[Fsf-friends] Learning to *use* free software

[V. Sasi Kumar]

On Thu, 2004-11-25 at 23:04, Sandip Bhattacharya wrote:

> In our case,  representation might not be enough. A demonstration could
> be better, but again that doesn't help much. *Having* an organization
> come up and say that "we will install, solve the problem and give you
> support", is the answer.

Yes, I think this is an issue. We have faced the same problem here, in
Kerala. The IT@School programme was always asking for support. They
talked to RedHat and SuSE and were not happy. Finally, some of us
suggested creating a separate distribution for IT@School, which has been
accepted. This will include not only the packages discussed in the text
books, but also educational software that will help teachers. The CD is
getting ready. We are planning a training for master trainers, who will
go and teach another group of teachers. We have also promised limited
support. This has helped to push Free Software into the programme.

The Government of Kerala also has taken some steps to build support for
Free Software. An independent organisation was set up by the government
for promoting free software, including development and support. Although
set up by government order, it is an independent body and has an
executive committee that consists of private individuals and a couple of
government officials. This is yet to become really active, but should go
a long distance in doing what Sandip is talking about. Perhaps, we can
press for such efforts from other state governments. Maybe it would add
to the weight of the argument if the Kerala organisation is seen to be
successful.

>From a different perspective, this kind of support should not be taken
as an excuse for going for proprietary software. If the government takes
a policy decision that proprietary is bad for the state/country and only
Free Software should be used, we will soon see a number of organisations
coming up with support and solutions. Perhaps, some egovernance work may
be slightly delayed, but that should not make much difference in the
long run when the impact of opting for proprietary software would start
becoming felt. However, it is very difficult to convince bureaucrats or
politicians about this.

-- 
V. Sasi Kumar <vsasi@hotpop.com>