I heard the worst message and the best one. 2009/4/2 Taco Hoekwater <t...@elvenkind.com>: > > Hi, > > As Arthur emailed me already: you people are just too gullible ! :) > > Taco Hoekwater wrote: >> >> Hello everybody, >> >> This message is to inform you all that as of today, I am no longer an >> employee of Elvenkind BV, the company where I have worked for during >> the past years. > > This part is true, I am in fact an independant contractor now. Life is > just more fun that way, there is no other reason. > >> Working for Elvenkind has been a pleasure, but it has always been >> hard for Elvenkind to find enough commercial projects to employ me in. > > false > >> Even the recent (much appreciated!) funded TeX-development projects >> simply do not generate enough revenue for Elvenkind to make it viable >> to keep me as an employee in the current economic climate. > > false (Elvenkind is doing better than ever, if anything) > > >> This is not the best time to be out of a job, but nevertheless I have >> decided to try to make the most of it an attempt to make an old dream >> happen: being my own boss. > > true > >> Since quite some time already I have had a private company called >> Bittext that I use for various bits and pieces that simply did not fit >> in with Elvenkind's company strategy (its original intent was to place >> my font development work in that company, but it has also been used as >> the company behind organizing the ConTeXt Epen meeting in 2007, for >> example). > > true > >> For the development of luatex and metapost, I do not expect that much >> to change compared to the current situation: Hans and I will continue >> to write funding proposals and we hope that enough of those will be >> granted so that I can keep that development work going much like it is. >> (about a 50% commitment working on these two programs in an average >> working week). > > true > >> However, for ConTeXT and other TeX-related things, the situation is a >> bit more problematic. > > false > >> Pragma ADE does not have money to fund any >> projects, even if I managed to find something to excite Hans that >> he couldn't do faster himself ;). > > true > >> To find the missing source of >> income, I intend to start giving commercial ConTeXt courses and > > false > >> I plan to start selling manuals via lulu. > > false > >> Perhaps there is a bit of >> consultancy that can be found as well, > > false > >> and I will try to regain some >> of my old mathematical typesetting clients. > > false > >> But I fear that even all of that together will generate enough income >> for me to continue developing modules and offering help for free. > > false > >> Therefore, the planned bib module replacement will be released as >> commercial software, > > false > >> and support for other ConTeXT stuff (like the >> current bib module) will become a paid service. > > false > >> Probably via a >> subscription website, that will (for example) also host my release >> notes. > > false > >> I am brooding on other ConTeXt module ideas that people >> may be willing to pay for, > > false > >> and I will finish the font projects >> that are still on my disk for sale via my website. > > maybe > >> This April (until around BachoTeX) I will still be busy preparing the >> luatex and metapost binaries for the TeXlive 2009 deadline, but after > > true > >> that I will likely drop offline for a while, > > false > >> creating the Bittext >> website ( http://www.bittext.com ) > > true-ish, that really does need to be done. > >> and figuring out things like how to >> be on the receiving end of Lulu and PayPal. > > false > >> Well, that is about all I wanted to say right now. I am quite >> apprehensive about how this news will fall in the ConTeXT community, but >> I see no other way. > > false > >> And I must admit that at the same time I am quite >> excited about being "in control of my own destiny", as they say! > > true > > Best wishes, > Taco > > ___________________________________________________________________________________ > If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the > Wiki! > > maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context > webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net > archive : https://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ > wiki : http://contextgarden.net > ___________________________________________________________________________________ >
-- Best wishes, Li Yanrui * Gentoo Linux (~x86) * ConTeXt Minimals Beta (2009.03.29 13:28) ___________________________________________________________________________________ If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki! maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context webpage : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net archive : https://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/ wiki : http://contextgarden.net ___________________________________________________________________________________
