[Bio-linux-list] The reports of Bio-Linux's death are greatly exaggerated

[Andreas Leimbach]

Hi Tony,

crap, I didn't think of Brexit ...

One more thing I remembered is the Software Sustainability Institute 
(https://www.software.ac.uk/). They have a small scale fellowship 
program (but already closed for 2017):
https://www.software.ac.uk/fellowship-programme

But you're probably familiar with that already ...

Best,
Andreas

P.S.: There's a grass-root movement in Germany trying to copy the SSI's 
goals (http://www.de-rse.org/en/index.html), but naturally no funding 
available (yet) ...

On 02/19/2017 01:29 PM, Tony Travis wrote:
> On 18/02/17 17:11, Andreas Leimbach wrote:
>> Hi Tony,
>>
>> thanks a lot for your efforts for keeping BioLinux alive! It's a
>> fantastic project, although Bioconda, linuxbrew etc. are becoming more
>> and more interesting alternatives for certain applications.
>
> Hi, Andreas.
>
> For anyone who doesn't already know, "Bioconda" is a meta-package
> manager for bioinformatics applications:
>
>> https://bioconda.github.io/
>
> Similarly, "LinuxBrew" is a port of the Mac OS "Homebrew" non-Apple
> crowd-funded package manager that is also supported by "Bioconda".
>
>> http://linuxbrew.sh/
>
> I've looked at both of these and what bothers me most is the extra
> responsibility placed on biologists to make use of these systems.
>
> The USP of Bio-Linux is that it's a complete bioinformatics workstation
> platform that biologists with little or no prior experience of system
> administration can make use of to learn how to do bioinformatics.
>
>> Sadly, I'm not that knowledgeable in funding, but for me BioLinux
>> definitely falls under the topic Open Science (OS). Thus, there might be
>> money to support dev in the current OS environment of funding agencies.
>> What about EU projects like Horizon 2020 that support OS?
>>
>> https://ec.europa.eu/research/openscience/index.cfm
>
> Brexit has put an end to all that... :-(
>
>> How is Debian Med funded?
>
> It's part of Debian - A Debian 'blend' supported by volunteers.
>
>> Maybe the OKFN (https://science.okfn.org/) or Mozilla Science Lab
>> (https://science.mozilla.org/) have ideas how to tap funding agencies?
>> They should have mailing lists for asking such a question. After all
>> BioLinux is definitely mostly used by university affiliated researchers.
>
> In fact, Bio-Linux was funded specifically by EOS/NERC to support NERC
> grant awardees but made publically available because NERC funding comes
> from the UK taxpayer and anything it does is made publically available.
>
>> Just my 2 cents ...
>
> Every cent counts :-)
>
> Thanks for all your suggestions,
>
>   Tony.
>

-- 
Andreas Leimbach
Universität Münster
Institut für Hygiene
Mendelstr. 7
D-48149 Münster
Germany

Tel.: +49 (0)551 39 33843
E-Mail: aleimba at gwdg.de