Kapor to phase out involvement in open-source group
Foundation to cut staff from 27 to 10
January 10, 2008 (IDG News Service) -- The Open Source Applications Foundation has announced a major funding and personnel shakeup, and said Lotus Development founder Mitchell Kapor will begin to phase out his involvement and investment in the nonprofit organization, which he founded in 2001.
"Strategically, we find ourselves at a crossroads," the foundation's Katie Capps Parlante said in a blog post.
"OSAF has been primarily funded by one person up to this point, Mitch Kapor. Our goal going forward is to modify our organization and our funding model to grow into a publicly supported community project, not propelled by one individual," Parlante wrote.
"I will be leading the next phase of the project, and Mitch will be winding down his role on the project. Mitch will provide transitional financial assistance to support the organization through 2008. Mitch will step down from the board, and I will replace him," she added.
Mitch Kapor
In September, the foundation shipped a preview of its Chandler group collaboration software, which includes Chandler Desktop, Chandler Server and Chandler Hub, a Web application. The software lets users share information, such as calendars and tasks.
Parlante said moving forward, OSAF's paid staff head count will be cut by roughly two-thirds, going from 27 to 10. "While I expect that most former staff members will move on to other endeavors, we certainly welcome them to remain involved with OSAF and Chandler in some capacity," she said.