I would like to add some observations to Frederick Noronha's plea that non-governmental organizations involved in development take seriously the option of using open source software, both in their internal operations and in the implementation of their projects. Frederick has argued that open source (community commons, copyright-left, whatever variant of label one uses) software should be preferred for a number of reasons. Some have to do with cost and efficiency. Some have to do with countering the hegemonic power of the Microsoft Corporation in the global market place for software.
There is little doubt that open source and proprietary software will, can and should co-exist, some resident in the global market place, and some as part of freely shared global knowledge. This healthy combination of software sources will have the dual effects of (a) driving proprietary software prices toward competitive non-monopoly prices, and (b) driving both proprietary and open-source software to continuous product improvement and produce innovation. As well, open source software, with its ability for modification, is frequently better suited for many of the non-standard application areas that are at the core of NGO activities. Many of these take place in areas where markets fail to work properly, in any event. Lastly, there is more scope for "learning by doing" on the part of software engineering in developing countries. Whereas there may be an equal build of "capacity to use" across proprietary and open source software, there is an additional build of "capacity to build" when dealing with open source software. This offers more scope for capacity-building in developing countries, and more scope for developing country expertise to build software at home, as opposed to dreaming of a job abroad with some big applications developer. This a considerable benefit to skills and knowledge accumulation in developing countries. It is not necessary, nor even desirable, for NGOs and those involved in development to take an ideological position with regard to open source vs. proprietary software in development projects. It is however a developmental "best practice" for NGOs and others to exercise a "Preferential Option" for open source applications when the opportunity for such choices presents itself. This suggests, first and foremost, that NGOs take it upon themselves to become knowledgeable with regard to both the issues and the options when it comes to making choices between open source and proprietary applications in their self-administration and in their development work. This "Preferential Option" reflects an alignment of software choices with the mission and vision that, in the first instance, propel the development work of NGOs. Sam Lanfranco Distributed Knowledge Project York University, Canada ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
