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I submitted a proposal to Google's Summer of Code programm, so i think
it's a good idea to announce it here for further discussion.

Project Title:
  BSD Hardware Database

Synopsis:
	The Database will be a website driven by a database to collect
	user-submitted data about the support of several hardware items by
	BSD operating systems.

Technical Details:
	The DB will be implemented in PostgreSQL and Perl (CGI.pm,
	HTML::Mason as a famework and several other minor modules)
	using Apache as a Webserver to deliver dynamic websites.
	Some kind of catalogue can be created with pdfLaTeX or may be
	DocBook.

Project Description:
	The project should offer a portal for collecting and retrieving
	information on hardware and it's status regarding support by
	BSD. IMO it is a good idea to incorporate other BSDs like FreeBSD
	and OpenBSD too, to attract a larger userbase.
	Users shall be able to submit information about hardware and
	supportstatus via a webformular (eg. like Google's advanced search)=20
	and of course this DB will also be searchable via a webinterface.
	Additionally it might be good idea to generate some kind of
	catalogue with LaTeX oder DocBook (I'm more into the first one).
	A database with a standardized interface will be easier	to query
	than a "prosaic" description of hardware eg. sometimes found on
	personal homepages/weblogs.=20
=09
Benefits for NetBSD:
	Almost any user of NetBSD knows the problem of getting information
	if hardware (eg. videocards, WLAN-NICs, Laptops) is supported. On
	roadshows we are often asked if several hardware is supported and
	usually one has to say "ask google" or search the FAQ. The
	database would offer some kind of official portal on getting
	statusinformation, which will also be very useful on advocacy,
	esp. in the professional area.
	Users will be able to query for specific hardware eg:
	"which Wireless LAN PCMCIA Nic supporting IEEE 802.11g runs on
	NetBSD/macppc > 2.0?"

--=20
PGP FPR: CF74 D5F2 4871 3E5C FFFE 0130 11F4 C41E B3FB AE33
--=20
A strange game, the only winning move is not to play.

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