OPEN SOURCE, FREE SOFTWARE OPENS NEW WINDOWS TO THIRD WORLD COMPUTING
By Frederick Noronha

KUALA LUMPUR: Policy planners, IT experts and plain computer users across the Third World have a way out. No more do they have to choose between being labelled 'pirates' or foregoing the use of potent software that enhances their productivity manifold.

GNU/Linux, the alternative 'free' operating system and the tonnes of useful software that comes along with it, is clearly attracting interest from a range of quarters. From Pakistan to the UNDP, from Africa to Malaysia, and even in the Philippines or Thailand and Nepal, GNU/Linux is being closely watched, studied and adopted in a range of interesting experiments.

Created and propagated largely by volunteers, most of GNU/Linux's growth simply isn't based on giant billion-dollar spinning corporations that have the resources to promote its cause. So, such success stories from the Third World could largely go unnoticed.

In large parts of the world where the average per capita income is often less than the cost of a computer, the current phenomenal price of software turns millions into 'pirates'. In these parts of the globe, words like 'free' or 'low cost' are not necessarily associated with low-quality, but on the other hand offers to include millions who otherwise would be simply left out in the cold.

Because GNU/Linux is 'free' -- in the sense that its code is freely available to anyone who wishes to work on it further, or adapt it, or just reproduce it -- there are no mountains of secrecy blocking the easy-replicability of such software.

This means, prices of the same fall to a point which is dramatically low compared to 'proprietorial' software... and thus suddenly become affordable to the millions.

For instance, a couple of hundred thousand copies of GNU/Linux have been distributed across a country like India, through local popular computer magazines, at a price of just around $2. That includes both the cost of a slick magazine, and CD. This software can, of course, be legally copied across as many computers as needed.

This being the case, is it surprising that there are interesting stories coming from varied corners of the Third World?

FROM PAKISTAN, LOW-COST COMPUTERS

Pakistan Ministry of Science and Technology advisor Salman Ansari says that some 50,000 low cost computers are to be installed in schools and colleges all over Pakistan. These will be PII computers, each being sourced for less than $100 a piece, he says.

Proprietary software for these PCs would cost a small fortune. Surely more than what the computers cost! But, using GNU/Linux as the OS would ensure that the overall prices are kept low. Pakistan is seriously considering the use of Star Office, an Open Source productivity tool that does the same work as proprietary software costing thousands of rupees.

"Don't be surprised if we become the first country in the world to say that all (government-run) services are going to be GNU/Linux based," Ansari says enthusiastically. It's to be seen if these dreams can be accomplished.

"I've set up several networks. When I started setting them up six years ago, the only thing I could run them with, without breaking the law, was Linux. At that time, Windows NT was very flaky. So I've developed a very healthy respect for Linux and Open Source. Though I'm a typical Pakistani, I still feel a bit uncomfortable in buying pirated software, and paying 90 cents for a software priced US$500," he says with a smile.

(Others at a recent UNDP meet held in Kuala Lumpur too raise question about the prices for proprietorial software. More so, in the Third World, where the price of a single software could cost more than the average citizen's per capita income! Some suggest that software should be priced at differential levels, keeping the dollar-earning power of different countries' citizens in mind. Just as books originally published in the US, for instance, are re-published and priced at as little as one-sixth the cost when reprinted in South Asia.)

Ansari says Pakistan has been speaking to some big vendors of proprietorial prices. "We told them we would like to do business with them, but for that the pricing would have to be realistic first," says he.

If current software prices are taken into account, to go 'legal' Pakistan would have to pay something like US$400 for converting each of its PCs to proprietorial software.

"The Business Software Alliance (the network promoting proprietorial
software) has been going all out for it. But they have to come in at a price which equates to the economics of the country," argues Ansari.

Ansari points to the growing belief which says that if professionals wanting to enter the software development field need to get into Open Source. "You will be then able to create products, and not just projects," says he.

It makes sense from the regional language solutions front too. "Urdu (the national language of Pakistan) language software is easier (to use) if it resides at the OS level," he adds.

