Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Why the future belongs to open source

SchoolNet Namibia

Since February, 2000, close to 450 schools have received free hardware, free training on the OpenLab operating system and subsidized telephone service to help get the nation's young people online. It's all part of the plan to empower youth through internet access.

Through a number of ambitious strategies such as its adoption of a Linux Terminal Server thin-client networks, its dedication to the open source movement and its fledgling wireless and solar plans, the prize-winning operation has begun to realize a vision of Namibia where all students have not just access to the internet, but the skills to participate in the digital revolution.


It’s not just that the operating system is free, it’s that these schools can make whatever modifications to the source code they deem necessary. This is the next generation of programmers and they are unlikely to have much patience with the inconvenience of proprietary systems.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yes.

Open source is the present and the future, most people today NEED open source systems, propietary is not an option.

Linux rocks! long life to open source and free software.