Headline June17, 2014

''' O''' OPEN-SOURC​E SIGHS¬ : 

AN OLD HAT SOON O'' LORD GOD! '''

FOR governments in particular, better security is another attraction of Linux.

Whereas Windows provides standardized safety settings, Linux security options can be be more easily customized.

Likewise,  while Microsoft  veils  its programs in manufacturer codes that only-company-approved  technicians can service,-

Linux can be  ''opened up'' ,  fashioned and adapted to the taste of individual clients.

In China, some years ago, the rumours of Microsoft and the American government's spying on computer users through so-called  back doors built into the software has paved the way for the growing popularity of the local open-source product, Red Flag Linux.

Microsoft is not watching quietly. After the South African government threw its support behind the open-source movement a few years ago, Microsoft offered to supply free software to:

Government run schools in South Africa.  Hilton Theunissen, the then project manager at Nooitgedacht Primary School, was skeptical of Microsoft's sudden altruism:

''For years and years I was writing letters to Microsoft, always asking for software donations,'' he says. ''What I ended up receiving was either a negative reply or no reply at all.''

Microsoft is also working harder to argue the superiority of its software to open-source products. Gordon Frazer, managing director of Microsoft Africa, at the time, said that at the end of the day-, 

Governments and schools in the developing world need to look at   ''the total cost of ownership,''  including support and maintenance.

But that's precisely what appeals to many developing countries about Linux  -the fact that they don't need to go to Microsoft for help. GopalaKrishnan, secretary to the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh state in India, notes:

That using open-source software encourages investment in a local industry of programmers that is bound to pay off in the long run.

The kids at Nooitgedacht might be new to computers, but for them:

'''' Open-source will soon be old hat.''''

And with this I return to !WOW!'s equations and the sweep of philosophy:

The extraordinary thing about Student  Molly Nash is that she seems like a typical second grader in Englewood Colorado.

"She can be stubborn as an ox,'' says Lisa Nash, her mother, ''and she smarts off now and then. But like most 8-year-olds, she has redeeming qualities  - a round, cheeky face, a toothy smile, brown bangs.

She also takes dance lessons and play soccer, and she's a whiz in reading and math.

''She's a bit small for her age,'' says Nash. ''But not extremely small. There are kids in her class who are smaller.''

Smallness is a vestige of Molly's tentative start in life. For a while Molly grew far too slowly, and the odds were good that she wouldn't live beyond the age of 6. She had been born with a rare-disorder called  ''Fancon's anemia.''

Such are the whispering springs of life!  What more can I say?!

In inventions and open-source, the legend of the lone inventor is at least as old as Leonardo da Vinci with his flying machines and Thomas Edison with his light bulb and cinema.

Even in the globalized world of regulatory bureaus and instant mergers, the individual wisdom and vision survives. Inventors persist because bureaucracies create their own wretched weaknesses.  

Technology is inherently unstable. It cannot be fully fixed, rationalized and regulated without choking off its own vitality.

An invention that is fully planned is  not ''invented'' at all. Improvements can be planned, but inventions cannot.

They must be born and then raised. The open-source, freeware, is the way to go forward. This objective and achieving it, must remain close to our hearts.

We owe this to the future generations.

With respectful dedication to the Students of the world. See Ya all on !WOW! -the World Students Society Computers-Internet-Wireless:

'''A Legend Being Born '''

Good night and God bless!

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless