Dear Ubuntu User Reader,

A few weeks ago, I heard about yet another Free Software project that nearly literally went dark. Theo de Raadt, the OpenBSD project leader, posted a desperate message to the developers mailing list stating the project did not have enough cash in its coffers to pay for the 2013 electricity bill. The amount due was more than US$ 20,000 and was needed immediately just to keep the lights on and the servers running.

Fortunately, de Raadt's post led to a landslide of donations, and private donors, including a Romanian Bitcoin tycoon, saved OpenBSD from extinction. Today, the project is more than US$ 100,000 in the black and will have enough cash to spare to organize events, seminars, and pay their bills.

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