This hits home for me.... it was an unspoken dream of mine to apply to join VPRI, motivated by a side-project that I believed falls under their interests. I never did apply. Which was probably the right call; I was naive, lacking any relevant credential, and I don't even really know what they are or if they take 'applications'. But still. Sometimes it's those weird little dreams, that we wouldn't dare tell anyone, that keep us going. I worked on that project for years before running out of steam. So now I sigh and acknowledge a door is long since closed.
Would love to spend my time somehow funded, even minimally, to build the crazy ideas that I believe in and think could actually matter, instead of the much less interesting or important work of my day-job. But I suppose that's most of us here on HN.
Dang. I used to look forward to the 20KLOC OS/GUI/IDE. I guess they never really achieved that.
Maybe it was just time for Alan Kay to retire.
For those who are unaware, this was headed by Alan Kay and was researching various concepts in human-computer interaction, including ideas about the future of coding (http://www.vpri.org/work/ifnct.htm).
It's a real shame to see them close up shop, we need that kind of research to continue.