Information Policy

China changes Linux tactics

This is a significant announcement for China's Linux industry. At the beginning of its Linux journey, the Chinese government tried to invest directly in Linux companies, but soon gave up and turned to subsidizing the companies by governmental procurements or other indirect investment. Now the government has decided to resort to the open sources communities.

http://trends.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/12/08/2034216&from=rss

Belarus: Internet cafe for handicapped

The first in Belarus Internet cafe for handicapped people was opened in Brest on December 21, 2005.

Mikhail Kovalevsky, Beltelecom Brest regional branch chief engineer, says that special devices for people with sight problems has been already installed. It is planned to equip the cafe computers with devices for people with diminished hearing. The new PIAP, where 24 people can use computers simultaneously, is the largest in Brest. The speed of Internet connection is the highest in the country- 1Mbit/sec, says Mr. Kobalevsky.

http://www.e-belarus.org/news/200512241.html

French Parliament Votes to Allow Web File Sharing

The French Parliament has voted to allow free sharing of music and movies on the Internet, setting up a conflict with the government and media companies. The plan would establish a global license fee of 7 euros a month that would permit Internet users to download unlimited digital music and films from the Internet for personal use. The funds would be distributed to copyright holders.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=aVSbCR7TCDvc&refer=europe

Virtual Education Software Progress In India

Bangalore's Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, which leads the Indian Government-funded Development Gateway ICT Research and Training Centre, has published a technical paper on building virtual classroom situations using the center's Vartalaap software. The open-source software is being developed to cater to the online communications needs of people in their local language.

http://www.elearn.cdac.in/eleltechIndia05/PDF/07-Vartalaap%20%E2%80%93%20Virtual%20Classroom%20System%20-Supriya%20-%2007.pdf

Establishing Community Learning and Information Centers (CLICs) in Underserved Malian Communities

The purpose of the Community Learning and Information Center (CLIC) project was “to accelerate economic, social and political growth by providing residents in twelve2 underserved Malian communities with access to easily accessible development information and affordable access to information and communication technology (ICT), high-value training and locally appropriate content.”

A CLIC is a telecenter, a public access point where the community can come to access information and communication technologies for a fee. It is more than a cybercafe in the sense that 1) it provides a range of services that cybercafes do not provide, such as training and customer support; and 2) it is community-driven and it has a clear development mandate to serve the community’s information and communication needs.

http://www.dot-com-alliance.org/resourceptrdb/uploads/partnerfile/upload/338/Mali_CLICs_Final_Report.pdf