I have often grappled with this notion. I have been in this business long enough to safely assume that 90% of the operating systems we run in many offices in Honiara were pirated. Has it become a necessity considering that the cost of acquiring a legal copy is so high?
And would the Solomon Islands be better off with Open Source softwares that cost nothing but are just as effective and useful as proprietory software? I mean instead of buying Windows XP, Vista/7 and Microsoft Office; is it better to settle for Fedora/Ubuntu with OpenOffice? Still gives you nearly the same experience only that one is entirely free and the other is not!
Your thoughts?
Software piracy is a crime and in many developed countries the punishment is often severe; jail time or millions of dollars in compensation to developers. But as the gap between developing and developed countries grew wider by the minute, it is basically impossible to buy authentic software from Microsoft or from other software developers. For this reasons, countries such as China, Taiwan, Malaysia etc. have been duplicating programs and sold them on blackmarket to poor people who can't afford a genuine software. For this reason alone, I would say that Software Piracy is relevant. But as you said, there are open source websites where developers post their works for free before selling the improved version in tech-Market. Many of the Open-source softwares carry some of necessary programs found on Microsoft or Sun's programs. I go to these websites for free software. I encourage visitors to google out Open source and check out the softwares.
A cure to this is to have more Solomon Islanders in Computer Information Systems & Computer Programming. Many people wonder why China is advanced in many things; there's one simple answer.... in a country where Communism rules every household, students turned to specialized field of studies to make ends meet. You would find engineers, computer programmers, and Specialists living in shacks, but their works are sold world wide in cellphones, radios, TVs, Computer hardwares, programs etc. I think if Solomon Islands government focused on Computer Technology, things would be better for us. Computer programmers would develop software and sale them in our country with affordable rates instead of trying to buy something was developed in US or Europe.
Another good example is Brazil. Since Brazilian government encouraged technology to meet the growing demands for Technology in Brazil, students were giving special scholarships to study programming. Some of the microsoft programs that are now populare with the XP, Vista, and now Window 7 were programs bought by Microsoft from Brazil, a developing country! I don't know how many Computer Scientist in Solomon Islands, but this is something that our government should invest in. Forget about sponsoring students to go to Fiji and study History and how to plant trees and coconut trees... prioritize those who are interesting in Computer Technology. They are are the brains of tomorrow. A good place to start is to include Computer Technology studies in our High School curriculum. I was one of those who went to school not knowing anyting about computer! If we can teach our students foundation Calculus in Form 6, why not basic computing studies? By the time our students get to Uni, they already know basic calculus-a good starting point for programmers. You don't have to be a wizad to be a programmer. As long as you master basic Java, C++, and other languages, you good to go! We have enough teachers that our government doesn't pay, we have enough Farmers, it is time that Solomon Islands Government push for Computer Technology.
Have a great week!
He who has never learned to obey...cannot be a good commander.
Aristotle
Software Piracy is a crime. its simple. I think one also needs to look at whether or not charging exorbitent prices for Software is a crime in itself. The open source alternative is great, it is perhaps the best alternative for many businesses in the Solomon Islands.
I agree on the notion that some basic IT courses should be introduced early. Private schools in Honiara are able to afford this kind of technology and for schools like Woodford International, they start at primary. It will be a huge undertaking to introduce it but it is certainly an idea for the future.
Education is important in any case. Many times people who make choices based on what they know; in many instances choosing Microsoft or propriety software over FOSS is made out of ignorance. So education is an important aspect of promoting Open Source alternatives.
Recently the Whitehouse redeveloped its website www.whitehouse.gov using Drupal, a open source content management system. This is perhaps the biggest statement yet that these alternatives are great and they can be trusted.
Solomon Islands and its people continue to make choices without fully considering the best option which is sometimes an open source solution.
Finally, concepts are important in computing science. Understanding the basic concepts and their application will get you a long way.
So don't commit that crime, simply look for the open source version. Perfectly legal and free.
"Simplicity is an art" | The views and opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
A very interesting debate indeed!
A study of human behaviour & business need would be the best tool to know what affects choices by clients. Whilst cost is only one aspect there may be others like familiarity, most commonly used, etc. Everyone tend to have their first taste of computing with Windows. It is widely & commonly used. A transition to another product would be an uphill battle for some. Therefore, it is good to start promoting FOSS now, but changes will take some years down the line.
