On 6/5/05, Frederick Noronha (FN) <fred@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
http://news.com.com/Free+CDs+spread+open+source+in+India/2100-7344_3-5720008.html?tag=cd.top
Free CDs spread open source in India
Published: May 25, 2005, 9:17 AM PDT
By Ingrid Marson
Special to CNET News.com
The Indian government is trying to encourage the use of computers across the
country by distributing free CDs that contain localized versions of popular
open-source applications.
The government has started distributing CDs containing Tamil-language versions
of various open-source applications, including the Firefox browser, the
OpenOffice.org productivity suite and the Columba e-mail client. It plans to
freely distribute 3.5 million copies of the CD to Tamil speakers worldwide,
according to R.K.V.S. Raman, a researcher at the Centre for Development of
Advanced Computing, a Bangalore-based organization involved in the production
of the CD.
Open Source Software
In India, seeking avenues for growth
There's no standing still in a competitive global market--just check out the
tech action in Bangalore.
Raman told ZDNet UK on Wednesday that the CDs have been in considerable demand
following a newspaper-and-television advertising campaign last month.
"We have had a tremendous response to this (initiative)," he said. "In the
first two weeks of the campaign we got about 100,000 hits daily on the Web
site
offering CDs, and about 2,000 to 3,000 downloads (of Tamil-language
applications). We have already sent out around 50,000 CDs and have a backlog
of
35,000."
Once the requested CDs have been sent out, more copies will be distributed
with
computer magazines and newspapers, according to Raman.
Even the president of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has taken an interest in the
project and earlier this month met the team involved in the production of the
CD.
The next stage of the project is to distribute CDs containing applications in
Hindi, the national language of India. This stage will be launched on June 21
and likely will involve more than the 3.5 million CDs earmarked for the
current
phase, said Raman. Eventually, the government plans to release CDs in all of
the 22 official languages of India.
Raman believes open-source software has two main advantages for the Indian
population--it is relatively inexpensive and it can be modified fairly easily.
"We are sometimes not comfortable with Western user interfaces--they don't
make
sense in our culture, particularly for rural people who haven't had much
access
to technology. If we want to modify the software we have to have access to the
code," he said.
The Indian government's decision to ship free software in this way likely will
be a blow to Microsoft, which plans to release a low-cost version of Windows
in
India soon. Microsoft originally hoped to release its Windows XP Starter
Edition--a low-cost, feature-restricted version of Windows XP--by the end of
March, but it's now aiming for a June release.
Ingrid Marson of ZDNet UK reported from London.
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