Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> Still not convinced the world is flattening?
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | "The governments of countries around the world like India, Brazil,
> | South Africa, Vietnam, Malaysia and China have either started to adopt
> | or feel the need for specific policies on OSS."
Many of these countries, along with several others, have been
implementing OSS over the last 10 years, and have been very successful
in doing so. You forgot to mention India, China, and eastern Europe.
Linux is growing all over the world. The implementation of formal
policies has been a direct response to their success with OSS.
Many of these countries have very large populations. China, Brasil,
and Malaysia alone account for almost 1/2 the people in the world,
nearly 3 billion people. If Linux becomes pervasive, it could totally
eclipse the 36 million households in the US with 200 million Windows
users.
> | I got to thinking that it is almost a shame that the governments of
> | third world countries are so willing to try new and revolutionary ideas
> | based on sheer need and yet we are so unwilling. Why is it that so much
> | time and effort is being spent on developing Linux and open source for
> | the third world and not here? Simple answer!
> |
> | They want it. They need it.
Honda Motors started when Honda would get scrap metal from artillery
and damaged munitions, and use it to forge motorcycle parts. A war
ravaged country had to bring itselv back from economic ruin - by
recycling it's own garbage.
20 years later, Japan dominated the electronics market, and 30 years
later, they dominated the Automotive market.
Linux in these countries was a byproduct of the "Technology Gap".
Similarly Linux bridged the "Technology Gap" for Minorities and poor
families as well. Machines, originally sold with older versions of
Windows, were unable to provide functionality such as Internet, and run
the latest software, and support alternative languages, without being
relicensed, or retrofitted with additional RAM and hard drives.
When Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 hit the market, millions of VLB
machines were literally "put out on the street". The problem was that
it was hazardous waste. They couldn't use computers as land fill or
even crush them, because the chips contained arsenic and cygannide, the
drives contained nickel and titanium. The machines had to be either
dissassembled, or given to someone who could use them "as is".
Dissassembly was very expensive. EPA compliant recycling took 4-5
hours of skilled labor to safely dismember the computer into components
which could then be safely recycled into metals, ceramics, and
plastics. The cost was often $100-200 per machine, depending on model
and manufacturer.
Ironically, charities didn't want these machines either. Schools
wanted the newest computers and wouldn't accept the older VLB machines.
Charities that used computers in any quantity also wanted newer
computers. On the other hand, one could take 20-30 computers to the
local boy and girls club, the local community center, or even a
homeless shelter, and have a "Linux fest". Pre-teen and young poor
kids could get a computer, put Linux on it, and have access to the
internet using a shared internet connection managed by a Linux router,
in a few hours, with the help of an experienced Linux user.
A secretary for the Mexico delegation to the United Nations heard about
these projects and found that there was almost no problem getting
corporations to donate older PCs to an NGO. Red Hat agreed to help
train some people in how to install Red Hat Linux on a number of
different types of machines, especially older Dell and IBM machines,
which seemed to accept Linux quite easily. Soon, Windows 3.1 and
Windows 95 machines were being shipped to Mexico, and 100,000 machines
were converted to Red Hat Linux. The kids used these computers and
learned a great deal about computers as well, because everything was
"wide open". Soon, other countries wanted computers for their schools,
and soon Red Hat was helping NGOs recycle 10 million Windows machines
into Red Hat Linux machines. These machines were shipped to Africa,
South America, India, and Asia.
Dell and IBM even began leasing machines to US corporations. Offering
to give them rebates on new machines, if they "traded in" their old
ones. These used machines were often fed into these NGO channels,
which again converted them to Linux.
These seeds were left to grow, and soon millions of Linux users using
recycled computers were growing up. The project started 11 years ago,
and has been thriving in many countries ever since. But those kids,
who had spent 4-6 years using Linux computers, grew up, and entered the
workplace. Many of them had learned English so that they could
communicate with others on the Internet via e-mail, newsgroups, and
chats.
It was easy enough to make the transition from Linux to Windows, but
there were many sacrifices that had to be made. Applications that were
simply included in Linux distributions had to be purchased for Windows.
Applications that were very useful on Linux weren't even available on
Windows. Dual-boot systems were a partial solution, but still required
users to switch between operating systems depending on the tasks
required. Linux turned Windows users also began to realize how much
time they were wasting on tasks that could be done more easily with
Windows. They also noticed that when Microsoft had new software, they
didn't get bonuses. They also noticed that when windows crashed or got
ravaged by malware, they had to work overtime to make up for the loss.
In a few years, these workers were in decision making roles. They
started using Linux and Unix instead of Windows, and their projects
were more successful. They got promoted, and moved into the decision
making circles for corporations, government agencies, and other key
players. Suddenly, millions of machines were needed, but Windows was
"not requested". If the machines came with Windows, that was fine, but
they had to run Linux. If Linux couldn't be installed quickly and
easily, then a competitor's product would be chosen. Sometimes, it
would be a "White Box" maker, who could build 100 PCs per day using
parts, and configure them for Linux, for less than a competitor with
Windows.
