Hi Paul, I know we have a very broad audience on this list, and for some this was absolutely obvious. Ever since I came across someone who didnt know who Mickey Mouse was, I have been in total limbo about what to expect is 'common knowledge' and what not.
(I also totally appreciated the lady who enquired if we were familiar with the genuine Ugandan drink, Coca-Cola. I admit, that didnt happen on this list.) For paternistic educational reasons, i do sometimes point out the obvious for mzees like yourself ;-) (i did a quick raise of hands in our office, John won 2:1 The one being somene who was born 10 years after John was shot.) rgds, Reinier > In Uganda, and especially Buganda, silence should never be mistaken for incomprehension. Actually it often means something quite different, often lost on you if you don't know the cultural code. > > :) > > P. > > On Aug 08, 2011, at 13:21, Reinier Battenberg wrote: > > > > > ( > > for those of you not familiar with John Lennon > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_lennon > > > > and the song Tim quoted: > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b7qaSxuZUg > > > >> > >> You're not the only one.. > >> > >>> Hi Francis, > >>> > >>> A very interesting post. I think its been obvious over the last week > >>> that even the majority of this LUG do not "get" the concepts behind > >>> software freedom and that is very depressing. > >>> > >>> The importance of Free software to a country like Uganda is not that > >>> it is a source of cheap - or even zero cost - software. If Uganda > >>> keeps importing software, be it Free or proprietary then it will never > >>> be able to build a successful software industry of its own. > >>> > >>> Imagine a scenario where the government actively promotes Free > >>> software by only buying Free software from local suppliers, and not > >>> spending money on proprietary American products. Imagine (sorry I'm > >>> starting to sound like John Lennon here) if they deployed this > >>> throughout all the government offices, and government controlled > >>> organisations. If all the schools were mandated to use Free software, > >>> so that those leaving school/university were educated in the use of > >>> Free software, then business would soon see that it was better for > >>> them to use Free software than spend money on expensive American > >>> imports that their staff hadn't been trained to use. The companies > >>> that innovated the most and gave most back to the Free software > >>> community would naturally be the one who won the most contracts, > >>> encouraging healthy competition and innovation, leading to better > >>> quality software engineers. > >>> > >>> I can already hear people saying that this is far fetched and will > >>> never happen. Before you start to attack me again do some research > >>> into what is happening in Brazil, a country that really "gets" Free > >>> software, right from the top down. They have created a thriving local > >>> software industry that is having a knock on effect throughout the rest > >>> of their booming economy. > >>> > >>> However if even the local LUG is against the principles of software > >>> freedom, where people say "I just use whatever the best tool is even > >>> if it's proprietary" "apple products are super cool" "Google has made > >>> Linux closed-source" etc etc then what hope have we of ever convincing > >>> the powers that be to adopt Free software? How many millions of > >>> dollars does Uganda spend on imported American software per year? > >>> Wouldn't it be better if that was spent on a local software industry? > >>> You may say I'm a dreamer but............... :-) > >>> > >>> Thanks > >>> Tim > >>> > >>> > >>> On 8 August 2011 06:07, Francis Musinguzi <[email protected]> wrote: > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> 1. Despite successes, FLOSS still misunderstood, villianized (Is it > >> possible > >>>> to make some money?) http://goo.gl/9ZhmY > >>>> 2. Katherine Noyes "One of the great things about open source software > > is > >>>> that it doesn't just bring a wealth of benefits to businesses. Rather, > > by > >>>> making low-cost, high-quality software widely available to everyone, it > >> also > >>>> has the potential to change lives around the world." http://goo.gl/IPrZJ > >>>> Francis, > >>>> Coordinator, SimuSync > >>>> GridWorX Ltd. > >>>> Blog: blog.simusync.com | E-Mail: [email protected] | Facebook > >>>> ID: SimuSync | FanPage ID: SimuSync1 | Quora ID: Simu-Sync | Twitter > >>>> ID: @SimuSync | Website: www.simusync.com > >>>> > >>>> _______________________________________________ > >>>> The Uganda Linux User Group: http://linux.or.ug > >>>> > >>>> Send messages to this mailing list by addressing e-mails to: > >> [email protected] > >>>> Mailing list archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > >>>> Mailing list settings: http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/lug > >>>> To unsubscribe: http://kym.net/mailman/options/lug > >>>> > >>>> The Uganda LUG mailing list is generously hosted by INFOCOM: > >>>> http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > >>>> > >>>> The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including > >>>> attachments if any). The mailing list host is not responsible for them > > in > >>>> any way. > >>>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> -- > >>> WebERP Africa Ltd > >>> +447710427049 > >>> +256752963327 > >>> +255758554413 > >>> www.weberpafrica.com > >>> _______________________________________________ > >>> The Uganda Linux User Group: http://linux.or.ug > >>> > >>> Send messages to this mailing list by addressing e-mails to: > > [email protected] > >>> Mailing list archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > >>> Mailing list settings: http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/lug > >>> To unsubscribe: http://kym.net/mailman/options/lug > >>> > >>> The Uganda LUG mailing list is generously hosted by INFOCOM: > >> http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > >>> > >>> The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including > >> attachments if any). The mailing list host is not responsible for them in > > any > >> way. > >>> > >> -- > >> rgds, > >> > >> Reinier Battenberg > >> Director > >> Mountbatten Ltd. > >> +256 758 801 749 > >> www.mountbatten.net > >> http://twitter.com/batje > >> http://twitter.com/mapuganda > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> The Uganda Linux User Group: http://linux.or.ug > >> > >> Send messages to this mailing list by addressing e-mails to: [email protected] > >> Mailing list archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > >> Mailing list settings: http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/lug > >> To unsubscribe: http://kym.net/mailman/options/lug > >> > >> The Uganda LUG mailing list is generously hosted by INFOCOM: > > http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > >> > >> The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including > > attachments if any). The mailing list host is not responsible for them in any > > way. > >> > > -- > > rgds, > > > > Reinier Battenberg > > Director > > Mountbatten Ltd. > > +256 758 801 749 > > www.mountbatten.net > > http://twitter.com/batje > > http://twitter.com/mapuganda > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > The Uganda Linux User Group: http://linux.or.ug > > > > Send messages to this mailing list by addressing e-mails to: [email protected] > > Mailing list archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > Mailing list settings: http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/lug > > To unsubscribe: http://kym.net/mailman/options/lug > > > > The Uganda LUG mailing list is generously hosted by INFOCOM: http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > > > > The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including attachments if any). The mailing list host is not responsible for them in any way. > > > > _______________________________________________ > The Uganda Linux User Group: http://linux.or.ug > > Send messages to this mailing list by addressing e-mails to: [email protected] > Mailing list archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > Mailing list settings: http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/lug > To unsubscribe: http://kym.net/mailman/options/lug > > The Uganda LUG mailing list is generously hosted by INFOCOM: http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > > The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including attachments if any). The mailing list host is not responsible for them in any way. > -- rgds, Reinier Battenberg Director Mountbatten Ltd. +256 758 801 749 www.mountbatten.net http://twitter.com/batje http://twitter.com/mapuganda _______________________________________________ The Uganda Linux User Group: http://linux.or.ug Send messages to this mailing list by addressing e-mails to: [email protected] Mailing list archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Mailing list settings: http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/lug To unsubscribe: http://kym.net/mailman/options/lug The Uganda LUG mailing list is generously hosted by INFOCOM: http://www.infocom.co.ug/ The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including attachments if any). The mailing list host is not responsible for them in any way.
