Are you ready for the MDLite?
We are almost ready. We are refining the last details, and in the next few days the RC version will be released.

We are working hard, not only for the MDLite but also around many other things, and in the next weeks you will have several surprises:)

In this article, I'd like to discuss a new initiative of our our non-profit association,  GPLdev.  Initially, we asked ourselves how we could make the best use of the money received from the donations of our associates.  Obviously, the association must pay its own expenses, including the costs of accountants, notaries, domain registrations, server expenses, etc.  However, there is still some money remaining.  We have therefore determined the best use for these remaining funds is to re-invest this money into the community and improve it.

The GPLdev council has agreed to dedicate the money collected from GPLdev, in the course of 2006, to further the development of modules, blocks and addons for the benefit of the community. Some examples of these new modules are: Calendar, Newsletter, Classifieds, Downloads, Comments and many others.

In selecting developers for this initiative, GPLdev has chosen those developers who, in the course of years, have been distinguished for their abilities, their knowledge of MD and their active involvement in our community.  They have been asked to develop/convert several modules and addons for the MDLite, taking advantage of the graphical engine AutoRender.  Some of these developers, for example TiMax, Skin, Serg and Sjah, have offered their services free of charge and/or with just the cover of pure expenses. Others developers, for example Oleg, have offered their services with minimal prices and with a special GPLdev discount.

Now, for the first time, we can show you the results of this decision. In the weeks following the release of the MDLite, we will release several modules and blocks. Some of these will come to be released initially (maybe for a period of 1 - 2 months) only to the MDBoosters group that have contributed with donations and/or engagement to the development of our community and association. Later, after this reserved period, they will be released to the entire community, and other modules and/or blocks will be released to the community without the reserved MDBooster period.

We believe this is the best way to demonstrate how GPLdev uses your donations, and is a positive step to contribute actively to the development of the community and its resources.

TiMax
Project Manager