CINXE.COM
Ict@innovation: Free your IT Business in Africa/1-1 - Wikibooks, open books for an open world
<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-disabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Ict@innovation: Free your IT Business in Africa/1-1 - Wikibooks, open books for an open world</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-disabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikibooksmwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat": "dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"75bf3471-be35-4088-9645-2268be8e5200","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1","wgTitle":"Ict@innovation: Free your IT Business in Africa/1-1","wgCurRevisionId":4409063,"wgRevisionId":4409063,"wgArticleId":278579,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Book:Ict@innovation: Free your IT Business in Africa"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1","wgRelevantArticleId":278579,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikibooks", "wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":true,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"value":{"levels":3}}},"wgStableRevisionId":4409063,"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":30000,"wgCentralAuthMobileDomain":false,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"wgSiteNoticeId":"2.24"};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles": "ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","ext.flaggedRevs.basic":"ready","mediawiki.codex.messagebox.styles":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready","ext.dismissableSiteNotice.styles":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","site","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.flaggedRevs.advanced","ext.gadget.wikidialog","ext.gadget.commons-file","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.dismissableSiteNotice"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.dismissableSiteNotice.styles%7Cext.flaggedRevs.basic%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cmediawiki.codex.messagebox.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.4"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="Ict@innovation: Free your IT Business in Africa/1-1 - Wikibooks, open books for an open world"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikibooks.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikibooks (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikibooks.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikibooks Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Ict_innovation_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa_1-1 rootpage-Ict_innovation_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main Page</span></a></li><li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Find help on how to use and edit Wikibooks"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-Browse" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikibooks:Card_Catalog_Office" title="Check out what Wikibooks has to offer"><span>Browse</span></a></li><li id="n-Cookbook" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Cookbook:Table_of_Contents" title="Learn recipes from around the world"><span>Cookbook</span></a></li><li id="n-Wikijunior" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikijunior" title="Books for children"><span>Wikijunior</span></a></li><li id="n-Featured-books" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikibooks:Featured_books" title="The best of Wikibooks"><span>Featured books</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes in the wiki [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-randomrootpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RandomInCategory/Book:Wikibooks_Stacks/Books"><span>Random book</span></a></li><li id="n-Using-Wikibooks" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Using_Wikibooks"><span>Using Wikibooks</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-community" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-community" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Community </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-Reading-room-forum" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikibooks:Reading_room"><span>Reading room forum</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikibooks:Community_Portal" title="Find your way around the Wikibooks community"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikibooks:Reading_room/Bulletin_Board" title="Important community news"><span>Bulletin Board</span></a></li><li id="n-maintenance" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikibooks:Maintenance" title="Frequent tasks that you can help with"><span>Help out!</span></a></li><li id="n-Policies-and-guidelines" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikibooks:Policies_and_guidelines" title="Pages detailing important rules and procedures"><span>Policies and guidelines</span></a></li><li id="n-contact" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikibooks:Contact_us" title="Alternative methods of communication"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikibooks.svg" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikibooks" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikibooks-wordmark-vi.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 0.9375em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Textbook Project" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikibooks-tagline-en.svg" width="120" height="10" style="width: 7.5em; height: 0.625em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikibooks [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikibooks" aria-label="Search Wikibooks" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikibooks [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="//donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikibooks.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donations</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Ict%40innovation%3A+Free+your+IT+Business+in+Africa%2F1-1" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Ict%40innovation%3A+Free+your+IT+Business+in+Africa%2F1-1" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="More options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="//donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikibooks.org&uselang=en"><span>Donations</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Ict%40innovation%3A+Free+your+IT+Business+in+Africa%2F1-1" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Ict%40innovation%3A+Free+your+IT+Business+in+Africa%2F1-1" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Discussion for this IP address</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"><div id="mw-dismissablenotice-anonplace"></div><script>(function(){var node=document.getElementById("mw-dismissablenotice-anonplace");if(node){node.outerHTML="\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-dismissable-notice\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-dismissable-notice-close\"\u003E[\u003Ca tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"\u003Edismiss\u003C/a\u003E]\u003C/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-dismissable-notice-body\"\u003E\u003C!