One way that India can fight piracy is by adopting software like Linux, says Shlok Kumar
One way that India can fight piracy is by adopting software like Linux, says Shlok Kumar
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As you relax on your couch, you are suddenly reminded of that friend you promised to catch up with on the Internet. You glide across the room and press the power button on your computer. Your computer boots up and then trouble begins.
A message flashes on your screen: "You may be a victim of software counterfeiting. This copy of Windows is not genuine. Click this button to resolve now." You are not alone, rest assured.
Time to change?
In this age of IT, increased software imperialism has been a worrying phenomenon because the steep cost of proprietary software pushes piracy. India certainly does not enjoy a sound reputation when it comes to piracy as of 2007, a staggering 69 per cent of personal computers in India ran illegal software, costing the industry a loss of $2 billion. Citing piracy as a cause for lower profits has become a chest-beating exercise for bigwigs in the software world.
With open source software like Linux, users can tailor the operating system and programs to best suit their needs for free without copyright or patent infringement.
What vendors say
Red Hat India has trained over 15,000 students across India in Red Hat Linux open-source software. Venkatesh Hariharan, corporate affairs director for Red Hat India says, "We have a Red Hat Certification Course available across 300 learning centres in India to promote development of open-source software. In moving to Linux, the primary challenge is a mental block towards it."
But Microsoft doesn't believe that it is anti-open source. "Microsoft has closely worked on interoperability with open source software with partners like Novell. The Office Open XML format is an example of an open format developed by Microsoft. Microsoft has a strong footing when it assures customers up to five years of support on its products," points out a Microsoft India spokesperson.
But as end users, we have two choicesu2014acquire and use legal software and accept its restrictions, or use free and open-source software.
The cost benefits of open-source software are immense. Ubuntu, an open-source operating system with an enhanced graphical interface is available for download free of cost. What's more, the makers even ship it free of cost. So, why not give free software a chance?
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