[Fsf-india] FEATURE: Open source, free software ... in the Third World (long)

[Raju Mathur]

>>>>> "KAL" == Khuzaima A Lakdawala <klak@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in> writes:

    >> OPEN SOURCE, FREE SOFTWARE OPENS NEW WINDOWS TO THIRD WORLD
    >> COMPUTING
    >> 
    >> By Frederick Noronha fred@bytesforall.org

    KAL> Interesting article statistics:

    KAL> cost (and related words): 21 occurences price (and related
    KAL> words): 16 occurences

    KAL> freedom (or related words): 0 occurences ethics (or related
    KAL> words): 0 occurences

    KAL> This is clearly not an article about Free Software.

    KAL> Please see

    KAL>   http://forum.gnu.org.in/1016695648/index_html

    KAL> for Why Cost is not an Issue.

Did you even read the article?  Let me make a few quotes which would
have escaped the word count program you filtered the article through:

<snip>

Because GNU/Linux is 'free' -- in the sense that its code is freely
available to anyone who wishes to work on it further, or adapt it, or just
reproduce it -- there are no mountains of secrecy blocking the
easy-replicability of such software. 

<snip>

But Dandjinou says: "I don't feel the cost (alone) is an issue. Of course,
if you compare (the price of Open Source or Free Software products) with
what we've been paying by using proprietorial software packages, we have
been paying really a lot of dollars. But more than price, what matters is
the application development. The idea of the openness should be kept there.
Openness and sharing... these are great values in themselves."

<snip>

"Access to source code will encourage and promote local capacities for
software modification and re-distribution," Dr Nah was quoted as telling The
Star in its special in.tech supplement (star-techcentral.com)

<end snippage>

However, I agree that Fred is a rotten spokesperson for the free
software movement and should immediately discontinue writing about
Linux, FSF, free software and open source and instead concentrate on
covering the latest movies and celebrity deaths like all decent
journalists were meant to.  Right, Fred?  Don't waste your time with
all this crap when all you end up doing is annoying the owners of the
words `free software', the terminally terminology obsessed.

Waiting for the rest of FSF-India to speak up in rightfully condemning
Fred's narrow viewpoint, complete lack of understanding and
misrepresentation of the goals and meaning of free software, and for
having a different point of view from that prevalent amongst the
elite.

*Disgusted*

-- Raju
-- 
Raju Mathur          raju@kandalaya.org           http://kandalaya.org/
                     It is the mind that moves