Andalucia Adopts Free Software 277
InodoroPereyra writes "Browsing Linux Today I found a link to an
HispaLiNUX
article stating that
Andalucia goes OpenSource. More specifically,
"All public educational centre necessities are intended to be fulfilled, first of all, with Free Software [...] It is compulsory to all hardware acquired by official educational centres to be fully compatible with Free Software operating systems. Furthermore, it must be preinstalled in all new bought computers".
Andalucia is a region located to the South of Spain, with about 7.5 million inhabitants. This is an important follow-up to the many stories on
Linux in Extremadura."
Just barely begun (Score:2, Offtopic)
Sorry, but this needs to go much further.
What about Higgletypigglety and Ishkabibble? Ringolevio might get on board, but I think Jaberwocky will be the hold-out.
Re:Just barely begun (Score:2)
Re:Sure, what are they anyway ? (Score:2)
The moorish influence is most prominent from the people to the architecture.
Anyways, how about the whole siesta thing? Sounds like a nice policy to adopt here, stateside.
--Joey
Small nations (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Small nations (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Small nations (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Small nations (Score:2)
(Icelandic supposedly being very close to Old Norse)
Re:Small nations (Score:2)
It is, and furthermore, it's a beatiful language. I (being a norwegian) can even understand quite a lot of a written Icelandic text. At school, we are to learn a bit about Old Norse. That means generally listen to somebody speaking Icelandic and try to understand what they say.
KDE and as far as I know, OpenOffice are translated to Icelandic.
In Norway, there are two variations of the same language - roughly translated "Nynorsk: New norwegian" and "Bo
Re:Small nations (Score:2)
Southern American English? (Score:2)
Basically, just use "hallfar" instead of "error", "gimme sum dam dip" instead of "insert disc 1," and so forth. I'd translate it myself, but a true linguist would be needed for a proper translation.
Re:Southern American English? (Score:2)
Presumably you've seen this Red Hat 5.1 installation screen shot [redhat.com]? I don't know whether they still offer that as one of the installation languages, however; I wouldn't be surprised if it was no longer offered.
(See the footnote - click the "2" - for the reason why that particular language choice was offered.)
Re:Small nations (Score:1)
Even more, though they passed a law by which if a program was needed it should be open source as long as it was 'as good as the propietary one' the government keeps on using propietary software. The sentence is too ambiguous and Microsoft may be is 'not paying attention' to the fact that most software in public institutions is probably pirate as long as all the money invest
Re:Small nations (Score:2)
Re:Small nations (Score:2)
It should matter to you (Score:2)
Sure I only speak English. (I pretend I can speak Spanish, but I'm not fooling myself, much less anyone who knows spanish.) I still installed all the lanuages translations KDE has on my computer. I have friends who speak other languages. They like the ability set the computer in their languages.
Only about 5 people have used my computer in the last 4 years, but one of them used a language other than english. It makes it worth it, and cost little disk space in todays world.
I keep hoping the cute girl f
Educational target (Score:2)
Anyway, ensuring that all computer and components are compatible with open source solutions maybe not ensures that they will not use windows, but at least that they can choose now or after without being forced to use one solution over another because winmodems, winprinters, and other hardware that depends on windows to work.
Re:Educational target (Score:1)
And, believe me, that creates a market. AFAIK, Oki (one big printers maker) has released some linux drivers targeted only at Extremadura.
It may seem a small step, but in Extremadura it has meant lots of things. I only hope that it will have similar effect in Andalucía.
Economic Development (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Economic Development (Score:1)
Re:Economic Development (Score:1)
Just train a couple of teachers on the subject, write some good documentation, and you're gone. I don't think that that teacher-training would be any cheaper using windows&office, anyway.
Close minded (Score:4, Interesting)
The article is light on background and I don't read Spanish, so I don't know what precipitated this decision (purely financial, political (aka Anti-Microsoft), technical, or whatever). So it's hard to tell just how well thought out this is.
Re:Close minded (Score:5, Insightful)
This isn't same kind of limitation (assuming that being free is a requirement). If they required that all systems must have MS-software, they would lock out competing companies. If they require that the software must be free, no company gets excluded. There's nothing stopping MS from offering software that fits their requirements. If MS chooses not to do so, it's MS's problem.
It would be same if I wanted to buy a station-wagon. Would I be excluding car-manufacturers that don't make station-wagons? Nope. If they don't have products that I'm interested in, it's really not my problem, it's their problem.
Re:Close minded (Score:2)
Re:Close minded (Score:2)
What would you say if NASA wanted Space Shuttle control software to be free as well?
Yes, that's an extreme example, but the point is, the free software/open source community should encourage people to use software with the best value for the job. Free software obviously have inherent advantages in value, but some are still in early stages of developme
Re:Close minded (Score:2)
That would be pretty easy to do considering it is custom written for NASA. In fact, all internal software is technically "free software" (free as in speech), because, everyone who has access to it has full rights to it.