I agree, schools would be the best place to start such promotions. In the offices, users (non IT) may not be comfortable with switching to Open office or star office as compared to MS Office which they have used their entire life. In the end, the business interest is what matters! Productivity is the foremost concern by the CEOs. So users need to use the right tool appropriate for them to increase business productivity. It basically comes back to familiarity - what they know better.
As the general rule of thumb - IT should be structured according to the business structure & needs and not vice versa. A particular system should NOT be introduced to satisfy the IT needs. Instead, new systems should be slowly introduced while embracing heterogeneity.
I remembered last year, someone from a govt ministry called and asked for a version of Adobe CS that is compatible with Vista, because he has just upgraded his machine from XP and his previous version cannot work on it. He obviously only upgraded it because it was the latest windows OS then without actually considering his need. Has XP not provided everything he needed to perform his duties? I guess not! I guess he has just wanted to remain on top of others because he had the latest product. This is totally a wrong view! Business need should always comes first. Thus, every organization's needs for software maybe different. Everyone may not need Windows7 or Windows 2008 Srv now as XP or Windows 2003 Srv maybe still support their need perfectly.
I am in full support of FOSS and I agree with other writers that piracy should slowly find its way through the exit doors - whether it be through FOSS or acquiring geniune software. If organizations high productivity warrants costs of geniune software then so be it.
So I guess the literacy required here is not only introduction of FOSS but software piracy.
I would encourage everyone to start using Ubuntu - it is very usuable and works like a dream. My nine year old and wife (not a computer wiz!!) both use it, and experience no problems with it. Ubuntu 9.04 looks beautiful, works really well, and you can load it onto old machines and make them useful.
One big reason to use it in the Solomons is no more virus/malware problems!! None!! I finally did a virus scan on my work laptop (Ubuntu 9.04) after six months - not one virus anywhere. I did a check of the UNESCO computers (and memory sticks) up at Gizo last Christmas and there were viruses everywhere. Every single external USB hard drive / memory stick used at that office had viruses.
Second big reason - you load everything off the one disk - no more swapping a million disks to load the OS. It also loads very quickly compared to Windoze.
Third big reason - you can go to the Ubuntu website and order the disks for FREE - they will mail them to you. Order 10 and hand them out to your friends.
I have been using Linux for over 10 years, and it is all I use at home. I did my Masters research on 'The Adoption of Open Source Software in the Solomon Islands', so I understand the issues that surround the use of open source software in Solo. If anyone would like help or support on using it, please contact me!!!
Hi Nick,
I noted that there are a lot of Linux Distros out there but cannot settle with which one to adopt and stick to. It's no harm learning about all distro's as they all originate from the same kernel. Interestingly Ubuntu was the first distro I was taught. My instructor, a very experience Linux Guru, somehow recommended the use of Ubuntu as his choice for teaching. He even use Debian (Debian & Ubuntu originate from the same kernel) to host live servers at the Uni. I dont know why he prefers these but I guess he has his own reasons based on his great experiences.
Yes, I agree, Ubuntu is quite stable, easier to use. I also noted that Ubuntu comes with a lot of different versions as well like Kubuntu, Ubuntu Server, etc. I have not explored further the other distros though.
Yes nick, Ubuntu 9.04 is the suitable Os for newbys in Linux to begin wif.
But its no harm to try Mint 7. I love this one tu. Maybe others will also like.;
So yeah, with Nick i highly recomend this open source OS to solo ppl.
Feel the power of linux.
Linux > windows.
Well, I've been back in the Solomons for over six months now, and software piracy is still a major problem. Many organisations still think they are saving money by having pirated software. I've been working for some of the bigger businesses around the Solomons, and the amount of time that has been wasted trying to put back together broken IT systems (and often broken because the software was pirated) without the proper software install disks is just rediculous.
I now have a very good system that eliminates most of the problems caused by this.
Oh, and BTW - Ubuntu is still fantastic. Download and install Mint Linux though if you don't want to stuff around with setting up codecs and other proprietory software.
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