Prof. Derek,<br>
<br>
I do share in your grief!!<br>
<br>
Bottom line,we cannot afford to despise our "humble begginings"(M$)but that does not mean that we remain there?<br>
<meta http-equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 1.9.104 (Linux)"><meta name="CREATED" content="20070210;13063000"><meta name="CHANGED" content="16010101;0">
is
it about the money? or the software ? if M$ can afford to pay guys to
make noise,then we can change that to reality with action......You get
all this with FOSS:<style> { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in }
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in }
-->
</style>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">the firewalls-free,
<br>
Webservers-free, <br>
databases-free, <br>
Openoffice-free, so much
FREE and it is more secure operating system</span>
not that it is just
free and yet,For those who need support,then they can buy Foss
Enterprise softwares (much cheaper)and get the support......besides why
buy a clone worth Ksh 21,000 and and a licence worth the same
amount.....how does this work for a common
mwananchi? How do I afford all
this?<br>
at this rate we will NEVER be able to fight PIRACY.<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">For all the kenyan FOSS user's we may
have to setup a forum and air out our experiences and state why guys
need to see this REALITY!! and stop using FOSS under the
table..................e.g for the locally assembled systems' plse
let's insist on Dual boot(M$ & Linux),It could be a start...........</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A request to the PS :<br>
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Before the government of Kenya,makes any decision on software's,can both sides of the coin be given an opportunity??<br>
</span></p>
<br>
I am not shunning M$,its just that I cannot afford it,I cannot customise it.....etc<br><br>
<br>
Kind Regards,<br>
<br>
<br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 2/8/07, <b class="gmail_sendername"><a href="mailto:idlelo2-request@fossfa.net">idlelo2-request@fossfa.net</a></b> <<a href="mailto:idlelo2-request@fossfa.net">idlelo2-request@fossfa.net
</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Send Idlelo2 mailing list submissions to<br> <a href="mailto:idlelo2@fossfa.net">
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<br><br>When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific<br>than "Re: Contents of Idlelo2 digest..."<br><br><br>Today's Topics:<br><br> 1. Re: Permanant Secretary of Kenya speaks about negotiating for
<br> cheaper development tools (John Walubengo)<br> 2. Re: Permanent Secretary of Kenya speaks about negotiating<br> forcheaper development
tools (PROF. HENRY M. THAIRU)<br> 3. Re: Permanant Secretary of Kenya speaks about negotiating for<br> cheaper development tools (Jonah Munyua)<br> 4. Re: Permanant Secretary of Kenya speaks about negotiating for
<br> cheaper development tools (Dorcas Muthoni)<br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Message: 1<br>Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 01:59:30 -0800 (PST)<br>From: John Walubengo <
<a href="mailto:jwalu@yahoo.com">jwalu@yahoo.com</a>><br>Subject: Re: [Idlelo2] Permanant Secretary of Kenya speaks about<br> negotiating for cheaper development tools<br>To: <a href="mailto:dkeats@uwc.ac.za">
dkeats@uwc.ac.za</a>, Idlelo <<a href="mailto:idlelo2@fossfa.net">idlelo2@fossfa.net</a>><br>Message-ID: <<a href="mailto:442956.64301.qm@web56604.mail.re3.yahoo.com">442956.64301.qm@web56604.mail.re3.yahoo.com</a>
><br>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1<br><br>Derek,<br><br>my take on this is two-fold:<br>1. FOSS does lack the might(economic, political, marketing,<br>etc) to demonstrate its huge benefit.<br>2. FOSS need not mean 'NOT MICROSOFT'.