Ansari says that as chairman of the peer review committee of all IT projects, he has been keen to turn down any project that uses pirated software. "But what this ends up doing is that it bloats the cost of the software," he complains, suggesting the Open Source could be a way out.

"There are two interesting initiatives now. We're launching a major e-governance programme, and the government must have legal software. We're also planning to put in computers in rural schools. Both are going to be high profile projects. We want to make sure they don't use pirated software, even while we work on cleaning out other PCs..."

Ansari says this has 'thrown open the debate' in Pakistan. For instance, the Technology Resource Mobilisation Unit has a task force on Linux. The government has also agreed to put in Rs 200 million to fund R&D and software product development, which the government would then own and distribute for free -- cutting into the very logic of proprietorial software.

On the client-side, efforts are on to build a GUI interface for Linux, by working at the OS level for projects which relate to text-to-speech, language translation and language-related software.

"But at the same time, we're not stopping anyone (in government) from buying branded products. So long as they can justify it and negotiate a good price (the justification for which has to be very valid)," says the US-returned engineer. "In a government contract, if you're going to bid for computers which has a legal OS and office suite, guess who's going to win," he says.

Three aspects take priority on this front, says Ansari.

Firstly, encouraging legal software. Secondly, enabling a 'complete industry growth' for product development based on Linux. And, thirdly, making people "very, very aware" of this powerful tool. GNU/Linux is something which "almost everybody has adopted, whether it's Sun, Oracle or IBM". This would reduce the cost of computing for the people, even while we would like to use non-pirated software, says Ansari.

He finds it ludicrous to believe the BSA's estimation that India uses 63% pirated software, while Pakistan's figure is something like 83%. "Their current paradigm is simply to count the number of computers shipped, and multiply this by five, on the assumption that each computer needs five pieces of software. This is a ludicrous way of estimating things," says he.

Says he: "Sure, piracy is far high. If everybody somehow started using Linux, we'd fall below the US piracy levels, and maybe have 2% piracy. We want to be ahead of these guys before they start their next 'war on terrorism' (using the issue of 'intellectual property'). But we also want the likes of Microsoft to come out with prices that are reasonable. We want companies like those to also come and invest in the country, where software or drivers could be written here. Under those circumstances, even Microsoft would start looking very different," he argues.

IN AFRICA TOO...

In Africa too, GNU/Linux is making its impact felt. Dakar (Senegal)-based Pierre Dandjinou is ICT-D Policy Advisor for Africa. Says Dandjinou: "At one point, we got an idea to set up an Open Source Foundation for Africa. We are working on it."

He points to discussion list to discuss Open Source. South Africa's network is perhaps the most popular among the continent. Dandjinou, as ISOC (Internet Society) chairman for Benin, was able to organise a conference on this subject. UNDP has been experimenting with such technologies way back from 1994, virtually the babyhood days for this new and young operating system, that was launched in the early 'nineties.

"Can African citizens be paying for all the proprietorial software stuff?" he asks.

Besides, SNDP, the Sustainable Network Development Programme which is a network promoted by the UN, itself uses Linux in some 47 countries worldwide.

But Dandjinou says: "I don't feel the cost (alone) is an issue. Of course, if you compare (the price of Open Source or Free Software products) with what we've been paying by using proprietorial software packages, we have been paying really a lot of dollars. But more than price, what matters is the application development. The idea of the openness should be kept there. Openness and sharing... these are great values in themselves."

M. Thierry Hyacinthe Amoussougbo, the coordinator for the Cisco regional academy in Benin, says that enthusiasm about GNU/Linux is high, even if there are still practical problems in implementation.

Part of the problems are due to lack of enough technical skills to spread GNU/Linux sufficiently. Besides, the widespread predominance of 'pirated' versions of proprietorial operating systems makes the need for innovation and study of options a low-priority. "Everybody says let's go over to Open Source. But on the ground, it takes time to get started. It is being used by some, but is yet to be widely used," Amoussougbo admits.

"Linux is used for many servers. We too want to promote it and establish more Linux-based servers. But what moves on the ground level is still Microsoft... maybe without respect to copyright though," says Amoussougbo.

