Peru bids to break Microsoft stranglehold (vnunet) [LWN.net]

Vnunet investigates the rise of open-source software in Peru. "A Peruvian congressman is planning to have Microsoft products banned from government departments and replaced with open-source software. Edgar Villanueva's measure would apply to all software, from server operating systems to databases, word processors and email. If passed, the legislation could be the first of its kind in the world and would be the first legal restriction aimed at Microsoft's dominant operating systems."

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That's not the aim, and M$ is deliberately muddling Libre/Gratis again

Posted Jun 27, 2002 13:17 UTC (Thu) by leonbrooks (guest, #1494) [Link]

the legislation [...] would be the first legal restriction aimed at Microsoft's dominant operating systems.

No, it would be the first legal restriction aimed away from Microsoft's `dominant' OSes. The aim is not to hamper Microsoft, but to empower Peru.

Rolando Liendo, president of the Peruvian Association of Software Developers, insisted that the country's fledgling software industry, which [in large part illegally, it must be noted] produces $40m a year in mostly proprietary software, could be hit hard by Villanueva's legislation as roughly a quarter of its business goes to the government.

They have the option of continuing that 1/4 of their business as OSS suppliers. Trading in GPLed product and knock-ons immediately gives them access to an enormous range of GPLed software resources. When RL says `mostly', just how `mostly' are we talking here?

That's not the aim, and M$ is deliberately muddling Libre/Gratis again

Posted Jun 27, 2002 17:00 UTC (Thu) by Peter (guest, #1127) [Link]

The aim is not to hamper Microsoft, but to empower Peru.

Well put. Also, what does Microsoft have to do with anything? They may be the dominant software supplier in Peru, but from what I understand, this legislation is about proprietary software, not about any one company.

It's another of those Laws of Computer Journalism: the topics "free software", "open source", "Linux" and "Microsoft" are apparently all interrelated and cannot be discussed independently of each other.

For that poor Peruvian Association of Software Developers, I see a golden opportunity. Somebody is going to have to start migrating an entire government away from proprietary software. That's no small task. There has got to be serious money to be made during the transition, in planning, implementation, training, and support. I wonder why we aren't hearing from all the (current and future) IT professionals Peru is about to employ. It's Y2K all over again.