-- CentralNotice --\u003E\u003Cdiv id=\"localNotice\" data-nosnippet=\"\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"anonnotice\" lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"width: fit-content; padding: 5px; border: 3px solid gray; background-color: #fafafa; text-align: center; margin: auto;\"\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan typeof=\"mw:File\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/wiki/File:OOjs_UI_icon_robot.svg\" class=\"mw-file-description\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/OOjs_UI_icon_robot.svg/40px-OOjs_UI_icon_robot.svg.png\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" class=\"mw-file-element\" srcset=\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/OOjs_UI_icon_robot.svg/60px-OOjs_UI_icon_robot.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/OOjs_UI_icon_robot.svg/80px-OOjs_UI_icon_robot.svg.png 2x\" data-file-width=\"20\" data-file-height=\"20\" /\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/span\u003E The Wikibooks community is developing a policy on the use of generative AI. Please review the \u003Ca href=\"/wiki/Wikibooks:Artificial_Intelligence\" title=\"Wikibooks:Artificial Intelligence\"\u003Edraft policy\u003C/a\u003E and provide feedback on \u003Ca href=\"/wiki/Wikibooks_talk:Artificial_Intelligence\" title=\"Wikibooks talk:Artificial Intelligence\"\u003Eits talk page\u003C/a\u003E.\n\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E";}}());</script></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">Beginning</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Module_1.1_General_FOSS_Concepts" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Module_1.1_General_FOSS_Concepts"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Module 1.1 General FOSS Concepts</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Module_1.1_General_FOSS_Concepts-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Module 1.1 General FOSS Concepts subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Module_1.1_General_FOSS_Concepts-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Duration" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Duration"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>Duration</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Duration-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Delivery_method" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Delivery_method"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span>Delivery method</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Delivery_method-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Introduction" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Introduction"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.3</span> <span>Introduction</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Introduction-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Concepts_and_Terminology" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Concepts_and_Terminology"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4</span> <span>Concepts and Terminology</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Concepts_and_Terminology-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Exploring_the_meaning_of_"free"" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Exploring_the_meaning_of_"free""> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.5</span> <span>Exploring the meaning of "free"</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Exploring_the_meaning_of_"free"-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Linux_story" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Linux_story"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.6</span> <span>The Linux story</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Linux_story-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Open_Source_Software_development_model:_The_Cathedral_vs_Bazaar" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Open_Source_Software_development_model:_The_Cathedral_vs_Bazaar"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.7</span> <span>The Open Source Software development model: The Cathedral vs Bazaar</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Open_Source_Software_development_model:_The_Cathedral_vs_Bazaar-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Characteristics_of_the_FOSS_development_process" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Characteristics_of_the_FOSS_development_process"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.8</span> <span>Characteristics of the FOSS development process</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Characteristics_of_the_FOSS_development_process-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_debate:_FOSS_vs._Closed_Source_Software" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_debate:_FOSS_vs._Closed_Source_Software"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.9</span> <span>The debate: FOSS vs. Closed Source Software</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_debate:_FOSS_vs._Closed_Source_Software-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Some_Myths_about_FOSS" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Some_Myths_about_FOSS"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.10</span> <span>Some Myths about FOSS</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Some_Myths_about_FOSS-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Examples_of_FOSS_Software" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Examples_of_FOSS_Software"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.11</span> <span>Examples of FOSS Software</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Examples_of_FOSS_Software-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Module_1.1:_ASSESSMENT" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Module_1.1:_ASSESSMENT"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.12</span> <span>Module 1.1: