[ILUG-BOM] India's contribution to Linux

[jtdyahoo]

On Wednesday 11 July 2001 12:08, Manish wrote:

> Sometime today, jtdyahoo wrote:

> > Added to this is the high cost of traditional proprietary
> > software and it's anglo centric nature. The GNU foundation
> > recognises this draconian restriction and choooses to fight
> > this by providing tools of the information age free of cost and
> > encumberances in the form [snip]
>
>                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^
> That's NOT why GNU chooses to offer stuff free of cost.  In fact,
> it doesn't offer free of cost, unless you download from FTP or go
> and beg them for a CD or other medium.  The cost at which you can
> obtain the stuff is reasonable, and worth it.

Downloading - not counting your phone/pipe/cable bills - or 
borrowing (both of which are permitted by the GNU licences) is free 
of cost. Beg?? you dont even have to register for a download.
 
> > The Linux kernel and most of the accompanying software is
> > provided with source code and is essentially free of cost. Thus
> > it is possible to customise and reuse all of the code.
>
> It is possible and legal to customise and re-use NOT because it
> is free of cost, but because of the way the programs are
> licensed.

Yes. Must improve the english.
  
> They offer you some 4 freedoms, which Philip has
> mentioned in an earlier post. Please do not confuse the cost
> factor with the freedom to customise.

Nope. But in India (and most underceveloped regions) both are 
equally important (IMHO), more so in a capital constrained country 
like India. The cost factor is particularly important for 
educational and public institutions. Even if  software were made 
available with all the other freedoms (re Philip's mail) but priced 
at current commercial prices (Caldera??) these institutions would 
never be able to use them.  While code availability and reusability 
is a prime reason for the hacks, cost is the sole motivating factor 
for the vast majority. 

> I think open source end-user software will turn out to be a lot
> cheaper for Indian user.  At best, you can get it free of cost by
> borrowing a CD from your neighbour.  You cannot do that with
> proprietary software because that amounts to piracy and illegal
						^^^^^^^
> use.

Hardly a factor in most underdeveloped places. (A friend found out 
during the course of a survey in 2nd tier cities of Maha and MP 
100% piracy). A cursory check of DTP shops in the city will produce 
very similiar results (now you know why corel is so sick ;-)).

> It will help businesses cut costs by employing software
> that does not require per-cpu licenses and useless farcical
> support.

Most software product companies have an unsustainable economic 
model and are relying on unjust laws to survive. This is not very 
different from our very own license-permit raj.


-- 
jtdesouza at yahoo.com


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