Articles tagged ‘informationsociety’

The path to the Information Society is paved by the advantages provided by Open Source Software.

The philosophy and practice of collaboration in open source software forms a win-win model for developers, vendors and users alike. Fundamental economic drivers are changing the nature of competition in the software industry. The competitive landscape is transforming from a few high peaks where monopoly product vendors dominate the market to a more varied terrain of participants collaborating on basic technologies and tools while competing on value-added services.

India is not alone in its efforts to determine the role government should play in balancing the advantages and disadvantages of open source vs proprietary software. But, because of a traditional lack of infrastructure and the availability of “discounted” proprietary packages, India faces some unique challenges in building up the strength of its local software industry.

Governments can neither create nor destroy successful technologies. They can, however, promote the welfare of a healthy and competitive software and technology industry and in turn benefit from increased revenue.

This author writes on the dynamics of the ‘Bazaar’ and the forces and conditions that influence it. The author contends that the Linux ‘Bazaar’ is not simply a loose collection of vendors and other proponents, motivated only by mutual recognition. The ‘Bazaar’ really operates on a larger stage. When forces of the larger stage organize around a dominant restrictive group, a reactionary force is generated in the remaining community. Over time, this reactive force propels various alternatives.