[Fsf-friends] President of India - Think different

[Frederick Noronha (FN)]

<http://presidentofindia.nic.in/S/html/speeches/others/may28_2003_2.htm>

a quote

Think different

I would like to narrate an event that took place in Rashtrapati Bhavan a 
few months back when I met Bill Gates, the CEO of Microsoft. While 
walking in the Mughal garden, we were discussing the future challenges 
in Information Technology including the issues related to software 
security. I made a point that we look for open source codes so that we 
can easily introduce the users built security algorithms. Our 
discussions became difficult since our views were different. The most 
unfortunate thing is that India still seems to believe in proprietary 
solutions. Further spread of IT which is influencing the daily life of 
individuals would have a devastating effect on the lives of society due 
to any small shift in the business practice involving these proprietory 
solutions. It is precisely for these reasons open source software need 
to be built which would be cost effective for the entire society. In 
India, open source code software will have to come and stay in a big way 
for the benefit of our billion people. I2IT has to play a major role in 
this national mission.