On Fri, 15 Jun 2001 21:34, Mr S Ganesan wrote:
> Windows and MacOS are relying on the fact that once your box is
> loaded with it there is nothing to stop them from dictating terms.
> In India, the Govt is encouraging Linux in all its departments and
> we shall soon see over 50 percent of Govt machines using Linux!!!
This brings up a very interesting development. It is the those with
low incomes that are really adopting GNU/Linux. This includes those in
developing nations. Those in richer regions like the US and the EU can
afford the exhorbitant fees that M$ charge. Many of these people
already have computers loaded with Windows, so they are already
accustomed to the "Microsoft Way" (incidentally, did you know M$'s
address in Redmond is "One Microsoft Way"?). They will be reluctant to
change to another OS. On the other hand, most people in poorer nations
have never used a computer, and so have fresh minds - ready to adopt
whatever they can afford to use. GNU/Linux is perfect here due to its
low cost and flexibility.
Argentina and Brazil are pushing to use GNU/Linux in a big way, both
from the ground-up in the form in grassroots policies and from the
top-down in the form of official governmental policy. The Brazilian
government is developing a low-cost GNU/Linux-based computer with
Internet access for the poor. The Brazilian and Argentinian
governments are looking into using GNU/Linux at all levels instead of
Windows. Microsoft's crackdown on piracy has hastened this, since many
government departments actively pirate software, and so would be
liable for huge fines if found guilty.
In China, the government is actively promoting their own distro: Red
Flag Linux. One interesting thing about this is that the company that
makes it is run by (Chinese President) Jiang Zemin's son. The Chinese
are keen to end their reliance on American products.
In India, GNU/Linux is being adopted all over the place, helped by the
high technical literacy in places like Bangalore. There is an
excellent effort to create a new type of computer for the poor: a
"Simputer" (http://www.simputer.org). I suggest you all have a look,
it is an amazing piece of work (read: I want one!!!). It is about the
size of a Palm (slightly bigger), but much more powerful and much
cheaper. All software is GPLed, including the Graffiti-like
handwriting language. Likewise, the hardware itself has an open
GPL-like license.
--
Sridhar Dhanapalan.
"HTML needs a rant tag." -- Eric S. Raymond
