Poor countries need open source
p2pnet.net News:- EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) co-founder and Grateful Dead wordsmith John Perry Barlow believes poor nations can’t solve their problems unless they stop paying expensive software-licensing fees.
And so he told the World Social Forum, “where Microsoft is viewed as a corporate bogeyman,” says the Seattle Times, going on:
“The event is a protest of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.”
"Already, Brazil spends more in licensing fees on proprietary software than it spends on hunger," Barlow is quoted as saying.
Free, open-source software, is the answer, said activists at the meeting.
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See:-
corporate bogeyman – Open-source software urged for poor nations, Apple, January 31, 2005
January 31st, 2005 at 7:34 pm
so do rich countries
February 1st, 2005 at 4:00 am
But the poor ones will realize the biggest effect. While it’s interesting and cool to switch to GPL and Free (as in Beer, and also as in Speech) software, it’s much more important for a struggling business in a country where people can barely afford to live.
The best part is that talented programmers will be able to contribute, and make their OWN versions of these cool programs and OSs, instead of praying for a big job in USA or Ireland making another expensive version of windows. Then they can have a job for life, doing support or system administration.
Eventually, software won’t rule the world, it will just be a small part of life, much like the auto industry no longer dominates our economy so fully as it once did.
It’s just a matter of time.
February 1st, 2005 at 6:04 pm
Rich countries need to realize the economic implications of not switching now. Peer production techniques, which Open Source is just one part of, is dependant on educated people acting as peers. One thing the so-called less-industrialized countries (majority-world countries) have is people, and with adequate investments in education can completely bypass western societies in this mode of production.
If western economies wish to be relevant in the new economy we had better tool outselves for peer production as well, otherwise we will simply be importers of this type of service from more advanced nations elsewhere.
Russell McOrmond — http://www.flora.ca/