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OSS in Developing Countries Bulletin, 2000

[Sept. 25, 2000] Overcoming Regulatory and Technological Challenges To Bring Internet Access To a Sparsely Populated Remote Area

We ran into a problem however. The radios used were telemetry radios, with a maximum bandwidth of 4200
baud. This configuration was suitable for e-mail but not for Web browsing. We had to find another way of
downloading Web pages to the PCs at the schools.

Radio combined with satellite broadcast

The asymmetric communications requirements of Internet applications could be used to solve the problem.
The eventual solution deployed combined Satellite Internet Broadcasting with the radio network. The radio
link via the Telecentre is used for the uplink path (in place of a telephone line) and the satellite is used to
download Web content directly to the PC at the school. Figure 3 provides a diagrammatic representation of
the network combining the two technologies. Satellite receivers are usually capable of receiving data at much
higher rates than what is possible via normal telephone lines. Siyanda was selected as the Satellite ISP.
Siyanda makes use of the PAS-7 satellite whose Ku-band footprint covers the whole of Southern Africa.
Their data receiver is compliant with MPEG-2 DVB digital TV. The ordinary 90 cm Digital Satellite
Broadcasting (DSB) satellite dishes are used for reception. Requests from clients are sent to Siyanda via
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) over MWeb's (a local ISP) terrestrial infrastructure. Distribution of data is
this fashion is permitted under the Broadcasting Act of 1999.

Jul 5, 2000,The Star (Malaysia): Legalise your office software, for free [with StarOffice]

(
"...Sun Microsystems Malaysia Sdn Bhd on Tuesday launched the latest version of its Star Office suite of office applications... Its managing director Govinathan Pillai claimed that the availability of free office software would help companies currently using illegal software to "go legal'' before they are raided."

PC World News 'Simputer' Aims at the Developing World -- no harddrive. One more applience...

The device was designed by professors and students at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) at Bangalore, and engineers from Bangalore-based design company Encore Software. A prototype of the appliance will be available in August.

The Simputer is built around Intel's StrongARM CPU, with Linux as the operating system. It will have 16 MB of flash memory, a monochrome liquid crystal display (LCD) with a touch panel overlay for pen-based computing, and a local-language interface. The appliance will have Infrared Data Association and Universal Serial Bus interfaces, and will feature Internet access and mail software.

The designers expect the Simputer to be used not only as a personal Internet access device, but also by communities of users at kiosks. A smart-card interface to the device will enable the use of the device for applications such as micro-banking.

Taking Technology to Everyone

"We expect to change the model for the proliferation of information technology in India," says Professor Swami Manohar, professor in the computer science and automation department of the IISc. "The current PC-centric model is not sustainable because of the high cost of the PC, and also because we expect that most of the users will not be literate."

A subsequent version of the Simputer will also offer speech recognition for basic navigation through the software menus, says Manohar. The speech dictionary will be customizable to support different languages. A text-to-speech system will also be developed to take the technology to India's illiterate population.

Later versions will also offer wireless technology.

The intellectual property for the device has been transferred free to a non-profit trust, called the Simputer Trust, and both the software and the hardware for the appliance have been offered as open source technology. In the open source model of development, users and developers, often unpaid, work together to update technology.

Manohar says that the trust decided to put the technology in Open Source to enable third party software developers and designers to add value to the platform.

The technology for the product will be licensed to manufacturers at a nominal fee of $1150, which is to be used to finance upgrades to the Simputer.

GNULinux.com - Interview with Richard Stallman of Free Software Foundation -- RMS lost contact with ground in his GNU license jihad. But in this particular case at least he has courage to associate open source movement with communist ideas

BeOpen: Lately, you seem to be spending just as much time abroad as you do here in the United States. How are people reacting to the free software message outside the United States, in India for example?

Stallman: In India and perhaps also in France I see a lot of readiness to see the issue as a political one.

BeOpen: It seems dependence upon software from a foreign company such as Microsoft might raise a lot of techno-colonialism issues.

Stallman: I don't think it's just that. I think you'll find more people in the U.S. who like GNU/Linux because they hate Microsoft. Loving to hate Microsoft is a phenomenon you see more an in the U.S. than you do in other countries. I think in India you find more people concerned with finding a way to use free software as a tool for building up education and infrastructure systems. GNU/Linux, as I'm sure you're aware, can be distributed very inexpensively, and that means a lot to countries like India, where you have nearly a billion people.

BeOpen: China as well, I assume. There have been rumors that the Chinese government would like to adopt GNU/Linux as the official state operating system.

