2004-04-17
地元の Wealth: The 事例／患者 of OpenOffice.org
The text below is an abbreviated 見解／翻訳／版 of a 基本方針 I 現在のd at the 最近の Linux Asia 2004 Conference held in New Delhi.
I'm delighted for a couple of 推論する／理由s. Most importantly, because when I look at Open Source today I see no more important nation than India and no more important 地域 than Asia.
And, I'd like to 追加する, no more important 使用／適用 than OpenOffice.org. OpenOffice.org is the 重要な to getting Open Source 受託するd on the desktop.
It's not difficult to 人物／姿／数字 out why India and Asia are important 軍隊s 形態／調整ing Open Source today; it's hard to 人物／姿／数字 out why others in the US and Europe seemingly have yet to understand that (at least, there have been scant articles published on the 支配する, but of those that have been, we can count Frederick Norhonha's series on OSS in Asia last year; Noronha is based in Goa, India, I believe). Perhaps it has to do with the conception of Open Source many Americans and Europeans still 持続する (as does the 圧力（をかける）). That's a conception of the 孤独な hacker or developer who has an itch to scratch, and either joins an 存在するing Open Source 事業／計画（する） or forms his own, so that he can 共同製作する with others, compete with others, on building better code.
To be sure, this model still 存在するs and even has the virtue of mapping a reality. Individual developers 動機づけるd by personal 推論する／理由s do attach themselves to a 事業／計画（する）, and OpenOffice.org has it 株 of them; two even co-lead important 核心 事業／計画（する）s. But it tells only a very small part of the picture and certainly underplays the 広大な muscle of 国家の 利益／興味 which can 動員する people and structure 基金s to support or at least enable open-source 事業／計画（する）s. It also 行方不明になるs what has recently been seen as the 地元の importance of Open Source. As 研究員s such as Riyab Ghosh, Jordi Carrasco Mu?oz, and others have illuminated, Open Source is the path for 国家の and 地域の independence from a IT 政権 that 決定するs a dependency on remote sources of ますます important 科学（工学）技術, server and office ソフトウェア. "Dependency" because the money spent on ソフトウェア is sent out of the country; and dependency because one must spend on ソフトウェア ーするために compete in the 全世界の market; 現実に, ーするために compete at all.
Should the price of 商売／仕事 be so high? Should it be at the sacrifice of 地元の 力／強力にする, 地元の wealth, 地元の 身元? The 受託するd international language for 商売／仕事 is now English, the default templates for 文書 創造 US, testaments to 経済的な empire. Most ソフトウェア is accordingly in English, though the more popular programs have been translated and customized (localized) to the major languages. But localizing any program is not a trivial 仕事 and is done by 私的な companies only for 推論する／理由s of market or 利益（をあげる）, not out of altruism.
I read in the paper that Microsoft is planning on その上の localizing its Office 控訴. That's 広大な／多数の／重要な, I suppose, but as I see it, it does not solve the problem at all, it rather 延長するs it. The main problem is still that money and 資源s are sent out of the country and a whole 生態学 of ソフトウェア 生産／産物 is distorted to cater to the 利益（をあげる） of a vastly 豊富な 会社／団体 more than ten thousand miles away, on the opposite 味方する of the 惑星. An 経済的な 政権 is perpetuated at the expense-literally-of 地元の wealth, 知識人 同様に as 財政上の.
Open Source, in contrast, is a means not just to save 地元の money but to create 地元の wealth and build 地元の 身元. The money you send to Redmond, Washington, in the US, for every 購入（する） of Microsoft Office or Windows, is better spent, we believe, building 地元の 産業, helping 地元の talent, creating a 地元の economy, all by using Linux and other open-source systems and 使用／適用s.
But にもかかわらず its 控訴，上告, Open Source won't get very far, in India, or anywhere in the world, without a 橋（渡しをする） that connects the proprietary world with the open world. Facts are facts: Most 商売／仕事s throughout the world use Microsoft Office and they 交流 文書s with others who use Microsoft Office. 政府s use it, too, 同様に as continuing to use 専攻するd (and often obsolete) proprietary 製品s. Absent a 橋（渡しをする） that connects the divide between world of 遺産／遺物 の近くにd systems and open systems, between proprietary ソフトウェア and Open Source ソフトウェア, there will be no success for Open Source; one needs an 使用／適用 that 許すs 使用者s of whatever sophistication to 交流 文書s and とじ込み／提出するs with their 同僚s across the globe; that 許すs them 簡単に to feel comfortable not just about their work but about how they do their work, and that 許すs all 使用者s to build upon and use an extant library of 作品.
OpenOffice.org is that 橋（渡しをする）. It is 平易な and familiar to use and because it is Open Source, it can be made easier and better by 地元の 使用者s. 地元の 使用者s can configure it to 満足させる their needs not remote marketing 願望（する）s. It has all the advantages of proprietary 製品s (含むing support) and of Open Source ones.
