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Open Economies - E-democracy and OpenEconomies (was:RE: [OpenEconomies] ChinaDeveloping Code Locally) [Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index] E-democracy and OpenEconomies (was:RE: [OpenEconomies] ChinaDeveloping Code Locally)
At 07.00 -0500 02-01-16, Moore, James wrote: >Hi Diane, >Thanks for this timely reference to the article in the South China Post. Lo >and behold it is relevant to the policy questions about Linux and Open >Source. It holds one answer to the question, What can a developing country >government do to promote local Open Source software is: Buy open source for >your e-government initiatives. In many developing countries, government is >by far the largest single purchaser of ICT products and services. (---) In my opinion, the government could regulate through legislation, public policy or the ordering policy you suggest, that all code should be open and free (but not gratis). However, the government must not push "gratis" solutions. That could severly damage the incentives for software developers. But if I may express my humble opinion, it is more complicated than that. If only the governments in developing countries do this, we will face a Microsoft divide rather than a digital devide. Microsoft will not develop open code (at least that's one scenario) and the open source community and developing countries will always have a hard time communicating with the Western world, while the Western world use things like Powerpoint, Microsoft Word, Excel and so forth. With no open documents standard I think it is likely that the Microsoft divide might occur. The government should always choose the best software at each given period of time. Sometimes it will be open code, other times propriatery solutions. I am very much against your proposition, while it could have very severe effects on the development of the software industry. I have seen it in practice in Sweden and it can end *very* wrong. In recent Swedish public policy history have something called Stalverk 80 where the government decided it would save the steelworkers through a multi-billion tax effort in a steelworks industrial project. Stalverk 80 made Sweden stay in the old industrial economy for a while, but it didn't last long and ended in a major financial collapse in the nineties. Let the market decide what software it should use. When it comes to free software and open source in the administration, let an outside counsel decide what is best "in casu". ...however I think Microsoft will need to open its code in one way or another. That is an entirely different story and one relating to confidence and trust in business - and also a wild speculation in the future strategies of a public company: http://harvard.pawlo.com/newsf01.html Regards Mikael _________________________________________________________________________ ICQ:35638414 mailto:mikael@pawlo.com +46-704-215825 http://www.pawlo.com/
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