Free software allows users to look into the computer's software, and not treat it just as a mystical black box.
Welcome to India, a talent-rich powerhouse of software skills. But this is also a powerhouse that is resource-poor, and as it discovers its abilities recognised across the globe, ironically enough, India finds itself unable to afford the price of 'legal' software badly needed for its own use.
What is the escape from this bind? Piracy is not a long-term solution, so young Indian engineers and computer scientists are looking deep at an unusual solution. It originates in distant Finland, and is an operating system — the software essential to run a computer—called Linux.
"Linux is a developer's heaven," says G. Sagar, software developer and web-designer from Bombay. Unlike commercial software, you can get Linux legally for less than INR 100 (USD 2.50), and there is no need to pay for the software each time it is installed on a new machine — the same software can be legally copied across dozens or hundreds of computers. Furthermore, there is no need to pay for every up-grade, add-on or other features. Once set up, Linux requires very little maintenance.