ASSESSMENT</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Module_1.1:_ASSESSMENT-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.13</span> <span>Notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Ict@innovation: Free your IT Business in Africa/1-1</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="This article exist only in this language. Add the article for other languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-0" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Add languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="uls-after-portlet-link"></span><span class="wb-langlinks-add wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:NewItem?site=enwikibooks&page=Ict%40innovation%3A+Free+your+IT+Business+in+Africa%2F1-1" title="Add interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Add links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Book</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="new vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Talk:Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit&redlink=1" rel="discussion" class="new" title="Discussion about the content page (does not exist) [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Discussion</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-ve-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit" title="Edit this page [v]" accesskey="v"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="collapsible vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit" title="Edit the source code of this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit source</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-ve-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit" title="Edit this page [v]" accesskey="v"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="collapsible vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit" title="Edit the source code of this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit source</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1" title="A list of all wiki pages that link here [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:UploadWizard?uselang=en" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&oldid=4409063" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Ict%40innovation%3A_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa%2F1-1&id=4409063&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikibooks.org%2Fwiki%2FIct%40innovation%3A_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa%2F1-1"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikibooks.org%2Fwiki%2FIct%40innovation%3A_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa%2F1-1"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-sister_projects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-sister_projects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Sister projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-Wikipedia" class="mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page"><span>Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-Wikiversity" class="mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:Main_Page"><span>Wikiversity</span></a></li><li id="n-Wiktionary" class="mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Main_Page"><span>Wiktionary</span></a></li><li id="n-Wikiquote" class="mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Main_Page"><span>Wikiquote</span></a></li><li id="n-Wikisource" class="mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Main_Page"><span>Wikisource</span></a></li><li id="n-Wikinews" class="mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Main_Page"><span>Wikinews</span></a></li><li id="n-Wikivoyage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Main_Page"><span>Wikivoyage</span></a></li><li id="n-Commons" class="mw-list-item"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page"><span>Commons</span></a></li><li id="n-Wikidata" class="mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Main_Page"><span>Wikidata</span></a></li><li id="n-MediaWiki" class="mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Main_Page"><span>MediaWiki</span></a></li><li id="n-Meta-Wiki" class="mw-list-item"><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page"><span>Meta-Wiki</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-create_a_book" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:Book&bookcmd=book_creator&referer=Ict%40innovation%3A+Free+your+IT+Business+in+Africa%2F1-1"><span>Create a collection</span></a></li><li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Ict%40innovation%3A_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa%2F1-1&action=show-download-screen"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikibooks, open books for an open world</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"><div class="subpages">< <bdi dir="ltr"><a href="/wiki/Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa" title="Ict@innovation: Free your IT Business in Africa">Ict@innovation: Free your IT Business in Africa</a></bdi></div></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading1"><h1 id="Module_1.1_General_FOSS_Concepts">Module 1.1 General FOSS Concepts</h1><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Module 1.1 General FOSS Concepts" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section's source code: Module 1.1 General FOSS Concepts"><span>edit source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Duration">Duration</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Duration" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section's source code: Duration"><span>edit source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>1:15hrs </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Delivery_method">Delivery method</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Delivery method" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section's source code: Delivery method"><span>edit source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>For instructional purpose, it is advised that trainers/lectures use “focus group discussion” as a major means of delivering this module. In addition lectures, presentations, and exercises are also suitable method of delivery for this module. