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.'"
now bill gates gonna invade iraq too
Iraq is anti-US. They code Linux stuff in Iraq. Ergo, Linux is anti-US. Bomb Linux!
Sigs for Nerds. Sigs that Matter.
Iraq is downloading communism! Torvalds for president! Stallman for information minister!
It's just nice seeing a linux article (featuring Iraqis ) that doesn't paint Linux users as terrorists. Don't let Didio interview them, she'll spin an article like "Iraqi Terrorists create KJihad which is what we knew all those Linux users were up to anyways. "
Nice blurb. Hope Iraq recovers just to face the same job market as over here. Sorry... Yes, someone already peed in my cornflakes.
-B
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."
I'd like to listen to that report, but unfortunately I did not yet discover how I am supposed to playback a WMA file (Windows Media Player format) on my Debian box. :-(
There is a, IIRC, recently formed Linux user group in Iraq: http://www.iraqilinux.org/ IMHO it's a good change for open source to make an impact if Iraq's public services are going to have the opportunity to make a fresh start on handover.
You've probably noticed that people's noses get bigger as they get older. That's because old people are huge liars.
I thought there were restrictions on exporting Linux from the US to Iraq (which somehow mysteriously don't apply to MS)?
I have just got back from a conference in Slovenia at Cyberpipe which was full of Linux and open-source enthusiasts developing software that was situated locally.
And of course, there are also political and economic implications of Linux as it allows countries to avoid the costly licensing problems of Windows etc and also avoid the reliance on the US for closed technologies.
There were some extremely innovative lo-tech hi-tech solutions to problems. For example re-use of old 8080 PCs with Linux installed to control various devices - one in particular was a 12 bank screen for projecting images using old black and white monitors.
---- The Open Source Record Label : : LOCARECORDS.COM
What kind of f'ed up imperialism is this?
They should be required to buy US software!
I'm writing my representatives.
Maybe poor countries developing Free software is just what we need to keep the GNU/L bloat under control.
First, SPA "License Inspectors" are sent in. All they find is Free Software. Undaunted, Bill Gates sends in his own lawyers...
Then it's a year later and the WMA's still haven't been found.
Actually its just the opposite that linux today [Wired news] reported few days back. Slow going for linux in Iraq
fifteen jugglers, five believers
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! :)
Linux is the Free/Open Source UNIX-like operating system kernel that runs on many modern computer systems. Linux is available under the GNU General Public License, which means that users may freely copy, change, and distribute it, but must make source code available to recipients and may not impose any restrictions on further distribution. Linux does contain some security features that use encryption. As such, it is classified under ECCN 5D002. Because Linux is open source, it is eligible for export under License Exception TSU in accordance with 15 CFR 740.13(e).
On May 7, the President exercised his authority under the Wartime Supplemental Authorization Act of 2003 to suspend most of the provisions of the Iraq Sanctions Act of 1990. On June 27, 2003, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published an interim final rule (68 Fed. Reg. 38188) amending the Iraqi Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 575, to include a general license authorizing certain new transactions. The export of items controlled by the Department of Commerce was addressed in 31 CFR 575.533(b)(2):
The exportation from the United States or, if subject to U.S. jurisdiction, the exportation or rexportation from a third country to Iraq of any goods or technology (including technical data or other information) controlled by the Department of Commerce under the Export Administration Regulations (15 CFR chapter VII, subchapter C) for exportation to Iraq must be separately authorized by or pursuant to this part.
The term "controlled by the Department of Commerce" means subject to a license requirement under the Department of Commerce's Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Items subject to a license requirement under the EAR include items on the Commerce Control List that are listed in 15 CFR 746.3 as requiring a license for exportation or reexportation to Iraq.
Under Section 746.3 of the EAR, an export license is required to export or reexport to Iraq any item on the CCL containing a NS Column 1 in the Country Chart Column of the License Requirements section of an ECCN. Software classified under ECCN 5D002 is controlled for NS Column 1.
