NewsForge: Jon “maddog” Hall on FOSS in the Developing World

“NewsForge: What is your general impression of
migration to and acceptance of FOSS in South Africa and on that
continent?

“Hall: In 2001 I was invited to Johannesburg to
talk about FOSS software by LinuxAfrica, a local user group that
was putting on a small but nice event. In 2003 Hewlett Packard
invited me to both Johannesburg and Cape Town for a FOSS ‘road
show.’ In 2005 I was invited to Linuxworld South Africa in
Johannesburg, and this year I came back again. I have seen a steady
increase in the interest and usage of FOSS in South Africa. I
believe this has been boosted recently by the actions of Mark
Shuttleworth and the Ubuntu project as well as the efforts of the
Meraka Institute and its projects…”

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