Free- and Open-Source Software in Trinidad and Tobago

A brief article about the state of Open Source in Trinidad & Tobago. Although T&T is hardly one of the poorest nations of the world, this article does highlight some of the issues and reasons why Open Source is not widely used in many developing nations. And it’s a quick read.

In the professional arena, the Information Technology Professional Society tried to create an umbrella organization for all of the IT organizations in Trinidad and Tobago back in 2002. The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society maintains its notes on this group and member concerns here. A further browse of the thorough TTCS meeting archives illustrates many of the issues associated with computing in Trinidad and Tobago.

When contacted, the ITPS gave no response about their stance on open-source and free software. Of course, as the President of the ITPS, George Gobin, and the Vice President of Technology for ITPS, Ansar Mohammed, are both Microsoft employees, there is room for speculation.

2 thoughts on “Open Source in T&T”

  1. The article was really an overview of Free and Open Source in Trinidad and Tobago. The key issue is the digital divide – and one of the best ways to address the digital divide is to use Free and Open Source software.

    As I write this, the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society and the Trinidad and Tobago Linux User Group are working on ways to solve this. It’s hoped that the upcoming conference – http://www.floscaribbean.org – will be one more step toward decreasing the digital divide.

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