[Radiance-general] Radiance Consortium

[Charles Ehrlich]

Radiance and Desktop Radiance Users,

I applaud the efforts of Lawrence Berkeley National
Lab to develop an Open Source license for Radiance and
Desktop Radiance.  Bravo!  Those of you who know me
know that this is something I've worked toward for
many years.

And to those of you seeking a more streamlined way of
contributing to and maintaining Radiance, I think that
a CVS server for Radiance would be a great idea.  But,
the future of Radiance relies upon more than a
technological solution.  There is also a need for
ongoing administrative support.  I do not know what
plans LBNL has along these lines.

And so, I think this is an appropriate time to propose
the formation of a Radiance Consortium.  Its purpose
would be to set forth a general direction for
development of Radiance, handle the management of the
source code modifications, and distribute the
different source code development lines.  The
consortium's purpose should NOT be to limit the
possible avenues of development such that progress can
only proceed along some ordained, pre-determined path.
 On the contrary, the success of Radiance has depended
upon the independent efforts of researchers around the
world since is inception almost 15 years ago!  

I think that a semi-formal organizational structure
(as opposed to an ad-hoc group of programmers)
composed of some programmers and some
technically-minded non-programmers would be
appropriate so that Radiance can go on to outlive its
original progenitors.  I also suggest that we offer a
leadership position to the firms which have purchased
$10,000 distribution licenses from LBNL, of which
there are about 6.  I like the way the "IntelliCAD
Technology Consortium" is organized and would suggest
that we mimick its structure. (www.intellicad.org)  

And for Desktop Radiance, I make the same suggestion. 
It could exist as a special interest group within the
Radiance Consortium, or as a separate entity. 
Compatibility between Desktop Radiance and IntelliCAD
would be a nobel goal for future, Open Source
development efforts for Desktop Radiance.  This would
greatly reduce the cost of ownership and eliminate a
major barrier toward widespread use of Radiance in the
architectural and lighting design communities.

The good news is that I have contacts with several
architecture/energy efficiency firms which are
interested in supporting this idea and will gladly
contribute (money and effort) to the Open Source
version of Radiance and Desktop Radiance once a
mechanism is in place to do so.  I also think that it
will be possible to find some funding to support this
effort if enough players come up into the fray and
express support for this idea.

I am willing to serve as a point man for these
efforts, but the door is open for other suggestions
and nominations.  Whatever way it falls out, I'm in
this for the long haul.  And, I've got a great domain
name to contribute.  Check out the "whois" on
"radsite.org".

With 100 Radiance-online subscribers and 200 Desktop
Radiance list subscribers, I think we have a pretty
good base of support.  I know this is going to be
controversial, but that has never stopped me in the
past.

The Desktop Radiance Yahoo Group has a "polling"
feature
(www.yahoogroups.com/group/desktopradiance/polls).  If
those of you who do not like Yahoo can plug your nose
long enough to subscribe to the Desktop Radiance list
(under a fake alias if you wish), we can utilize this
simple mechanism for polling the users to determine
which approach people favor the most.  Other ideas?

-Chas
Charles Ehrlich
Heschong Mahone Group
http://www.h-m-g.com



 

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