Google Summer of Code Program Overhauled

lisah writes "Though at first glance Google's Summer of Code (SOC) 2007 looks pretty much the same as last year's event, it turns out much of the program has been overhauled based on feedback from past participants. The biggest change is the amount of lead time given to applicants and mentoring organizations in the hopes of increasing the applicant pool and allowing everyone to be better organized once the program gets officially underway on May 28. SOC organizers say they are also aware that slow payment to last year's participants has been a bone of contention and they are taking steps to 'make sure that the problem is diminished or will not happen again.'"

The dark side...

[__aaclcg7560]

... that slow payment to last year's participants has been a bone of contention ...

Google doesn't want to be planting any seeds for a "winter of discontent" after a busy summer. There's enough Google bombs as it is.

it's not fair

[Anonymous Coward]

i just wished they would let regular school drop-outs, heck just regular people
participate in the program :( instead of having students
waste their time in the summer when they should be partying

Re:

[antoinjapan]

Not every country requires going into debt for the rest of your life for a college education like america does.

Re:

[The One and Only]

"the rest of your life"? Maybe if you're bad at restricting your own spending, go to an overly expensive school without scholarships or grants, or do something else like that.

Re:

[The One and Only]

Total expenses (assuming in-state tuition) for the University of Washington come to about $20,000 annually. Times four years is $80,000. Assuming you pay for that entirely through loans, graduate, and make $40,000 a year and maintain the same standard of living you had in college until your debt is paid off, you have $30,000 per year you can apply towards that debt. That's three years, maybe four considering interest. Less if you make more money or find other ways to help pay for school. And that's with a l

Re:

[C0y0t3]

If a 24 year old makes 40000/year, even if they could or did in college they will not try to live on 10000 so they can pay 30000 per year towards debt. If people had the will to do that, student loans, bankruptcies, second mortgages, and credit cards would all be unnecessary.

It also misses the point that $20000 is a very high tuition, relatively speaking, and US tuitions are high PRECISELY BECAUSE there are government guaranteed student loans. Tuition rates have risen steadily 5+% per year since the 70

Re:

[The One and Only]

If people had the will to do that, student loans, bankruptcies, second mortgages, and credit cards would all be unnecessary.

Of those four things, student loans are pretty much the only form of consumer debt that makes sense. In business, you take on debts if you're reasonably certain you'll make enough profit on the borrowed money to pay off the interest and then some. The same rationale applies for student loans. Bankruptcies are a failure to manage debt properly. (Sometimes the failure is unavoidable--m

Re:

[Nevyn]

You have a $40,000 (gross) a year job, and you expect to have $30,000 in disposable income? I'd like to live in your fantasy land. However for the rest of us, in the real world, $40,000 a year is a pretty decent paying job and assuming no state tax you'll only have $32.5k per. year a actual money. Which doesn't include the ~4k-8k you should be putting in your 401k, and any medical contributiuons. Then you almost certianly need a car, you'll have bigger expenses for work clothing and obviously need rent and

Re:

[The One and Only]

If you're not going to get a decent job, then don't go to expensive colleges and think to yourself that you can afford it unless you willingly choose to saddle yourself with debt, at which point it's nothing you should be whining about later.

and assuming no state tax you'll only have $32.5k per. year a actual money

OK. That leaves 20k to pay down debts, and a four year schedule, assuming no raises or other increases in income.

Which doesn't include the ~4k-8k you should be putting in your 401k

If and onl

Re:

[Nevyn]

If you're not going to get a decent job, then don't go to expensive colleges and think to yourself that you can afford it unless you willingly choose to saddle yourself with debt, at which point it's nothing you should be whining about later.

So a good education is only for the rich, or for people who are going to do well at subjects that make them rich? There are a lot of subjects that require degrees (or masters degrees) that do not pay $40k a year to people straight out of college. Maybe you were luck

Re:

[The One and Only]

So a good education is only for the rich, or for people who are going to do well at subjects that make them rich? There are a lot of subjects that require degrees (or masters degrees) that do not pay $40k a year to people straight out of college. Maybe you were lucky.