Why OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org was 始めるd late in the 20th century by Sun Microsystems, which, on 13 October 2000, gave to the Open Source community under the LGPL and SISSL licenses the source to StarOffice 5.2. The goals of the 事業／計画（する） were those touted by 支持するs of OSS in 1999-2000, before the 崩壊（する） of the dotcom 泡: OSS would get us to market faster and better because the open-source community of developers would be attracted to the 事業／計画（する） and 充てる their energies and time because they 手配中の，お尋ね者 to, because they had an itch to scratch.
OpenOffice.org has 後継するd in ways that have transcended 期待s for Open Source 開発 and brought them more in line with the new, real world of the 21st century. To be sure, a community of developers has formed; 平等に, the office 控訴 OpenOffice.org has developed faster and is better because of community 開発. But OpenOffice.org is not like Open Source 努力するs such as Linux or Apache or many others. OpenOffice.org is also sponsored by a major 企業, which continues to lead 開発, and that 後援 has 影響する／感情d our trajectory and successes. In 要約, we have 利益d by the 後援 and have 栄えるd by the implicit 保証（人） that a major 会社／団体 is 支援 開発 of the 製品.
明確に, our 長，指導者 success has been in the 採択 of the 解放する／自由な 使用／適用, also called OpenOffice.org. Very few 心配するd that OpenOffice.org 1.0, 解放（する）d in 2002, would be so incredibly popular. I suppose the doubters felt that because OpenOffice.org did not then have all the gleam and 向こうずね of something from Microsoft, and because it had to be downloaded and didn't come in a shrinkwrapped box that 正規の／正選手 使用者s would stay away from the 使用／適用. But of course, all that 向こうずねs is not gold and all that is does not 向こうずね; OpenOffice.org 1.0 did what most 使用者s 手配中の，お尋ね者 and にもかかわらず the 欠如（する） of 法人組織の／企業の marketing (we do our own) word got out. For 使用者s of Windows, who remain our greatest fans, 同様に as for 使用者s of Linux, Solaris, and Mac OS X, it 許すd them to create text, 贈呈, spreadsheet, and 製図／抽選 文書s that could be saved in the Microsoft Office 判型, 同様に as several others, all for 解放する／自由な. 解放する／自由な: as in speech as in beer.
Was it any surprise then that this 使用／適用 has been so very popular?
Sure, we could not 申し込む／申し出 professional support; we 申し込む／申し出d, and continue to 申し込む／申し出, 解放する／自由な community support (in at least 20 加える languages), though we have now also 含むd professional support, 含むing that 申し込む／申し出d by Sun, which has 延長するd the StarOffice support 一括 to OpenOffice.org. (This 協定, of course, makes a world of difference; companies will not look again if there is no professional support 申し込む／申し出d.)
But OpenOffice.org was 平易な enough to use then, and it is easier now, that support was not such an 障害 for individuals. 使用者s were more excited by the fact that this 解放する／自由な 使用／適用 could do more or いっそう少なく what Microsoft Office could do--only on Linux, Solaris, and Windows and Mac OS X. They could use it to read Microsoft Office とじ込み／提出するs and, perhaps more important, save とじ込み／提出するs in the Microsoft Office とじ込み／提出する 判型. Other 使用者s receiving とじ込み／提出するs 生成するd by OpenOffice.org would never be the wiser; they would think, if they thought about it, that these とじ込み／提出するs were in fact created by Microsoft Office.
In the year and nine months since the 解放（する） of OpenOffice.org 1.0, we have 問題／発行するd many updates and have 設立するd OpenOffice.org and its derivatives as the 重要な to any successful open-source desktop system. We have also 開始する，打ち上げるd dozens of new technical and support 事業／計画（する）s. OpenOffice.org is so big and powerful that it is a veritable Open Source 生態学 unto itself and 直接／まっすぐに and 間接に 養育するs 事業／計画（する）s, companies, and individuals. We have formed not only a community of developers but perhaps more importantly an economy of support and 開発 that builds 地元の wealth and 地元の talent.
の直前に the 解放（する） of 1.0, we had formed a few Native Language 事業／計画（する）s. These 事業／計画（する）s 申し込む／申し出 support, （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状）, 資源s in a 使用者's native language. The first was in French. After 1.0, we 押し進めるd for more Native Language 事業／計画（する）s. The logic was simple. 開発 and education could proceed faster in a 使用者s native language than in English. To 妨げる 大混乱, we 委任統治（領） that all coding discussions be done in English but discussions having to do with everything else can be done in the 使用者s native language.
There was a philosophy behind this approach, too. Guy Capra (who 始めるd the 事業／計画（する）) and I didn't want OpenOffice.org to be 限られた／立憲的な by the 人工的な 強制s English 課すd. It was 明白に an international thing from the very start and had the 約束 of 存在 a thing of the world's people. OpenOffice.org and Open Source would not just 苦しむ but do a disservice to the people if they ignored the languages of the world. Keep in mind that an Open Source 事業／計画（する） is not like a company, where the (n)役員／(a)執行力のある 配分するs 資源s (従業員s) and something is done by (n)役員／(a)執行力のある will (従業員s work on what he or she wants). It is a bazaar, where individuals, groups, 行為／法令／行動する on the basis of their own 願望（する）s and abilities. Things can be 明言する／公表するd as 存在 important and really 望ましい-but who 明言する／公表するs them? The community of 使用者s and developers, though there may be spokespeople, such as myself, who articulate community 願望（する）s. And who will 結局最後にはーなる doing them? The developers, working with all other contributors. In our 事例／患者, Sun's own StarOffice 協議事項 影響する／感情s the 製品's 形態／調整 but does not 限界 others from 現実に working on what they want. Our Native-Lang 事業／計画（する）s were and are 成果／努力s to 調整する 利益／興味 and work in 延長するing the 製品 and 事業／計画（する）.