SPAT IN MALAYSIA

In Malaysia, in end-March, the Kuala Lumpur newspapers reported a verbal
spat between the global software giant Microsoft and the
fledging-but-influential Open Source movement in that country.

Tabloid daily 'The Star' reported in its issue of March 26 that Microsoft
(Malaysia) Sdn Bhd had "fired its first salvo against the Open Source movement in Malaysia" with an article sent out through its electronic newsletter and posted on its website.

This article, 'Not quite an open and shut case' was signed by Microsoft Malaysia managing director Butt Wai Choon. It argued that Open Source Software was "a threat to the commercial software industry". The Star, a popular Malaysian daily, noted however that the article "sounded familiar to a speech given by Jim Allchin to US lawmakers in Washington just a bit more than a year ago".

The Star also noted that in the last few months, both the Malaysian National Computer Confederation (MNCC) and the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (Pikom) have formed "special interest groups" devoted to the Open Source movement. MNCC is the national body of computer professionals, while Pikom is the industry trade association.

"Both bodies have announced or are considering initiatives to create greater awareness amongst business and government, of the benefits of using and adopting Open Source solutions," reported The Star in an article by A. Asohan.

Unnamed industry sources were also quoted saying that one or two Malaysian government or semi-government bodies are studying the feasibility of developing Linux -- the Unix-based operating system that many consider the flagship of the OSS charge -- into a "national operating system" like what's being undertaken with China's Red Flag project.

MNCC's member and security consultant Dinesh Nair was quoted saying: "In my opinion it (the article) indicates a growing concern that Open source may be a threat to them locally." Nair also leads the technical sub-group of the MNCC's Open Source Special Interest Group.

"Only Mr Butt can answer for certain (about the article's) timing... but it is true that at this moment in Malaysia, there is substantial interest in Open Source in both the private and public sectors," another MNCC-OSSIG member Dr Nah Soo Hoe, told the newspaper.

"Open source can be a threat to the commercial software model *as practised
currently* by companies like Microsoft. Obviously, if you cannot charge a lot for your software, or hold users to ransom for upgrades and repeated purchases, you will tend to lose a lot of money if your business model is based on just this," he added.

But he went on to point out that it was possible to have a changed model which does not "rely so much on the actual purchase of software, but rather on the services needed to achieve the functionality the software offers, then whether you charge for the software or not is "not so important anymore", Dr Nah noted.

He said his fellow MNCC-OSSIG members believe that the Open Source model can in fact be a *critical element* towards making projects like Malaysia's ambitious Multimedia Super Corridor a success. The MSC is an ambitious ICT (Information & Communications Technology) initiative planned by the Malaysian government, to attract leading global companies to locate their multimedia industries alongside Kuala Lumpur). This dedicated corridor stretches 15 km wide and 50 km long, between the giant Petronas Twin Towers and the hi-tech Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Open Source software, they argue, is even more important for a developing country like Malaysia.

"Access to source code will encourage and promote local capacities for software modification and re-distribution," Dr Nah was quoted as telling The Star in its special in.tech supplement (star-techcentral.com)

"It promotes an environment for technical and systems development, as well as the ability to learn, innovate and invent, while stimulating the local software industry. (More importantly) it promotes independence from foreign software companies and reduces an outflow of funds from the country," he added.

Speaking to visiting participants of an UNDP/APDIP-organised Africa-Asia Workshop on ICT for Development, Ng Wan Peng a senior manager at the Multimedia Superior Corridor at Cyberjaya, the new township being built alongside Kuala Lumpur, says the Malaysian government is "very open" on Open Source.

"We're considering using Open Source. What really matters is the total cost of ownership, including the other costs that come along with it. Wherever possible, we would like to use it," says Peng.

In other ways too, Malaysia is giving Open Source and Free Software a close look. Take the case of MIMOS, the Malaysian Institute of Micro Electronic Systems, which is intended to grow into a premier R&D powerhouse in this South-East Asian country.

