{"id":1830,"date":"2010-03-09T05:49:34","date_gmt":"2010-03-09T12:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/?p=1830"},"modified":"2010-03-09T05:49:34","modified_gmt":"2010-03-09T12:49:34","slug":"us-software-open-source-crime-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2010\/politics\/us-software-open-source-crime-india.html\/","title":{"rendered":"US Corporations to India: "Don't dare use Free Software!""},"content":{"rendered":"

Some software really is<\/em> free. There’s no need to buy it, it works great and sometimes even better than that which you pay for. OpenOffice is one example of such software that completely replaces the expensive MS Office suite. The cost savings can be so great, that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) recently replaced MS Office on every single computer with OpenOffice right over the weekend!<\/p>\n

Of course, US Corporations hate free software with a vengeance. Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer for example, has called Linux “a cancer”<\/a>. Free software (also called Open Source<\/em> when the source code is available) has a habit of nudging out expensive software solutions and improving faster than any paid software. However, it’s only recently that US corporations using their clout have tried to make using Open Source software a crime.<\/p>\n

\"US<\/a>
US Corporations try to make Open Source Software Illegal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many governments – especially poor ones – have tried to save piles of money by encouraging the use of Open Source software in administration. Such governments include India, Brazil and Indonesia. Alarmed by this, the companies with money have been encouraging the US government to place these countries on a blacklist<\/a> for “failing to build respect for intellectual property rights!”<\/p>\n

Wha? Did I miss something? It’s not a secret that many developing countries have very high rates of piracy which companies like Microsoft claim is theft. So when a government decides to prevent the so called theft and instead uses software that is free instead, corporations suddenly cry foul? It’s obvious to the meanest intelligence, that what is expected of a sovereign government is not to clamp down on piracy, but rather to continue to unnecessarily shovel money into the coffers of already fat corporations!<\/p>\n

For a country like India, the substantial savings from using Open Source software can be channeled into improving the lot of impoverished people or improving the government’s fiscal deficit. This is unacceptable according to the moneyed powers who want that cash to flow to them<\/em> instead.<\/p>\n

This issue merely highlights the stranglehold that corporations have on the US government, the effects of which are felt halfway across the world in India. If they’re successful, we will be included on the US’s special 301 blacklist which might adversely affect our trade negotiating power on other issues.<\/p>\n

Personally, I don’t think that the recommendations will be accepted by the US trade department (perhaps I’m being overly optimistic?), but the mere fact that private interests with money can dictate the direction of governmental procedures on such a large and brazen scale is scary.<\/p>\n

Given all this, I’m glad I’ve slowly been shifting away from all paid software. I now use Ubuntu (a Linux variant) exclusively as my Operating System, Google Docs instead of MS Office, WordPress as my blogging platform, and Pidgin as my Instant Messenger software. No longer do I have to shell out money and adhere to restrictions such as how many times I can reinstall my OS and I don’t have to “activate” or “crack” my software anymore. Welcome to the world of free software!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How big US Corporations are trying to outlaw free software so that governments will be forced into buying their expensive products<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nUS Corporations to India: "Don't dare use Free Software!"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How big US Corporations are trying to outlaw free software so that governments will be forced into buying their expensive products\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2010\/politics\/us-software-open-source-crime-india.html\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US Corporations to India: "Don't dare use Free Software!"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How big US Corporations are trying to outlaw free software so that governments will be forced into buying their expensive products\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2010\/politics\/us-software-open-source-crime-india.html\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Expressions - 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