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I am very eager to see what's in store here when it goes live. If indeed it contains accurate, unbiased and factual data then it is a great project. And it is a

I am very eager to see what's in store here when it goes live. If indeed it contains accurate, unbiased and factual data then it is a great project. And it is about time someone did it. I wish it was citizen funded instead of rich individuals (even if the intentions are good). But I will take what I can get for now.

nojvek 9y ago
I'll get excited when it comes out. What is in it for ballmer?
- gumby 9y ago
  It makes his wife happy? That is what is discussed in the article. Frankly, it's a reasonable motivation.
  - xbmcuser 9y ago
    I think it was more about him wanting to win an argument with his wife about his tax dollars being enough for charity but once he started getting the data like all engineers he kept going deeper down the rabbit hole.
- hkmurakami 9y ago
  It struck me as philanthropy in a way. And he confirms it. * “We’re making philanthropic donations elsewhere — I think of this as another,” he said, referring to himself and his wife. “I don’t even deduct this for my taxes. I pay this with after-tax money, no pretax money, because I don’t want anybody being able to think that factors in. But I feel like it’s a civic contribution more than anything else.”
- jonknee 9y ago
  I've made databases to scratch an itch before and this is that, but at a curious billionaire scale. Sounds like an a fun project to work on.
aggie 9y ago
Is Steve Ballmer not a citizen? Do you mean crowd-funded? Assuming you're worried about self-interest tainting the project, a crowd-funded project doesn't necessarily eliminate that since someone still has to be in charge. Open-source for peer review would be necessary.
- pthreads 9y ago
  I meant public-funded. My concern was more in terms of funding drying up after a few years if the individual's philanthropic interests change. To me it is not a debate between two choices. It is just the order of preferences. But, like I said this could still be a great project. Looking forward to it's release.

nojvek 9y ago

I'll get excited when it comes out. What is in it for ballmer?

gumby 9y ago
It makes his wife happy? That is what is discussed in the article. Frankly, it's a reasonable motivation.
- xbmcuser 9y ago
  I think it was more about him wanting to win an argument with his wife about his tax dollars being enough for charity but once he started getting the data like all engineers he kept going deeper down the rabbit hole.
hkmurakami 9y ago
It struck me as philanthropy in a way. And he confirms it. * “We’re making philanthropic donations elsewhere — I think of this as another,” he said, referring to himself and his wife. “I don’t even deduct this for my taxes. I pay this with after-tax money, no pretax money, because I don’t want anybody being able to think that factors in. But I feel like it’s a civic contribution more than anything else.”
jonknee 9y ago
I've made databases to scratch an itch before and this is that, but at a curious billionaire scale. Sounds like an a fun project to work on.

aggie 9y ago

Is Steve Ballmer not a citizen? Do you mean crowd-funded? Assuming you're worried about self-interest tainting the project, a crowd-funded project doesn't necessarily eliminate that since someone still has to be in charge. Open-source for peer review would be necessary.

pthreads 9y ago
I meant public-funded. My concern was more in terms of funding drying up after a few years if the individual's philanthropic interests change. To me it is not a debate between two choices. It is just the order of preferences. But, like I said this could still be a great project. Looking forward to it's release.