Open Source Software in the Solomon Islands

Hi all,

I was just reading an email from a Solomon Islands Information Technology Working Group mailing list about the latest computer virus getting around Honiara. This gives me the excuse to come back to one of my favorite subjects - Linux. Computer viruses get around Honiara like the latest Flu or bout of Redeye. The reason for this is that the vast majority of people there are using pirated software that is not updated. Running freeware antivirus is just not enough to prevent the spread of data and time destroying malware.

Next time you have to blow away a computer, consider loading the latest version of Ubuntu 7.10 - it's fantastic. Reasons to consider it are:

- You will not be prone to being attacked by viruses etc.
- It is very fast to install, and comes with staka software all loaded at the same time - no swapping five disks to get your basic operating system and office software etc. onto the machine
- It integrates perfectly with Windows and Mac machines - OpenOffice 2.3 is a great office suite - it even loads Windows fonts automatically now
- If you are trying to do something and the codecs or drivers are not loaded, Ubuntu will ask you if you want to load the software (this requires an Internet connection) - if you say yes it will go and find the software and load it
- The amount of high quality software available with Ubuntu is staggering - there is drop down list menu item that says 'add / remove software' - this shows you a list of software that is available to you - tick a menu item on something you want, and it will download and install the software and all the dependencies automatically
- When I loaded Ubuntu, it recognised and set up my HP three-in-one printer/scanner/copier without having to load any additional drivers - same goes for my Kodak digital camera - Windows will not do this
- if you want to get geeky and start doing more technical things like web site design / photo manipulation / sound studio production / (ke kara!) programming - the tools are all available - there is no need to load pirate software or time limited demo software

Also consider running Linux on your servers - especially file servers. I had fantastic success in Honiara running Linux as a file server for many organisations in town - I also ran Clam Antivirus so that any infected files that were put onto the server were dealt with (and the good thing was that none of the Viruses could affect the file server itself). Apart from the incredible stability of the file servers, they themselves always stay virus free.

Give it a go!!