Open Source and 3rd world countries
Hey! I'm writing this thesis on the benefits of integrating open source software into third world countries to boost their economies and the knowledge of their people. I will also write about a detailed scenario, where, ofcourse, FreeBSD plays the lead role. However I can't find all that much information on Google. I think the material I'm looking for doesn't exist as articles on websites but rather documents. Would anyone mind giving me a few pointers? All the best, Vaaf ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: Open Source and 3rd world countries
On 2006-03-09 20:19, Kristian Vaaf <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hey! > > I'm writing this thesis on the benefits of integrating > open source software into third world countries to boost > their economies and the knowledge of their people. > > I will also write about a detailed scenario, where, ofcourse, > FreeBSD plays the lead role. > > However I can't find all that much information on Google. > I think the material I'm looking for doesn't exist as articles > on websites but rather documents. > > Would anyone mind giving me a few pointers? I guess living in a third-world country for a couple of years is going to be invaluable, but then again that takes a hell of a lot of time :( What sort of pointers are you looking for? ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: Open Source and 3rd world countries
Hi, I would try these steps (probably in this order): 1. Visit a university library, look through all computer journals, identify titles that might be relevant. Ask the reference librarian where to find the index for those journals, and browse. Or maybe they have an online way to browse the journals' indexes. 2. Visit cpsr.org, Computer Professionals for Social Responsiblity 3. Email or call CPSR for info: 650-322-3778, [EMAIL PROTECTED] 4. Google "socially responsible computing" and follow promising leads. CPSR has many chapters all over the world, and consequently many people in 3rd world countries they could put you in touch with. I agree, free software is especially important in developing economies. Marianne ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: Open Source and 3rd world countries
> I'm writing this thesis on the benefits of integrating > open source software into third world countries to boost > their economies and the knowledge of their people. Certainly not the answer you are expecting, but I am afraid it is the reality, developping countries do not really care about open source. They just use pirated software (windows) because it takes less time to start-up, because it cames with better internationalization... Time comes when they reach the limits of using pirated software and turning to open source is a solution, but that needs a certain level of development. Olivier ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: Open Source and 3rd world countries
Sorry Nicole, but here in Brazil our government does not use pirated software, and yes, they're changing to Open Source. Well, sadly home users still use pirated software(windows). But I guess this may be coming to an end, or not expanding, since the new "cheap" computer for the poor people comes with Free Software. On 3/9/06, Olivier Nicole <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I'm writing this thesis on the benefits of integrating > > open source software into third world countries to boost > > their economies and the knowledge of their people. > > Certainly not the answer you are expecting, but I am afraid it is the > reality, developping countries do not really care about open source. > > They just use pirated software (windows) because it takes less time to > start-up, because it cames with better internationalization... > > Time comes when they reach the limits of using pirated software and > turning to open source is a solution, but that needs a certain level > of development. > > Olivier > ___ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" > ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: Open Source and 3rd world countries
> Sorry Nicole, but here in Brazil our government does not use pirated > software, and yes, they're changing to Open Source. That only means Brazil is not much a 3rd world country anymore... > guess this may be coming to an end, or not expanding, since the new > "cheap" computer for the poor people comes with Free Software. Yeah, sure, government did the same here in Thailand, cheap PC at $250 with Linux, and every body did installed Windows on it as soon as they get home :) Because Free Software was simply not working and that was not what they used at school, in the internet cafe and such, there were not the latest and coolest games... Olivier ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: Open Source and 3rd world countries
On Thursday 09 March 2006 18:11, Olivier Nicole wrote: > > Sorry Nicole, but here in Brazil our government does not use pirated > > software, and yes, they're changing to Open Source. > > That only means Brazil is not much a 3rd world country anymore... > > > guess this may be coming to an end, or not expanding, since the new > > "cheap" computer for the poor people comes with Free Software. > > Yeah, sure, government did the same here in Thailand, cheap PC at $250 > with Linux, and every body did installed Windows on it as soon as they > get home :) Because Free Software was simply not working and that was > not what they used at school, in the internet cafe and such, there > were not the latest and coolest games... > > Olivier > ___ I've read several accounts of third world governments and schools adopting open source. I've also noticed a decent showing of people from third world countries on OSS forums and websites.I believe there is a rising tide of third world interest and programming resources that are going to end up making a significant contribution to open source. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: Open Source and 3rd world countries