<br><br>I wish to further comment on point 2. in that the current<br>realities in KE and most of the world really is that the<br>desk-top is largely M$ and we shouldn't really mourn too<br>much about that - after all, it does pay the bills for a
<br>large number Kenyans who have created careers around M$.<br><br>A preferred strategy to deal with the omni-present M$ would<br>be one whereby we are co-existing but with a long-term view<br>to become omni-present. And this brings us back to FOSS
<br>limitations - point 1 above- we just don't have the dollar<br>might to pull it off.<br><br>Currently, a lot is happening in .KE regarding ICTs. And<br>in most cases, including this morning's Grand Opening<br>
Ceremony of the ICT Expo at Kenyatta Int. Conf. Center, M$<br>sits on th e high-table. Why? because we in FOSS seem to<br>lack the might and probably the incentives to pull strings<br>at high-levels...M$ has the budget to do it. FOSS doesn't
<br>and at the end of the day, it is all about $$.<br><br>Using this might M$ is set to burn their costly OS on every<br>PC that the Kenya Govt is set to assemble for Computers in<br>Kenyan schools. Where's Open-source in this long-term
<br>game-plan? I did hint to the Project Manager's about OS on<br>these computers, but hey, you need more than hints, you<br>need a sustained, almost full-time job of pushing the<br>idea/agenda. I believe M$ has a clear budget to pay their
<br>people to sing their tune, on a sustainable basis. We<br>don't.<br><br>Finally, I would repeat: I prefer FOSS, but if M$ comes<br>along I can use it as well. At least upto and when FOSS<br>does wake up in a sustained, coherent way. And I think the
<br>PS Min of Info has to work with what is visible, sustained<br>and available. M$ in .KE is simply being more visible than<br>FOSS and we have had to work with it in a co-existent sort<br>of a way...<br><br>walu.<br><br>
--- Derek Keats <<a href="mailto:dkeats@uwc.ac.za">dkeats@uwc.ac.za</a>> wrote:<br><br>><br>> I am writing this from the 1st International Conference<br>> in Computer<br>> Science and Informatics (COSCIT 2007), in Nairobi Kenya.
<br>> In the opening<br>> session, Dr. B. Ndemo, Permanant Secretary in the Kenyan<br>> Ministry of<br>> Information & Communication, gave a speech about ICT in<br>> Kenya. He spent<br>> quite a bit of time talking about negotiating a deal with
<br>> Microsoft to<br>> make their software cheaper for Kenyans, including<br>> developer tools so<br>> that Kenyans could become software developers. The local<br>> Microsoft<br>> representative was in the audience, naturally. Members of
<br>> the Microsoft<br>> "technical officer" team follow politicians and policy<br>> makers around<br>> like flies follow sick dogs. She left when the Permanant<br>> Secretary left.<br>> Apparently, a meeting of many of the computer scientists
<br>> in Kenya was<br>> not important enough for her; certainly not as important<br>> as being<br>> visible to the Permanant Secretary.<br>><br>> When the Permanant Secretary made this pronouncement<br>> about these
<br>> negotiations, completely ignoring all that is happening<br>> in Kenya with<br>> respect to FOSS, I was shocked and saddened. I wanted to<br>> ask why waste<br>> time removing impediments to creating Kenyan software
<br>> developers, when<br>> with FOSS we can start immediately. There is nothing to<br>> negotiate, the<br>> tools are as good or better than the tools for Windows,<br>> and there are no<br>> barriers to innovation. Java, C, C++, C# Python, .NET,
<br>> PHP, BASIC, and<br>> most other environments are available on GNU/Linux. Why<br>> do Kenyans need<br>> to waste their money getting permission from Microsoft to<br>> use these<br>> languages for training software developers? This mystery
<br>> that is only<br>> explainable by the constant lobbying pressure from the<br>> "technical<br>> officers" and their like. There is absolutely no rational<br>> basis for it.<br>><br>> The minister is implicitly saying that it is right for
<br>> Kenya to pay<br>> money to Microsoft and create a long-term dependence on<br>> them, thus using<br>> the Kenyan taxpayer's money to create development<br>> opportunities in<br>> Redmond Washington, an area of the world that really
<br>> needs dollars from<br>> Kenya. It is clear that Dr. Ndemo does not understand<br>> that innovation<br>> happens faster when barriers are as few as they can<br>> reasonably be. With<br>> Free Software, this is the case. With propriteary tools,
<br>> barriers have<br>> to be negotiated, and this limits and inhibits<br>> innovation.<br>><br>> I wanted to show the Permanant Secretary my Ubuntu<br>> desktop, equipped<br>> with Free Software development tools for which I need