"Mimos has a programme on Open Source. Lots of our programmes are running on Open Source," says Dr Raslan Bin Ahmad of MIMOS Berhad. MIMOS is one of the key pillars in taking this country towards becoming a K-society and K-economy (based on knowledge) and turn into a 'developed country' by the year 2020. .

In its e-world section, MIMOS showcases projects like its attempt to build a low-cost PC that is "affordable to everybody". This computer is based on GNU/Linux and and is expected to cost far less than what it costs to buy a PC in the market.

'infoniti' ("infinite" plus "information") is being built up as a handy web device "that makes accessing the web as easy as using a TV or VCR". Both inexpensive and friendly to use, this device would, hopefully, "cross the digital divide separating computer phobics from computer literates". Its promoters say it aims to help "all Malaysians" improve their quality of life through the "power of information". ~

PHILIPPINES, THAILAND

Says Emmanuel Lallana of the E-ASEAN Task Force based in Manila: "It makes sense to use open standards and open source. We don't want to get locked into proprietorial software. You can use Open Source also because it's cheaper. Why pay for an operating system and office suite, when you have people giving it out for free?"

In Thailand, the ambitious SchoolNet experiment -- an initiative that seeks to provide universal access to teachers and students in schools in that East Asian country -- also taps into the power of GNU/Linux.

It has developed a Linux School Internet Server (Linux SIS) to be promoted and distributed to schools "as a cheaper alternative to using an expensive server software".

"Since its introduction, Linux-SIS has been very popular in Thailand due to its excellent documentation in the Thai language, its simple-to-install CD-ROM and web-based server management without the need to know UNIX commands," says Dr Thaweesak 'Hugh' Koanantakool, director of Bangkok's National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (NECTEC).

SIS training courses are always in constant demand from schools looking for a reliable Internet server at the "lowest cost", says he. (More info on the Linux-SIS at www.nectec.or.th/linux-sis/ )

"Initially we used Windows NT on a straightforward PC. Then, we developed the Linux schools Internet server. We now have our own software, running GNU/Linux, which is managed via the Web, using the Thai language. That means, to run it the user hardly need to know anything of Unix. This runs on just a PC. Compared to it, we could not afford a Sun Microsystem box and router for each school," says Koanantakool.

GNU/Linux and a simple PC allows the schools to run an FTP server and "virtually everything out of one box". Says he: "It's far cheaper too. You just get a modem, and put on Linux. Even an old PC can replace a router."

Currently, this project acts like a free ISP of sorts... but open only to schools. "We started working first with the server side (using GNU/Linux) since the desktop is more difficult. One barrier was that almost nobody knows Unix commands (among school teachers in Thailand). So we wrote out a web-based simple admin system. This means, any school can run this after a very little training. There's hardly any need to talk to the GNU/Linux console (the terminal that requires difficult and initially complex commands). But, using the web, one can delete files and carry out other commands routinely needed," he adds.

Koanantakool says the Thai language web-admin tool became "some kind of a breakthrough" that helped teachers to run a school network at the lowest cost. In addition, the Thai-language extension of the project started last year. Version 4.1 was released in March 2002.

"When you boot the machine, it comes to a point that makes it seem like Windows. Many Thai computer companies are eager to pre load the Version 4.1 onto their computers, because they're afraid of anti-piracy campaigns. Since February, the Thai Language Extension (which calls itself Thalay, meaning 'Ocean' in the Thai language) has been making it to the headlines. "Almost on a day to day basis," says a proud Dr Koanantakool with a smile.

NEPALI SCHOOLS

'Linux Journal', which calls itself the "monthly magazine of the Linux community" worldwide, reports in its March 2002 issue about various GNU/Linux initiatives in classrooms across the globe.

Of particular interest are those coming up from the Third World. Including Ganesha's Project in Nepal, a plan using donated machines and open-source software like Linux, in a move to cut the costs of acquiring software licences for "an already impoverished school system".

These are all significant ventures. Some are small; others are more ambitious. But there are lessons for everyone, who can emulate and adapt some of these interesting ventures... from across the Third World.

ENDS