flatfish+++ wrote:
> On Sat, 29 Jul 2006 12:17:06 -0700, Chirag Shukla wrote:
>
>
> > Strange sense of comparsion that you've got.
>
> Not really.
I think it is strange...comments on the problems the country faces has
little to do with distribution of free software.
> The money spent on computers could go towards feeding the masses.
Masses, as in majority of people, are not hungry/starving. Masses, as
in several people in some places, could be fed is correct but your
comment highlighting poverty/hunger in India and its correlation to
distribution of free software just doesnt make sense. If it would help
any, the govt. has the infrastructure to distrubute free software in an
inexpesive way.
> It's almost as idiotic as Nigeria and the crank-em-up Linux PC's.
> The country is a disaster, and they are focusing on crank-em-up PC's?
> Come on, it's lunacy.
Right. But it would not make any sense commenting on the cases of HIV
there, would it?
Nigeria: X cases of HIV per acre --> therefore Linux distribution is
not practical
India: X cases of hunger per acre --> therefore Linux distribution is
not practical
US: few cases of HIV/hunger per acre --> therefore Linux distribution
is practical
Does any of the above correlation make sense? To me, it doesnt. And
therefore I argue that your comments highlighting the problems in India
has nothing to do with Linux distribution.
My considering free software distribution a joke is because all
citizens dont have a computer. Those who have, get software for free
anyway. The title of this thread is misguiding.
Roy fed the group another statement that I thought was misguiding:
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.advocacy/browse_thread/thread/75a8e5a00cc7139e/cc77d83bea3ea991?lnk=gst&q=roy+kerala&rnum=1#cc77d83bea3ea991
> > Wonder why India is among the top 10 economies? Read a little more
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_India. Then try to figure out
> > why MNCs are rushing towards India.
>
> Because the USA is investing HEAVILY in India that's why.
Not only the US; There are several countries in the EU, Gulf, and South
America investing heavily. I was visiting a plastic bottle extrusion
plant back in 1997 and the guy operating the unit mentioned how wealthy
the plastic industry around there has gotten due to the heavy
investments from EU. Tech sector is the most visible but there's also
biotechnology, textile and other industries that have gained momentum.
Overall, we see a GDP rise. And US is not doing India any favor - it is
a symbiotic relationship and its business. If US saw no gain, why would
American flags be made in China? Its not that US is throwing money
generously towards China/India etc. Countries are working together and
looking into their benefits.
> > As you think about the problems in India, look at your backyard and
> > notice the health problems, teen pregnancy, Katrina, gangs etc. and
> > find similar links. Correlate that to the distribution/use of Linux,
> > finally, as you correlated poverty/hunger in India with the
> > distribution/use of Linux.
>
> People are *scaling* the walls to get into the USA.
> How about India?
How much do you know about India's neighboring states and their scaling
of walls to get into India? There are quite a few people from the US
and Germany working in different locations of India and now they call
India home.
> Everyone wants to get out of that place.
Not really. Many youngsters get great jobs in India and they like the
lifestyle there - and dont think of going to other countries except for
leisure/travel etc. A couple of my cousins decided to work here a few
years and then headed home. They set up their small scale companies and
are really happy. I will be heading out after exchanging a few more
technologies. So its not that everybody wants to get out of the place.
There are people with different aims, who just want to know how other
counties work.
There is certainly a craze for western countries, but its mostly the
students that are interested in them or the ones who have immediate
family in the US. Students in India want to learn new things and
western countries have advanced technologies (even Japan does; students
are heading that way too). To secure admission to US universities, one
needs a high GRE score and have to take TOEFL exams (International
students pay double the fees residents pay in some schools). Most grad
students have a higher standardized test scores than native English
speakers from the US. Some finally stay back in those countries, but a
chunk returns home. Now, India is too far to scale US walls. Most here
are legal people and they are here in the US because US allowed them to
get in after verifying their details.
>
> NY is full of Indians, Pakastanis etc.
> I don't hear much about them wanting to go back to India.
> They are hard working people who start small businesses and make a decent
> life for themselves.
I agree. There could be a lot of people from south-east Asia in NY, and
they would perhaps prefer being here. Its their choice. The US is the
US because people came here from far away and decided to not go back.
>
> Contrast that with what you saw on TV during Katrina.
> Animals running around with television sets strapped on their backs.
> Every country has it's probelms but as for the USA's problems
> it's not on the *scale* that India has.
Yes, the extent of problems is larger. Talking about scale, there are
huge differences in available resources between the two countries. The
population, trends, changes etc. are just so different. The same way,
the problems are wider and different too. With such good resources in
the US, Katrina situation was handled poorly. With little resources,
India didnt need aid in getting things back to normal in the Tsunami
affected regions. If you compare everything, including the time span of
growth, resources, population density etc., perhaps you will realize
that the growth in India is phenomenal and assuming this is how it is
going to for a decade or more, things will be a lot different there --
including the advent and widespread use of Linuxes.
>
> The infrastructure is here in the USA, but lazy people are lazy people and
> that's just the way it is.
Well, kind of hard to say that people here are lazy. If they were lazy,
the US would be sinking by now. People here work hard (I see that in
the midwest, at least) and have a positive direction of growth. But if
it indeed was the case that people were lazy, 50yrs down the line there
might be bigger problems here than India.
> Nobody has to starve, do without medical care, get an education etc here
> in the USA.
I disagree with the starvation and medical care point.
http://www.bread.org/learn/us-hunger-issues/poverty-in-america.html -
go through the site a little bit. Medical care is a huge problem in the
US also. Single mothers without insurance has been on the news several
times, and I have listened to their problems. Some senior citizens have
miserable life too. I feel sad, and sometimes find similarity with old
folks in India, to listen to the way their life is. The little money
they get from SS+medicare is all wiped off quickly and some skip
lunch/dinner to survive...just survive. There is sadness in their lives
that we dont hear much about until we meet them in person. Getting an
education is certainly easy.
> However, they can't sit around on their fat asses and expect to sponge off
> the rest of those who take advantage of what is offered.
Summarizing, your comment that India does not feed its people is too
vague to be correct. If the title of this thread was "US to distr....",
would it be correct if I said "Hopefully it's edible because they can't
even seem to protect their people" followed by links to people died in
Katrina due to poor management? And it has little to do with the topic
of discussion. I imagine the point you were perhaps trying to make was
that India rather spend money elsewhere than distributing free software.
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