If you're requirement was that the software was Free (as in speech), you wouldn't have to wait at all for current Free software to mature, you just find a corporation that is willing to license it to the
Re:Close minded (Score:2)
If an entity was required by policy to only use free (beer) software, that policy must be violated when there are no free (beer) software that are good enough to use. Such violations will bring about more violations, even where free (beer) software do fit the job. Worse, they'd probably pirate the non-free (beer) software, because they don't have a software budget.
Re:Close minded (Score:1)
In spanish we say "codigo libre" (free code) for what you understand as "open source". It can also be "codigo abierto" (open code), but we tend to use "libre" instead.
Re:Close minded (Score:2)
Re:Close minded (Score:1)
Assuming this is Free, as in speech, I don't think this as a REQUIREMENT is such a good idea. I believe Bruce Perens' Sincere Choice principle of 'Competition by merit' is a better (more fair) way for countries/organisations/etc. to adopt FOSS. That is, providing a level playing field by observing:
Re:Close minded (Score:2)
Re:Close minded (Score:2)
Sleep Well (Score:2)
"Grandpa, could you read it again?"
Re:Sleep Well (Score:2)
Right. Because as we all know, the global IT marketplace is 100% Microsoft and growing fast. And that's never going to change.
"And also, children, there's a terrible curse on those who learn to code with those evil nasty non-Microsoft operating systems, so that those whose small soft brains were corrupted by the dark forces of Free Software will never be able to learn to use the Holy Hand Grenade of Microsoft to assure peace and prosperity for Andalucia."
BTW, Andalucia isn't a country.
Re:Sleep Well (Score:2)
Reading comprehension is a skill. I never said it was.
Because as we all know, the global IT marketplace is 100% Microsoft and growing fast. And that's never going to change
Ignore it and it will just go away is a good attitude to take. Excuse me if Im wrong, but if a person learns C++, or whatever, I believe those skills can translate to other languages. So stagnating all your people to one model, like OSS only, kind of limits their exposure. Totally banning Linux
Re:Sleep Well (Score:2)
"Reading comprehension is a skill."
So is writing with clarity and purpose. Perhaps you meant to say, "And that, children, is how Andalucia assured the world that nobody from our province" yada yada. Or perhaps because a government entity in Andalucia has decided not to pay for Microsoft products, they have in some mysterious way doomed all of Spain to the dark night of IT ignorance.
My bad. I shouldn't have tried to decipher your fable.
"Excuse me if Im wrong, but if a person learns C++, or whatever,
Re:Sleep Well (Score:2)
Well, in the same way that Russia wasnt the Soviet Union, Andalucia is not Espana. Russia wasnt the country, but they did set policies that affected the res
Re:Sleep Well (Score:2)
(a) Write well. You don't need MSFT Word for that. Any reasonable document preparation system is good enough. Most people are limited by their thought than the tool these days.
(b) Programming Basics. KDevelop, GLADE, Java Development, (X)Emacs, Eclipse, blah blah blah. I know many in India that still use Turbo C and so on. Learning on the latest open source IDEs is going to be helpful (not the standard widget magic from MS Visual Studio)
(c) Web.
Re:Sleep Well (Score:1)
First of all, open source is part of the global IT marketplace, even if you don't like that fact.
Second, only a tiny fraction of the IT marketplace is about selling and sending shiny shrinkwrapped boxes around the world. Most programmers are employed to write in-house software or special software for one customer or one need. - If the customer or your boss wants the end product to be open source, it is open source.
Third, the shrinkwrap-part of the IT marketplace tends to form dominating
Re:Sleep Well (Score:2)
And Microsoft is part of the global IT marketplace, even if you dont like that fact.
Second, only a tiny fraction of the IT marketplace is about selling and sending shiny shrinkwrapped boxes around the world
Ya, a majority of the rest are running MS "warez".
Most programmers are employed to write in-house software or special software for one customer or one need. - If the customer or your boss wants the end
As the Pixies (and Dali and Buneul) put it ... (Score:2)
Re:As the Pixies (and Dali and Buneul) put it ... (Score:2)
Re:As the Pixies (and Dali and Buneul) put it ... (Score:2)
While the Dali/Buneul film was ... (Score:2)
Re:As the Pixies (and Dali and Buneul) put it ... (Score:2)
"I am un chien andalusia" actually mixes English ("I am"), Spanish ("un", which exists in French, but is actually pronounced as in Spanish), French ("chien"), and something undetermined ("andalusia" as such is neither French nor Spanish).
