Table of Contents
In this module we will look at various public and private institutions that have chosen free software, either as the basis of their business, as in the case of private enterprises, or as an institutional policy, in the case of the public institutions. These case studies do not attempt to give a comprehensive picture of free software implementation as this would be impossible in a subject of this limited duration. The basic idea of the module is to show that is possible to put free software into practice beyond the specific aspects you may have seen over the course of these studies. This module therefore attaches special relevance to all aspects concerning the integration of diverse elements, from technological and practical to financial and management-based, ethical and social.
To summarise, the main aim of this module is to provide an overview of the practical implementations of free software that is somewhat different to the more specific approach used in the other subjects of this course and even in the first module of this material.
After explaining why it is impossible to describe every possible case of free software systems implementation, the following units will look at four specific cases of implementation: two from the private and two from the public sector. The first case looks at a relatively small government body: the Junta (regional government) of Extremadura. The second describes another, much bigger government body: the Federal Government of Brazil. The third case looks at the multinational Sun Microsystems. And lastly, we describe a small business in Barcelona: Cometa Technologies. We will then offer a brief summary of the features of the four case studies.
The Junta of Extremadura
In 1999, the Junta of Extremadura launched a global information society project that included a series of actions concerning the information society. These included the spread of the Internet, the development of e-government, web learning, support to SMEs in practices relating to the new economy and incorporation into the information society, and the support and integration of disadvantaged areas in the region and socially marginalised groups. As part of an attempt to provide a Debian-based Linux distribution tailored to the needs of the education sector, the project created LinEx. Within a few months, LinEx became one of the most successful examples of GNU/Linux use in Spain and in Europe.
The Federal Government of Brazil
Twenty-two percent of the population of Brazil lives in poverty. This, along with the fact that Brazil is such a large country, means that communication between the different parts is difficult and some communities can be isolated. This combination of factors led the Brazilian government to launch a series of parallel projects for digital inclusion in a range of areas. The projects involved setting up telecentres to reduce digital exclusion by improving professional skills, spreading the use of free software and encouraging people to take part in new technologies. Free software played a key role in the creation of these telecentres because it enabled the digital inclusion of individuals through the use of legal software.
Brazil has been pioneering in the use of free technologies around the world and is a point of reference for other countries in South America.
Sun Microsystems
Sun is a large multinational with offices in over a hundred and seventy countries on all seven continents. The company has adopted a clear stance in favour of open standards: the promotion of free competition through the publication of protocols and interfaces is an intrinsic part of Sun's philosophy, which has led it to work closely and actively with the free software community, contributing both source code and human and financial resources. Through this collaboration, the free software community improves or adapts programs so that Sun Microsystems can market the products with additional services, such as support and training. Sun's biggest contributions include the release of the office productivity package or suite, OpenOffice.org.
Cometa Technologies
Cometa Technologies is a private sector company that provides information technology solutions based on free software tools and standards. This case study will thus describe an example of an SME a significant part of whose business involves the use of free software. The activity of Cometa Technologies revolves around two main lines of business: the development and integration of technology solutions, and consulting and training.
Given the differences between the four situations, the format in which each case is described is also unique. We have not set down common guidelines for the four case studies, preferring instead to give the authors free rein to describe each example using their own criteria.
We hope that these examples will give you an idea of the subtleties involved in creating free software solutions in the real world.
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