Computer Hardware Dealers - From Piracy to Ubuntu Linux Innovation

Indian Hardware Computer Dealers - From Software Piracy to Ubuntu Linux innovation

It is really very good news that some computer dealers, assemblers and hardware vendors, have now started downloading, and locally burning Ubuntu Linux 7.10 CD in the small towns of Uttar Pradesh.

What this means is that companies selling tightly controlled, monopoly software which is very difficult to learn, and requires years of experience even to just become data entry operators, will now begin to face real competition and innovation strategies, from places like Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur, Jhansi, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Moradabad, Agra, Mathura, Bhopal, Satna, Vidisha, Dehradoon, Kathmandu, Patna, Ranchi, Rourkela, Raipur,, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Bikaner, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Karnal, Panipat, Ahmedabad, Pune, Panjim.

Jhumka gira re, Bareilly ki bazaar mein, jhumka gira re !!

Some of these computer assemblers are now selling these legal CD’s for Rs 100 - Rs 200 and hopefully will even learn to add in some local support component for people who are new to Ubuntu Linux. Maybe for another Rs 300 some of these local computer dealers will go and install the Ubuntu software on the computers and laptops, of home users / business users, and configure it for users so that they can use BSNL MTNL broadband Internet, and use printers that have good support for Linux printing.

Internet cafes will also soon start installing the server versions of Ubuntu and Kubuntu and they will then encourage customers to use Firefox browser and openoffice.org Office softwares for presentation, word documents, spreadsheets and databases.

The powerful suite of applications that Ubuntu and Kubuntu make available will soon find devoted followers.

The Google gmail email address has also begun to catch on in some of these small places and this will see people testing and using open formats of documents and spreadsheets, when they start collaborating online. One does hope that Small Businesses will be able to see that they can do most of their document creation work and email needs using public and free infrastructure, without the need for learning difficult to learn pirated software, that imprisons them down into specific document formats.