[FSF India] Re : Lessons from Mexican school experiment

[Vivekananda Prabhu]

Hi,

I believe Pappu has a valid & practical point here

The following measures should be helpful to check the
menace of non-free drivers

1) Publish a complete list of peripherals for which
Free drivers are available & can be got from Assembled
PC makers in India. This list ideally should be
maintained in a FSFI web page & constantly updated

2) Publish a city-wise list of Trusted Assembled PC
makers who are technically qualified enough & whole
heartedly support GNU/Linux & other Free OSes. This
could be an individual/group effort

My intention was not to promote Windows drivers or
Branded PCs. I agree Windows drivers are non-free &
Branded PCs don't come with devices having Free
drivers. Assembled PCs give a more flexible hardware
option if you are careful about what you are getting

I also didn't intend to cast aspersions on technical
capabilities of Chinese or southeast asians.Yes, now a
days many hardware vendors outsource manufacturing to
China & Taiwan. But there are also cheaper
non-standard proprietory hardware produced by Chinese
& Taiwanese companies that supports only Windows.
Unless you ask for specific hardware configuration
your assembled PC vendor will use these to widen his
profit-margin

My intention was to prevent failures like Mexican
School experiment from happening in India

(As an aside, the difference in prices for Branded &
assembled PCs is not just because of Branding &
Advertising cost involved. But also because these
people donot pay any import duties & sales tax to the
Government :))

Anyway thanks for participating in this discussion &
giving your valuable suggestions

Regards,
Vivek


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