freeek
Expert Member
....lol hey leave the man alone .... He donates alot .... and just so you guys know he was at uct on friday for the official openening of the shuttleworth labs (tsl) (fully donated to uct for science students)
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Question of the Day: Do you think Bafana Bafana will win tonight?
Let's convince Mark Shuttleworth ...
- Thread starter kilps
- Start date
doobiwan
Executive Member
No. I've spent a lot of time on this battlefront and I can tell you that it's not hipocritical, actually it's the natural balance of things, and we can be grateful MS (Heh, I just saw the irony in that 
) has decided to give back to the community instead of going uber capitalist. The international exposure and credibility he's given the local developer community is fantastic.
The software eco system is a dynamic a vast thing, with people with differing needs and priorities. There always has, and always will be both types of software and the two will always feed off each other, it's a positive balance not a negative one, regardless of what the zealots on either side say.
) has decided to give back to the community instead of going uber capitalist. The international exposure and credibility he's given the local developer community is fantastic.The software eco system is a dynamic a vast thing, with people with differing needs and priorities. There always has, and always will be both types of software and the two will always feed off each other, it's a positive balance not a negative one, regardless of what the zealots on either side say.
stormwalkerza
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If i remem correctly .... there was an interview on him ages ago ... and the main reason he went to stay in London was that i think the SA gov would have taken there 40% tax share ... I'd also leave SA ..
SW
SW
lucifir
Expert Member
I think that the guy has a right to do with HIS money as he sees fit. Just as everyone else on this forum.
Slinky511nx7 said:
Cause hes clever? Use the evil market to support the FREE Market, if he didnt, then there would not have been his opensource push.
ps. SSL certificates is not that proprietary, its found in opensource aswell.. just reminding you, in case you had no clue where he made his money.
JustinHarrison
Active Member
kilps said:I see there are some email addresses at http://www.markshuttleworth.com/ - I think this guy gets Telkom to sponsor internet for his outreach projects but prehaps we could convince him to join in the struggle?
So how should an email be worded, any suggestions
Seems we are going full circle here, so let me answer the original question seeing as tough we are off the beaten track a little.
Yes, send an email, heck send an email to Charlize Theron while you are at it… it does not matter who gets involved as long as they are involved right?
But at the same time don’t have any expectations, we have no right to expect the participation of such people and they have no obligation to us.
As a default Telkom should be giving all education and medical facilities free internet services...they can definitly afford it....
.... I feel like I am on a teen thread with all this name calling...
.... I feel like I am on a teen thread with all this name calling...
JustinHarrison
Active Member
In my research for my up and coming book, I came across an interview online conducted with Mark Shuttleworth. Some of the questions in that interview were conducted around the telecommunications issues in South Africa
Rather than post the link alone, I am posting the relevant info (which may be of interest). All credit to Slashdot.org (interview transcript at: http://interviews.slashdot.org/interviews/05/04/04/1859255.shtml?tid=90&tid=163&tid=160&tid=11 )
Areas of relevance in this interview:
How are the nations of Africa working together to promote technological growth? Are there any common intiatives in place or will there be or are the nations still working independantly instead of building a common infrastructure? Are the current methods succeeding or do you beleive there should be change to the way the continent is approaching their technological challenges whether they are seperate or cooperative.
MS: Unfortunately, there is not enough being done within Africa to make the most of the extraordinary technological changes we've seen over the past few years. Nepad showed some promise, but that appears lost to bureaucracy. I think it will be up to the smaller countries to innovate and lead the way in regulation to attract investment in telecomms and innovation, especially with regard to VOIP, Wi-Max and other breakthrough technologies. I wish I had a more upbeat answer.
The Digital Divide
by Rico_za (702279)
Ubuntu, SchoolTool,Translate.org.za, are some of the projects you support that seem to tackle the digital-divide head-on. Do you have any views or ideas on how to make Internet access cheaper so more people in developing countries can have access to it? More specific, any plans on convincing the South African government that not over-regulating the telecoms industry will be good for everyone?
MS: Whenever there is substantial change in an industry there are opportunities for new leaders to emerge. The global shift to open source is just such an opportunity. I'm really hopeful that South Africa will grab the chance to lead the in the open source revolution. There will be a big shift in IT skills requirements, and any country that takes the initiative now will benefit significantly, from investment, outsourcing and internal efficiencies.
I'll answer the telecoms part of your question along with the next one.
