IGOS, MS, or both: let's debate it
,----[ Quote ]
| The government is at best merely being pragmatic with the deal --
| realizing the widespread use of pirated software products in
| government institutions -- and is therefore trying to correct this.
|
| It is a decision that has, however, weathered criticism for
| likely giving Microsoft's proprietary software products an unfair
| advantage for use in publicly funded government services, and
| sidelining the use of free/libre and open-source software (FLOSS),
| which the government has actually been encouraging through its
| Indonesia Goes Open Source (IGOS) program.
|
| [...]
|
| The Business Software Alliance (BSA), an industry lobby group of
| proprietary software vendors with Microsoft as its main backer,
| ranks Indonesia's piracy rate at 87 percent and the world's third
| highest after Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
|
| [...]
|
| But the validity and accuracy of BSA's piracy ratings and studies
| have also come under criticism recently, from the respected
| business weekly The Economist, among others.
|
| It is these concerns that has made I Made Wiryana, one of Indonesia's
| noted FLOSS advocates, advise the government not to take for granted
| that the deal with Microsoft will benefit development of the
| country's IT sector.
|
| [...]
|
| "We also have to consider the actual benefits from the deal's
| implementation compared to the costs we will be making, when the
| use of open source software can also reduce piracy and save costs."
`----
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20070212.Q01&irec=0
This is a fairly long article. I have read it in its entirety and the
storyline is a familiar one. Microsoft and its pressure groups are fighting
against local people who favour savings. The government is being lured into
paying Microsoft large sums of money to impose a lockin on the industry,
where piracy is being ignored (convenient for Microsoft). Even the major EU
study -- that which Microsoft aggressively lobbied against -- is mentioned
as well.
Related:
Open source, closed mind
,----[ Quote ]
| It recently launched the Indonesia Goes Open-Source Nusantara 2006
| package, which provides desktop software based on Linux Fedora Core 5
| and with the ability to operate applications such as Open Office for
| text documents, Firefox for Internet browsing, Thunderbird for email
| and Gaim for chatting.
|
| The ministry's website also lists a range of open-source software
| material, domestic and foreign, from which material can be downloaded
| for free.
|
| Furthermore, the use of open-source software cuts down on piracy,
| which is as prevalent in this country as the use of computers.
`----
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20070126.E01&irec=0
http://tinyurl.com/yqjk59
Sofyan: Open Source Hampers Government's Activity
,----[ Quote ]
| The Department of Research and Technology will involve eight
| universities as developing agents of Indonesia GO Open Source
| (IGOS) program. They include Bandung Institute of Technology,
| Sepuluh November Institute of Technology, Gadjah Mada University,
| University of Indonesia, Udayana University, Deli Polytechnics,
| Batam Polytechnics and President University.
`----
http://www.tempointeractive.com/hg/ekbis/2007/01/16/brk,20070116-91365,uk.html
http://tinyurl.com/tgedc
Open-source system sought for SMEs, ministries
,----[ Quote ]
| To help protect intellectual property rights and reduce costs, the
| State Ministry for Research and Technology is urging state
| institutions, and small and medium enterprises to adopt open-source
| software for their computers. The Information and Communications
| Ministry had already saved on its IT budget after deciding
| to migrate.
`----
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailbusiness.asp?fileid=20061205.L01&irec=0
Computing systems for business: Linux or Mac?
,----[ Quote ]
| "It was annoying, the spams and the virus. It slows down my work,
| which relies heavily on e-mails. I can get and send 50 e-mails a day,
| but because of spams my inbox is sometimes crowded with hundreds of
| e-mails, some carrying virus," Ruthie said.
`----
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20060911.Q02&irec=1
|
|
