From 25a12e0accae5a4a5d1927a9a8e51e744b197d14 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Alain Reguera Delgado Date: Oct 29 2011 15:32:32 +0000 Subject: Update `Preface/overview.docbook'. --- diff --git a/Manuals/Tcpi-ug/Preface/overview.docbook b/Manuals/Tcpi-ug/Preface/overview.docbook index 8f85902..c0ee961 100755 --- a/Manuals/Tcpi-ug/Preface/overview.docbook +++ b/Manuals/Tcpi-ug/Preface/overview.docbook @@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ users. The cuban State introduces free software because it is free in the sense of price, not in the sense of freedom. The cuban State uses free software as another impositions to - control what software does people use and which one don't. + control what software does people use and which one doesn't. Some people might see that it is free software anyway, but think again: Shouldn't you have the oportunity to decide what free software to use, and also what community you join to? No @@ -62,123 +62,62 @@ strongly beleive that, for the free software to reach cuban people, free software communities must be accessable for cuban people first, so the cuban talent can be added to free - software philosophy. However, till the cuban State be - controlling inbetween how the cuban people can or cannot - integrate an specific way of living to its own, there will be - no free software in Cuba, nor any freedom for the cuban people - to make use of. + software philosophy. However, while the cuban State be + inbetween controlling how the cuban people can or cannot + integrate a specific way of living, there will not be free + software in Cuba, nor any freedom for the cuban people to make + use of. - It is impossible to defend freedom if one doesn't feel what it - is. The cuban State never talks (at least on the public media) - of introducing free software for freeing the cuban society of - privative software. In fact, if you compare the privative - software and the way cuban State operates the information - media, based on the resolution 149 emitted by the Minister of - Informatics and Telecomunications (MIT), you may find them - very similar. There is an obsession by controlling all the - information media on the country and they cannot be used to - purposes others than those defined by the State. For example, - to reach Internet access, cuban people need to be working for - the cuban State somehow and that way comply with the politics - impossed by it about information management which is strict, - at the point of denying service based on restrictions. There - is no a legal way for cuban people to contract an Internet - service at home. The most one can do in Cuba to share data - with friends is trying to resolve a fixed + Another popular affair frequently mentioned by the cuban State + information media is related to migration from privative to + free software. The migration from privative software to free + software must be initiated from people deepest comprehension + of what they are doing, not from impositions of another + inquestionable order everybody need to comply with. So, + people need to feel what freedom is and express it in order to + perceive a deep impact of free software in cuban society. We + cannot pretend people will use a free software distribution + based on a lie or a distorted idea of freedom, that idea won't + last much before it fall itself into pieces. People need a + way of identifying themselves apart from any social/political + system in order for them to be able of decide whether or not + to be part of one. + + + + It is impossible to defend freedom if one doesn't have felt + what it is. The cuban State never talks (at least on the + information media) of introducing free software for freeing + the cuban society of privative software. In fact, if you + compare the privative software and the way cuban State + operates the information media, based on the resolution 149 + emitted by the Ministerium of Informatics and + Telecomunications (MIT), you may find them very similar. There + is an obsession by controlling all the information media on + the country and they cannot be used to purposes others than + those defined by cuban State. For example, to reach Internet + access, cuban people need to work for the cuban State somehow + and that way complying with whatever politics they impose + about information management. There is no a legal way for + cuban people to contract an Internet service at home, even the + cuban churches in the island have limitations in this area + (unbelievable). The most I see one can do in Cuba to share + data with friends is trying to resolve a fixed telephone line at home to gain access to the cuban telephone network and then use it to transmit data using computers. The telephone network is the communication medium most people have access to, however, there are limitations in the number of - simultaneous connections that can be performed and finding the - Modem devices required. + simultaneous connections that one can phisically perform + between computers, the way of obtaining the required + communication devices, - Modem devices aren't available on stores. In fact, the few - computation hardware available on stores has prices that - almost no one can pay for (making this another limitation - for average poeple). + Communication devices like modems, switches and routers + are available to institutions related to cuban State only. - + and the way information is exchanged with public + services available on different networks like Internet. - - The migration from privative software to free software must be - from people comprehension of what they are doing, not from the - impossition of another inquestionable order to comply with. - So, people need to feel what freedom is and express it in - order to perceive a deep impact in the society. Don't pretend - people will use a free software distribution based on a lie, - that idea won't last much before it fall into pieces. People - need a way of identify themselves apart from any political - system in order for them to decide whether or not to be part - of one. - - - - It is also fare to mention that freedom has a cost and more if - you are living in a political system where most people cannot - make use of it to manifest themselves. I didn't find any - solution other than isolate myself from that political system - repressing my natural freedom of expression. For example, - When I closed my contract, it was very difficult to find a job - as system administrator and had to relay on my family which, - in its majority, grew up with the political system I reject - and is attached somehow to it. A terrible humilation to me, - but less humilation than a direct relation since it wasn't my - decision to come into the world nor be educated in a way I - wasn't able to take concience of. This way, I gave my first - step back into the reconstruction of myself. - - - - The reconstruction of oneself is a painful process where care - should be taken against craziness and high blood pressures. It - is a time of loneliness and waiting one need to face - inevitably at some point of life. In that time you compress - yourself until you are able of seeing what you are, what you - are not, what you are doing, why are you doing it, and what - purpose does everything has for others once your life reaches - its end in this word. How strong you are to take the - responsability of your own existence and fight against anyone - trying to take that from you. In this process, one separates - its body from its mind and makes it to act based on a major - idea of what one has faith in. Your life, and all it brings to - you, is so yours that it is very important that everyone be - aware of that, specially in political systems that insist on - living your life for you. - - - - After two years in this situation, Frank Sueiras (the housband - of my ant Carmen L. Delgado) retires himself from working to - cuban State and started doing jobs for third parties. In one - of those jobs, the Jesuitas church contracts him to - planificate everything related to hydraulics on a building - under construction. I went with him there and the air of - community remembered me that one experimented inside &TCP;. I - saw an opportunity therein and ask him to talk there in order - for me to work on whatever it be needed (e.g., putting glasses - on doors, helping the welder man, painting, etc.). - - They didn't need a system administrator by then ;-). - - This way I received a payment for living (which - was almost 4 times more than what I was receiving as system - administrator when worked for the cuban State). At nights I - keep myself reading the documentation available inside &TCD; - and writing about &TCAR; with the hope of found an Internet - access to share what I've been doing. - - - - &TCAR; development has been the excel I've been attached to - through all this time. It has been the sence of my days, the - central place I've used to reconstruct myself and I use this - book to describe what you can do to help me develop &TCAR; in - an environment where the only independent way of transfer data - is the telephone network, motivated by the need of sharing - still in this very limited conditions. - -