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MISTICA: Open Source vs. Microsoft in DC

From: Ivan Kulis ([email protected])
Date: Thu Feb 14 2002 - 11:39:10 AST

Interesting take on debate and interesting Microsoft move.

>BRIDGES.ORG COMMENTARY: DEBATE BETWEEN OPEN SOURCE AND PROPRIETARY
>SOFTWARE BECOMES REAL FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
>
>Two recent announcements in South Africa raise sharp issues that
>characterize the raging debate between open source and Microsoft
>operating systems -- a debate that will ultimately affect developing
>countries around the world. Last Friday President Thabo Mbeki announced
>in his state-of-the nation speech to Parliament that Microsoft will
>provide free software for all of South Africa's 32,000 government
>schools. Previously, the South African Government's National Advisory
>Council on Innovation (NACI) declared its strong support for open source
>software, saying that it "has the potential to empower people in ways
>that proprietary software (such as Microsoft's) simply does not allow".
>For a nation that is counting on information and communications
>technology (ICT) to help address monumental social and economic
>problems, Microsoft's generous offer can make a real difference.
>However, many argue that open source software is more appropriate for
>the technology realities in developing countries. The Government -- and
>public -- should be aware of the implications of adopting the
>proprietary operating system in schools, and plan wisely to gain the
>benefits without suffering the consequences.
>
>The Microsoft donation is an example of a big international company that
>is taking concrete action to tackle the digital divide by giving the
>kinds of things that it is easy for it to give. This gesture by
>Microsoft sets a standard that other companies should strive to meet.
>The initiative will help schools teach pupils about computers and
>computing. And the more skills built among the nation's youth -- and
>especially technology skills -- the better for South Africa as a whole.
>The hope is that Microsoft's move will be a catalyst to draw similar
>support from other companies, such as offers of hardware, networking
>equipment and training courses. The solution to the problems of the
>digital divide will be founded on effective cooperation among the
>private sector, government and civil society.
>
>Yet, while the Microsoft action is worthy of praise, it should be
>approached with wide open eyes. Offering free software to schools is
>not only good corporate citizenship, it is good for business: if MS
>software dominates South African schools, it will be good for
>Microsoft's bottom line and may limit the adoption of other kinds of
>software in this market. Embracing the Microsoft donation is a smart
>short-term move in a country where free access to up-to-date software
>like MS Office and Encarta will be a boon for many schools that would
>otherwise need to pay for software licenses. However, open source
>proponents point out that the real issue for schools is not software
>licenses, but the challenges and cost of deployment and maintenance of
>sustainable ICT infrastructure. Microsoft products have rapid product
>cycles and quick obsolescence, along with expensive long-term
>maintenance and support implications. Open source software offers a more
>affordable and stable option, along with "thin-client" solutions that
>can be run on recycled computers. The latest Microsoft offerings use
>far more computer resources than the open source alternatives, requiring
>relatively high-end systems with fast processors, lots of memory and
>hard disk space. Indeed, following the Microsoft announcement, the
>South African Minister of Education stated that only 10,000 schools are
>currently equipped to benefit from Microsoft's offer.
>
>This is not the first time that Microsoft has put forward the idea of
>providing technology support for schools. Late last year, the company
>offered to provide about US$1 billion worth of software, hardware,
>training and support to more than 16,000 of the poorest US schools as
>part of a proposed antitrust settlement. In January, the judge in that
>case ruled against the proposal because he was not convinced that it
>represented a fair conclusion, so the donation never happened. Critics
>of the deal, including Apple Computers and Linux software maker Red Hat,
>argued that the donation would have only served to solidify Microsoft's
>monopoly in the desktop operating system market by extending it to the
>education sector. Many also noted the concern that students coming from
>a Microsoft environment will drive a need for Microsoft systems when
>they graduate and join the labor market -- forcing businesses and
>government to adopt Microsoft products.
>
>The South African Government should take what it can get for free
>(especially end-user tools) and prepare and implement a sound plan for
>optimizing the availability of MS software in its schools. However, it
>would be a mistake to assume that because South Africa will get MS
>software that this will automatically lead to improvements in
>educational outcomes; the Government needs to make certain that teachers
>and students are properly trained and able to benefit from the
>introduction of technology in schools. Microsoft should do its part in
>this regard by helping schools with technical support and software
>updates. Evan Summers, of the South African Linux School Computer Lab
>Project, calls for "all organizations and companies, regardless of the
>platform they recommend, to participate in a constructive discussion and
>work together to achieve the real goal: to deploy computer labs to
>every school in the country, and exploit that infrastructure to further
>education."
>
>But the real dilemma for the South African Government is that the
>short-term answer -- take the MS software donation and put it to good
>use -- poses problems in the long-term. In the long-term, South Africa
>needs to foster its own software development and capabilities. The
>Government should not be complacent in attempting to foster or
>facilitate a competitive domestic software development environment. The
>position of NACI illustrates many of the points that developing country
>governments need to consider as they drive the adoption of information
>technology in their nations. NACI describes the trade-off between the
>proprietary and open approaches to software as a choice between relying
>on foreign skills and developing local skills. If South Africa chooses
>the proprietary route, in the long-term the cost in many cases will be
>higher, and much of the expenditure goes out of the country. NACI
>advises that South Africa should be developing local open source skills
>and paving the way to becoming a world class software development
>nation.
>
>The South African Government should focus on open source in its own
>development activities, its purchases, and fostering a local software
>market, while at the same time taking advantage of the free proprietary
>software for its schools. There is no reason why Microsoft and open
>source software cannot and will not coexist, in South Africa and
>elsewhere. But governments and the public may be well-advised to take a
>broad perspective on the issues and leave their options "Open".
>
>For more information contact:
>
>Teresa Peters
>executive director, bridges.org
>Tel: +27 21 970 1304 Fax: +27 21 970 1305
>Eml: [email protected]

Opinion from moderation about Microsoft donation: There is no free lunch...

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