Of the Indian languages, we have now two language 事業／計画（する）s, the Hindi and Tamil Native-Language 事業／計画（する）s. These 事業／計画（する）s are 責任がある supporting their 各々の languages, 含むing 持続するing 開発 and QA on the localizations. Those are rather serious 責任／義務s, and they 需要・要求する time, 資源s, 成果／努力. But, にもかかわらず the 需要・要求するs of these 事業／計画（する）s, the 賄賂 is so 広大な／多数の／重要な that we have every 推論する／理由 to believe these are just a start, other Indian language 事業／計画（する）s are 心配するd. Because OpenOffice.org uses まず第一に／本来 the LGPL, there is every 推論する／理由 to think that the drivers for creating these 事業／計画（する）s will 含む 政府, 商売／仕事s, 同様に as students and 独立した・無所属 developers. That's because the 動機づけ is more than 知識人. The licenses 許す for selling 高めるd binaries of OpenOffice.org. To paint the picture plainly, a company could localize OpenOffice.org 1.1 to any 地域の language, 追加する a few elements and sell it to 商売／仕事s and schools. Such a localized 見解／翻訳／版 would be 合法的な and その上の 供給する 使用者s with a 道具 by which they could create papers, articles, 覚え書きs, spreadsheets, 贈呈s, websites, and much, much more, all without having to learn yet another language.
To be sure, as I learned today, Microsoft is planning on translating its Office and operating system to 15 or so Indian languages. But it will still be a thing of the エリートs and 著作権侵害者s, still a thing over which you, the 使用者, the developer, will have no real 支配（する）／統制する. In contrast, OpenOffice.org gives 使用者s and developers 十分な 支配（する）／統制する over the source and its 一括ing and it is 解放する／自由な, meaning it is not 単に a 道具 for the エリートs of a nation.
許す me to 供給する a 重要な example.
Earlier this 会議／協議会, I 会合，会う some remarkable people. I met Ranjan Deb, Sachin Bujone, and Nitrin Meshram, who had come to this 会議／協議会 from Chandrapoor. There, they run Learn IT 急速な／放蕩な, which teaches meritorious students and others basic and 前進するd computer 技術s using often 寄付するd computer 器具／備品. Their students go on to find 職業s in the growing Indian IT economy; for them, Mr. Deb's company is invaluable.
But what have the students learned that 許すs them to 後継する?
They have 伸び（る）d a 証明書 in using Linux and, for the 前進するd students, in using Oracle. (Mr Deb will be 追加するing MySQL, too.) With this 証明書, the students can find 職業s. Now, Messrs Deb, Bujone and Meshram could not certify their students for Microsoft. It costs too much and for the cost does not really 供給する value.
Linux does.
What's more, Mr Deb can その上の 含む the 解放する／自由な OpenOffice.org in his 教育の 一括. And because OpenOffice.org has been localized to some Indian languages, students need not have to know English to use it. They can, I hope, use their own language.
I find this story extraordinarily exciting. This, I tell myself, is what Open Source is supposed to 申し込む／申し出: an 適切な時期.
But in order for Mr. Deb's work to be really 効果的な, he and his 同僚s need, of course, support. I can 供給する some of that, by telling you and the world of his and others' 成果／努力s. But he needs more than that.
He needs, I hazard, a 政府 委任統治（領）. One that enables open-source 開発 and open-source ソフトウェア. One that dares to 供給する monies to companies who have 乗る，着手するd on developing and （軍隊を）展開する，配備するing Open Source 解答s. I am not 示唆するing that Open Source 科学（工学）技術 be 要求するd in all 事例／患者s. I am 示唆するing rather that the 政府, 連邦の and 地元の, 供給する money to meritorious groups who are using Open Source to solve さもなければ intractable problems of education, 開発, 配当. Why? The 経済的な 推論する／理由 is by now 公正に／かなり obvious. As professor Ghosh has brilliantly elucidated, Open Source 開発 and Open Source ソフトウェア saves money coming and going. Mr. Deb's students will themselves その上の 濃厚にする the 地元の economy by taking on 職業s that would さもなければ hesitate to manifest in their 地域; and new 使用／適用s to 解決する both new and old problems will be created, for with the source open, one has the 力／強力にする to 行為／法令／行動する now, in one's own 利益／興味s.
But the consequences of Open Source go beyond the 単に 経済的な. Open Source is essentially a system of 生産／産物 that tends to be, in some circumstances, 特に efficient. But it also 促進するs a collaborative 環境 that we need now, more than ever.
I end with a question which you can answer: How do we make these good things happen?