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Introduction">Introduction</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Introduction" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section's source code: Introduction"><span>edit source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Despite the widespread adoption and utilization of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in all sectors of life including education, software engineering and IT sectors, public administrations, and within business circles, there still remain widely held concepts or misconceptions of what FOSS is and what constitutes Open Source Software. The misconceptions, to a large extend, have hindered the adoption and have made it difficult for businesses to explain to customers the software and services they are 'selling' or offering is of good quality and may stand at par or even better than proprietary software. There are also confusions with regards to the terminology when different individuals and researchers use the same term to refer to the same concept. Thus, this module draws on existing research literature and narratives from websites and blogs as well as expert experience to offer prospective FOSS business entrepreneur a glimpse of what FOSS is and is not. Unearthing the misconceptions surrounding FOSS is crucial if one is to set up a business and train individuals on how to set-up a FOSS-based business. </p><p>The general concept behind Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FOSS) is that of improving the quality of access to computer programs. This includes providing a license that reduces limitations for the developer/user and also making the source code (human readable code) of software accessible to anyone who wants to obtain it. Binaries or executable (machine readable code) are also made available via the Internet and can be "freely" downloaded and used. </p><p>This means that FOSS can be shared, it can be studied, and it can be modified and adapted by anyone with the appropriate skills. However, this does not mean that FOSS has no owners. FOSS is protected by exactly the same copyright legislation that limits the possibilities of use of proprietary software. However, through FOSS's use licenses, the rights to use, share, study and modify the software are granted. An example of a free software license is the Gnu General Public License (GPL) that, on top of granting those freedoms, obliges any derivative works produced to keep the same license, and thus remain free. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Concepts_and_Terminology">Concepts and Terminology</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Concepts and Terminology" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section's source code: Concepts and Terminology"><span>edit source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In the literature, many terms are in use to describe the FOSS phenomenon. Notably, Free Software (FS), a term used by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Open Source Software (OSS) used by the Open Source Initiative (OSI). </p><p>The FSF approach emphasizes the philosophical/Ethical/Political argument around freedom. The FSF puts it thus: </p><p>"<i><b>Free software is software that gives you the user the freedom to share, study and modify it. We call this free software because the user is free.</b>"</i> </p><p><br /> This idea is well captured in an article entitled "aligning the ideals of free software and free knowledge with the South African Freedom Charter" (Jolliffe R.M. 2006). The OSI approach is based largely on technical merit and business arguments around the speed of development, marketing and innovation. OSI puts it thus: </p><p>"<i><b>Open source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.</b>"</i> </p><p><br /> In addition, other commonly used terms are Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) that tries to unify both the FSF and the OSI points of view, and Libre Software (LS), which tries to undo the ambiguity of the term "free". Henceforth, the terms Free/Libre/Open Source Software or FOSS and FOSS are accepted in this document to refer to users' freedom to use, modify, distribute, or even sell the software with little obligations as in <i>proprietary </i>or closed source software. </p><p>Sometimes proprietary-off-the-shelf (POTS) and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) are used to describe software agreements which restrict the use, modification, and redistribution without prior consent of the supplier. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Exploring_the_meaning_of_"free""><span id="Exploring_the_meaning_of_.22free.22"></span>Exploring the meaning of "free"</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Exploring the meaning of "free"" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section's source code: Exploring the meaning of "free""><span>edit source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Doesn't "free" mean that I do not have to pay for the software? </p><p>No. The word "free" has two meanings in the English language. </p> <ul><li>The "free" in "free beer", which refers to zero cost.</li> <li>The "free" in "free speech" and "free market", which refers to freedom.</li></ul> <p>The free in free software refers to the freedoms that we've talked about above that people have. There's nothing in the definition of free software that says that you cannot sell it to someone for a price. Indeed, there are companies whose entire business model is centered on collecting, compiling and selling free software. However, since someone to whom free software is licensed is free to sell or give it away in turn, you can easily download the software (and legally) from the Internet or other forges such as Sourceforge.net </p><p>As expressed by the “FOSS Concept Booklet<sup id="cite_ref-ftn1_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ftn1-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>“, when you hear of "free software", think of liberty, freedom, or even "free enterprise". </p><p><i><b>Well, what's not "free" about other kinds of software?