September 20th is being celebrated worldwide as software freedom day. Ankur Sharma, a Nepali Software Freedom activist, has sent an article to promote awareness regarding software freedom. His article will be presented here in the coming week as a series of three posts: Concepts, Cases and Celebration. This post is the first one in the series where he introduces the concepts of software freedom.

To understand the concept of software freedom, consider the following two cases:

Case I: If I want to start a Coca-Cola like company, There are a number of problems I have to face. I don’t know how coke is made (ingredient, process etc). Even if I figure it out, I don’t have freedom to make and distribute it. I also lack adequate capital and resources to compete with such a big company.

Case II: I am thirsty and want to have a cold drink, I have choices. I can have coke (paying few cents for drink + much more as royalty for using proprietary bottle) or I can have soda (remember those days at New Road Ranjana galli ?) and pay much less (few cents for drink + few cents for the service of the soda filler and shop) or yet I can settle for home-made lemonade. I do have coke when I have enough money in my pocket otherwise I can settle for soda. But, when at home I go for lemonade.What a freedom lemonade offers, I can add as much sugar and lemon as I desire, I can immediately add a glass of water if a friend shows up at the door .

But what about software? What about stack of application we use on our console to perform everyday task? In context of Nepal, we have been left without choice, we were taught BASIC as first programming language, Windows as the only operating system and we were trained to run our everyday task whether it be academic, enterprise or hobby in a non-free environment. We are so privileged, we don’t have to pay even a percentage of original software prices. We load our system with loads of application that are shareware, demos, freeware or pirated copies(games, office packages, video editors, programming IDEs and even OS). We are getting illegally copied coke at a price lower than that for lemonade and won’t have to worry about getting caught or penalized because everybody here are the same. Even law makers and keepers do the same. Regardless of being governmental offices, public/private enterprises, home users, most use pirated copies of software. We were taught moral values and ethics in school along with software piracy.

Major question then is about alternatives. I would prefer to ride a bicycle (free softwares with less functionality) rather than riding cheap, unethically stolen motorbike (pirated/proprietary/bloated commercial softwares). The fact is that alternatives exist in software. Most of the time, free softwares are far more faster, compatible, tweak-able, cheaper (even free of cost) than propriety counterparts. Collectively, such softwares which respect and preserve user freedom are “Free Softwares”. Here free is not to be confused with price. Free is free as in freedom of speech, not free as in free beer. Free software basically defines itself within 4 freedom (freedom to run, freedom to study, freedom to distribute and freedom to improvise and distribute the software.) Generally speaking, free versions of all most all proprietary software are available. They come with less number of bugs and with large user community support.

To be continued…

Author Information

Ankur Sharma completed his Bachelor in Engineering (CS) from Nepal Engineering College in 2006. His final year project with Shankar Pokharel, titled “Mero Sanu Sathi”, went on to collaborate with One Laptop Per Child Project. At one time, he served as a technical lead and General Secretary for One Laptop Per Child Nepal collaborating with Nepal Government to successfully deploy OLPC laptops on selected government schools. He has been FOSS activist since 2004 participating actively as a resource person for raising awareness and facilitating migration of Free Software in Nepal.

Harald Bluetooth Gromson was a king of Denmark who conquered Norway during his rule and took control of Norway and promoted Christianity. Experts believe that the name Bluetooth was given to him for his dark colored teeth that he got from some accident or, as many others believe, from eating Blueberries. His unification did not however last too long.

Prithvi Narayan Shah was a king of Gorkha who conquered several tiny kingdoms to form one large country that would be known as Nepal. Unlike Harald I, his unification has remained more or less intact till now (not to forget the land lost to the East India company that was never returned). Prithvi Narayan Shah probably also promoted Hinduism in Nepal just like what Harald Bluetooth did with Christianity.

After more than a millennium of Bluetooth’s rule, when researchers were thinking about a wireless communication technology that was to unite multiple digital equipments, Bluetooth was remembered once again. So much that they would name the technology Bluetooth. After all, uniting was what both Bluetooth did.
Prithvi Narayan is also being remembered today, some 300 years after unification, but not to credit him for the unity. Instead, Prithvi Narayan is being criticized for his war-time crime not just by people who can legitimately do so (like people from Kirtipur) but by many others (including those who were responsible for similar or even more offensive crime during the recent people’s war). The unification that Prithvi Narayan started definitely played an important role in the development of Nepalese history. Then, are we not repeating the same mistake that Kalidas supposedly made: cutting the branch with ourselves on the wrong side of it!

No, I am not against abolishment of Monarchy. I am against demolition of the historical artifacts in general and against destruction of Prithvi Narayan’s monuments in particular. Willing to be an emperor is one thing, being so is another(Gyanendra is an example). Winning war is one thing, taking control is another (Iraq war is a good example). Prithvi Narayan is no ordinary man in Nepalese history. He has earned his place in history, denying him the place or undermining his contribution is injustice to the country herself.

In the making of the history, new pages are added without removing the old ones. Many people in Nepal apparently don’t know this yet. For them I have a message: मेरो सानो दु:खले आर्ज्याको ईतिहास होइन, पाना पाना गरेर पुर्खाको रगतले लेखेको ईतिहास हो, सबैलाई चेतना भया!

Every now and then, when I come across new people, I am asked this question: Are you from India? The sentence structure may differ: “So you from India?”, “Where in India are you from?” and even “Are you from Madras?” My Nepali nationality comes into action: No, I am from Nepal, toned to clearly let the questioner know that their basis for the judgement is wrong. I simply do not understand what makes some people think that they can tell the nationality of people by judging their looks. If that was possible at all, citizenship identification problem would have never existed.

I see two possible reasons why people make the mistake of asking that question. The first is their ignorance. Some people think all non-whites can be classified into three groups: African, Indian and Chinese. Just like all whites are ‘Americane’ to most people in Nepal. These people ask a person from Taiwan if he is from China and ask a Pakistani if she is from India without knowing the effect of the question. They fall in to the category of people who know not and know not they know not.

The second reason people ask the question is due to lack of proper etiquette. Why take risk predicting someones nationality when a simple question like “Where are you from?” would do the trick. If the answer is as per the expectation, one could always boast ones knowledge by saying “I thought so because….”. But if the reply is something different from the expectation, that would save a conversation from going wrong. At least that would have saved so many conversations that went wrong with me.

Nationality is something that everyone takes pride in. To me, asking if I am from a country I am not from is a serious mistake. Is that so with you?