Slashdot Mirror
More On The Open Sourcing Of Iraq
popdookey writes "
The BBC's broadcast, The World,
has run a piece on the growing Linux movement in Iraq as was previously reported
here on Slashdot. 'In Iraq, a group of
computer users has started writing open source
computer code. They're Linux enthusiasts. The idea is to make low-cost,
home-grown software and is said to hold great promise for developing
countries. It could leapfrog Iraq into a more competitive future. The
World technology reporter Clark Boyd reports.'"
My favorite quote from the founder:
"I wanted to find people to share knowledge with; to learn from them; to speak with guys who share my thoughts."
He also talks about how the use of open-source software preventing the monopolization of the market by corporations, a big issue in all economic spheres in Iraq right now.
Sure it's idealistic and a long way off for most Iraqis, but it could be the seeds of important alternatives for the Iraqi people.
And finally a good sign: "Microsoft refused the be interviewed for this report."
Maybe poor countries developing Free software is just what we need to keep the GNU/L bloat under control.
Wrong.
US is anti-Iraq : AFAIK, Iraq never invaded nor bombed US.
GCC/GLibC-compliant would be a better assertion.
This however is true
US = United Corporations (Microsoft, GM, Enron, Monsanto, etc.)
Linux poses them a genuine threat as it counterbalance their marketing approach and very few besides Linux shall survive without changing business models.
How do you bomb software ?
Trolling using another account since 2005.
Weapons of Mass Applications?
I lost you there.
"We can confirm that Debian does *not* ship the version with the trojan horse. Our version predates it." [CA-2002-28]
This is definitely THE major "backdoor" into Windows market share. While in most developed coutries Linux must open it's way into an already large Windows user base which has economical resources to buy the licences, in developing countries it has the opportunity to get a fresh start PLUS a user base that will hardly be able to pay Windows licences!
As this applies not only to home users but also to governments in these conditions, this is a major victory. As these countries increasingly become the agricultural and industrial centers of our globalised economy, while the developed countries become information and knowledge producers, the need to interface may leed to:
1 - The adoption of open middleware standards
2 - The widespread use of Free Open Source software
Either way, Open Source gets something out of it! :)
Contrary to the more obvious knee-jerk reaction and wisecracks this post might invoke, I can can understand how the populace of Iraq feels having been subject to years of anarchy, tyranny and then several years of painful, forced and widely questioned war
We have all seen dozens of documentaries and newsreports of what the people have Iraq have had to face, especially since this new war
Yet, in a way, things can only become better. Perhaps the fanatics/militants will target something else (or at least outside Iraq) once the formal hand-over/creation of a sovereign Iraq is completed (think its only 9 days to go now).
The people of Iraq realize the only way forward is to make the most use of whatever resources available, be it hardware or software. Most services and businesses need technology, and though hardware costs cannot be eliminated entirely, open source software solutions go a long way in reducing costs.
http://efil.blogspot.com/
What he means is that once any code has left the US US restrictions no longer apply to that code at that non US location. It need only "escape" once, through some means or other, and then it is "free."
Why would the Iraqis download Linux from the US when they can download the French Mandrake from Paris, Prague, or Dresden?
KFG
Much of the development effort behind Linux now comes from USA
Only in the sense that Linus now lives there.
and code is stored on servers in USA.
Actually it is all over the planet. Quite a bit of OSS is deliberatly developed outside of the US because of the political minefield of "export restrictions" which exist.
Thing is, we're all assuming the average Iraqi, or even the average Iraqi government minister, *cares* about licensing issues. They don't. This is a country where you can buy pirated CDs with anything you want for next to nothing. If they decide to go with Microsoft products, they'll buy them for a fistful of dinars, install them, and use them for the next three generations with nary a thought of a visit from Redmond copyright police. If Iraq becomes the next bastion of software freedom and advances the cause of FOSS throughout the world, it will be because FOSS DOES THE JOB. Not because of pure idealism, or any longing to breathe free air after decades of tyranny. It's a good opportunity for FOSS advocates to break into an emerging market, but the focus needs to be on the capabilites, ease of use, great support, and security of future development -- not licensing platitudes.
2. Stop trying to destroy everything the americans or their allies have touched, and instead start working constructively on rebuilding the country?
That is what my country did after WW2, when the place was in ruins. As a result I have the privilege of living in one of the richest countries of the world.