</b></i> </p><p>A lot of non-free software in the world today is not sold. From complex operating systems to tiny games or screen savers, the end users of the software have a license to use it under conditions laid out in an End User License Agreement (EULA). This agreement lists out the conditions under which the user can use the software -often restrictions are imposed on the use to which the software can be put. In almost all cases, users are explicitly prohibited from "taking the software apart" to study how it works, cannot modify or improve it, are only allowed to make a single copy of the software (for backup purposes) and are strictly prohibited from giving copies to other people. </p><p><b>Tip! Get more information from the FOSS concept booklet </b><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/FLOSS_Concept_Booklet">http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/FOSS_Concept_Booklet </a> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="The_Linux_story">The Linux story</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: The Linux story" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section's source code: The Linux story"><span>edit source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>It is important to note that FOSS development did not begin with the inception of the Linux operating system, in 1991. Rather, the concept existed since the formation of SHARE - a working group set up to coordinate the programming work of the IBM 701. Furthermore, research and development (R&D) institutions such as university establishments always cherish the free sharing of knowledge and resource with colleagues. What brought Linux into prominence and made it possible can be attributed to four main factors: </p> <ul><li>The <b>GNU General Public License</b> (GNU GPL) allowed Linus Torvalds to use large chunk of the GNU system's code and modify it to run as a full functional operating system on his home PC. The GPL means that his operating system (Linux) is free for others to use, copy, modify, and distribute.</li> <li>Torvalds had <b>access to the Internet</b> so that he could communicate and collaborate (via open source content management systems (CMS) - CVS) with others interested in his project.</li> <li><b>Minimal resources</b>. The Linux operating system was meant to run on computers with low resources or computing power. This means that it was within the reach of many other people to run and test the system. Had the Linux OS required supercomputing power, only few may have been involved in testing and improving the system.</li> <li><b>Good management</b>. Linus Torvald is well known for his software project management wittiness, earning him the name of benevolent dictator. He started developing the GNU Linux operating system and managed his work in such an open and collaborative manner that encouraged others to get involved in the effort for free. People joined the development on meritocracy bases, only judged by the quality of contribution and commitment to advance and evolve the Linux kernel for all others.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="The_Open_Source_Software_development_model:_The_Cathedral_vs_Bazaar">The Open Source Software development model: The Cathedral vs Bazaar</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: The Open Source Software development model: The Cathedral vs Bazaar" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section's source code: The Open Source Software development model: The Cathedral vs Bazaar"><span>edit source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>FOSS has fundamentally changed the way software is being developed, distributed, marketed, maintained, and supported (Sowe, et. al. 2007). For the first time, the Bazaar model provides software engineers an alternative to the Cathedral model or traditional way of developing closed source software. The Cathedral as opposed to the Bazaar model (Raymond, 1999) characterizes traditional software development. According to the Cathedral model, software development takes place in a centralized way, with well defined roles for each software development phase (from requirements analysis, design, implementation to testing and maintenance). </p><p>In the bazaar model, roles are not clearly defined and often software users are treated as co-developers. In FOSS, the software is usually released early and more frequently than in closed source software. As evidence of its efficacy, or the lack of it as demonstrated by a large number of 'unsuccessful' FOSS projects littered in many forges (eg. Sourceforge.net). The Bazaar model has produced a number of successful applications in the area of operating systems (GNU/Linux), sometimes described as distributions or distros (Ubuntu, Debian), emailing and web services (Sendmail, Apache, SeaMonkey), databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL), Instant Messaging (Kopete, Pidgin), Desktops environment (GNOME, KDE), Worldprocessing (KOffice, OpenOffice suite), etc. The Bazaar model of developing FOSS facilitates the creation, diffusion, and transformation of software knowledge at a rate unprecedented in the history of software development. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Characteristics_of_the_FOSS_development_process">Characteristics of the FOSS development process</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Characteristics of the FOSS development process" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section's source code: Characteristics of the FOSS development process"><span>edit source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>When a developer modifies open source software, she can either choose to keep changes made private or return them to the FOSS community so that everyone can benefit from her derived work. And from the business point of view, when a company posts back it's modification that could be used as a reference experience and in-direct unpaid marketing for a company, business or individual. When you post the modification they may be included in future releases which reduces the cost of maintenance and innovation. The cyclic nature of software source code acquisition, modification, distribution, and reacquisition is an important aspect of the FOSS development process. The figure below shows typical FOSS development (coding) activities with possible exits from the cycle. </p><p><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Ict-innovation-FBT-Fig-1-1-5.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Ict-innovation-FBT-Fig-1-1-5.png" decoding="async" width="441" height="319" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="441" data-file-height="319" /></a></span> </p><p>Developers with access to the project's source code repository checkout code from the project repository to begin the software development activity. Some just acquire the source code and no longer take part in project activity (<b>Exit 1</b>). Many others continue the development process by modifying code, bug fixing and adding new functionalities. Developers dissatisfied with a project's development, or how it is managed and coordinated may exit the cycle with the modified code to start their own "mutant" version of the project in what is called forking (<b>Exit 2</b>). Fork is a competing project based on a version of the existing project's source code. Because of the open and easy access to the source code, every FOSS project is susceptible to forking. Cynical as it my sound, forking is healthy in FOSS as it may promote competition, and may even produce a superior software than the predecessor. The prospects for expert software developers and novice users to understand the code, software development process and communities are now great. