Gadgetopia

Open Source a No-Brainer for Developing World: This is something I believe in quite strongly. Open source is a nice alternative (even a novelty) for us in the first world, but for countries like sub-Saharan Africa, open source is the only game in town.

They can’t afford to feed the Beast from Redmond, and they need much more stability than Windows offers. Of all the great things open source software offers, the ability for developing nations to have the same IT opportunities that we do is by far the strongest, in my book.

“‘It’s about money, at the end of the day, because we’re in Africa,’ he says.

In Africa, in Asia, in much of the world — especially in the developing nations — open source is looking like the best way to usher in the information age. Money, flexibility and plain old independence from a monopolist’s clutches are a powerful combination.

Around the globe, educators, companies and governments are getting tired of paying the Microsoft tax, which tends to rise inexorably, and sending the money to America. They don’t like the upgrade cycle, especially when older computers run Linux just fine. They want to inspire more software innovation at home, and suspect Linux may be the best platform in a world where Microsoft also takes most of the profits in Windows application software.”

This is another thing that makes me furious with SCO. It’s not just about money — in a lot of cases, it’s about improving the lives of millions and millions of people. Via Boing Boing.