Cuba Gets an (Open) Hand from Brazil

It's been evident for some time that Brazil is a real powerhouse of open source. Now it's moving to the next level: exporting its success to other countries:

Brazil’s Software Público website was created as part of this initiative. At the beginning of 2009, they started Phase One of the process to internationalize the free software available at the portal. A poll will facilitate a vote on the available software, with the top two being the first ones to be translated.

The poll was launched on February 13th at the XIII Informatics Convention and Fair in Havana, Cuba. During this meeting of government officials, Cuba and Brazil agreed to start a partnership on developing free software together.

Cuba will be the first country to formally receive implementation assistance using the Brazilian experience. Fausto Alvim, an official from UNDP who is responsible for the replication of the Brazilian model in other countries, highlighted that “the first country to utilize the Public Software Portal project will be the one that demonstrates identity with the replication of the model,” in that their experience in using Brazil’s experience will be further shared as more countries adopt the model.

Russia and Cuba Unite Against Microsoft

Recently, Russia announced that it was pushing Microsoft out of its schools in favour of open source. Now, it's going even further by joining with Cuba to write free software that can be used instead of Microsoft's products in other areas:

Россия и Куба договорились о сотрудничестве в области информационных технологий, причем одним из его аспектов станет совместная работа по развитию свободного ПО. Отказ от продукции Microsoft — одно из направлений ИТ-политики Острова Свободы.

В каких конкретно проектах найдут выражение намерения сторон, пока не определено, прокомментировали CNews его подписание в Минкомсвязи, но эксперты полагают, что этот пункт соглашения имеет серьезную политическую подоплеку.

[Via Google Translate: Russia and Cuba have agreed on cooperation in information technology, with one of its aspects will work together to develop free software. Waiver of products Microsoft - one of the areas of IT policy Islands Liberty.

One of the priority items of joint work will also introduce free software in government and fiscal institutions. In what specific projects will express intent of the parties, has not yet been identified, commented CNews his signature in Minkomsvyazi, but experts believe that the paragraph agreement has serious political overtones.]

Why the move? According to the same article:

Так, генеральный директор компании ALT Linux Алексей Смирнов отметил, что распространение свободного ПО как на Кубе, так и в России, является стратегическим приоритетом, связанным с обеспечением суверенитета стран, поэтому стороны «легко нашли общий язык».

[Via Google Translate: For example, the CEO of ALT Linux Alexei Smirnov said that the distribution of free software as in Cuba, and Russia is a strategic priority related to the sovereignty of countries, so part of «easy to find a common language».]

If that's the case, we may be seeing much more free software coming out of Russia and its friends.

Godless Commies Choose Godless Commie OS

Given the number of times free software has been mischaracterised as communist, this seems rather appropriate:

Cuba's communist government is trying to shake off the yoke of at least one capitalist empire _ Microsoft Corp. _ by joining with socialist Venezuela in converting its computers to open-source software.

Both governments say they are trying to wean state agencies from Microsoft's proprietary Windows to the open-source Linux operating system, which is developed by a global community of programmers who freely share their code.

"It's basically a problem of technological sovereignty, a problem of ideology," said Hector Rodriguez, who oversees a Cuban university department of 1,000 students dedicated to developing open-source programs.