left-hand column. The discount from Dell is roughly 7 percent, but it’s a pretty nice deal because it stacks with other discounts and coupon codes.
Members also get discounts on O’Reilly and No Starch Press books, Linux Journal Subscriptions, and some ThinkGeek.com purchases. For Linux enthusiasts who regularly buy computer hardware and other discounted stuff, the $99 membership fee could pay for itself pretty quickly. The lifetime e-mail offering, on the other hand, doesn’t seem all that appealing. $150 is a lot to pay for a mere forwarding service.
As the economic downturn compels people to close their wallets, nonprofit organizations have been exploring ways to entice supporters to continue contributing financial resources. Some open source groups have come up with interesting solutions. The GNOME Foundation, for example, has a special Friends of GNOME program that allows contributors to “adopt” their favorite GNOME hacker by supplying a small monthly donation. The Participatory Culture Foundation, the organization behind the Miro media player, launched a program that allows donors to adopt a line of code. The LF membership program lacks the cuteness and novelty of those approaches, but it makes up for it by offering pretty solid perks.
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