Article

Personal Interest

GNU/Linux and Microsoft software

by Marcos Carot
Monday, April 18, 2005. 09:05AM
387 Views 5 Comments

Hello fellow Digarians!

This article is just a starting point for a debate than can be feed with your own inputs & thougths.

Microsoft has lead the way in bringing computers to millons of people in most parts of the world. Undubtelly it has done a wonderful work.

Microsoft was born with a radical idea: to sell licences of use of the software they coded. By the time they were introducing this concept, no other though that a series of zeros and ones can be patented, much less sold.

Surelly this has been positive all those years.

In the last 12 years, aproximately, Linux and other open source software become a new way, based in the concept that software can't be patented, and the code must be considered free to see, modify and distribute (see the Free Software Foundation ,http://www.fsf.org/, the GNU project .http://www.gnu.org).

This concept has been taking ground and now is more or less at the same point of developement (technologically and in user friendless) that is Microsoft (see Click to Open Web Page for an example)

Open source systems as Linux and the software developed for it has a great adventage over the proprietary systems as Windows: people can learn how they work, and can adapt, develope, and grow that software.

No to metion that it's free to obtain, which is a very important thing if we are talking about bridging the digital divide.

For a last analogy, consider that for Microsoft having its propietary system is like they are selling a very good water pump that is needed by a given far-away town, but they don't provide the tools to repair it, in case it stops working. In the other hand, open source software is like the same water pump, along with a repair manual and the tools to do that job.

What is our best bet to really bridge the digital divide?

Please, post your own thoughts!!

(login to vote or comment.)

Comments

 5 shown
Thursday, May 5, 2005. 06:32PM by Simone Collins
Good post Marcos! Yes, I think OpenSource is the way to go too - definitely something to be supported! The licensing arrangements of many companies which have a monopoly, such as Microsoft, make it harder for people to be able to afford the software. I think where OpenSource isn't as accepted, it is up to us to embrace it and help others see the benefit.
Thursday, April 21, 2005. 02:42PM by Rick Thornton
I have used linux and am a fan, especiallly of the Mandrake or Suse versions. I like the "Live CD" conceot and carry one as a "get out of jail free" card in case my windows system goes down. If people just want to do basic things and use the net, it is a great thing. Otherwise you need to learn a fair bit about it. I am starting some seniors on linux and once installed they seem happy and capable with it. It can be "for everyone" depending on their use.
Monday, April 18, 2005. 11:28AM by Marcos Carot
You are right, Mary on the data you share with us. Interesting, Open Source software is most used in commercial environments than in personal use (Examples are web servers, mail servers, terminal servers). Not to mention government use. Many latin american, asian and european countries have as a state politic to use open source software unless there is not an opensource tool to do the needed task.
Monday, April 18, 2005. 11:01AM by Mary Ellen Moser
Open source does have its advantages. Unfortunately, it takes an entire community of volunteer developers to support it - ad hoc without an emphasis of a commercial structure in place. There is no universal "service level agreement" in place to enforce and protect its users. Furthermore, the surrounding apps, extensions, plug-ins, etc. also must adhere to the same GPL or LGPL license for the complete package to be worthwhile. The main issue being that anything created or developed under GPL license structure may inherit IP rights. It's a rats nest of issues from there on. Personal use yes. Commercial use - non-buyer beware.
Monday, April 18, 2005. 09:49AM by Geof Lambert
I'll go one step further...live in a world where the Internet is ALWAYS available, like water (in most places), and is always at broadband speeds. We won't even really need to "buy" software, we can just use web-based applications like Google, and Yahoo, which are free to user for standard applications, because they are sponsor based to live our lives. Good points you make! Let's hear some more!