Internet Access in South Africa
by kobus (544780)
Hi Mark,
This is a question combo suggestion.
I'm a programmer from South Africa, working in the Bay Area.
I had dialup Internet in South Africa already in 1994. However since then not much has changed. In fact Internet access is appalling. Its very expensive compared to the average income of middle class, and ISDN or ADSL is just too expensive and at the same time pathetically slow.
Internet access is really holding our country back! I believe it is critical to schools and families to have access to better Internet.
As a South African entrepreneur and someone who is successful in the IT world, have you ever given this problem any thought, or considered starting an initiative to provide better access to the Internet?
MS: Clearly, with one of the world's most expensive and profitable telecom monopolies still firmly entrenched in South Africa, we need to act firmly. Last year the South African government took some big steps towards deregulation, then they de-fanged those initiatives at the last minute. I expect there is ongoing debate internally as to the right plan of action, and unfortunately it's taking a long time for those in favour of bold deregulatory moves to get their point across.
Critical issues in the coming year will be the pricing of international traffic on undersea cables, which continues to be a very secretive monopoly, as well as control and pricing of access to the last-mile copper currently entrusted to Telkom. I certainly hope that SATRA, the SA telecoms regulator, will allow new operators access to existing last-mile copper for a low price, as has been done very successfully in France, where I think the maximum line rental the incumbent operator can charge is around EUR 10.00 per month. In SA, it should be lower. In addition, I'd like to see SATRA selling off international bandwidth that is currently a monopoly in an annual open auction.
In addition, I'd like to see proactive work done on Wi-Max, WiFi and general spectrum liberation to stimulate investment in the possibilities of a wireless broadband world. The opportunity is there, whether or not the regulatory authorities have the skills and the willpower to lead is unknown
Rather than post the link alone, I am posting the relevant info (which may be of interest). All credit to Slashdot.org (interview transcript at: http://interviews.slashdot.org/interviews/05/04/04/1859255.shtml?tid=90&tid=163&tid=160&tid=11 )
Areas of relevance in this interview:
How are the nations of Africa working together to promote technological growth? Are there any common intiatives in place or will there be or are the nations still working independantly instead of building a common infrastructure? Are the current methods succeeding or do you beleive there should be change to the way the continent is approaching their technological challenges whether they are seperate or cooperative.
MS: Unfortunately, there is not enough being done within Africa to make the most of the extraordinary technological changes we've seen over the past few years. Nepad showed some promise, but that appears lost to bureaucracy. I think it will be up to the smaller countries to innovate and lead the way in regulation to attract investment in telecomms and innovation, especially with regard to VOIP, Wi-Max and other breakthrough technologies. I wish I had a more upbeat answer.
The Digital Divide
by Rico_za (702279)
Ubuntu, SchoolTool,Translate.org.za, are some of the projects you support that seem to tackle the digital-divide head-on. Do you have any views or ideas on how to make Internet access cheaper so more people in developing countries can have access to it? More specific, any plans on convincing the South African government that not over-regulating the telecoms industry will be good for everyone?
MS: Whenever there is substantial change in an industry there are opportunities for new leaders to emerge. The global shift to open source is just such an opportunity. I'm really hopeful that South Africa will grab the chance to lead the in the open source revolution. There will be a big shift in IT skills requirements, and any country that takes the initiative now will benefit significantly, from investment, outsourcing and internal efficiencies.
I'll answer the telecoms part of your question along with the next one.
Internet Access in South Africa
by kobus (544780)
Hi Mark,
This is a question combo suggestion.
I'm a programmer from South Africa, working in the Bay Area.
I had dialup Internet in South Africa already in 1994. However since then not much has changed. In fact Internet access is appalling. Its very expensive compared to the average income of middle class, and ISDN or ADSL is just too expensive and at the same time pathetically slow.
Internet access is really holding our country back! I believe it is critical to schools and families to have access to better Internet.
As a South African entrepreneur and someone who is successful in the IT world, have you ever given this problem any thought, or considered starting an initiative to provide better access to the Internet?
MS: Clearly, with one of the world's most expensive and profitable telecom monopolies still firmly entrenched in South Africa, we need to act firmly. Last year the South African government took some big steps towards deregulation, then they de-fanged those initiatives at the last minute. I expect there is ongoing debate internally as to the right plan of action, and unfortunately it's taking a long time for those in favour of bold deregulatory moves to get their point across.
