[Dev-luatex] [NTG-context] Affiliation change

[Taco Hoekwater]

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