Hello Frederick and all, Firstly - rural NSW Australia here... and perhaps I should commence by reposting a very brief overview of my most recent com-dev project - To coordinate the installation, training and support of a Debian Linux LAN in our local rural Youth Cafe... so no, I am not at all anti-Open Source, quite the contrary... however I am something of a realist who tries to implement practical solutions to often complex community needs and challenges. Open source was chosen for this project in an attempt to meet the primary objectives of: a) Providing a low-cost public access ICT and Internet-access facility tailored towards our disadvantaged youth, and: b) To give our youth the benefit of choice through an introduction to Open-Source software hopefully before these kids become totally pre-programmed on commercial software platforms.
Interestingly, the lessons of this project disprove some of the objections towards open-source at the end-user level... even more interesting when these objections are voiced by proponents of open-source. In a recent post John West writes: "Despite all their best efforts Linux is still not an easy end user environment" (attributing this to me although in truth I made no such remark). Whilst developing this project I had an opportunity to work with quite a few children under the age of eight years, and learnt that a Linux GUI is no harder for these kids to learn than a Windows or Mac GUI. Where difficulties do arise is in trying to teach Linux to older people conditioned on commercial software platforms. There is a period of 're-learning' involved which does take some skill on the parts of both the student and the instructor. (Note that by 'commercial' I am referring to software with a point of sale purchase price. Most Open Source software nowadays is similarly 'commercial' in nature, in that essential support and maintenance requirements are costed at rates similar to traditional 'commercial' competitors). John also writes of the advantages of OS in the B2B arena, yet details the realities of system componentry costs, and the fact that OS really does not offer any appreciable savings over commercial software when proper consideration is given to the true costs of management, development and implementation. Having spent today switching between SCO, Linux, and Win 2000 desktops, I am far from ignorant of the fact that each of these platforms shares a degree of idiosyncrasies, and each maintains a large and vocal group of platform evangelists ready and willing to discount any advantages in competing products. However the reality is... each is good when used as designed, each has issues impacting on its appropriateness or otherwise for a given application. In considering which platform software to use, the task as always is to evaluate needs with an open mind and to use that which best meets stated needs and requirements. Paul writes: > I feel we should not get too much caught up in the villages or urban > areas debate". I agree with this sentiment, and would add that: "I feel > we should not get too much caught up in the open-source -v- commercial > platform debate, because this is such a small monetary component of the > software cycle whole". Paul also writes: > The question is whether at all software can play a role in a way that > makes it accessible and affordable to the Third World". Yes, this is the challenge, with the emphasis on 'accessible' and everything contained therein. PS - My current project is with a local group of people seeking to establish a wireless-ethernet LAN for our district, and is mostly a response to the ever escalating Telco charges in rural Australia. Services will include access to the Internet (although this is not the prime purpose of the LAN - most services will be community-based in an attempt to get our community focus back on the 'local' benefits of ICT services), and will include VoIP telephony; a range of community databases as well as other services offering local B2B advantage and enhanced access to community information and services. Our draft network schematic (subject to change) is to build the network with both OS and commercial platforms thereby fully leveraging the advantages offered through a holistic approach. Several other local groups are involved as content providers, and if anyone would like further info on this initiative please drop me a note off-list. Rgds, Don ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, an NGO that is a GKP member*** 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/>