Stallman: I don't know how valid those rumors are. From my experience, China represents the other extreme from India. In terms of the general public's readiness to sympathize with free software I would put India on one end. I would put the United States in the middle, because people in the United States put so much faith in corporations and corporate capitalism. I would put the the former communist countries at the other end of the spectrum. My theory is that in those countries the issues that free software promotes -- issues of community and cooperation -- have been so discredited by association with communism, which said it was for those things but was always in fact a dictatorship, that people have become very cynical about the idea of helping each other and helping society. If anything, people in China and Russia and other former communist countries have become more focused on making money, because they view it as the best way to distance themselves from the taint of socialism.

Linux.com -Why Does Linux Make Sense for India? Prakash Advani is the Founder and CEO of FreeOS.com. He can be reached at [email protected].-- relevant but slightly naive discussion of costs issues, as if everybody in India is willing to pay Microsoft for the license. It's not that simple with TCO either -- people cost is still matters even if programmers and administrators get ten times less that in USA. The problem is that in certain areas(desktop) Microsoft platform is supported much better by tools and books. Asso old hardware may be not a really important issue for a server, especially in India -- this is also too simplistic to assume that if you can install Linux of an old PC you should do it.

Also if one assume that both prices are zero(that means that pirated software is used as often the case), than Microsoft might have lower TCO due to better infrastructure, training possibilities and better documented tools (books, etc.). In countries like India where vendor support is out of question for the cost reasons, the availability of good books and high quality WEB information about the tool probably is a very important part of the equation.

Let's compare the cost of a Linux system to that of Windows NT, since that is a popular server operating system. You can also compare it with other commercial operating systems and the results should be similar.

If you use Linux as a print and file server for a network of about 50 users, you will save close to 100,000 Indian Rupees. This is based on the approximate cost of Windows NT, which is Rupees 30,000 for a 5-user version and 1,500 per additional user. One can save more if Linux is also used for services such as e-mail server/Internet gateway. If you have 50 users you can save close to 275,000 Indian Rupees. This is based on the approximate cost of Windows NT being Rupees 45,000 for a 5-user version and 3,000 per additional user.

Linux also reduces the cost of hardware as it runs more efficiently than other operating systems. Now organizations can pull out their old hardware, which may otherwise be lying idle. They can load Linux and get serious business applications running on them at no extra cost. Other savings include the fact that no investment is required for anti-virus software as there are no viruses for Linux! The OS is free but you may have to pay for services, if you do not have expertise within the organization.

Linux reduces the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). TCO is the cost of owning the total system, which includes the cost of hardware and the software, as well as running and maintaining the system. There is no cost per user/client/server. In fact the cost benefit improves as you add more nodes. Since Linux runs very efficiently, the more people start using the Linux server for various applications, the more effectively you are utilizing your server.

[Apr, 17, 2000] Clinton Helps Poor With Phone Plan

[Apr. 17, 2000] Information rich information poor- Bridging the digital divide

[Apr. 17, 2000] Digital Divide - series that looks at how computers have widened social gaps, particularly among young people. Equitable and meaningful access to technology is encouraged create a more level playing field. From PBS.

[Mar 22, 2000]Linux Journal: Linux in Higher Education: Open Source, Open Minds, Social Justice

"Colleges and universities should move to adopt Linux as an international standard for computing in higher education."

[Mar. 16, 2000] Public Software Working Group, an effort by the Internet Society Task Force to promote Internet access -- proposal:

ABSTRACT: Access to Internet is not possible without the use of appropriate software. We propose the creation of a working group whose purpose would be to make access to software possible for everybody. We believe that technological approaches such "open source" and "free software" hold the key in realizing the ISOC goal "Internet is for everyone". This is particularly important for economically disadvantaged people and for developing countries.

OBJECTIVES OF THE WORK GROUP:

The Software Access Working Group set itself the following objectives:
establish a clearinghouse of information about open 
    source development and how it relates to Internet access. This will be a web 
    accessible resource. 
encourage local ISOC members to lobby their governments 
    in adopting open source policies. 
prepare case studies and encourage documentation about 
    government policies that promote open source use and adoption. 
work with software companies in getting software 
    donations that can then be distributed to people in need. Pursue funding 
    opportunities to accomplish this. 
promote its work by identifying and collaborating with 
    people and organizations that will support this proposal. This includes open 
    source developers, community activists, computer companies as well as 
    international organizations such as UNESCO and W3C. 
Encourage open source developers to work on solutions 
    that directly address problems of the third world and developing countries.
    
Collaborate with other working groups on issues of mutual 
    interest so we do not duplicate work. 

Slashdot Features Why Linux Makes Sense for India -- the paper is pretty weeks and propose localization of Linux for India while not considering benefits of learning English.

