The Open Source revolution has been slow in building ever since Dell embraced the Penguin as stated in the article “Dell embraces Ubuntu”, published Tue May 1 2007, 11:02 AM ET, by China Martens, InfoWorld, Yahoo News.
With new Linux-based OS Distributions such as Ubuntu, Fedora, Knoppix, Intel’s thus far unpopular Moblin (an OS for netbooks) and Google Android (an OS platform form smart phones), Biodiversity is being encouraged!
These and the cornucopia of choices alongside the original “flavours” as they are termed, namely Mandrake, Red Hat and SuSe to name a few, make for a very vibrant and Bio-Diverse Ecosystem.
There is even a popular website among those of us who do not like pirating Windows and are looking for more stable software built by the Open Source Community, namely SourceForge.
But it has struck me as rather odd that despite the testaments with regards to the strength of Open Source on Servers and Dell’s dabble with Ubuntu as stated in the article “Dell embraces Ubuntu”, published Tue May 1 2007, 11:02 AM ET, by China Martens, InfoWorld, Yahoo News.
It seems that the Government of Jamaica has not realized that not only is Open Source and supported by Dell since 2007, the No. 1 makers of Desktops and Laptops. Neither are they aware of Sun MicroSystems, makers of Servers that run on Linux Distributions. Most of which run on Red Hat or Sun Solaris and are thus more secure, less prone to crashes and make for safer web surfing.
The Government of Jamaica seems oblivious to the fact that Cuba, their nearest neighbor has gone Open Source, having begun the process back in 2007 due to outdated Windows Operating systems.
Then there is the ongoing trade embargo against the communist island state by the then George W. Bush Administration as stated in the article “Cuba to migrate to open-source software”, published Tue Feb 20 200706:19:56 PST by Richard Thurston, CNET News
The Government of Jamaica therefore needs to follow Cuba’s lead and embark on a comprehensive plan to migrate the various Databases of the various organizations currently housed on various Servers as well as change the Operating Systems and Application Software at the various Government of Jamaica Agencies to use Linux Distributions.
This as the cost of upgrading such computers can be achieved easily by just simply not using Windows, which requires licensing fees for every legally installed copy of the Windows Operating Systems as well as Application Software such as the Microsoft Office Suite, the most commonly installed software on most computers in Government of Jamaica Agencies.
It may be a case of the Government of Jamaica not wanting to fix something that is not broke, but it is more than just that. The migration of the Databases on all the Servers for the various Government of Jamaica Agencies.
Such as those that house the NIS, TRN, Passport, Land Titles, Drivers License, etc. can all be placed in one large centralized Database, possibly housed on one of Digicel’s DataCenter Servers.
This is in much the same way they might be housing the Databases for the planned CBD (Credit Bureau Database) to satisfy the requirements of the Credit Reporting Bill as suggested in the article “Credit Rating Bureau needed Quickly - Wynter”, published Friday January 22 2010, by Alicia Roache, The Jamaica ObServer.
Not to mention as well as the Database needed to implement the Automated Traffic Ticketing System also hinted by the Government of Jamaica to come on stream in 2010 as stated in the article “CCTV speed Traps - Surveillance Cams to track Road Hogs” published: Monday July 13, 2009 by Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter, The Jamaica ObServer.
Once a plan is devised, with consultative help from the Computer Department in the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences of the University of the West Indies.
The Government of Jamaica can not only migrate the Databases as well as change the operating systems to Linux distributions, but with the appropriately tabled legislation, they can also make digital copies of all legal documentation and eliminate the need to have these paper documents
This would thus make the Government of Jamaica Agencies not only paper free but all transactions paperless, significantly reducing the cost of running Government of Jamaica business, as all relevant documentation would only be stored on a Database, much in the same way Telecom Provider LIME uses PeopleSoft and Telecom Provider CLARO uses SAP to reduce its usage of paper.
This idea, which I shall call Project JosephOS (Keisha Joseph’s Open Source Initiative) after the last name of the friend who vociferously suggested the idea while I was in third year at UWI. Albeit in hindsight, for her it would be ideal, as not only would it create short term employment for individuals required to sort, collate and scan documents in the Database
It would result in a more secure Government of Jamaica as the fully digitized Database is hosted in a secure Digicel DataCenter, with every agency having a common access to the one Server via computers running secure Linux Distributions Operating Systems and Application Software.
The future has always been Open Source, as even countries that do not have any restrictions with the usage of Windows Operating Systems and Application Software such as Venezuela, China, Brazil, Norway and EU countries such a Germany and Britain have made decisions to make total or partial migrations away from Windows and towards Linux – and may have done so since this article was written.
To achieve true operation efficiency and security, the Government of Jamaica needs to follow the lead of the First World and Third World countries and embrace the Penguin.
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