hi, one more thing I'll like to add, FLOSS, OSS gives us access to the source, with whatever restrictions or lack of. Thats a good thing (w/o going into the philosophy of it, that has been well expressed ..) and the major advantage of it being the "..standing on shoulders of giants" effect, we don't have to reinevnt wheels, we can take some exsitging SW and enhance and add onto it.
BUT, and this is something that seems to be lost especially among some Malaysian FLOSS users and advocates, it FLOSS involves not just TAKING but also GIVING! Those that have taken some SW and modified/added to it should contribute it back, but sadly ... This came out even during the MyGOSSCON conf. lately, and I shall name names(!)... The MOH Cube (a sort of collobarative tool with email, wesites, forums etc... for/by the Min of Health) team/speaker, when asked if they are willing to release what they have done as OSS gave a rather evasive answer... I also spoke to the USM, Medical IT team wo had a booth there, ppl, who was working on modifying CARE2X, a FOSS HIS (Hospital Info System) the same question and again an equally evasive answer... Seeing that in these 2 cases, the SW was developed via taxpayers money, should'nt there be a policy that they shld be released as OSS? After all thats how VistA (http://worldvista.org/) a well known OSS Health Records and HIS, came about. It was developed by the Min. of Defense under their Veterans Affairs dept. Eric, maybe MAMPU should fight for this, - if some 'dumb' and immoral govt like the USA can do it, surely we can do better! PS I am partially guilty... I am working on an LIS (Lab Management Info System) tool a large gov Hematology Lab, using entirely OSS tools. I INTEND to OSS it, but have not done so yet. SW is still underdevelopment, but will do so upon implementation of Phase1. On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 12:26 PM, red1 <[email protected]> wrote: > just want to add that i was in the same room as Eric when he posted > this.. its just year-end blues.. plus pre-maternal anxiety.. nutin bad.. :) > > On 12/16/09 5:44 PM, Eric Yeoh wrote: >> Thank you for pointing this out. >> >> Sadly the Malaysian Government is in self-denial, insisting that FLOSS >> will lose its copyright and control over any software output from >> them, hence to satisfy the stupidity and shallowness of some >> bureaucrats, they prefer to call it OSS. In a sense, they distort >> reality to fit in their myopic view of the universe. >> >> I will always want to call it Open Source when dealing with >> Enterprises because Free/Libre OSS is just a mouthful. Plus, Free in >> this case of the English Language implies no cost. And we are brought >> up to think what is free must have some strings attached, be it >> inferior quality or just rubbish. >> >> So Open Source is a more "business-friendly" terms, especially among >> the suites. >> >> I will of course respect the work done by RMS, no contest there. >> However, he can be the most impossible and pig-headed person one can >> heave the displeasure of meeting. The so-called Freedom-Hating Open >> Source group has better (not by much) soft skills. So, many just >> refuse to accept RMS, not because his views are not practical but >> because he has stepped on way too many toes. >> >> Sorry, bad day in office...end of rant... >> >> Eric > > -- > Join Open Source Developers Club Malaysia http://www.osdc.my/ > > Facebook Fan page > > http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=98685301577 > > http://www.facebook.com/OSDC.my > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > Groups "OSDC.my Mailing List" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/osdcmy-list?hl=en -- #------- regds, Boh Heong, Yap -- Join Open Source Developers Club Malaysia http://www.osdc.my/ Facebook Fan page http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=98685301577 http://www.facebook.com/OSDC.my You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "OSDC.my Mailing List" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/osdcmy-list?hl=en
