DFID and Linux

By Alex Singleton | 22 January 2006

The latest edition of Developments, the magazine from the UK's Department for International Development, contains an article on Linux (admittedly a rather pedestrian one) and a cover-mounted CD containing Linux and other open source software. The department's Imfundo programme, which looks at how IT can be used in developing countries for education, is a strong supporter of Linux and other source software like OpenOffice, a free alternative to Microsoft Office.

So is DFID right by being supportive of Linux in developing countries? Well, yes. Getting to where everyone in Africa can own a personal computer is an important objective. We need the African economy to generate the wealth to enable people to buy computers. But we in the developed world are (perhaps unwittingly) going part way, too, by continuing down the path of cheaper computing. Not only does open source software cut costs, it also enables a very beneficial technology transfer to developing countries. The effect on Africa will be to increase standards of living and boost economic growth.