[Fsf-friends] The Code Breakers on BBC World

[doxa at antispam]

Message from Hiran, at Vidya Academy, Thrissur.
Repeat telecast appearing at 2200h tonight in BBC World.
"..Microsoft has dominated the world of computing for many years, with its heavily guarded ‘code’ being beyond reach to many in the developing nations. In some of the poorest countries the cost of upgrading an operating system to keep up with the rest o fthe world amounts to a year's wages, and there are few legitimate options. In Thailand for example, 95 percent of software on computers is pirated. The poorest countries are now beginning to use free or open source software (FOSS), a software that parallels many of Microsoft's programmes but with the major difference being that they are distributed free of charge and can be altered by computer programmers who are allowed unfettered access to the 'source code'. In this two-part documentary, Code Breakers includes stories and interviews from around the world where FOSS is making an impact, from disaster management in Sri Lanka to tortoise breeding programmes in the Galapagos..."
http://www.bbcworld.com/content/template_clickpage.asp?pageid=2783