On 8/10/05, Marvin T. Pascual <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hello all,
Hi, Marvin. I'm with the Philippine Rice Research Institute, and we currently have a program -- the Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture -- that, we hope, will be a showcase on the use of free and open source software in agricultural development -- at least in extension work -- in the country. :) Here goes our brief: > > I would like to solicit information (or maybe a paper) from you on your own > experiences and knowledge about the use of GNU/Linux and F/OSS in your > personal, professional and business with the following: > > [1] OS and/or application Linux (mainly Fedora, Red Hat and Ubuntu). Applications: SMS (Kannel), web development (Apache, PHP), database (MySQL), elearning (VClass, Moodle, aTutor). > [2] Purpose or use of the system For e-learning and e-extension work: these are the primary thrust of the Open Academy for Philippine agriculture -- capability-enhancement of extension workers and farmers in appropriate farming technologies using ICT. We have several apps already: 1. The Pinoy Farmers' Internet portal. We envision this to become the portal of all mature technologies from Open Academy partner institutions. 2. E-Learning. We are currently deploying VClass, a virtual learning environment with video-streaming and other communication tools for distance learning. 3. SMS-based contact and merchant services. We have testbeds for text messaging services (both push and pull) where farmers and extension workers can send in their questions on field practices, which will be forwared to our experts. Another pipeline project is a real-time seed stock inventory system that will connect farmers directly with seed growers and dealers. > [3] Users or intended audience Farmers and agricultural extension workers. > [4] Years of operation These is the first year of "formal" operation, but we have been laying the groundwork -- including the infrastructure and other bureacratic necessities -- for the last two years. > [5] Advantages and/or disadvantages Advantages: customizable, and with the bevy of solutions available, we have a free range of choices for the applications we want. Our capabilities as tech persons are also boosted, as we are required by the technologies to learn new things, using the open source paradigm, etc. Disadvantages: tech support is hard to come by, sometimes, but there is always the community. > [6] TCO and ROI Aside from the hardware and network infrastructure, our software TCO has been reduced to the barest minimum. In fact, in one of our deployments of a thin-client setup, we were able to save up to Php400,000 in software licensing and maintenance costs. As far as ROI is concerned, we were required by the NCICT, which funds our component of the project, to submit a business model. It's fair to say that NCICT found our project feasible for them to provide the Php75-million funding. ;) -- Ian Dexter R. Marquez http://iandexter.co.nr [PGP key: 0x02D17A07] _________________________________________________ Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List [email protected] (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph) Read the Guidelines: http://linux.org.ph/lists Searchable Archives: http://archives.free.net.ph