Microsoft has tried to "win back" some of these markets. They have
offered to reduce prices on Windows. They have threatened to audit
corporations. They have even offered vaccinations against polio,
diptheria, and pertussus, as well as antimalaria drugs and mesquito
netting, through the Gates foundation. But it's pretty clear that Bill
Gates expected something in return, like a policy more "friendly" to
Windows. Such measures did eliminate "OSS Only" policies, but there
was also a clear message that, if you wanted Windows, you'd better have
a compelling reason.
As projects such as OpenOffice and Firefox and KDE improved, the
justifications for Windows began to quickly erode. Soon, new machines
were being converted to Linux immediately. In some places, machines
that are sold with Windows, are actually converted to Linux machines
and Windows dissappears entirely. These are usually government
offices, mid-sized corporations, other "NAT firewalled" organizations,
so they probably get counted as "1" in IP address browser surveys.
And in the USA, Microsoft has had similar problems. Microsoft's
appearant support for right wing causes and candidates, along with the
white-wash of the antitrust case, and the non-punishment punishment of
accepting Windows licenses as "$3 billion in payments" in price gouging
and antitrust suits, and where were these licenses supposed to go?
Into the computers at schools who had switched them to Linux because
the latest versions of Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows ME -
wouldn't run on machines originally sold with Windows 95, Windows 98,
and maybe Windows NT 4.0.
None of this when over particularly well with the African-American,
Asian-American, and Latin-American communities. Commedians like Sinbad
and Chris Rock began to make fun of Bill Gates and Microsoft. The
minorities were using Linux, and some were getting really good at it.
They were getting jobs, getting college scholarships, and getting
economic opportunities that had never been available before. Linux
gave them access to UNIX, and UNIX gave them access to some big money.
In the great plains states, like Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and
Colorado, a major part of their economy was telemarketing. People in
the western states could call people in the eastern states during
regular work hours, and get most of the east coast recipients around
the time they were first getting home. These call centers were often
using Linux workstations instead of Windows. Linux even offered some
of the earliest VOIP services, and many companies had corporate VOIP
switches in major east coast markets.
Of course, these Linux machines were very reliable, very efficient, and
needed upgrades and replacement. The machines were purchased with
Windows, but the were quickly converted to Linux machines, and the same
administrators could also manage the *nix servers. PHP, portals, and
Java quickly became the popular mode of presenting information to these
call center workers, and collaboration software that was 'built in' to
Linux made it easy to get quick answers from supervisors or subject
experts without having to break the call and put the customer on hold.
Most of these users were also behind a NAT firewall, and probably
didn't log onto popular web sites.
> | We resist it.
We might be a smaller group than you might think. The CEOs of the big
OEMs, like HP, Dell, and Gateway simply "go the path of least
resistance". It's much easier to order 1.2 licenses per workstation
and let the end-user convert the machines to Linux in 30 minutes, than
to order licenses for 80% of the workstations, at a higher total price,
get penalties and restrictions from Microsoft, and draw negative
attention, in hopes that 20% of your customers will order the machines
with some "stock" configuration of Linux.
Linux offers so much choice, that it's easier for the OEMs to simply
ship with Windows, but let the user configure Linux. This way the user
can get the distributon he wants, the applications he wants, and the
support he wants, at a price he wants.
The OEM license also helps Microsoft stay in the market. It's quite
likely that if Microsoft really pushes hard, and tries to enforce
"Linux or Microsoft, but not both", it could backfire and drive
end-users, corporate customers, and millions of "dual-mode" Linux users
to jump ship entirely, opting for "Linux only" systems, cutting
Microsoft completely out of the market, and making them "despensible"
for the first time since the MITS Altair.
> | Of course I don't mean all of us, but it is remarkable how much we
> | resist change, let alone a revolution of operating system. If you've
> | been following my blog at all, you'll see that I have embarked on a
> | journey to resurrect old computers for use in my classroom because I
> | can't seem to get any new ones. A familiar problem? Tragically. But I'm
> | not complaining. I am doing more with these old machines than most folks
> | do with an entire lab!
Check with your local county commissioner. Ask where the local
recycling center is.
Often, these centers are open and it's possible to "pick up" as well as
"deliver". Very often, fully functional machines are left on palates,
ready for the forklift to load into a truck. But if you have someone
check every few days, especially around 3 PM, you can usually find some
very good functional computers that can easily be turned into "Linux
machines" in about an hour. Some of the machines may need extra
memory, but most would be perfect for small classrooms of elementary,
middle-school, or high-school students.
Better yet, check some of the other counties. For example, in NJ,
Morris county residents are quite likely to drop off 500 Mhz Pentium
machines or even 1 Ghz Pentium machines - without doing anything more
than reformatting the hard drive. In some cases they haven't even
wiped the drive clean. You'd be doing them a favor by wiping it clean
and putting Linux on it.
> `----
>
> http://opensource.christophercraft.com/?p=44
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