Slashdot Mirror
Cuba Launches Own Linux Variation
willclem writes "According to Reuters, it seems that Cuba has launched its own variation of Linux in order to fulfill its government's desire to replace Microsoft operating systems. 'Getting greater control over the informatic process is an important issue,' said Communications Minister Ramiro Valdes, who heads a commission pushing Cuba's migration to free software."
Countries developing their own open source software? How about open source software developing its own countries?
It seems likely that their government would just buy from ISVs in another country. Microsoft can't see it, can't stop it, can't be held liable. Remember the recent case of HP selling a significant amount of printers to Iran in just such a way?
The embargo stared in February 1962, 8 months before the Cuban missile crisis.
Apparently that old story just isn't true.
Qu'on me donne six lignes écrites de la main du plus honnête homme, j'y trouverai de quoi le faire pendre.
CowboyNeal (former poll option) announced back in Feb 2007 that Nova was on the way.
So, as far as the GNU army marching into Havana, they're already there. Cuba and RMS are old pals.
All commercial software I have ever written runs on Linux. Almost all companies I've worked for ran Linux on some or all of their computers. All customers I've worked with ran Linux on some or all of their computers. And most of these computers running Linux ran commercial software.
Linux is already big. Linux is already receiving major commercial support.
The only reason people think Linux isn't big is that it isn't big on the desktop.
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
I'm in no way defending Cuba's government acts here, but I really don't get this "Cuba is evil" mindset that people in the US always state and that always only shows one side.
One need to remember that besides what Cuba did, the US supported a dictator in Cuba (Batista) before the was overthrown by the "revolution", supported a tentative to invade Cuba (Bay of Pigs), and supported terrorist and sabotage acts in Cuba.
The US (biggest economy and military in the world) also imposes an economic embargo in Cuba (very small country) for some 40 years. And at the same time the US has a law that allows any Cubans who reach the US to become a US citizen. Do you want any bigger incentive than these two for people to live a country with a struggling economy?
And then they claim that people just want to run away from the bad bad Castro because he is the devil or something. :-/
Let's at least present both sides.
-- SouNerd.com
... and Desi Arnaz was Cuban. Certainly not off-topic.
the countires adopting Linux in the first place are rthose where people cannot afford the price of retail Microsoft software [...]
You don't read much news, do you?
Rudolf Hess edited Mein Kampf. He was the very first grammar nazi.
name me one case of a trojan being detected via open source.
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/felten/linux-backdoor-attempt-thwarted (admittedly, that's giving a URL not naming, but I think it was defeated so quickly it wasn't even given a name).
Now, name me one case of a trojan that wasn't created because the source code was closed.
(1)DOCOMEFROM!2~.2'~#1WHILE:1<-"'?.1$.2'~'"':1/.1$.2'~#0"$#65535'"$"'"'&.1$.2'~'#0$#65535'"$#0'~#32767$#1"
I don't know if you read what Putin told Michael Dell in Davos?
You are probably also aware of the plans in Russia and Uzbekistan for a National Operating System. Cuba now joins the club.
But it would make a great Slashdot poll.
Sky subscribers are morons. They pay to be advertised at !
You really should learn to separate what should be imposed on others (legality) from how should I live my own life (morality). The opposite of the political liberal is not the "selfish extremist", but rather the person who seeks to apply these principles in their own life without employing force (via legislation) to make everyone else do the same. Liberals are not despised for their "moderation, tolerance or love for [their] community", but rather for their attempts to codify these principles as legal obligations.
Casting your opponent as some ridiculously amoral caricature is an example of the strawman fallacy, and undermines your own side of the debate. Conservatives are not "selfish extremists" -- and liberals at least have good intentions, for the most part, however much I may disagree with their methods.
"The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
That one already exists in my country, Portugal. It's distributed by our local Communist Party.