Yes, yes, of course it will. Jesus Christ. Does anyone here actually, truly and genuinely believe that a handful of Linux users in Iraq are going to make the nation more competitive when their main natural resource (oil) is being plundered so freely by The West?
Linux is not the answer to all of the world's problems. Oh, hold on, here's an idea. Stop 'coding' yet another MP3 ripper for KDE, get out a pen and some paper and start writing to your congressmen about the Allies' invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Free software may help Iraq in the future, but it won't do Jack Shit until they get the rest of their immediate problems sorted first.
This has happened before; when the former eastern bloc countries wanted to get on the Internet when the iron curtain came down, despite being not especially wealthy, they bought current equipment. As a result, for many years, sites in countries such as Slovenia and Poland were faster than sites in France and Germany that were making do with equipment they'd bought many years earlier.
--
...if it weren't for one of the people most vilified by slashdotters. It seems a little ironic that people who are so against what the Bush administration has done in Iraq are so excited about the freedoms that the Iraqi people are starting to see as a result of those actions. Yeah - Bush has problems, but the course in Iraq was the right one to take.
Addlepated - punk & metal
Should read more like: "If you're looking for decent international news, with wacky left-wing skew, you'll dig "The World.""
Rest assured, if there is in any way whatsoever, any connection at all between these coders and bin Laden, not matter how ridiculous(their mothers,fathers,cousins,friend passed by a stall where an apple(not a mac) was purchased by someone who SAW the nefarious criminal, SHOCK!) , Microsoft will use it to say that Linux supports terrorism.
Wait,wait...sorry. Microsoft will get SCO to use it to say that Linux supports terrorism!
May the Maths Be with you!
why develope linux in iraq if nobody can afford a pc??
"Enduring Freedom" :D
>It could leapfrog Iraq into a more competitive future
Great. More programmers working for $2 a day.
No. Microsoft will go the extra mile and get Dick Cheney to say it.
Cheney will say anybody is a terrorist - except Halliburton.
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
"if the new government becomes stable and protects freedom for its citizens"
Which new government would this be?
The Quislings run by an ex-Baathist-thug, former Saddam assassin, CIA asset Allawi?
Or the phoney elected one they intend to put in place next year - presumably headed up by the same Allawi?
It has been said for months that the Bushies intended to find a new Saddam-like strongman to put in place - just like they did the original Saddam, who was a CIA asset for years before he assumed power. Well, now they've done it - again.
And the Iraqi people know it.
Unless Sistani can force truly open elections, there is NO chance any Iraqi government will be stable - or protect freedom. And it's questionable whether even an openly elected one will protect freedom - or survive both internal insurgency and external CIA/Mossad manipulation.
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
Of those 2,000, A) They're not 200,000, and B) most of them died in a revolt.
In case you're not familiar, most of the OFF "documents" came from the oil ministry, which was run by a Chalabi associate. Go on, go into more detail about OFF! Please! The far right's rage over a story that they know so little about is always amusing.
I just invaded Grammar Czechoslovakia and duped Grammar Neville Chamberlain; now it's on to Grammar Poland.
The story was about the growth of Linux in Iraq. But what about non-Linux operating systems? Are Net/FreeBSD banned because of their mascot, but OpenBSD not because its mascot is Puffy? Enquiring minds want to know!
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
As for al-Qaeda, again, you're misinformed. The 911 commission found no significant COOPERATION between SADDAM HUSSEIN'S GOVERNMENT and al Qaeda. That is very different from saying no ties at all between Iraq and al Qaeda. Of course there have been "ties"; al Qaeda is a very successful international terrorist organization partly because it attempted to cultivate ties to intelligence agencies around the world. All the evidence is that such attempts failed with respect to Saddam Hussein's government. Hell, there are "ties" between al Qaeda and the CIA that are more significant than those claimed in Iraq! While the panel did find that there was communication between these parties, no evidence suggests there was cooperation and in fact much evidence suggests that the relationship between these two entities was rather hostile. The CIA disputes the specific claims of one of the 911 Commission members (hardly the "most liberal" one, as you say), and the evidence that many raise about Kurdish cooperation with al Qaeda in northern Iraq hardly supports the case. Even if that evidence is true, that area was not under Saddam Hussein's control at all since the 1991 war, when it became part of a "no-fly" zone. Did you even read the 911 Commission's comments on the issue?