Friday, August 03, 2007
A Linux Distro for Rwanda?
Part of Rwanda's Vision 2020 Plan is an initiative to establish a paperless government. They are setting up telecenters in every district that government employees can use to do their business.
How will these people be trained? Since many of these people have little or no prior computer experience, they have no bad habits. This means that they have a great chance to learn the right thing the first time. What an opportunity! Here in the US, most people learn to use computers through a process of trial-and-error. This means that they often learn the long way to perform tasks. They rely on menus because they don't know the keyboard shortcuts, or they develop carpal tunnel syndrome because they weren't taught how to type correctly. Rwandans are ready to learn, so the government should make sure they are taught, and taught the correct way.
A similar argument can be made about the platform they will be trained on. Most of us in America are stuck in a Microsoft rut. We use Windows and Office, and feel violently uncomfortable when Mac OS X or (gasp!) Linux. Microsoft makes great products and has earned its reputation, but I think that Linux would be the best option for Rwandan telecenters.
Why?
First of all, it's open source. This means that the government won't be locked into a proprietary cycle of upgrades. Companies in the US are resisting the switch to Windows Vista because it is so expensive. Of course, they'll have to make the change sooner or later if they want to keep current with new versions of Office, Visio, Project, etc. Upgrading Linux, on the other hand, is painless. For example, a new version of Ubuntu comes out every six months or so, and the update process is seamless.
The second reason the Rwandan government should focus on Linux is its flexibility. Windows is developed for the Western world. This means that it is appropriate for Western countries. It solves Western problems. Rwanda is unique and different from that world. It faces its own set of challenges and requirements, and deserves an operating system that it tailored to its needs. A distribution of Linux that is geared specifically to the Rwandan government would not be difficult, costly, or time consuming to develop, and could be customized to serve government officials better than any possible alternative.
Because all open source code is freely available to the public, developers can modify any Linux program to support Kinyarwanda. There are already versions of Firefox, an Internet browser, and OpenOffice, a Microsoft Office alternative, available in the Rwandan local language. Code accessibility might encourage more Rwandan students to pursue careers as programmers or engineers. Linux is known for its strong community of developers. As Rwandans work more and more with Linux, they will become an integral part of this community and develop relationships with professionals from all over the world. Choosing Linux could be a huge boost to the Rwandan economy, creating jobs and connecting the country to the global economy.
Moving toward Linux would encourage Rwandans to embrace technology because it would be openly available, totally customizable, and a jump-start for the Rwandan tech sector.
How will these people be trained? Since many of these people have little or no prior computer experience, they have no bad habits. This means that they have a great chance to learn the right thing the first time. What an opportunity! Here in the US, most people learn to use computers through a process of trial-and-error. This means that they often learn the long way to perform tasks. They rely on menus because they don't know the keyboard shortcuts, or they develop carpal tunnel syndrome because they weren't taught how to type correctly. Rwandans are ready to learn, so the government should make sure they are taught, and taught the correct way.
A similar argument can be made about the platform they will be trained on. Most of us in America are stuck in a Microsoft rut. We use Windows and Office, and feel violently uncomfortable when Mac OS X or (gasp!) Linux. Microsoft makes great products and has earned its reputation, but I think that Linux would be the best option for Rwandan telecenters.
Why?
First of all, it's open source. This means that the government won't be locked into a proprietary cycle of upgrades. Companies in the US are resisting the switch to Windows Vista because it is so expensive. Of course, they'll have to make the change sooner or later if they want to keep current with new versions of Office, Visio, Project, etc. Upgrading Linux, on the other hand, is painless. For example, a new version of Ubuntu comes out every six months or so, and the update process is seamless.
The second reason the Rwandan government should focus on Linux is its flexibility. Windows is developed for the Western world. This means that it is appropriate for Western countries. It solves Western problems. Rwanda is unique and different from that world. It faces its own set of challenges and requirements, and deserves an operating system that it tailored to its needs. A distribution of Linux that is geared specifically to the Rwandan government would not be difficult, costly, or time consuming to develop, and could be customized to serve government officials better than any possible alternative.
Because all open source code is freely available to the public, developers can modify any Linux program to support Kinyarwanda. There are already versions of Firefox, an Internet browser, and OpenOffice, a Microsoft Office alternative, available in the Rwandan local language. Code accessibility might encourage more Rwandan students to pursue careers as programmers or engineers. Linux is known for its strong community of developers. As Rwandans work more and more with Linux, they will become an integral part of this community and develop relationships with professionals from all over the world. Choosing Linux could be a huge boost to the Rwandan economy, creating jobs and connecting the country to the global economy.
Moving toward Linux would encourage Rwandans to embrace technology because it would be openly available, totally customizable, and a jump-start for the Rwandan tech sector.
