[Fsf-friends] Free CDs spread open source in India

Frederick Noronha (FN) fred@bytesforall.org
Sun Jun 5 04:46:47 IST 2005


http://news.com.com/Free+CDs+spread+open+source+in+India/2100-7344_3-5720008.html?tag=cd.top

Free CDs spread open source in India
Published: May 25, 2005, 9:17 AM PDT

By Ingrid Marson
Special to CNET News.com

The Indian government is trying to encourage the use of computers across the 
country by distributing free CDs that contain localized versions of popular 
open-source applications.

The government has started distributing CDs containing Tamil-language versions 
of various open-source applications, including the Firefox browser, the 
OpenOffice.org productivity suite and the Columba e-mail client. It plans to 
freely distribute 3.5 million copies of the CD to Tamil speakers worldwide, 
according to R.K.V.S. Raman, a researcher at the Centre for Development of 
Advanced Computing, a Bangalore-based organization involved in the production 
of the CD.
Open Source Software
In India, seeking avenues for growth
There's no standing still in a competitive global market--just check out the 
tech action in Bangalore.

Raman told ZDNet UK on Wednesday that the CDs have been in considerable demand 
following a newspaper-and-television advertising campaign last month.

"We have had a tremendous response to this (initiative)," he said. "In the 
first two weeks of the campaign we got about 100,000 hits daily on the Web site 
offering CDs, and about 2,000 to 3,000 downloads (of Tamil-language 
applications). We have already sent out around 50,000 CDs and have a backlog of 
35,000."

Once the requested CDs have been sent out, more copies will be distributed with 
computer magazines and newspapers, according to Raman.

Even the president of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has taken an interest in the 
project and earlier this month met the team involved in the production of the 
CD.

The next stage of the project is to distribute CDs containing applications in 
Hindi, the national language of India. This stage will be launched on June 21 
and likely will involve more than the 3.5 million CDs earmarked for the current 
phase, said Raman. Eventually, the government plans to release CDs in all of 
the 22 official languages of India.

Raman believes open-source software has two main advantages for the Indian 
population--it is relatively inexpensive and it can be modified fairly easily. 
"We are sometimes not comfortable with Western user interfaces--they don't make 
sense in our culture, particularly for rural people who haven't had much access 
to technology. If we want to modify the software we have to have access to the 
code," he said.

The Indian government's decision to ship free software in this way likely will 
be a blow to Microsoft, which plans to release a low-cost version of Windows in 
India soon. Microsoft originally hoped to release its Windows XP Starter 
Edition--a low-cost, feature-restricted version of Windows XP--by the end of 
March, but it's now aiming for a June release.
Ingrid Marson of ZDNet UK reported from London.



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