ISSUE 41: MARCH-MAY 2006
network of research and training centres/programmes
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Open source software boon for South, says UNU expert
Electronic governance promises to cut corruption and improve transparency,
and open source software offers a way to break the South's technological dependence on industrialised
countries, according to Mike Reed, director of UNU International
Institute for Software Technology (UNU-IIST).
Speaking at a panel discussion on eGovernance and Free Software: How
they are Changing Developing Countries, Reed said that open source software such as Linux is non-proprietary,
less complex, more efficient and freely available to anyone -- unlike Microsoft's Windows operating
system. The event was held at UN Headquarters in New York and organised by
UNU-IIST and UNU Office at the United Nations New York
(UNU-ONY).
"Linux is now the fastest growing software and powers eight of the 10 fastest supercomputers in the world," said Reed. Open source software like Linux is embedded in many types of electronic devices like mobile phones and cameras. Open source is also starting to cut into the near complete domination of the personal computer market by the Windows operating system, he said.
"Developing countries can't afford to buy Windows-based software. The basic Windows operating system costs a year and half salary for the average Vietnamese citizen," he noted.
That's led to rampant theft or illegal copying of Microsoft software. However, such software cannot be modified or customised to meet local needs. Companies and governments have no other choice than to commission expensive custom programming from California's Silicon Valley. Open source, on the other hand, is easy to customise and not particularly difficult to learn, said Reed.
Although Linux has been around for more than 10 years, only a few developing countries like Brazil have a significant number of home-grown open source programmers. And without local programmers, setting up electronic governance – use of computer technology by governments to improve public access to information and services – becomes very expensive and difficult.
Access to computers is one major problem in the developing world, and so is the lack of local programming projects so that programmers can learn, said Reed.
Other panelists were: Tomasz Janowski, research fellow and UNeGov.net coordinator, UNU-IIST; Scott McNeil, general manager, UNU-IIST’s open computing initiative; Michael Tiemann, vice president, open source affairs, Red Hat; Theresa Pardo, deputy director, Center for Technology in Government; and Miguel de Icaza, vice president of developer technologies, Novell.
© 2006 United Nations University