The Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa) plans to introduce 25 Windows-based, open-source, free computer software programs to the public in July, a move that is expected to save the country more than a billion baht annually.
Chairwoman Kruawan Samana said Sipa, which is a public organisation under the Information and Communications Technology Ministry, has initially developed 25 free software programs. They feature office, internet, graphics, multimedia, utility, web development and entertainment applications and will be ready for the public to download in July. Mrs Kruawan said the open-source software programs to be introduced would benefit the government's project to provide schools nationwide with 250,000 computers and internet connections next year. These schools would be able to use free programs from Sipa and save a lot of budget money, which would otherwise be spent on purchasing software from foreign suppliers.
Sipa's free software project should help the schools save about a billion baht a year, she said.
Sipa would also help train university instructors from across the country to use its open-source software. They would later help train schoolteachers.
Mrs Kruawan said Sipa's open-source software project was part of the agency's attempts to promote Thailand's software industry, give people wider access to information, and increase their chances to become computer-literate. The attempts would eventually bring about e-government systems.
"Sipa has triggered the idea among Thai people that it is unnecessary to spend large sums of money on foreign programs every year. We allow the general public to further develop our programs, and this will help support our people, both young and old, who are software geniuses," she said.
"Our programs are public property and bear no copyrights. They can be developed into new applications for sale. This will expand our software industry. It is a win-win situation for everyone," she said.
Autor: Ampa Santimataneedol
Quelle: Bangkok Post, 06.05.2005
