NewsForge: Open Asia: Under the Radar, FLOSS Thrives

“As we discussed last week, Free Software is flourishing in
Korea and Japan, but the movement is strong elsewhere as well.
Contrary to the presumption that GNU/Linux is almost unknown in
Asia, FLOSS takes on the shape of a ‘silent revolution’–spreading
across modems linking small brotherhoods (the lack of women’s
participation in computing in Asia is an issue yet to be seriously
addressed).

“GNU/Linux is already reporting some interesting deployments in
the populous cash-strapped countries of the region. In India, it is
no coincidence that a number of low-cost PCs hitting the market are
now opting for Free Software-based solutions. China has already
worked out national distros of GNU/Linux that are in the local
language and also meet national concerns in terms of security.
Pakistan has seen government initiatives to boost the role of
FLOSS, so as to become less dependent on proprietary software, with
it accompanying allegations of piracy against countries with low
incomes and poor conversion rates against the dollar. Thailand is
finding GNU/Linux a useful solution in its Schoolnet
program…”

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