<br>> neither permission<br>> nor to pay license fees to use, and which I can use<br>> immediately, no<br>> negotiation required. The Permanant Secretary clearly<br>> just doesn't get<br>> it. Unfortunately, the session did not have a question
<br>> peroid, and he<br>> left along with the Microsoft lap dog (er, I mean<br>> representative) before<br>> I could use my own keynote space to show him what Free<br>> Software can do.<br>><br>> So Kenyans active in FOSS, you have a responsibility,
<br>> this man is in<br>> need of some educating. Please make an appointment, go<br>> see him. Show him<br>> what you are accomplishing with software Freedom. We need<br>> to find a way<br>> to balance the lobbying power of Microsoft, so that truth
<br>> and logic have<br>> a reasonable chance of prevailing.<br>><br>> cheers<br>> Derek<br>><br>> > All Email originating from UWC is covered by disclaimer<br>><br><a href="http://www.uwc.ac.za/portal/uwc2006/content/mail_disclaimer/index.htm">
http://www.uwc.ac.za/portal/uwc2006/content/mail_disclaimer/index.htm</a><br>><br>> > _______________________________________________<br>> Idlelo2 mailing list<br>> <a href="mailto:Idlelo2@fossfa.net">Idlelo2@fossfa.net
</a><br>> <a href="http://mailman.dst.gov.za/mailman/listinfo/idlelo2">http://mailman.dst.gov.za/mailman/listinfo/idlelo2</a><br>><br><br><br><br><br>____________________________________________________________________________________
<br>Do you Yahoo!?<br>Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.<br><a href="http://new.mail.yahoo.com">http://new.mail.yahoo.com</a><br><br><br><br>------------------------------<br><br>Message: 2<br>Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 19:00:16 +0300
<br>From: "PROF. HENRY M. THAIRU" <<a href="mailto:hmthairu@wananchi.com">hmthairu@wananchi.com</a>><br>Subject: Re: [Idlelo2] Permanent Secretary of Kenya speaks about<br> negotiating
forcheaper development tools<br>To: <<a href="mailto:dkeats@uwc.ac.za">dkeats@uwc.ac.za</a>>, "'Idlelo'" <<a href="mailto:idlelo2@fossfa.net">idlelo2@fossfa.net</a>><br>Message-ID: <
003201c74ad1$223b9960$0600010a@prof><br>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1250"<br><br>Dear Derek.<br>It is good to hear your very clear voice again. We are impressing on the PS<br>on the importance of FOSS. Nobody needs permission to use these tools. Thank
<br>you for this letter.<br>Henry Thairu<br><br>-----Original Message-----<br>From: idlelo2-bounces+hmthairu=<a href="mailto:wananchi.com@fossfa.net">wananchi.com@fossfa.net</a><br>[mailto:<a href="mailto:idlelo2-bounces+hmthairu=wananchi.com@fossfa.net">
idlelo2-bounces+hmthairu=wananchi.com@fossfa.net</a>] On Behalf Of Derek<br>Keats<br>Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 9:44 AM<br>To: Idlelo<br>Subject: [Idlelo2] Permanant Secretary of Kenya speaks about negotiating<br>
forcheaper development tools<br><br><br>I am writing this from the 1st International Conference in Computer<br>Science and Informatics (COSCIT 2007), in Nairobi Kenya. In the opening<br>session, Dr. B. Ndemo, Permanant Secretary in the Kenyan Ministry of
<br>Information & Communication, gave a speech about ICT in Kenya. He spent<br>quite a bit of time talking about negotiating a deal with Microsoft to<br>make their software cheaper for Kenyans, including developer tools so
<br>that Kenyans could become software developers. The local Microsoft<br>representative was in the audience, naturally. Members of the Microsoft<br>"technical officer" team follow politicians and policy makers around
<br>like flies follow sick dogs. She left when the Permanant Secretary left.<br>Apparently, a meeting of many of the computer scientists in Kenya was<br>not important enough for her; certainly not as important as being<br>
visible to the Permanant Secretary.<br><br>When the Permanant Secretary made this pronouncement about these<br>negotiations, completely ignoring all that is happening in Kenya with<br>respect to FOSS, I was shocked and saddened. I wanted to ask why waste
<br>time removing impediments to creating Kenyan software developers, when<br>with FOSS we can start immediately. There is nothing to negotiate, the<br>tools are as good or better than the tools for Windows, and there are no
<br>barriers to innovation. Java, C, C++, C# Python, .NET, PHP, BASIC, and<br>most other environments are available on GNU/Linux. Why do Kenyans need<br>to waste their money getting permission from Microsoft to use these<br>
languages for training software developers? This mystery that is only<br>explainable by the constant lobbying pressure from the "technical<br>officers" and their like. There is absolutely no rational basis for it.
