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Cuba to Microsoft: "No thanks!"
Seeking to be technologically independent, Cuba moves to join Venezuela, China, Norway and Brazil by moving away from reliance on Microsoft's operating systems.
Cuba Embraces Open-Source Software
Feb 16, 3:42 PM (ET)
By JOHN RICE
HAVANA (AP) - Cuba's communist government is trying to shake off the yoke of at least one capitalist empire - Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) - by joining with socialist Venezuela in converting its computers to open-source software.
Both governments say they are trying to wean state agencies from Microsoft's proprietary Windows to the open-source Linux operating system, which is developed by a global community of programmers who freely share their code.
"It's basically a problem of technological sovereignty, a problem of ideology," said Hector Rodriguez, who oversees a Cuban university department of 1,000 students dedicated to developing open-source programs.
Other countries have tried similar moves. China, Brazil and Norway have encouraged the development of Linux for a variety of reasons: Microsoft's near-monopoly over operating systems, the high cost of proprietary software and security problems.
Cuban officials, ever focused on U.S. threats, also see it as a matter of national security.
Read the full story:
Feb 16, 3:42 PM (ET)
By JOHN RICE
HAVANA (AP) - Cuba's communist government is trying to shake off the yoke of at least one capitalist empire - Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) - by joining with socialist Venezuela in converting its computers to open-source software.
Both governments say they are trying to wean state agencies from Microsoft's proprietary Windows to the open-source Linux operating system, which is developed by a global community of programmers who freely share their code.
"It's basically a problem of technological sovereignty, a problem of ideology," said Hector Rodriguez, who oversees a Cuban university department of 1,000 students dedicated to developing open-source programs.
Other countries have tried similar moves. China, Brazil and Norway have encouraged the development of Linux for a variety of reasons: Microsoft's near-monopoly over operating systems, the high cost of proprietary software and security problems.
Cuban officials, ever focused on U.S. threats, also see it as a matter of national security.
Read the full story:
For more information:
http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20070216/...
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