[Fsf-india] IT Policy Govt of Kerala

[Khuzaima A. Lakdawala]

Raju Mathur <raju@linux-delhi.org> writes:

> What's wrong with a technically better solution?  As far as I know
> most users (govt depts, companies, home users, etc) don't give a d*mn
> about freedom or other such abstract concepts -- they want software
> which works, which continues working, which is cheaper and which is
> supported.  You can definitely go around trying to educate people
> about how important freedom is; if you want to ensure that no one uses
> free software until they fully understand and agree with the concept
> of software freedom, I think you have a really long road ahead of you.

Yes, indeed, it's a long road but I truly believe that it's the right
way. People *will* give a d*mn about freedom when they are made aware
of it! Unlike some of us who were fortunate enough to discover these
software freedoms, most end-users are not even *aware* of the
existence of these freedoms and it should be our foremost goal to
spread awareness of these freedoms. Once that happens, the switch to
free software will logically follow without us having to indulge in
complex jugglery of cost-benefit and technical-merit facts.

OTOH, trying to "sell" free software simply on the basis of
technological and cost benefits will, at best, only yield short-term
dividends and is not a sustainable approach to propagating free
software. Talking about freedom *afterwards* -- after we've run into
road-blocks on the other fronts -- will either sound dubious or mean
that we need to start all over again!

> 
> I found that in presentations to/discussions with clients the points
> that make the most impact are (highest impact points earlier):
> 
> - Technological benefits -- security, stability, performance, etc.
> 
> - Price, especially in todays cash-starved economy.
> 
> - Freedom from single-vendor support -- you can hire the friendly
> neighbourhood hacker to fix your problems instead of having to run to
> Redmond each time your system BSOD's.

There, that's not so bad :-) When this item makes it to the top of the
list, that will be the day to uncork the bubbly.

> 
> - Security of investment -- if someone shoots Gill Bates and the whole
> MS board tomorrow, will MS survive?  If Linus Torvalds and Alan Cox,
> Linux definitely will (yes, I still call it Linux, so sue me).

This insistence could imply that you believe in one of the following:

1. That the Operating System whose kernel is Linux would exist in the
   absence of the GNU Project.

2. That everything other than the kernel simply fell into LT's lap one
   fine day.

3. That the kernel is the OS.

Now, I refuse to believe that you believe in any of the above. So why,
oh why, can't you give credit where it is due and call in GNU/Linux or
simply GNU ?

Regards,
Khuzaima

> Investing in a single company when so many stable organisations have
> gone under in the recent past is the height of foolishness as I
> percieve it, and with a bit of convincing, so do the prospective
> clients.
> 
>     klak> Besides, this argument is dangerous when one comes across a
>     klak> particular piece of proprietary software which is truly
>     klak> technically superior to any comparable offering of Free
>     klak> Software (this is clearly not an impossibility). The
>     klak> "technical merit" argument falls flat on its face in
>     klak> situations like these. Whereas, if all advocacy and
>     klak> propagation is based entirely on issues of freedom rather
>     klak> than technical and cost issues, our arguments will remain
>     klak> consistent, sound and undefeatable.
> 
> While I agree that users (from all walks) should appreciate the
> important concepts of freedom in software, I don't want to push that
> down their throats.  There's a real world out there, and real people
> usually have concerns widely at variance with those of the FS
> evangelists and advocates.  Given the choice between seduction and
> rape, I'd choose seduction each time :-) Each step, however small,
> counts in the end; let's not belittle the important advance which the
> Kerala Government policy represents.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> -- Raju
> 
>     klak> -- Khuzaima A. Lakdawala
> 
> -- 
> Raju Mathur          raju@kandalaya.org           http://kandalaya.org/
>                      It is the mind that moves
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> 

-- 
Khuzaima A. Lakdawala