Right on! Corruption is a *big* problem. (Score:2)
by sumana ([email protected]) on Sunday January 30, @05:34PM EST (#208)
(User Info)

I'm not sure how many natural-born US citizens actually realize the extent of what we would call corruption in Asian countries. It's a fact of life, a custom, a cost of doing business. If you want a phone or cable line hooked up, if you want a permit to do ANYTHING, if you want to get into a school, if you want anything, there's always baksheesh (the Indian term). There's always gotta be something to lubricate the palms. Here (northern California, to be exact), such a thing would result in investigation, 60 Minutes interviews, outrage, scandal, firings, etc. But who will investigate someone for only doing the same thing the investigator does?

Bureaucrats' wages are low; it's accepted and expected that they will compensate for those low wages via bribes. And, for anyone who's studied political science, remember that this is less a rational-legal relationship than a traditional one (in the Weberian sense) -- there are patron-client dyads everywhere, which are diffuse relationships, not limited ones.

To steal from one is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.

Re:Right on! Corruption is a *big* problem. (Score:1)
by Russ Nelson on Sunday January 30, @11:01PM EST (#279)
(User Info) http://russnelson.com/

Yes, I was totally amazed to see a big sign behind the VSNL front desk proclaiming an initiative to eliminate corruption. Seems to me like the way to eliminate corruption is to fire the people who take bribes. If you then cannot hire anybody because they can't make enough without baksheesh, well, then, that's a signal from the market to pay your workers more.

Hmmm... I was wondering why my hosts pre-paid the hotel room partly in cash. Maybe credit cards are not trusted? Maybe the hotel employees were taking their cut out of the till?
-russ

Re:There are no socialist countries; India is Red. (Score:0)
by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 30, @05:37PM EST (#212)

> There are no socialist countries in existance. In my humble belief, the USA is far, far more socialist than India. A top tax rate of 39.6%+ (fed plus state plus city) in the US versus a top tax rate of 30% in India. Mandatory deductions for Medicare, Social Security in the US versus no such thing in India Your freely convertible dollar goes a longer way in India - more of it gets in your pocket Having set the cat among the pigeons I shall sneak back into my hole

Re:Yeah! (Score:0)
by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 30, @01:44PM EST (#96)

Given India's monstrous beurocracy, who knows what will happen if Linux becomes the standard OS over there. Unfortunately, it would benefit everyone if there were a standard OS for everyone. It sounds crazy, but I think Windows it should be. Sorry.

Re: A quiet revolution (Score:3, Insightful)
by Ian Schmidt ([email protected]) on Sunday January 30, @12:53PM EST (#53)
(User Info)

Having recently had the experience of having to teach my mom Windows, I can fully tell you it's only easy if you already understand computers. All operating systems are equally hard when you're starting out (except maybe MacOS), so why not get 'em on the good stuff right away?

Also, because source is available to 99% of Linux apps, they're easily internationalized by Indian hackers and distros. Try that with Winamp or mIRC. KDE has a very nice internationalization framework in place, and console apps can use GNU gettext. Because Linux apps are often developed by non-US people, they tend to better address i18n issues than the Windows equivalents.

Re:A quiet revolution (Score:0)
by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 30, @12:59PM EST (#56)

Actually, I've found that what a person learns first matters. A complete newbie sitting down in front of a Linux box will pick it up *faster* than someone who has used windows for a while - because things are deliberately different on the Microsoft side (remember UNIX came before MS) - eg. microsoft put the close widget on the right-hand side for windows, when all the other GUIs used to put it on the left, the path separator is different, etc.

And once the person has gotten used to the level of control linux affords, moving to windows pisses them off. There's a similar effect that means that ex-Amiga users move en masse to Linux and BeOS rather than Windows - they will never use a less powerful system than the one they started out on by choice.

Re:And this is the way the World is won... (Score:5, Insightful)
by ianezz on Sunday January 30, @02:47PM EST (#135)
(User Info) http://linuxtrent.trew.it

> This brings up a good point: do you internationalize the source code?

Just my 0.02 Euro here.

I'm Italian, and I live in Italy. I'm just a C/C++ programmer like many others. The source code I write has all the comments and symbols names in English. This mainly for 2 reasons:

1) Technical language: programming needs a whole new class of technical terms. Simple words like `formatting', `font', etc. didn't have equivalents in Italian when they were introduced to the mass in the former '80. Simply, we adopted (and distorted) the usual English words. Attempts to create a brand new tech gerg just failed. After 20 years the mass starts using the Italian form for "directory", but still it's a minorty. Just figure yourself when it comes to source code...