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="The_debate:_FOSS_vs._Closed_Source_Software">The debate: FOSS vs. Closed Source Software</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: The debate: FOSS vs. Closed Source Software" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section's source code: The debate: FOSS vs. Closed Source Software"><span>edit source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The following table summarizes some of the characteristics of FOSS, giving the business view of Closed-Source Software versus F/OSS. </p><p><br /> </p> <table style="border-spacing:0;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="border-top:0.0069in solid #000000;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;"><center>Closed-Source Software </center> </td> <td style="border:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;"><center>FOSS </center> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Buy, don't build or code </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;">Access code, 'Free' download, and reuse </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Vendor lock-in </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;">Freedom to modify, customize code (if you can) or contract someone else </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Lack customized features for some customers </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;">Everyone can customize software according to his/her own needs </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Deployed in limited languages </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;">Can be localized in many languages </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Motivation: Extrinsic, financial gains </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;">Extrinsic and intrinsic </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Generate and keep knowledge for competitive advantage </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;">Generate and share knowledge for common good </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Support provided to licence holders and on first-come-first serve basis. Third-party support, driver download, software updates is also provided on websites. </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;">Support can be obtained by anyone from project forums, mailing lists, etc. And can be bought from commercial vendors, distributors, or consultancy firms. </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Difficulty in compliance with other software due to copyright restrictions. </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;">Ease of compliance with other <i>copyleft </i>community-maintained FOSS (<i>universe</i>) and software restricted by legal issues <i>(multiverse).</i> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Some_Myths_about_FOSS">Some Myths about FOSS</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Some Myths about FOSS" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section's source code: Some Myths about FOSS"><span>edit source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>As FOSS becomes more mainstream, transcending technological and geographical barriers so are the myths surrounding the FOSS concept and methodology. To many, it is incomprehensible how geographically distributed individuals can collaboratively and amicably produce or create goods and services in the form of software that is comparable or even better than the Commercial-Off-the- Self (COTS) proprietary software they are so accustom to. More enshrined in the myths of FOSS is how one can make money or generate revenue from something that is free. Further information on the ten commonly referred to myths in FOSS are available in O'reilly (1999). The table below summarizes some myths and facts about FOSS. </p><p><br /> </p> <table style="border-spacing:0;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="border-top:0.0069in solid #000000;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0417in;"><b>Myth</b> </td> <td style="border:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0417in;"><b>Fact</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0417in;">It's a Linux vs Windows thing </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0417in;">Over 400,000 FOSS projects (18,000 mature) in all fields of IT </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0417in;">FOSS is not reliable or supported </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0417in;">Major FOSS solutions more reliable than proprietary counterparts; professional support available for FOSS </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0417in;">Big companies don't use FOSS </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0417in;">About 90% of Fortune 1000 companies deploy FOSS; IBM, Sun, HP, Oracle... promote FOSS </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0417in;">FOSS is hostile to "intellectual property" </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0417in;">FOSS licenses are based on the copyright law </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0417in;">There is no money to be made on FOSS </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0417in;">HP: $2.5B in 2003; RedHat: $400M in 2006 </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0417in;">The FOSS movement is unfair and unsustainable, because programmers don't get paid for their efforts </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0417in;">>50% FOSS developers are paid, other are volunteer and contribute for personal motivations </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0417in;">If I start a FOSS project, plenty of developers will start working for me for nothing </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0417in;">Community growth requires significant investment </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0417in;">FOSS is a programmer thing, users and decision-makers should not worry about it </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0417in;">FOSS spearheads a new innovation model that all should know about </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0417in;">FOSS is always playing catch-up with the commercial world, where all innovation comes from </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0417in;">The percentage of innovative projects (12%) is