On Thu, 2004-11-25 at 23:04, Sandip Bhattacharya wrote:
In our case, representation might not be enough. A demonstration could be better, but again that doesn't help much. *Having* an organization come up and say that "we will install, solve the problem and give you support", is the answer.
Yes, I think this is an issue. We have faced the same problem here, in Kerala. The IT@School programme was always asking for support. They talked to RedHat and SuSE and were not happy. Finally, some of us suggested creating a separate distribution for IT@School, which has been accepted. This will include not only the packages discussed in the text books, but also educational software that will help teachers. The CD is getting ready. We are planning a training for master trainers, who will go and teach another group of teachers. We have also promised limited support. This has helped to push Free Software into the programme.
The Government of Kerala also has taken some steps to build support for Free Software. An independent organisation was set up by the government for promoting free software, including development and support. Although set up by government order, it is an independent body and has an executive committee that consists of private individuals and a couple of government officials. This is yet to become really active, but should go a long distance in doing what Sandip is talking about. Perhaps, we can press for such efforts from other state governments. Maybe it would add to the weight of the argument if the Kerala organisation is seen to be successful.
From a different perspective, this kind of support should not be taken
as an excuse for going for proprietary software. If the government takes a policy decision that proprietary is bad for the state/country and only Free Software should be used, we will soon see a number of organisations coming up with support and solutions. Perhaps, some egovernance work may be slightly delayed, but that should not make much difference in the long run when the impact of opting for proprietary software would start becoming felt. However, it is very difficult to convince bureaucrats or politicians about this.