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Russian OS to be installed in every school (CNews)
Russia plans to install a Linux-derived "Russian OS" in every school in
that country, as reported
by CNews. Pilot programs are to start in three regions in 2008, with 2009
being targeted for a full rollout. "The main aim of the given work is
to reduce dependence on foreign commercial software and provide education
institutions with the possibility to choose whether to pay for commercial
items or to use the software, provided by the government."
(Log in to post comments)
Correct meaning of "Free" Posted Sep 24, 2007 14:48 UTC (Mon) by proski (subscriber, #104) [Link] What I really like is that the Russian version of the interview actually translates "free" correctly, "as in speech". The price is certainly an issue for Russian schools, but it's nice to see that somebody in the government understands that it's not only about price.
More to come Posted Sep 24, 2007 19:12 UTC (Mon) by coriordan (guest, #7544) [Link] I think this is how we win.
It won't be home users or corporations who do the Big Switch to free software, it'll be governments.
They're the ones who switch for the right reasons - sovereignty etc. It's happening all across Latin America, a few large parts of India, and some isolated parts of Europe.
More to come Posted Sep 24, 2007 19:14 UTC (Mon) by amikins (guest, #451) [Link] Not to mention bits and pieces in the United States in local government.
More to come Posted Sep 24, 2007 19:38 UTC (Mon) by muwlgr (guest, #35359) [Link] I would not see that so rosy. That's post-Soviet state, so with its government going to coordinate that all, quite a lot of clever people will find a way to abuse and mispurpose funds collected and allocated for this. I live in neighbouring post-Soviet state, and so, know :>
More to come Posted Sep 24, 2007 20:12 UTC (Mon) by foo-bar (guest, #22971) [Link] Whatever happens with the money, the end result will be schools getting Linux. The money is for extra localization, adaptation to the school environment and other non-critical work, it doesn't really matter if half of the money is wasted :-)
Corruption is there anyway Posted Sep 24, 2007 20:55 UTC (Mon) by coriordan (guest, #7544) [Link] Misuse of funds will happen no matter what software the government uses.
Giving money to Microsoft is one common misuse of funds. At least by breaking that addiction, the public administration will be in a position where it's possible to use the funds correctly.
More to come Posted Sep 24, 2007 20:40 UTC (Mon) by jordanb (guest, #45668) [Link] I think you're right. For buisnesses free software is pretty much entirely about cost, they care very little about the actual freedoms. Even those who benefit from 'share and share alike' don't care about the user's freedom to run the software he pleases. With governments, though, *all* aspects of freedom are important for the purpose of preserving national sovereignty.
Correct meaning of "Free" Posted Sep 24, 2007 21:57 UTC (Mon) by dmarti (subscriber, #11625) [Link] Personally, I like "free as in Dmitry."If a foreign country locks up one of your programmers for developing a tool that even law enforcement agencies used, wouldn't you want to be less dependent on that country's software?
Correct meaning of "Free" Posted Sep 24, 2007 22:51 UTC (Mon) by proski (subscriber, #104) [Link] Indeed, DMCA and similar laws spoil the software vendors by allowing them to rely on the law where they should be relying solely on the code. No government or business should trust software that is legally exempt from criticism or reverse engineering for research purposes.However, let's be fair to Microsoft. I don't think they ever acted like Adobe. That's not to say that they cannot act like Adobe in the future if they choose to.
spelling right Posted Sep 24, 2007 19:38 UTC (Mon) by gvy (guest, #11981) [Link] Pavel, I guess you can thank AEN for that spellchecking, too. :) Although many people are involved, naturally.
BTW a person from a ministry with the name I didn't remember was present at the summer conference in Obninsk organized by ALT Linux Ltd, and was speaking quite sane things as well.
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