Slashdot Mirror
Linux Comes To Afghanistan
gaurab writes "For the first time, 11 people were trained in Linux in Kabul. This training was supported by UNDP as a broader program to build capacity in use of computer technologies. The press release and some info is available at UNDP Afghanistan Website. It was reported on NewsForge today, and was picked up by the Washington Post few days ago. Some discussion also happend on the South Asia Mailing List."
How many bogomips does Talibanux give on a Commodore 64?
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
For the first time, 11 people were trained in Linux in Kabul. ...beating their previous record of 10 achieved in 2002.
That's interesting that the UN would pick up LINUX support. It's good, but still surprising. LINUX is a great way to start people on the right track to success, free of restrictions from the likes of Microsoft. Instead, they're only limited (freed?) by the GPL.
At any rate, it's definitely beneficial to provide them with a low cost solution to get up-to-date in the tech world.
It was very nice to read this at the South Asia IT mailing list (the one linked in the main story).
Good localization is really important for the non-western world. I really respect the GNOME and KDE projects for developing open framework that allows this with reasonable effort.
...the UN teaches a handful of Afghanis some Linux and the first thing they do is swamp /. with GNAA posts. There is no limit to the wonders of technology!
If you go to the surrounding coutries such as Uzbekistan and Pakistan (even Iran), they have quite a good infrastructure. It is just Afghanistan that has been left behind because of the war.
Why Linux, well getting aid money to buy software isn't so hard. Unfortunately, it isn't going to pay for the updates. WIth Linux, you at least have a chance of ensuring your stuff is well maintained. At least in Pakistan and Uzbekistan (I worked there, so I know), you can buy Win2K3 or XP for a couple of dollars, but you can't really use aid money for pirated software.
In palces like that, the replacement cycle for PCs lasts a long time. Three years ago, I was still seeing 486s in Uzbekistan under Win95. The ability of Linux to last longer with the same hardware is definitely an advantage.
See my journal, I write things there
You can't really train for Linux.
Linux happens.
Whatever happened to that "all humans are equal"-thing...
Martin
Use ISO 8601 dates [YYYY-MM-DD]
so they can set up a distributed worm that searches for /bin/laden
SCO sues Afganistan!
Next question is what is going to happen in Iraq. Will Linux be distributed or have closed source software giants learned from this part of development and are the now lobbying with 'The Authority' to have Windows deployed all over Iraq?
The UN actuall postivly encourage it. Via Netaid the UN setup a group of voulenteers who provide OSS based advice on people out in the field. Its worth looking over there just to see what you can offer
Rus
Cheap UK and US VPS
Or even, why Open Source Software? I can see several possible reasons for the particular choice of operatingsystem they have picked to train the afgans in.
Linux is essesially free off charge (if you pick the right distros), which means that the UN and the afgan goverment can spend their money on other things than buying lisences for the OS we all love to hate.
Linux (and most other OSS) are not tied to a particular country of origin. Face it folks, both OS X, the various flavours of Windows and many of the commercial *nix belong to corpetations based in the US, and the US has managed to make itself less than popular with the UN lately.
You can still get support for distrebutions of Linux that can and will run on older machines, like 386s and 486s. Thus it is possible to run the infrastructure on the hardware that is already present in the country, instead of forcing them to invest in the latest and greatest from Intel or AMD.
Stability may be an issue. Linux has a reputation for beeing more stabel than a certain other OS, and it is certainly less likely to catch a virus. Thus money can be saved on support.
Overall, I think the monetary considerations are the most important here - while the chance to kick the US on the leg may be a (happy) coincidence. And off course, the other question is; Do MicroSoft or Apple even provide a local flavour of their operatingsystems?
Everything in the world is controlled by a small, evil group to which, unfortunately, no one you know belongs.
...a press release from Microsoft cleared up many pre-war allegations. Most interesting was the following:
"This just proves that no WMA will be found in Iraq."
Life is like pants... fit in or you don't fit in.
Jon Katz wouldn't lie to us!
I love the idea of propagating Linux and other free software in poor areas.
But I wonder what the options are for extremely-low-cost hardware to match?
If you consider that there's a lot of gov't bureaucratic infrastructure to build up, and not much public (international) money to support it, Linux et al are the obvious answer. Linux experts volunteering to do training are the next logical component.
How cheap could decent computers be bought to round out the picture?
I don't mean as in "Dell, give us freebies." I mean, could we get together good cheap PCs for US$100 including shipping? Or US$???howmany? What if you bought in Taiwan?
I'd love to see some charity/not-too-corrupt-NGO make a website where you could buy a computer for the department of your choice in the poor country of your choice. You could opt to keep in touch with its users as well, if there's a common language between you. Dellpaqarcdbmitsu and the like would of coure be welcome to help.
Anybody seen such a thing yet?
This Like That - fun with words!
Developing countries (e.g. in Africa) are hardly ever mentioned as opportunities for growth in Linux usage.But they are, I think, some of Open Source's best opportunities.
Hardly anything is computerized there (in govt.) and when it is, huge and outdated mainframes are used. In many countries, the next few years are likely to see a massive expansion in govt. computer systems. Its up to the few of us Linux users in those coutries to tout to our govts. the benefits of open source and Linux in particular.
There should be a number of ways to do this, I can think of one that might be done while making a buck or two... Establishing companies that provide open source solutions to govts.and others.
All in all, I welcome this latest development in Afghanistan, and I hope that other low-tech. developing coutries will go in this directions as they computerize.