Watching the world get Linux

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- It's not as if there's some evil conspiracyafoot, though one might be excused for thinking that it seems that way.

On the day I write this, The Jamaica Observer newspaper proudlypublished a photo of the country's Minister of Commerce and Technology,Phillip Paulwell, looking a little awestruck while shaking handswith Bill Gates at a recent Microsoft conference.

On the same day I had the honest joy of watching the look on people'sfaces as the real benefits and opportunities from using opensource software and development techniques sank in. I was making apresentation in front of a room full of public school educators, my thirdLinux session in Jamaica this week, and it elicited an extremelyenthusiastic response. You can almost freeze the momentwhen you see the change in people's eyes as they 'get it.'You see it coming from the kinds of questions, skeptical at first, thencurious, then people nodding while taking an increasing amount of notes.

And then comes the sigh -- a sigh of relief, really, like the sigh thatcomes after the completion of a particularly challenging task. In thiscase, the task was understanding the concepts behind free software, and behindcollaboration and cooperation on technology projects, as an alternativeway of looking at the world of computer technology. To the group I wasaddressing, these concepts have simply never before been put forward as anoption. It is, quite literally, thinking outside the box (of software).

I doubt such options have yet to be earnestly put before Mr. Paulwell, butit's only a matter of time. Based on the reception I received at my threetalks -- each to a different kind of audience -- Linux and the conceptsbehind open source development are just what Jamaica and other developingcountries need.

First off there are the practical needs. Many of the school districts aredesperate to have Internet access but can't get their hands on anything newer than486 systems. Now, while you're not going to get good (or even, tomost people, acceptable) performance running a Linux word processor or theGimp on a 486, there's still an awfullot of life in a current Linux system running on older hardware.

One of the questions I hoped to answer during my trip was why Linux use inJamaica wasn't already higher than it was. While the Linux Counterproject is staggeringly unscientific, its placement of Jamaica at 117th place (out of 183) in theworld in Linux use (proportionate to population) appears to be nofluke. Most developing countries appear near the bottom of the list.

Why is this? While nobody I spoke to during my Jamaican visit haddefinitive answers, a number of people offered suggestions that, taken together,may explain why the developing world has actually embraced softwarefreedom more slowly than North America and Europe.

One major element is piracy: apparently the number of companies andorganizations sharing a single copy of Microsoft Office, or any otherapplication, is fairly high. I heard from multiple sources that Microsoftwas stepping up its anti-piracy efforts on the island, which includewidespread publicity for snitch lines such as this onlineone that encourages disgruntled workers to get back at their employerby turning them in to the code cops.

Morethan a year ago, I commented that I wished commercial vendors wouldstep up their efforts to curtail piracy. I still hold to that, becausethe more that consumers are forced to confront the real cost ofproprietary commercial software, the more they'll be encouraged tolook at free software and other open alternatives. How many Jamaicancompanies can truly afford to pay for all the commercial softwarethey're using? Not many, I'd wager.

Another factor that's less obvious is rooted in fear and inertia. Withhigh duties on imports, low Internet bandwidth, and limited resources, fewercompanies here appear willing to experiment with open source solutionswhen their existing paths are comfortable and good enough.

"What about accountability?" asked one attendee at my first talk, a formalpresentation on Linux at the Jamaica ComputerSociety (JCS) annual conference. I have come to accept the word"accountability" these days as a FUD-ism when used in the Linux context.I mean, after all, when was the last time someone sued Microsoft because itssoftware made a computer crash?

The polite answer to such concern was to indicate how many Linux vendorswere lining up to offer commercial support, and even accountability.But as I thought more deeply -- with the help of a some friends from the JCSand a couple of rum creams -- I realized the accountability issue isn't reallyabout the vendor, it's about the buyer.

While choosing Microsoft for a project that results in bursting budgetsand missed deadlines might be acceptable because "everyone else does itthat way," one can't use that excuse when choosing Linux. In other words,at a certain level it's all about which operating system helps youcover your tracks better, regardless of which choice is in the betterinterests of the company. While you can easily find Linux organizationswilling to stand behind their installations, they're not as ubiquitous asMicrosoft and therefore offer easier targets for blame.

The answer, of course, is to ensure that Linux and open sourcesoftware are perceived as real production alternatives and notexperiments. This change in perception is happening, but not as fastas Linux enthusiasts might like. Besides seminars like mine, there are otherefforts helping to change perceptions, such as theJamaican Linux Users Group (whose websiteisn't yet functional but should be soon).

In addition, it looks like the JCS's Education Foundation is having a lookat initiatives such as the development of training classes in the freeStarOffice rather than in Microsoft Office as they had originally planned.Such support will help business users achieve a comfort level withopen source software, and will ease their transition from Windows toless expensive, more reliable Linux desktops.

In addition, I sensean openness (pun intended) on the part of the Foundation to exploremore aggressive initiatives to enhance the role of Linux as a genuineand trustworthy alternative. And it certainly doesn't hurt that the localinstitute for higher education, the University of the West Indies,has recently standardized on Linux for its computer lab.

Still, nothing matches the reaction I received from that group ofeducators on the last day of my trip. This kind of enthusiasmcan't be achieved with a checkbook or a handshake. They see it coming,and they appear determined to help it along. I wish them well, and hopethe larger community can offer the support they need.

PS: Many thanks to TurboLinux forsending 200 of its current Linux CDs, which the seminar attendees were ableto put to immediate use.

What does it take to increase Linux acceptance in the developing world? Let me know in the TalkBack below.