Russia and Cuba: Together again, this time for open-source software
I read on Glyn Moody's blog that one-time bosom buddies, Cuba and Russia, have linked up again. The cause this time? No, it's not communism. That one lost a while back. This time, the two are banding together to fight the evil software capitalists with open-source software.
Russia and Cuba speak different languages, of course, but the article suggests sovereignty may be the lingua franca here, with Russia leading the charge. Cuba, finally free from the shackles of American imperialism, and Russia, that paragon of liberty, playing the lead. The possibilities are enormous!
Or not. American software companies haven't been able to sell into Cuba for decades (though many probably do, anyway), but this prohibition will become moot if Cuba is able to become self-sufficient in its software needs. Will we notice? Nah. I can't remember the last time I considered Cuba a real threat to anything other than the balance of nationalities playing in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
Hmm....Perhaps Cuba can open source its exceptional baseball talent in return for software? Even President Bush might sign up for that.
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay. 
Are they going to develop software for use in Cuba or for export?
Too many people think that if you don't like what's going on in the US, you should move! Hey, if you don't like it, it's your duty, responsibility and right to change it!
The notion that they can't is the same wayward thinking that caused the silly and pointless encryption export restrictions. I suppose American arrogance is so high these days that Americans think of the rest of the world as cavemen.
Like most areas, quality programming in the US is in decline, and is improving around the world.
I was just mocking the legacy of communism (which I don't think has anything to do with open source - I'm an open-source capitalist).
- by abeetley November 11, 2008 12:09 PM PST
- RE: "American software companies haven't been able to sell into Cuba for decades (though many probably do, anyway)"
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(15 Comments)Just wanted to make it clear that American software companies do not, nor have ever, sold their products in Cuba. The U.S. embargo started in the early 1960s before any substantial computer technology was being marketed. If you click on the link in the article where it says "though many probably do, anyway" you'll see an article from last year that mentions that things like Nike and and Coke are sold in Cuba in spite of the embargo. i won't get into a long explanation of why that is. But rest assured the only U.S. computer technology that Cuba has got through due to smuggling or donation, and there is not too much of either. Anyone who's been to the island could tell you that it is very much behind the ball in terms of computer technology.