because:
a) "open source" is a methodology, a way of building software
b) a key ingredient for a successful open source project is a community of developers who believe in that particular project, who have an interest in its use/development
c) for all the good things open source method can do, it is not the answer for every software development there is and that said,
d) it should be market forces that must determine the tools of the trade.
2. a "resolution"--- may be of greater use: Congress recognizes that Software, created on a level playing field such as what "Open Source" offers many great benefits to the Filipino people and advocates its use. And what great proof than a move by Congress to use Open Source software in its daily affairs? The PR value would be huge--- a blow to M$ and a big win for OSS. heck, it might just work in a land of pirated software to go open. just be prepared for a pissed off microsoft.
3. of greater help is really a campaign to educate--- locally in education, in government agencies, in private enterprise and this does not require legislation or government funding but non-government organizations--- heck, individuals can put this case forward in so many ways. the first step is to open people's eyes to programming using open source tools like gcc and in environment like linux or the use of creative tools via gimp, scribus, blender. lots and lots of ways we can "Evangelize". heck the mere fact one advocates Firefox is a big deal on itself.
4. an Open Source Project is built on Community--- a barangay online. this is something people need to recognize. it only works when people come together and form a community around their needs, which drives them to innovate.
5. when all is said and done, does it matter if how you build software is through the cathedral model or the bazaar one? in many cases one can argue, yes! in this changing world one must admit that the best solution is using the right tools for the right job.
just my piso's worth of thoughts.
-cocoy
On 7/17/06, Tito Mari Francis Escaño <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
On 7/15/06, Dean Michael Berris < [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Yes, these are big plusses. However, the predicament that we are
> currently in -- the government currently using non-open source
> solutions that _already work_ and open source solutions (locally
> grown) that work but not as well as I personally would like -- we need
> to be pragmatic about it.
I suggest we look back to the root of incompetency in programming of
our computer-related courses in the country: lack of exposure to open
source computing and development platforms :)
>
> If a local firm can actually get a fair playing field with regards to
> getting a contract sourced to them by developing open source solutions
> for goverment software requirements and then develop _quality_
> software, that would be a good thing. However, right now, not all open
> source development firms in our country owned fully by Filipino
> nationals are qualified to bid for government software requirement
> projects. If that can be somehow addressed, perhaps that will be a
> good thing. But right now, I don't know a lot of firms that can
> deliver in case the government _will_ require or favor open source
> software for all software requirements in government.
I think we have different channels or target of the argument, and I
believe that the proposed bill will enable and encourage local open
source developers to jump the gun and develop for open source
platforms and propose open source solutions to the government.
> Yes, but this is like sitting in an Ivory Tower. Sure, it would great
> to think of the ideal case, but in the real world "training" is
> paramount to "doing" -- meaning, there is no better training than
> actually doing it.
The proposed bill in my opinion is an enabler for the government, if
not a check in balance of government spending on computing facilities.
>
> But please, don't get me wrong -- I would want to see the Philippines
> be treated as one of the premiere software development source
> countries alongside India and the US. However, I don't think it's the
> government's job to make that happen: it ultimately has to be done by
> us, the entrepreneurs and the youth that will drive the economy and
> growth of the nation, and eventually in the future run it. Until then,
> I personally will do my share -- but I don't let myself get
> disillusioned by the politics that is involved with getting anything
> done in _our_ government today and avoid making mistakes (IMO) such as
> requiring or unconditionally favoring open source software in the
> government.
If the government does something about a problem, we complain, much
worse if it doesn't raise a finger. What gives? Maybe the government
has already known that it needs technocrats to handle tecnical matters
so it created DOST for that purpose. Yes politics is a hindrance to
get proposals moving at a pace we desire it to be, but like the
presence of evil in our midst, we better see it as a fact of life and
live with it rather than rant about it.
> Then a bill favoring Free Software license is not the solution: the
> solution would be a bill/law that will require that all software
> developed for government under a valid contract have as part of the
> stipulations the source code be turned over and made available for
> reuse and modification by the government, or a third party found to be
> suitable to extend the software in the future. This bill should not
> have anything to do with open source licenses, but rather the
> definition of the stipulations of contracts undertaken by the
> Philippine government.
Microsoft has more than 90% of the desktop computers being used in the
government. Can't we have a bill that gives an option for the
government to save? How bad is it for Microsoft to be reduced to at
least 50% as computing platform for the government? How bad is it for
the common Juan dela Cruz? It's in line with the government's agenda
to save that we should have a law/bill in favor of open source
software solutions, in favor of economic well-being of the country.
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Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife — chopping off what's incomplete and saying: "Now it's complete because it's ended here." from Collected Sayings of Muad'Dib by the Princess Irulan
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