At 2006-03-09T20:19:18+01:00, Kristian Vaaf wrote: > I'm writing this thesis on the benefits of integrating open source > software into third world countries Since your message is OT here, you could write to me off-list with more specifics --- perhaps I can provide some information. Raghavendra. -- N. Raghavendra <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> | See message headers for contact Harish-Chandra Research Institute | and OpenPGP details. ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: Open Source and 3rd world countries
Kristian Vaaf wrote: I'm writing this thesis on the benefits of integrating open source software into third world countries to boost their economies and the knowledge of their people. I will also write about a detailed scenario, where, ofcourse, FreeBSD plays the lead role. However I can't find all that much information on Google. I think the material I'm looking for doesn't exist as articles on websites but rather documents. Would anyone mind giving me a few pointers? Well you have the much hyped green laptop announced by Nicolas Negroponte, MIT. It received much publicity at the resent UN summit in Libia, and it has been designed to address exactly what you are writing about. There are tons of stuff on initiatives in developing countries to move to OSS, I have seen particularly South America hitting headlines while Africa seems to lack more behind. Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Venezuela, AFAIK, have passed laws to move to OSS. Congress member Villanueva have hit headlines worldwide for his work to move Peru onto OSS. His letter exchange with Microsoft in Peru have been translated into many languages. http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,54141,00.html And there's the Brazilian minister of culture who offered to license his music under an open content license. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.11/linux.html China have long ago announced a national flavour of linux - red I assume :) Unfortunately FreeBSD doens't make the headlines like Linux does, so FreeBSD is almost never considered as an alternative - in particular when initiatives are made by politicians, I think they largely understand OSS as Linux rather than a class of alternatives. Cheers, Erik ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
Re: Open Source and 3rd world countries
On Fri, 10 Mar 2006 09:11:48 +0700 (ICT) Olivier Nicole <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Sorry Nicole, but here in Brazil our government does not use pirated > > software, and yes, they're changing to Open Source. > > That only means Brazil is not much a 3rd world country anymore... Given that the communist block has fallen, I would say that the concept of "3rd world countries" is rather obsolete, dont you think? :) > > guess this may be coming to an end, or not expanding, since the new > > "cheap" computer for the poor people comes with Free Software. > > Yeah, sure, government did the same here in Thailand, cheap PC at $250 > with Linux, and every body did installed Windows on it as soon as they > get home :) Because Free Software was simply not working and that was > not what they used at school, in the internet cafe and such, there > were not the latest and coolest games... FWIW, I was born and raised in Argentina, and moved to Australia when I was 23. I can tell you that as far as 1994 open source was already making strides in the environments you usually relate to OSS (universities, etc), which I think is somewhat in line with the rest of the world. By 1998 I was personally involved in 3 companies (private tertiary education (linux) and web hosting (linux and freebsd) ) using open source (linux and linux + freebsd, respectively). I then moved to Sydney, and found out that things in the "first, Anglo Saxon / Commonwealth world" were somewhat different...but not as much as one would expect. eg.: - Individuals still install their WindowsXP / Office / others CD from a friend (which is actually a copied CD from god knows where) - just like in Argentina. - Individuals couldnt care less about it - just like in Argentina - Companies still will install their MS Windows OS from a copied CD, or knowingly use more licenses than they are entitled to. The rate of this behaviour is higher in Argentina than in Australia, but I suspect it's mainly because 1 single license of, say, Windows XP can be as much as a whole month's salary in AR, whilst in AU it may be a week's. So, yes, I agree that opensource makes a huge difference in quality (mainly) and cost (somewhat, because those who wont buy the software wouldnt do it anyway), but as Brazil, Germany, France and so many other countries are showing , the best way (IMHO) to foster OSS is to get the goverment and education instutions to lead the way by spending wisely the tax payers $. And I agree with Giorgios post - talk to the people in the countries...or go spend some time there - it's far more complex than you think. Sorry for the /rant :) Best regards, Beto ___ freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"