<br><br>The minister is implicitly saying that it is right for Kenya to pay<br>money to Microsoft and create a long-term dependence on them, thus using<br>the Kenyan taxpayer's money to create development opportunities in
<br>Redmond Washington, an area of the world that really needs dollars from<br>Kenya. It is clear that Dr. Ndemo does not understand that innovation<br>happens faster when barriers are as few as they can reasonably be. With
<br>Free Software, this is the case. With propriteary tools, barriers have<br>to be negotiated, and this limits and inhibits innovation.<br><br>I wanted to show the Permanant Secretary my Ubuntu desktop, equipped<br>with Free Software development tools for which I need neither permission
<br>nor to pay license fees to use, and which I can use immediately, no<br>negotiation required. The Permanant Secretary clearly just doesn't get<br>it. Unfortunately, the session did not have a question peroid, and he
<br>left along with the Microsoft lap dog (er, I mean representative) before<br>I could use my own keynote space to show him what Free Software can do.<br><br>So Kenyans active in FOSS, you have a responsibility, this man is in
<br>need of some educating. Please make an appointment, go see him. Show him<br>what you are accomplishing with software Freedom. We need to find a way<br>to balance the lobbying power of Microsoft, so that truth and logic have
<br>a reasonable chance of prevailing.<br><br>cheers<br>Derek<br><br><br>--<br>No virus found in this incoming message.<br>Checked by AVG Free Edition.<br>Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.17.29/673 - Release Date: 2/6/2007
<br>5:52 PM<br><br><br><br>--<br>No virus found in this outgoing message.<br>Checked by AVG Free Edition.<br>Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.17.29/673 - Release Date: 2/6/2007<br>5:52 PM<br><br><br><br><br><br>------------------------------
<br><br>Message: 3<br>Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 08:30:59 -0800 (PST)<br>From: Jonah Munyua <<a href="mailto:jonah_bits@yahoo.com">jonah_bits@yahoo.com</a>><br>Subject: Re: [Idlelo2] Permanant Secretary of Kenya speaks about
<br> negotiating for cheaper development tools<br>To: <a href="mailto:idlelo2@fossfa.net">idlelo2@fossfa.net</a><br>Message-ID: <<a href="mailto:946250.46064.qm@web35301.mail.mud.yahoo.com">946250.46064.qm@web35301.mail.mud.yahoo.com
</a>><br>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"<br><br>Derek,<br><br>I
am saddened by the Permanent Secretary's proclamation. It is evident
that Microsoft has been stalking and hijacking all ICT events in Kenya.
To them what matters is not what the stakeholders have to say rather
what the government says and thats why the representative left as soon
as the PS made his speech.<br><br>Being a software developer using FOSS
i understand the revolution that it can bring to this country and the
developing world at large. Microsoft Products require expensive PC's to
run them. I thus see no logic in trying to get Microsoft to lower the
cost of their Softwares as there will still be the inhibiting cost of
acquiring the PC's.<br><br>It is unfortunate that even the local
universities are not taking FOSS with the seriousness it requires.
Computer literacy courses in Kenya are geared towards Microsoft
products and thus the current scenario where very few users know that
they can use FOSS to achieve what they can on MS products.<br><br>The
government is putting unnecessary effort and collaboration with MS to
fight piracy of MS products. To me these efforts should be geared
towards the promotion of FOSS.<br><br>I wish that these sentiments from
the PS will serve as a calling to all FOSS users and advocates in Kenya
to intensify the campaign for FOSS in Kenya.<br><br>Regards<br><br><br>---------------------------------<br>Finding fabulous fares is fun.<br>Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains.
