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Henry Bremridge wrote:
In the Davao City area of the Philippines small businesses are being raided frequently now by the authorities searching for "illegal" copies of MS products (and others) . The Dabawee GNU Inc. group (Non-Profit NGO) are reaping the rewards of such actions as companies get to hear about the free software alternatives. The group are trying to get INGOT trainer certification, so that they can pass the skills onto local businesses in the area.On Thu, Mar 16, 2006 at 08:13:54PM +0000, Adrian Midgley wrote:On Fri, 2006-03-10 at 14:31 +0000, Robin Cornelius wrote:The other issue i think is important to get across but will probably go over the heads or just bore the masses are licences. It is too easy for companies to just get an office CD and install it on multiple machines, this is a breach of the licence and is also a computer that *could* be running open office etc instead. I think that a point can be made that you can do a) pay a lot of money (for proprity sw)licences, b) break the law c) use OSS solutions so that you are all licence complient and can do the same work.Turn it round. Compliance is an issue, a problem, a worry, a risk, a cost of business.Yes. Staff can install (illegal) multiple copies of Office but then - No critical updates (and yes updating MS Office is on a different site to updating windows) - If a member of staff reports you to the Business Software Alliance for a reward http://www.bsa.org/uk/report/ then you have problems In fact it is worthwhile having a look at the link http://tinyurl.com/fl37a which is a pdf file from the bsa site that lists where directors are liable, if their staff do not follow the license. Examples - Check the software is genuine - Check that you are following the license (ie not using discounted home software in an office environment) - Create a software register - Audit all computers on a regular basis - Amend employment contracts Lots of talk of unlimited fines and jail times.The fewer closed source programs you run, the less of all of the above you have to deal with in your business. So FLOSS lets you spend you time doing business instead of IT administration ... and auditing licenses.
I say let BSA have their day in court, sooner or later small businesses will get the message and switch away from proprietary solutions.
I think what would focus the computer user community in the SW would be to have some sort of focal point. Dabawee GNU members all contribute to the upkeep of their office appartment. Admittedly rent is cheep(er) in the Philippines but then wages are great to start with. But it does give them an address and an identity.
Im not saying that we should agressively market ourselves, but I am sure that we are missing some opportunities.
Tom. -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG Mail majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe list" in the message body to unsubscribe. FAQ: www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html