If you're poor, there are scholarships. If you're studying business, liberal arts, or social sciences, you likely have enough free time to get a job while you're in college. And if you're middle class, your parents may have saved some money f

Re:

[smittyoneeach]

No, but the lunch ain't free: the state will tax the living daylights out of you.
Remember, in the economic process list, the government has PID==0. It is the swapper process. Considerable amount of friction involved, though.
YMMV. This may be acceptable to you. In the end, all hearts quit beating, and all of this bickering and arguing over whose government was cooler than whose amounts to little.

Re:

[indraneil]

I graduate this summer. I heard of this the 1st time, last year; but I broke my hip last summer and could not participate.
I dont much care for the money, but it would have been a great opportunity to interact with the opensource community and I regret not getting an opportunity to do that!
Sometimes, rules have a queer way of not being fair!

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Just a thought...

[chrisd]

So last year SoC students were in 90 countries encompassing some 73 currencies, and for some , your tactic might work, but in many, it would simply mean that they could not ever use the money. We have to do things legally and right, not just the expedient. An example: To pay someone in Brazil we have to accompany each of the 3 payments to any student with a document detailing why we want the reals and what they are being paid for. Then the student must take the docs to a local bank to receive the wire, and there are often fees. It's easy to come down on the accountants and bureaucrats and everything, but when you get down into it, many of the countries make it difficult to interact financially with their citizens. What you are recommending, in some countries, is illegal and could put our students in danger of being arrested. I'd rather a payment be slow.

Re:

[pla]

Then the student must take the docs to a local bank to receive the wire, and there are often fees

In what countries can you not legally give (reasonably small sums of) money to someone??? Documentation of why they received it? "Services rendered", "gift", or in some of these bass-ackwards places, just write "dowry". Or if local banks cause the problem, just send them cash in their local currency - problem solved.

This involves a mere $4500. Not suitcases full of unmarked bills.

Why do you think all

Re:

[Beuno]

In what countries can you not legally give (reasonably small sums of) money to someone??? Documentation of why they received it? "Services rendered", "gift", or in some of these bass-ackwards places, just write "dowry". Or if local banks cause the problem, just send them cash in their local currency - problem solved.

This involves a mere $4500. Not suitcases full of unmarked bills.

Argentina and Brazil for starters.
4500 dollars is around 14000 argentine pesos, which is a bit more then most people make in a year. Doesn't sound like "mere $4500" very much.

You have to remember once in a while that whatever applies in the US doesn't apply everywhere.

Re:Just a thought...

[PhoenixSnow]

I, for one, am a citizen of a country where it's illegal to hold ANY foreign currency, whether it's in my bank account or in cash unless you own a business with a special license to conduct business with foreign sources. Of course, it takes a few years to get that special license if you comply with due process. The government intends to keep the citizens as disconnected from the outside world as they can. It's true there are not that many countries like this but some still exist to this day.

Do you have any oil?

[/dev/trash]

Perhaps we can bring you some democracy.

Re:

[nateb]

What country are you in?

Re:

[dasir]

My country too. SoC is not available in my country, and not only that.. I can't use my Paypal account, .. What's wrong to these company?

Re:

[fr1kk]

Actually I had no idea that SoC participants got paid. I planned on applying with the intention of volunteer work - I guess this makes the program that much better.

Blaine

Re:

[foobarbaz]

Their slogan is "flip bits, not burgers". :)

Re:

[schlick]

Pal Pal..... duh?

Re:

[Plunky]

I find it strange that Google does not already have a bank account in Brazil, stuffed to the brim with Reals.
Have you never done business with Brazilians before, or do you require all payments to be made in US dollars to a US bank account?
obviously, rinse and repeat for most of the countries in the world..

Overhauled...

[zr-rifle]

this means they are finally gonna get a tan this summer?

Payments

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, if Google has serious problems with the payroll and expenses of its own employees (frequent late or wrong payments, etc.), I wonder how it could be with those participating in this program.

If people knew of all the internal administrative problems within Google...

semi-ot plug flagrante

[wixi]

SOC 2007 idea for OLPC http://wiki.laptop.org/go/wixi [laptop.org].. wixi is a wiki-based multilingual language learning interface.. can work w/ OLPC, MediaWiki, OmegaWiki, etc.. looking for CS students to apply.. win $4500 and a billion users.. SUERTE!