'I wish Bunuel was still alive. He made this film about nothing in particular. The title itself is a nonsense. With my
Getting there... (Score:1)
Re:Getting there... (Score:1)
It gets worse when you are studying a 5-year-long university grade, and watch out (somewhat amazed) how people with the diploma just don't know how to install anything that is not windows-based.
Uninformation is a great weapon. Let's hope these projects have the expected impact (I'll be happy if a boy runs into his house and says "Hey,
Maddog speaking about this (Score:2)
Guest Speaker
Jon 'maddog' Hall
Linux in Emerging Economies
Wednesday
March 26th, 2003
Kinnicutt Hall - WPI Campus
(Salisbury Labs 115
aka the usual place)
Worcester, MA USA
7:00 PM
More info at: http://www.wlug.org/
Re:Maddog speaking about this (Score:2)
And in other news... (Score:2)
Good stuff. (Score:1)
Doesn't seem like a very hard choice.
Re:Good stuff. (Score:1)
Sweet! (Score:1, Troll)
Is this the "LookWhatOtherNoNamePlaceUsesLinux.com" website, or Slashdot? I mean really. Im glad people are using Linux, and OS/2, and OSX, and anything else, but uh... so one place no ones ever heard of adopts Linux as their OS of choice today and Slashdot posts about it? I wonder how many people setup a new environment based on Windows today? Or OSX? or IRIX, or Solaris? Post some of the places on that.
Re:Sweet! (Score:1)
I enjoy seeing these articles. I think it's neat that a government would make such a decision, and I'd be especially interested in follow up articles that would say "we ran into these problems which we solved using this program".
And you're right, it wouldn't be as interesting if it were Win2K. I suppose that's because Win2K isn't a community effort...
Yours,
Tom
Re:Sweet! (Score:1)
Your right though, the dramatic majority of new setups go to the windows world. And that needs to change. Windows has its place, but oftentimes Open-Source is better suited to the task. (Webservers and the likes.) The trend really need to change and one way to help facilitate that change is to point out no name places in the world that have changed. To companies it is like saying "Even Local Business XYZ has done it, why have
Re:Sweet! (Score:2)
I guess you not knowing where it is doesn't meen that others don't nor that it's not an important region.
Re:Sweet! (Score:2)
Re:Sweet! (Score:1)
Re:Sweet! (Score:1)
Andalucia is not the largest region in spain. It is Castilla-León, with 94.193 km2 (Andalucía is 87.268 km2). And not the one with the gratest population density. Madrid, Cataluña, Valencia, Aragón, país Vasco, have a greater density.
It is, although, the region with the gratest population.
Re:Sweet! (Score:1)
All your post does is prove that you haven't bothered to look at a map or study geography. Andalucia
Re:Sweet! (Score:2)
Re:Sweet! (Score:1)
It is very important (Score:3, Informative)
Up to now many organizations (mainly public/state such as communities, regions, provinces) have been thinking aloud on switching to Linux (on the desktop), but until now it seems like noone dared to make the jump.
It is not for nothing that MSFT is fighting every 'minor defection' vigorously (offering huge discounts etc first and sometimes starting the threaten if that doesn't help). After the fi
Re:Sweet! (Score:2)
I can't help but laugh when an article gets posted to Slashdot that a group or government, especially in a 3rd world nation, chooses Linux. Chances are, given the choice of the massive support and userbase Microsoft offers, many would likely choose it if they could, but can't afford it, so they go the cheap route. Cheap != better. Just because someone drives a 76' Pinto to work is
Re:Sweet! (Score:2)
Re:Sweet! (Score:1)
He's talking about third world nations like Andalucia, California, and Washington DC. I also don't understand why slashdot keeps writing about these strange nations that nobody has ever heard of.
</sarcasm>
What I want to know is how he had enough karma to post at +2.
Re:Sweet! (Score:1)
Me cago en tu puta madre, agilipollao de los cojones.
Just had to do it, sorry...
Re:Sweet! (Score:1)
See, Andalucía is the place where many English, German and North-American tourists go on holydays. Spanish sun and beaches and folk. If you mentioned Extremadura, ok, it's not well known... but Andalicía is very well known to tourists that have heard from Spain...
Andalucia is a part of Spain. As in Spain/Europe. Its one of the few countries, [...] that sides with your glorious President.
Morón! (Score:2)
Andalucia is a part of Spain.
Yes, Morón [af.mil] is in Andalucia.
Take a trip to Spain (Score:1)
More seriously, this is happening in more places than we can possibly imagine. Right now we are setting up a project for a small corporate to convert 300 desktops to Linux. A small step and admittedly we are a small arse company [catalyst.net.nz] in a small arse country [purenz.com]
Browsing Linux Today? (Score:1)
Wow...Linux Today must suck too.