It is important to note that proprietary operating system software such as Microsoft Windows and Sun Solaris have been classified as mass-market encryption products and are eligible for export under ECCN 5D992. These products may be exported to Iraq without a license under the interim final rule (68 Fed. Reg. 38188) amending the Iraqi Sanctions Regulations.
Under the provisions of License Exception TSU, open source and the corresponding object code may be exported to all destinations except Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. Thus, open source and the corresponding object code are treated as if subject only to AT (anti-terrorism) controls. Items subject to AT controls may be exported to Iraq under the interim final rule (68 Fed. Reg. 38188) amending the Iraqi Sanctions Regulations.
Source: http://linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=7318
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
After all, they already have the beards, and I'm sure sandals are pretty popular in the Arabian desert ;-)
When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
I couldn't RTFA so I don't know if it's the same group but the Iraqi Linux Users Group headquartered in Baghdad is here.
etc.
Trolling using another account since 2005.
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.
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.
--
Current state of affairs in Slovenia:
- officially joined EU May this year
- may adopt currency (Euro) in next couple of years
- inflation some 4% and dropping
- cost of living close to EU, paychecks lower, though
- parrent is correct, no globaly-strong economic players there
- only suitable for investors and VC with thich skin and stamina
- too expensive and inflexible public administration (could be true in a lot of places, though)
- taxes the life and blood out of decent citizens and straight businesses
- little to no perspective for young people & families
Developing country is a wrong label for Slovenia. The correct indication is that Slovenia is a country that could be well off and has every chance of being a member of the 'developed' club; however, with a self-centered attidute, minorty complex of a small nation and a prevailing sense of envy and narrow-minded greed in most of the population, the nation is draining its resources the wrong way.
As a non-fitting member of this Slovenian society, constantly contemplating a well known sport of the nation: emigration (or e-migration, for that matter) I still have to develop a term like 'Retarding' country for the state of affairs...
Damn retards even renewed the M$ licenses without a wink of an eye - for big bucks; at the same time the news was out that M$ flexes to zero to stay in business against the cheaper and the better.
...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
I was a bit realistic when I said it's going to take between 2 and 5 years t have a solid base to build on. Tons of challenges down there now, security is the bigest issue.
:P. basically Linux can save Iraq (as a governement and/or businesses operate there) large sums of money by implementing it in government and businesses establishments and in educational institues for both server and desktop environments.
Iraq does have a large technology work force, they lack direction and lack resources. Just so you know, Iraq governement and educational institues been running Unix since the 1970s on mainly ICL mainframes (International Computers Ltd., too bad they are gone now). I personally knew few Unix gurus in Iraq and it's just a matter of time to contact them and show them Linux.
Linux isn't the solution for everything, but I beleive Linux can do a great job in the servers and office desktop environments, home users will still want to play their favorite game or watch some DMCA compliant movies
again, it's going to take time. So let's stay hopefull.
Won't somebody please think of the Karma!
why develope linux in iraq if nobody can afford a pc??
Open source is never more relevant to Iraq. The whole idea was to open source the oil.
You get some of it with
ftp oilfield.com
Maybe not. It's been slashdotted.
Know your pads. One time pad: good for cryptography. Two timing pad: where to take your mistress.
"Enduring Freedom" :D
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!
I think it's really cool that linux is gaining ground in Iraq, but the grandparent poster is correct -- linux isn't going to stop the the looting, it's not going to solve the security situation, it's not going to work without electricity, and it's not going to bring freedom or stability to a nation teetering on the brink of civil war.
You'll have to forgive the Iraqis if they aren't yet jumping for joy about the open source revolution; they may have other things on their minds right now.
In the interest of balance and intellectual honesty, you might wish to also link to the Iraqi Torture Video
hand amputation
finger chopping
beating with metal pipe
arm breaking with metal pipe
... presumably more videos exist but DOD refuses to release them
From the Wall Street Jounal Online Edition:
I believe Juanita