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Knome_fan
June 21st, 2005, 10:40 AM
I just stumbled upon a great report by the Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme on how free software can help to bridge the digital divide.
It's main focus is on localization, but it also is a good general overview about the advantages free software has when it comes to giving people access to technology that don't have that access right now. (And it even features a foreword by RMS himself :-D)

Anyway, I think this just shows, that free software really does make a difference and it especially shows that all those people who are working to make free software possible are really making a difference. Rock on guys! :grin:

http://www.apdip.net/news/localization-primer
http://www.iosn.net/l10n/foss-localization-primer/foss-localization-primer.pdf

jdunavin
June 23rd, 2005, 05:26 AM
And then comes news that the South Korean gov't is switching to open source.

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-5084811.html

I believe their schools will as well.

Also, there's a nugget buried at the end of that article - government-funded researchers from Japan, South Korea, and China are going to jointly work on a non-Windows open-source operating system.

I don't know how I'd feel about it if, say, the United States were to start doing that, but it's interesting nonetheless.