2) Technical documentation: good technical documentation is written in English. Programmers like me avoid translations, just because they make life more complex (the effort is doubled: first you read it, then you try to figure out how the terms used are related to the well known English terms). I'm translating the GNU Emacs manual in Italian in my spare time, and it's a damn difficult work (and it's not at all about programming - figure it yourself when it comes to programming books).

3) I18n: English is good for symbol names, just because you don't have to do with accents. Italian words just look ugly without accents, and using ISO-8859-1 is still not a viable option for sources... :-)

4) Last but not least: English is the de facto `lingua franca' for programmers, just like Latin was for the europeans in the passed ages. If you start writing your sources using one of the 18 languages of India for comments and symbol names, probabilities are that only indians will ever peek into them, just taking out the rest of the world. And since most people giving help and advice on programming out there speak English well enough to make one understand them (perhaps except Alan Cox, sometimes ;-), probabilities are that one's best choice is (for now) learn English.

Of course, I just use Italian in every other context, just like everyone else...

I hope this is a bit clarifying.

[Jan 7, 2000] www.insidechina.com Report of Windows 2000 Ban in China Stirs Patriotic Support for Red Flag Linux

A major Chinese newspaper yesterday reported that Beijing will ban Windows 2000 in government agencies, provoking an immediate denial from Microsoft and stoking a growing movement in China favoring the widespread adoption of Linux-based operating systems that compete with Windows 2000.

"The country's important government ministries will not permit the use of Microsoft Windows 2000 on their computers," unnamed government sources were quote in Thursday's Yangcheng Evening News. Instead, the report said, the Chinese-developed "Red Flag - Linux" would be used in government ministries and agencies.

Microsoft quickly went on the record denying the report. "We've certainly heard nothing about this rumor and think it's baseless," Erin Brewer, a Microsoft spokeswoman, told Reuters.

Ever since Wu Shihong, the former general manager of Microsoft in China, resigned and last fall published a book severely criticizing the company's tactics in China, the question of what operating system will become the most popular in China has drawn great attention.

New Invasion

For many in China today, the question is a matter of patriotism. Many Chinese writers, journalists, and high tech industry spokespeople have all publicly criticized Microsoft and suggested that ubiquity of Windows in China's computers, similar to that in the States, would constitute a new kind of foreign invasion and exploitation of China.

Various Chinese government spokespersons have also encouraged the development and widespread adoption of a Chinese operating system.

"The Chinese government is not hiding its ambitions that their software industry will develop," said Dali Yang, professor of political science at the University of Chicago.

Linux is derived from Unix and uses an open source code, which means that it cannot be owned.

It is far cheaper than Windows, a critical fact that has won it legions of supporters in China.

Free Downloads

There already exist several Chinese-language versions of the Linux operating system, including TurboLinux, Red Hat Linux, LinuxOne, and Blueprint Linux, most of which cost much less than Windows.

Danny Zeng, head of the non-profit organization called the Beijing Linux Club, says copies of TurboLinux 4.02 are available in stores in Beijing for RMB 30 (US$4.50), less than a third the price of Microsoft Office 2000.

Also, many Linux distributors offer free downloads of the operating systems over the Internet. Free downloads are often not popular, though, because long connection times can ring up high online fees.

Software analysts familiar with the Internet in China say Beijing may favor Linux because it's far easier to develop unique work applications on a Linux program than it is on Windows. A customized Linux application may be created by a software developer alone, while a new Windows application needs the approval and possibly the collaboration of the Microsoft Corporation.

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History:

Fifty glorious years (1950-2000): the triumph of the US computer engineering : Donald Knuth : TAoCP and its Influence of Computer Science : Richard Stallman : Linus Torvalds : Larry Wall : John K. Ousterhout : CTSS : Multix OS Unix History : Unix shell history : VI editor : History of pipes concept : Solaris : MS DOS : Programming Languages History : PL/1 : Simula 67 : C : History of GCC development : Scripting Languages : Perl history : OS History : Mail : DNS : SSH : CPU Instruction Sets : SPARC systems 1987-2006 : Norton Commander : Norton Utilities : Norton Ghost : Frontpage history : Malware Defense History : GNU Screen : OSS early history

Classic books:

The Peter Principle : Parkinson Law : 1984 : The Mythical Man-Month : How to Solve It by George Polya : The Art of Computer Programming : The Elements of Programming Style : The Unix Hater’s Handbook : The Jargon file : The True Believer : Programming Pearls : The Good Soldier Svejk : The Power Elite

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The Last but not Least Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage and those who manage what they do not understand ~Archibald Putt. Ph.D

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