IN SOVIET RUSSIA.... (Score:1, Funny)
How to pass the hours at work, I'll never know
Linus, good. Fuck SCO
Andalucia? (Score:2)
I guess I always had my map turned sideways ;)
Free Software Marches on! (Score:3, Funny)
from the welcome-to-the-hotel-california dept. (Score:2)
We are programed to recieve
You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave
Require or choice? (Score:2)
Kinda limiting their hardware choices, aren't they?
They went FREE SOFTWARE, *NOT* Open Source (Score:2)
If you say "Open Source", and license your software with the GPL, then you are still doing Free Software, just without the emotional baggage.
The end result is the same, but your motives are questionable because your philosophical commitment level is low.
If you say "Free Software", well, you are letting everyone know where you stand and what your goals are. There can be no doubt. See "
Re:They went FREE SOFTWARE, *NOT* Open Source (Score:2)
Yes , my bad, and thanks for pointing this out. But really, it would be great news even if it they decided to go open source, not necesarily FS in the sense of the FSF. I agree with you that the fact that they talk about "Free Software" makes it even better though. Cheer up my friend !
huh? (Score:1)
Is he trying to spell sentry?
Re:huh? (Score:1)
Ino what? (Score:2)
Just for the benefit of all our non spanish-speaking readers, "Inodoro" means "toilet".
This EducationMinute 2.0 brought to you by the Organization For The Advancement Of Free As In Peseta Software Across The World And Other Obscure Places That Nobody Has Ever Heard About.
A Step Forward ... but other step back... (Score:1)
Well Darn... (Score:1)
I was about to get very happy...
Oh well
Amazing (Score:1)
Not due to lack of education.. (Score:2)
If the target audience for the article - Spanish citizens! - needs education of that location, why on earth are you insulting Slashdot readers education level?
Perhaps the article submitter could have taken the time to mention that it was a huge chunk of spain.
Gates.Sex.IRAQ.Troll...Readme NOW Mister!!! (Score:1)
It's only a matter of time Windows Trolls!!!!
The more extreme your responses here
The more we know we're hurting you plenty LOL !!!
FREE ALWAYS WINS
JUST ASK NETSCAPE......
The Clash (Score:2)
Re:The Clash (Score:2)
You mentioned the Clash because of Spanish Songs on their third album, more to the point in the current period, but a OT karma burn:
The Call Up [sheffielda...war.org.uk]
Re:I don't like it (Score:2)
Re:I don't like it (Score:1)
Re:I don't like it (Score:1)
A great deal of them will indeed run Windows, because that's a skill that gets you a job. Outside of the IT world, noone is impressed by 'linux' on a resume.
All their doing is limiting their hardware choices.
Personally I prefer to use only hardware that works with linux, even though I dont use it on the desktop. It's generally a sign that the hardware has been
Re:I don't like it - I still satand by my argument (Score:2)
Unfortunately if you think short-term, you're right. Though I personally have a problem with other companies dictating what software I
Re:I don't like it - people hereare too idealistic (Score:1)
I did this at my college. They always sent out Excel-files when they wanted to distribute timetables to students and Word documents for newsletters and the like. Those files opened quite nicely (most of the time), but still I demanded an open format. I kept hammering the
Re:I don't like it - I still satand by my argument (Score:2)
When I use LaTeX for my documentation and people everywhere cannot make sense of it, I send them pdf files (or well formatted html files, since LaTeX2HTML does a very good job).
Likewise, when people don't want others to muck around with their documents, they send them in pdf , often with an additional Acrobat license. They sometimes also send bad html from MS Word.
Interchange of the documents will only get better with time. I can safely venture and say openoffice does a
Re:they must know something most slashdotters don' (Score:1)
Re:they must know something most slashdotters don' (Score:1)
Add that to the independence from a software company.
Add that to the fact that you can develop your own software to improve the well-being of your country. (As the opposite to "let's buy software from USA and let's give 'em all our money). It employees your own people, and keeps money
Re:Slashdot to English Translator-matic (Score:1)
Whatever else they may be, in this day and age, I can't knock anyone who reads something worthwhile.
Re:Slashdot to English Translator-matic (Score:2)
I've spent the last two years being subjected to biased slashdot propaganda. I couldn't hack into a properly configured windows system if my life depended on it
Absolutely right. Microsoft's latest patches [computerworld.com] are unbeatable. If you can't boot the OS, ain't nobody gonna crack the box.
Re:Slashdot to English Translator-matic (Score:2)
Just because YOU can't doesn't mean others can't. Yes, getting a remote shell on Win2K is very difficult but using a documented exploit to run remote code is just a matter of following instructions [barnesandnoble.com].
Ever notice how many blue ties Bush wears.. (Score:2)
Maybe Nostradamus didn't get it right, or it was bablefished wrong ;)
Re:frist ps0t (Score:2)
That posting really clashes with the article.