roughly the same in FOSS and proprietary software </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Examples_of_FOSS_Software">Examples of FOSS Software</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Examples of FOSS Software" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section's source code: Examples of FOSS Software"><span>edit source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The tables below provide some common examples of FOSS Software </p><p>a) List of FOSS Software that runs on Microsoft Windows, Gnu/Linux and, in some cases, Apple Max, Unix and BSD operating systems </p> <ul><li>Productivity based applications</li></ul> <ul><li>Wordprocessing - Open Office - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.openoffice.org/">http://www.openoffice.org/ </a></li> <li>Publishing - Scribus - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.scribus.net/">http://www.scribus.net/ </a></li> <li>PDF Creator - Pdfcreator - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.pdfforge.org/products/pdfcreator">http://www.pdfforge.org/products/pdfcreator</a></li> <li>Mail Client - Evolution – <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://projects.gnome.org/">http://projects.gnome.org</a><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.dipconsultants.com/evolution">/evolution </a></li> <li>Mind map - Freemind -<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page">http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page</a></li> <li>Compression - 7Zip - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.7-zip.org/">http://www.7-zip.org/</a></li> <li>Text editor - Notepat++, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm">http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm</a></li> <li>Financial - GnuCash - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.gnucash.org/">http://www.gnucash.org/</a></li> <li>Project management - OpenWorkBench - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.openworkbench.org/">http://www.openworkbench.org/</a></li> <li>Internet Based applications</li></ul> <ul><li>FTP - FileZilla - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://filezilla-project.org/">http://filezilla-project.org/</a></li> <li>Remote connection - Vinagre - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://projects.gnome.org/vinagre/">http://projects.gnome.org/vinagre/</a></li> <li>Web development</li></ul> <ul><li>LAMP Stack - EasyPHP - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.easyphp.org/">http://www.easyphp.org</a></li> <li>General purpose IDE platform - Eclipse - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.eclipse.org/">http://www.eclipse.org/</a></li> <li>Web application development IDE - MonoDev - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://monodevelop.com/Main_Page">http://monodevelop.com/Main_Page</a></li> <li>Multimedia and others</li></ul> <ul><li>Image Editing - GIMP - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.gimp.org/">http://www.gimp.org/</a></li> <li>Audio Editor - Audacity - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/">http://audacity.sourceforge.net/</a></li> <li>CD Creator/Burner - Infra recorder- <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://infrarecorder.org/">http://infrarecorder.org/</a></li> <li>Image Viewer - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://imgv.sourceforge.net/">http://imgv.sourceforge.net/</a></li> <li>Video Editing - Kdenlive - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://kdenlive.org/">http://kdenlive.org</a></li> <li>Systems</li> <li>Ghost - Ghost - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.fogproject.org/">http://www.fogproject.org/</a></li> <li>Animal Care</li> <li>Animal shelter manager - Animal Shelter Manager - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://sheltermanager.sourceforge.net/">http://sheltermanager.sourceforge.net</a></li></ul> <p>b) List of Web Based FOSS Software </p><p><br /> </p> <table style="border-spacing:0;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="border-top:0.0069in solid #000000;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Category </td> <td style="border-top:0.0069in solid #000000;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Application Name </td> <td style="border:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;">Web Site </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Blogging </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">WordPress </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://wordpress.org/">http://wordpress.org/</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">CMS (Content Management System) </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Joomla </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.joomla.org/">http://www.joomla.org/ </a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Shopping Cart </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Magento </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.magentocommerce.com/">http://www.magentocommerce.co</a><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.magentocommerce.com/">m/</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Forum </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">phpBB </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.phpbb.com/">http://www.phpbb.com/</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">SMS Gateway </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Kannel </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.kannel.org/overview.shtml">http://www.kannel.org/overview.shtml</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Photo Gallery </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Gallery </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://gallery.menalto.com/">http://gallery.menalto.com/</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">CRM (Customer Relation Manager) </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Vtiger </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.vtiger.com/">http://www.vtiger.com/</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;"> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Work Flow </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">CuteFlow </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cuteflow.org/">http://www.cuteflow.org/</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Network Monitoring </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">NAGIOS </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nagios.org/">http://www.nagios.org/</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">NAS (Network