<br>-------------- next part --------------<br>An HTML attachment was scrubbed...<br>URL: <a href="http://mailman.dst.gov.za/pipermail/idlelo2/attachments/20070207/1f905bc5/attachment-0001.html">http://mailman.dst.gov.za/pipermail/idlelo2/attachments/20070207/1f905bc5/attachment-0001.html
</a><br><br>------------------------------<br><br>Message: 4<br>Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 20:06:35 +0300 (EAT)<br>From: "Dorcas Muthoni" <<a href="mailto:dmuthoni@kenet.or.ke">dmuthoni@kenet.or.ke</a>><br>Subject: Re: [Idlelo2] Permanant Secretary of Kenya speaks about
<br> negotiating for cheaper development tools<br>To: "John Walubengo" <<a href="mailto:jwalu@yahoo.com">jwalu@yahoo.com</a>><br>Cc: Idlelo <<a href="mailto:idlelo2@fossfa.net">idlelo2@fossfa.net
</a>><br>Message-ID: <<a href="mailto:25090.212.49.84.7.1170867995.squirrel@mail.kenet.or.ke">25090.212.49.84.7.1170867995.squirrel@mail.kenet.or.ke</a>><br>Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1<br><br>Dear All,
<br><br>These battles are being fought in every country and Kenya will be no<br>different.<br><br>For the first time in Kenya, there is an FOSS stand in an ICT exhibition.<br>This to me is making in-roads.<br><br>The minister and the PS actually passed there and i gave them each a copy
<br>of the OpenCD. They gladly receieved.<br><br>However, a senior M$ representative who was right at the back of the<br>minister dared ask that they don't take it. I was amazed!<br><br>We can't afford to cushion this kind of attitude. This has to be dealt
<br>with through awareness creation and partnerships with the government. I<br>will definitely be playing my role here as a service provider. Other<br>sub-sectors are gaining by putting the government upto date with their
<br>expectations.<br><br>We are not anti-anyone, we are just pro-development. We just have to<br>reduce this trade deficit! How will Kenya Vision 2030 be achieved? I see<br>ICTs and FOSS in particular playing great role here.
<br><br>8 GDP per capita months to acquire software for a basic PC setup? Spare me.<br><br>With all the economic and development benefits FOSS has to offer, we have<br>to lobby and make the government aware.<br><br>Please join me.
<br><br>Muthoni<br><br><a href="mailto:muthoni@openworld.co.ke">muthoni@openworld.co.ke</a><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>> Derek,<br>><br>> my take on this is two-fold:<br>> 1. FOSS does lack the might(economic, political, marketing,
<br>> etc) to demonstrate its huge benefit.<br>> 2. FOSS need not mean 'NOT MICROSOFT'.<br>><br>> I wish to further comment on point 2. in that the current<br>> realities in KE and most of the world really is that the
<br>> desk-top is largely M$ and we shouldn't really mourn too<br>> much about that - after all, it does pay the bills for a<br>> large number Kenyans who have created careers around M$.<br>><br>> A preferred strategy to deal with the omni-present M$ would
<br>> be one whereby we are co-existing but with a long-term view<br>> to become omni-present. And this brings us back to FOSS<br>> limitations - point 1 above- we just don't have the dollar<br>> might to pull it off.
<br>><br>> Currently, a lot is happening in .KE regarding ICTs. And<br>> in most cases, including this morning's Grand Opening<br>> Ceremony of the ICT Expo at Kenyatta Int. Conf. Center, M$<br>> sits on th e high-table. Why? because we in FOSS seem to
<br>> lack the might and probably the incentives to pull strings<br>> at high-levels...M$ has the budget to do it. FOSS doesn't<br>> and at the end of the day, it is all about $$.<br>><br>> Using this might M$ is set to burn their costly OS on every
<br>> PC that the Kenya Govt is set to assemble for Computers in<br>> Kenyan schools. Where's Open-source in this long-term<br>> game-plan? I did hint to the Project Manager's about OS on<br>> these computers, but hey, you need more than hints, you
<br>> need a sustained, almost full-time job of pushing the<br>> idea/agenda. I believe M$ has a clear budget to pay their<br>> people to sing their tune, on a sustainable basis. We<br>> don't.<br>><br>
> Finally, I would repeat: I prefer FOSS, but if M$ comes<br>> along I can use it as well. At least upto and when FOSS<br>> does wake up in a sustained, coherent way. And I think the<br>> PS Min of Info has to work with what is visible, sustained
<br>> and available. M$ in .KE is simply being more visible than<br>> FOSS and we have had to work with it in a co-existent sort<br>> of a way...<br>><br>> walu.<br>><br>> --- Derek Keats <<a href="mailto:dkeats@uwc.ac.za">
dkeats@uwc.ac.za</a>> wrote:<br>><br>>><br>>> I am writing this from the 1st International Conference<br>>> in Computer<br>>> Science and Informatics (COSCIT 2007), in Nairobi Kenya.<br>>> In the opening
<br>>> session, Dr. B. Ndemo, Permanant Secretary in the Kenyan<br>>> Ministry of<br>>> Information & Communication, gave a speech about ICT in<br>>> Kenya. He spent<br>>> quite a bit of time talking about negotiating a deal with
<br>>> Microsoft to<br>>> make their software cheaper for Kenyans, including<br>>> developer tools so<br>>> that Kenyans could become software developers. The local<br>>> Microsoft<br>>> representative was in the audience, naturally. Members of
<br>>> the Microsoft<br>>> "technical officer" team follow politicians and policy<br>>> makers around<br>>> like flies follow sick dogs. She left when the Permanant<br>>> Secretary left.