Critical issues in the coming year will be the pricing of international traffic on undersea cables, which continues to be a very secretive monopoly, as well as control and pricing of access to the last-mile copper currently entrusted to Telkom. I certainly hope that SATRA, the SA telecoms regulator, will allow new operators access to existing last-mile copper for a low price, as has been done very successfully in France, where I think the maximum line rental the incumbent operator can charge is around EUR 10.00 per month. In SA, it should be lower. In addition, I'd like to see SATRA selling off international bandwidth that is currently a monopoly in an annual open auction.
In addition, I'd like to see proactive work done on Wi-Max, WiFi and general spectrum liberation to stimulate investment in the possibilities of a wireless broadband world. The opportunity is there, whether or not the regulatory authorities have the skills and the willpower to lead is unknown
Last edited:
Freshy-ZN
Executive Member
I retract my previous statement that called MS a w@nker.
I finally got my disks of Ubuntu Linux delivered and am trying it out. Havent got a clue what Im doing tho....seems im more Institutionalised (Microsoft) than I realised...
I do however stilll feel that MS could be doing more for internet access than he is. I feel this is a hugely worthwhile goal but cant hold it against the man.
I finally got my disks of Ubuntu Linux delivered and am trying it out. Havent got a clue what Im doing tho....seems im more Institutionalised (Microsoft) than I realised...
I do however stilll feel that MS could be doing more for internet access than he is. I feel this is a hugely worthwhile goal but cant hold it against the man.
JustinHarrison
Active Member
Freshy-ZN said:
Hats off to you!
RVFmal
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To say that Matk Shuttleworth is a hypocrite is unfounded. Granted he made his money off propriety software, but what is he doing with it? Yes he spent quite a few bob by hitching a ride into space, but look at the exposure that generated for him!
He is now ploughing a huge amount back into OSS and I think that that is something that he should be acknowleged for, not lambasted. As per his statements above concerning telecommunications in this country, he has not tried to dodge the issue, but given his honest opinion. Should he be at the forefront of condemning Telkom and the like? In a way yes, but then it could be detrimental to his main focus of making OSS more accessible to the target market in this country.
To attempt to pressure someone who already is doing more than his fair share into becoming a figure-head in our fight against the high cost of telecommunications in this country is grossly unfair and unfeasible. We already have made an impact through the likes of MyADSL, Hellkom etc and as long as we keep up the pressure I feel that we can make an impact without having to divert the attention of people like MS from their current focus.
He is now ploughing a huge amount back into OSS and I think that that is something that he should be acknowleged for, not lambasted. As per his statements above concerning telecommunications in this country, he has not tried to dodge the issue, but given his honest opinion. Should he be at the forefront of condemning Telkom and the like? In a way yes, but then it could be detrimental to his main focus of making OSS more accessible to the target market in this country.
To attempt to pressure someone who already is doing more than his fair share into becoming a figure-head in our fight against the high cost of telecommunications in this country is grossly unfair and unfeasible. We already have made an impact through the likes of MyADSL, Hellkom etc and as long as we keep up the pressure I feel that we can make an impact without having to divert the attention of people like MS from their current focus.
Fieldy
Well-Known Member
I saw a documentary about Mark Shuttleworth, and in it he stated that he lived in London because of access to fast Internet which he needed, and stated that it was 2mbps. This was towards the end of last year.
That to me is saying that telkom doesn't offer a service that one of the most influential people in SA could use!
That to me is saying that telkom doesn't offer a service that one of the most influential people in SA could use!
captainwifi
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Thank goodness MS has not indulged in the moronic Telkom bashing going on around here. Telkom are forced to provide telecoms to areas that will in eternity not turn a profit, by the ANC.
DragonLogos
Expert Member
Rather small price to pay for a Monopoly, what you might call a loss leader in business - I am sure they will pull through.... ohhh Goodness me look at that, they managed to make 6 Billion Rand after tax last year
RVFmal
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captainwifi said:
Strange that a MONOPOLY like Telkom would be expected to provide access to the rural areas isn't it? Oh hold on! There is NO-ONE else to do it as the regulations (up until recently) have prevented other players from entering the market!
As yet they have to make any form of impact in providing those services and have relied mainly opeople buying services from them to do it. So where id their loss? They turned an exorbitant profit last year. Not bad for a company forced to provide loss making services.
But then when you are employed by Telkom or the only moron on this forum it only stands to reason that you would make a statement like that.