Attached Storage) </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">FREENAS </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.freenas.org/">http://www.freenas.org/</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Human Resource Management </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Orange HRM </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.orangehrm.com/">http://www.orangehrm.com/</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Call Centre </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">SIT </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://sitracker.org/">http://sitracker.org/</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Server Management </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:none;padding:0.0382in;">Webmin </td> <td style="border-top:none;border-bottom:0.0069in solid #000000;border-left:0.0069in solid #000000;border-right:0.0069in solid #000000;padding:0.0382in;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://webmin.com/">http://webmin.com</a> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Module_1.1:_ASSESSMENT">Module 1.1: ASSESSMENT</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Module 1.1: ASSESSMENT" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section's source code: Module 1.1: ASSESSMENT"><span>edit source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Discussion 1: Discuss and list down as many words or phrases as possible which will best describe the concept of FOSS in your local language.</li> <li>Discussion 2: Discuss and list down as many obstacles to the use of FOSS in your business organization.</li> <li>Discussion 3: Discuss the concept of Forking in Open Source Software development.</li> <li>Do you think forking is a healthy practice?</li> <li>Get a participant to volunteer to tell a story of the evolution and structural organization of ONE Open Source project or community (For example, FreeBSD, MySQL, Apache, Ubuntu).</li> <li>Debate: Form 2 groups to debate the topic “FOSS vs Closed Source Software”, stressing on the business implications.</li> <li>Brain Storming: Divide the participants into small groups of 3-5 individuals. Each group should convince the other how FOSS can benefit them and why they should or should not use FOSS in their business.</li> <li>Story telling: Get a participant to volunteer to tell a story of the evolution and structural organization of ONE Open Source project or community (For example, FreeBSD, MySQL, Apache, Ubuntu).</li> <li>Assignment 1: Write a summary report of 150-350 words detailing the history of ONE open source project. Specifically, point out the successes and possible areas where the project might fail.</li> <li>Assignment 2: List down the names of 3 organizations and 5 companies using FOSS in your country.</li> <li>Assignment 3: List 5 commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software and their near FOSS equivalents</li> <li>Assignment 4: Write a summary report of 150-350 words detailing the history of ONE open source project. Specifically, point out successful aspects and indicate possible areas where the project might fail.</li> <li>Self-Assessment for students: State whether the following statements are true or false:</li></ul> <ol><li>FOSS doesn't cost anything (True / False)</li> <li>OSI stands for Ontario Swine Improvement (True / False)</li> <li>Free Software and Linux are the same thing (True / False)</li> <li>FOSS applications can be used on Windows (True / False)</li> <li>FOSS can help reduce vendor lock-in (True / False)</li></ol> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&veaction=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Notes" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section's source code: Notes"><span>edit source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-ftn1-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-ftn1_1-0">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/FLOSS_Concept_Booklet">http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/FOSS_Concept_Booklet</a></span> </li> </ol> <p><a href="/wiki/Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1" title="Ict@innovation: Free your IT Business in Africa/1">Previous Chapter</a> | <a href="/wiki/Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-2" title="Ict@innovation: Free your IT Business in Africa/1-2">Next Chapter</a> </p></div><!--esi <esi:include src="/esitest-fa8a495983347898/content" /> --><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&oldid=4409063">https://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&oldid=4409063</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Category</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Book:Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa" title="Category:Book:Ict@innovation: Free your IT Business in Africa">Book:Ict@innovation: Free your IT Business in Africa</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 5 June 2024, at 16:06.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a class="external text" href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a class="external text" href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy Policy.</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikibooks:Welcome">About Wikibooks</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikibooks:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikibooks.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=Ict@innovation:_Free_your_IT_Business_in_Africa/1-1&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-f69cdc8f6-kmnzc","wgBackendResponseTime":250,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.061","walltime":"0.081","ppvisitednodes":{"value":158,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":729,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":514,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":11,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":0,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":0,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":473,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":0,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 38.960 1 Template:BookCat","100.00% 38.960 1 -total"," 26.57% 10.353 1 Template:Evalx"," 11.11% 4.327 1 Template:BOOKCATEGORY"," 5.37% 2.094 1 Template:NAIVEBOOKNAME"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.014","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":951764,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.codfw.main-f69cdc8f6-kmnzc","timestamp":"20241123200221","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> </body> </html>