| UNESCO Publishes Guide to Free and Open Software Use in Caribbean |
| SC Admin |
04/8/2008
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Computer & IT , Education
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Practical advice on FLOSS solutions
April 8, 2008 -- UNESCO Office in
Montevideo, Uruguay, in cooperation with the network of Free/Libre and
Open Source Software (FLOSS) in Latin America and the Caribbean,
published the Guía práctica sobre software libre: su selección y aplicación local en América Latina y el Caribe (Guidelines on free software: how to choose it and apply it locally in Latin America and the Caribbean).
Authored
by Fernando da Rosa and Federico Heinz, the book has its genesis in the
regional FLOSS conference LACFREE 2005 organized in Recife, Brazil,
where the need for such publication was discussed.
This easy to read and practical guide promotes FLOSS contribution
to sustainable development. It gives practical advice on the selection
of adequate FLOSS solutions with the requested functionality and
addresses the issue of migration from proprietary software to FLOSS. To
facilitate the exchange of experience, the book offers a list of
organizations and country related contacts. It also gives an overview
of the thematic and regional landscape of the FLOSS community through
the hints on annual FLOSS conferences in Latin America and the
Caribbean.
According to Richard Stallman, founder of Free Software Foundation
and the GNU Project, who wrote an introduction article for the book,
the society "needs information that is truly available to its citizens
- for example, programmes that people can read, fix, adapt, and
improve, not just operate". FLOSS offers today a broad spectrum of
programmes covering various areas: audio, video and design; networks
and connectivity; office applications; file management; operating
systems; mail and web server management, etc. FLOSS applications
contribute therefore to digital opportunities in education and public
administration, and support social inclusion of people with special
needs.
The Guidelines were presented and distributed in several regional FLOSS
events and are available online on many local websites. To download the
book in Spanish, please click here.
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