Open Source

        In this paper, I will write a short review of the article Brazil and India: The Next Generation of Open Source and also give some comments about other open sources. To begin with, the author stated that both Brazil and India are accelerating their speed in economic development by utilizing open source. We can see India is now using open source in diverse fields such as software development, government services or technical education. From my point of view, this is a potential start for this country. They can utilize this point to provide more job opportunities for students. The article gave out the number of graduates who get a job, about 700,000 people, which is a little percentage in 2.5 millions graduates per year. They can get rid of the old industry which flourished on cheap and skilled labor by hiring and stimulating the new generation of student. Brazil also declares this country is not less competitive than India by selling software products. However, Brazil has some problems such as language barrier and higher hourly wages. Unfortunately, base on the article, the Brazilians believe that the quality of their products, which present for the deep knowledge of open source, can vanquish those problems. I think they should change their opinion and focus on making new programs in English because language is the bridge that connects producers and users. The users only use products wisely when they are able to understand them clearly. Another potential from Brazil is exchanging ideas, skills and expertise with international experts in that country. Maybe some people have good ideas but they don't have enough financing, so they can combine with software companies in Brazil to create new products. Lastly, Brazil has many advantages to improve their open source development such as geographical proximity to the US, in-country advanced technology research and excellent infrastructure. With good inner technology research, they can save large amount of money from importing necessary stuff. Excellent infrastructure allows the experts and everyone else to engage in researching and practicing with no problems. In conclusion, the author suggested that Brazil and India should make a combination, learn from each other to see the advantages, the potentials of each country and then apply them into their context. "Knowledge economies can only thrive on continuing the pursuit of better education, deeper expertise, more innovation and long term collaboration". I also want to discuss about some potential open sources such as Khan Academy or SourceForge. Khan Academy provides a huge amount of videos giving guidance in many subjects. No one can deny the positive impact of Khan Academy's videos, they spread not only knowledge but also inspiration to the learners. Additionally, SourceForge is a website that provides millions applications for education, arrange from Audio&Video, Games to Graphics, etc. Everyday there are few millions of downloads on that site, proving that SourceForge has great effect on learning and teaching process all over the world. From my opinion, the teachers would study more about these open resources and utilize them in their classroom. I believe these technologies will improve the achievement of the students significantly.

Brazil and India: The Next Generation of Open Source: http://opensource.org/node/528