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John Barlow Pushes Open Source in Brazil

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the stuff-to-read dept.

greysky writes "This story on Foxnews.com reports that as part of the larger World Social Forum, Barlow spoke on how open source software can help alleviate financial problems of developing countries: "Already, Brazil spends more in licensing fees on proprietary software than it spends on hunger"." NPR talks about how Brazil plans to switch 300,000 machines over.

7 of 249 comments (clear)

  1. As a Libertarian by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Shouldn't he want the government to spend the same on software as on poverty? $0?

  2. Embarassing! by bogaboga · · Score: 2, Interesting
    from the article: "[...] but the loosely organized event ran into an embarrassing glitch Saturday when two big screens betrayed the fact that the computer was running on Windows, with the operating system's toolbar visible at the bottom of the screens.[...]

    This is unacceptable. Why did they even have Windows systems anywhere arround? Let me hope these systems were not brought in by one inclined to subotage the whole event. M$ must be laughing...!

  3. Re:Numbers Please by Ashtray+Heart · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I rather suspect that *every* industrialized country - the United State included - spends more on proprietary software than it does on hunger. So the fuck what? Do you honestly believe that if Microsoft gave away Windows and Office that those governments would take the money they saved and use it to open soup kitchens?

  4. Where's the cost savings? by rudy_wayne · · Score: 3, Interesting


    Governments and businesses want service and support. They are unlikely to purchase any software without it. So take a look at Redhat for example. Their price charts are confusing and horribly laid out, but as near as I can figure, for Redhat Desktop Linux they are charging $13,500 (US) for '50 desktop entitlements'. That's $270 each. How does that represent a savings over Windows?

    I guess they could hire a bunch of high school kids to download a free Linux package and then install it on 300,000 computers. But that seems unlikely.

  5. The Subtle Spin of Fox by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I read this story the other day and was immediately struck by Fox's [predictable] casting of the FOSS crowd as 'fringe' and 'counter-culture.' True enough, the movement is fringe, but Barlow is described only as a Greatful Dead lyricist, in the opening paragraph no less. John Barlow has many more relevant qualifications.

    The title of the article includes the word 'Activists.' I know I'm paranoid, but the right has been slowly demonizing that word. I think it began with Bush's use of 'Activist Judges.'

    So in Fox-world, an 'Activist' is someone fringe, out of the mainstream, who challenges the status quo... probably someone for god-fearing Americans to fear.

  6. More on the trip from Lawrence Lessig's blog by Dammital · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Lessig accompanied Barlow on that trip to Brazil, and wrote a pair of inspirational blog entries.

  7. The Debate in Peru - A must read by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Guys, you should take a look at the response that a Peruvian congressman gave to Microsoft Peru, when they tried to defeat the open source iniative for the peruvian government. All the debate is there, at the end Bill Gates went to Peru, bought the president and the country kept screwed... Here it is: Click here to read the response