ICT for development
So near yet so far: Bangladesh awaits a smoother ride to cyberspace
So near, yet so far. Bangladesh is keenly looking forward to having an easier, more affordable and smoother ride into cyberspace, as APCNews staff writer Frederick Noronha finds out. In the eighth most populous country in the world (population 144 million), voices from civil society, the media and industry are increasingly surfacing, as this piece – filed from Dhaka in late April – demonstrates.
Workshop on the Management of International Networks for Knowledge Sharing
A brief report on the workshop I just attended in Switzerland, St. Gallen
Software Piracy Crackdown or ICT Human Rights Violations?
Where the Government in Pakistan, Intellectual Property Organization, Federal Investigation Authorities and the Business Software Alliance BSA are initiating a crackdown on Software Piracy in Pakistan, there is hardly any awareness of piracy and its implications within society apart from members of the IT Industry. It is crucial to the basic Human Rights of the citizens of Pakistan that they first be provided Anti-Software Piracy Literacy and trainings on Free and Open Source Software as an alternative to pirated software. Source: APC">ICT
Software Freedom is their basic human right in the Information Society!For South Asia, an intended FOSS bridge
Here's an early initiative to flow out of the APC South Asia Consultation: BytesForAll has just launched a new mailing list, specifically focused on Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS, or FOSS). Details of the group are below. We invite all interested to join.
Of Hammers and Nails
"When a hammer is all you have, everything begins to look like a nail...
How could governments get it so wrong?
"Whatever is the "government" in this glossary). As a general rule, "state" should not be capitalised.
Source: Governance for sustainable human development: A UNDP policy document (Glossary of key terms) and Wikipedia">state
of Source: Wikipedia ">localisation in India, the "state" in this glossary). As a general rule, "government" should not be capitalised.Source: Wikipedia">government
is definitely responsible for framing the policies. We have dreams of software superpowerdom, yet basic tools are not in place. They have spent crores (tens of millions by Government of India organisations) CDAC and TDIL, and that too all in the name of undertaking work in Indic computing and benefitting the people," says Ravikant of New Delhi, who has been closely keeping track of Free Software localisation efforts in India.You're right. Copyright is wrong.
It is assumed that everyone who buys a cheap illegally-copied ("pirated") copy of music or software CD would actually buy
the costly 'official' version. Links have been made by piracy and terrorism, which are actually quite ludicrous. 'Intellectual property' is used as a term, instead of 'creative expression'. When something is called property, we are stealing, poaching and pirating. Instead of what we should be really see it as being -- sharing, creating and enhancing cultural products.
The dark subcontinent
As far as radio waves go, South Asia could perhaps call itself the dark continent. This part of the planet has an almost-uniformly unenlightened policy when it comes to opening up its airwaves. Voices from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Nepal....
FOSS: It's great... but sometimes things just don't work
Remember the old joke that the doctor's operation was a success, but the patient died? Free/Libre and Open Source Software (or Free Software Foundation ">FOSS
) is a great idea. But sometimes it just doesn't work out right. This was the cautionary message emerging from an 'open space' at the APC Regional Consultation on Source: APC">ICT Policy in South Asia (April 19-21, 2006, Dhaka).Another provocative one...
Does civil society understand Source: APC">ICT
policies at all? Take your pick....
