Google hippie code trip delayed again

A week is a long time in coding

By Phil Manchester • Get more from this author

Posted in Applications, 1st April 2008 21:42 GMT

Tune into our application security webcast, click here

Google has - for a second year - delayed the cut-off for student applications to its programming fest, Google Summer of Code

The deadline - originally slated for March 31 - has been pushed back to April 7 "to provide more time for students to submit their applications" according to Google's website.

Google cited time-honored "feedback from the community" for the switch. Others say the delay is because the number of student applications is lower than expected.

Last year, Google had to extend the deadline because there was insufficient time for students to submit proposals, under the original rules.

The latest push back leaves just a week for the various mentor organizations and Google's staff to assess the student applications and marry them up with appropriate projects.

The Delay comes in the wake of criticism Google's program has not included projects considered by some to be important and, in other cases, it had not delivered satisfactory results.

One Reg Dev reader noted his dissatisfaction with previous years' competitions saying it's unlikely his company would become a mentor again unless Google makes some structural changes. According to Anonymous Coward, half of applicants they picked for 10 projects failed to reach the halfway stage in their projects, “producing no more than a few lines of code”. Mentors themselves, saw their own productivity affected as they tried to coax students.®

Increase your knowledge of the latest threats to your busines