<br>>> Apparently, a meeting of many of the computer scientists<br>>> in Kenya was<br>>> not important enough for her; certainly not as important<br>>> as being<br>>> visible to the Permanant Secretary.
<br>>><br>>> When the Permanant Secretary made this pronouncement<br>>> about these<br>>> negotiations, completely ignoring all that is happening<br>>> in Kenya with<br>>> respect to FOSS, I was shocked and saddened. I wanted to
<br>>> ask why waste<br>>> time removing impediments to creating Kenyan software<br>>> developers, when<br>>> with FOSS we can start immediately. There is nothing to<br>>> negotiate, the<br>>> tools are as good or better than the tools for Windows,
<br>>> and there are no<br>>> barriers to innovation. Java, C, C++, C# Python, .NET,<br>>> PHP, BASIC, and<br>>> most other environments are available on GNU/Linux. Why<br>>> do Kenyans need<br>
>> to waste their money getting permission from Microsoft to<br>>> use these<br>>> languages for training software developers? This mystery<br>>> that is only<br>>> explainable by the constant lobbying pressure from the
<br>>> "technical<br>>> officers" and their like. There is absolutely no rational<br>>> basis for it.<br>>><br>>> The minister is implicitly saying that it is right for<br>>> Kenya to pay
<br>>> money to Microsoft and create a long-term dependence on<br>>> them, thus using<br>>> the Kenyan taxpayer's money to create development<br>>> opportunities in<br>>> Redmond Washington, an area of the world that really
<br>>> needs dollars from<br>>> Kenya. It is clear that Dr. Ndemo does not understand<br>>> that innovation<br>>> happens faster when barriers are as few as they can<br>>> reasonably be. With
<br>>> Free Software, this is the case. With propriteary tools,<br>>> barriers have<br>>> to be negotiated, and this limits and inhibits<br>>> innovation.<br>>><br>>> I wanted to show the Permanant Secretary my Ubuntu
<br>>> desktop, equipped<br>>> with Free Software development tools for which I need<br>>> neither permission<br>>> nor to pay license fees to use, and which I can use<br>>> immediately, no<br>
>> negotiation required. The Permanant Secretary clearly<br>>> just doesn't get<br>>> it. Unfortunately, the session did not have a question<br>>> peroid, and he<br>>> left along with the Microsoft lap dog (er, I mean
<br>>> representative) before<br>>> I could use my own keynote space to show him what Free<br>>> Software can do.<br>>><br>>> So Kenyans active in FOSS, you have a responsibility,<br>>> this man is in
<br>>> need of some educating. Please make an appointment, go<br>>> see him. Show him<br>>> what you are accomplishing with software Freedom. We need<br>>> to find a way<br>>> to balance the lobbying power of Microsoft, so that truth
<br>>> and logic have<br>>> a reasonable chance of prevailing.<br>>><br>>> cheers<br>>> Derek<br>>><br>>> > All Email originating from UWC is covered by disclaimer<br>>><br>
> <a href="http://www.uwc.ac.za/portal/uwc2006/content/mail_disclaimer/index.htm">http://www.uwc.ac.za/portal/uwc2006/content/mail_disclaimer/index.htm</a><br>>><br>>> > _______________________________________________
<br>>> Idlelo2 mailing list<br>>> <a href="mailto:Idlelo2@fossfa.net">Idlelo2@fossfa.net</a><br>>> <a href="http://mailman.dst.gov.za/mailman/listinfo/idlelo2">http://mailman.dst.gov.za/mailman/listinfo/idlelo2
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<br>**************************************<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Judy Ann Okite,<br>+254-721237507<br>P.O. BOX 2228 00100,<br>NAIROBI,KENYA.<br><br> <br>"Even if you are on the right track, you'll still get run over if you just sit there."