Linux Foundation reworks Individual Membership again

The Linux Foundation has announced that it has reworked it's individual membership scheme. The scheme, last revamped in June, still offers a $99 annual membership with some voting rights, an @linux.com email address, discounts on Foundation conferences and O'Reilly books and a T-shirt. Added to the package are discounts on hardware with "Employee Purchase Pricing" from Dell, HP and Lenovo; the Foundation claims that discounts up to 40 per cent are available from these vendors, but does not go into detail. Given that employee discount schemes tend to work from the official retail price of equipment, it is possible that discount would not be as high as the savings made buying hardware at retail stores or online.

The email address is a forwarding service and as before, the @linux.com email address is tied to the membership. The Linux Foundation expressly says that if you cease your membership, you lose use of the email address and it will be recycled. A new $150 one time fee added to the membership fee buys a "lifetime" @linux.com address which can be retained even if an individual leaves the membership scheme. Student memberships are also available to verified students for $25 per annum.

(djwm)