For six consecutive years Linux has been the fastest-growing operating system in the world, gaining popularity in the worldwide IT industry for its reliability, efficiency, customizability and interoperability.

The reason that Linux has achieved such tremendous success is because of its open source nature - anyone can freely access the source code to modify and distribute.

Open source software, such as Linux, is the driving technology behind the Internet and is changing IT in many fundamental ways.  Today between 50% and 75% of Internet activity utilizes open source software; eight of the ten fastest supercomputers in the world are being powered by Linux (additionally, three of the 100 fastest supercomputers in the world are in China, powered by Linux); open source software is found embedded in everything from mobile phones to video recorders; and Linux is being used to manage business critical functions in industries from banking to telecommunications.  Major UNIX vendors such as Sun, IBM and HP are supporting Linux, and many other hardware vendors such as AMD, Dell, Intel, Lenovo and NEC offer Linux-based products.  Further, many major enterprise application vendors such as Oracle, SAP and SAS have ported their products to Linux and are actively involved developing open source software.  A recent IDC study forecasts that revenues for computer hardware and proprietary software on Linux are expected to reach $35.7 billion USD by 2008.

It is widely acknowledged that Linux and open source solutions will find their biggest markets in developing nations, particularly China, East Asia, Brazil and South America.  While this is good news for western IT vendors selling open source based products, there remains a serious problem, namely that there are relatively low numbers of open source programmers in the developing world.  Should this situation persist, developing nations will simply remain consumers of open source products rather than participants in the larger open source market.  Being a "passive consumer" rather than an "active participant" is not in a developing nation's best interest as both government and business will miss out on what essentially is the power of open source: technological self-determination.

Of perhaps more immediate interest are the new businesses that are growing out of the open source phenomenon.  Because the underlying technology is freely available, entrepreneurs can build value added products on top of open source software, giving startups quicker time to market while lowering development costs.  IDC has forecasted packaged software to be the fastest growing segment within the Linux market in terms of revenue, growing 44% annually for the next four years.  With the overall worldwide software market forecasted to continue at a historically sluggish single digit growth rate, open source based technologies have become one of the brightest stars of the industry.

While Europe, Japan and the United States have taken the lead in the development of open source software, China has remained largely absent.

The United Nations University International Institute for Software Technology, a nonprofit research and education organization based in Macau, has a mission to help developing countries strengthen their education and research in computer science and their ability to produce computer software.

One of the ways UNU-IIST is fulfilling its mission is through the Global Desktop Project, an effort that aims to grow the number of open source developers in East Asia.

While the goal is to grow the numbers of open source developers, the technical focus of the Global Desktop Project is on improving the open source desktop.  By focusing on the computer desktop, an interface that every computer user interacts with and understands, the Global Desktop Project is generating a huge amount of interest from parties involved in everything from application development to localization.  This in turn will help further a developing nation's human infrastructure and accessibility to information technology.

Many key players in the worldwide open source development community, including major open source projects and Linux distribution vendors, are supporting the Global Desktop Project, its goals, and its commitment to greater collaboration.  As an international effort, the Project seeks to grow its open source developer base beyond the traditional arena of western institutes of higher learning (IHL), IT vendors and other western organizations.

The Project includes three components, an International Research and Engineering Program, Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) Partner Program and Community Outreach Program.

Research and Engineering Program

The Engineering Program is focused on the development of fundamental infrastructure and internationalization components of the open source desktop.  It will work closely with the open source community to ensure that the standards and features it develops will be adopted by every major IT and Linux distribution vendor in the world.  Development will focus on improving critical pieces of X Windows infrastructure, the underlying engine of the open source desktop, including work on XRENDER, COMPOSITE, XFIXES, the Accessibility Framework, X security model and Scalable Vector Graphics.  By building a dedicated software development team focused on completing the required components, and by collaborating with other open source projects, the Global Desktop Project will help to provide a more unified, user-oriented organizational structure for the open source desktop.

IHL Partner Program (Institute of Higher Learning)

Through the IHL Partner Program, the Project will work with IHLs to incorporate Linux, open source development, and distributed development methodologies into IT, computer science and engineering curricula.  By integrating open source software into their curricula, IHLs will be able to train a larger number of students on Linux, UNIX, open source software, and distributed development methodologies.  The goal of the IHL Partner Program is to both "normalize" the use and teaching of open source while growing the number of open source developers, thereby increasing the scope of a country's ability to be technologically self-sufficient.

Community Outreach Program

The Global Desktop Project's Community Outreach Program will serve as a point of collaboration and peer review for IT vendors, IT organizations in government and the private sector, NGOs, western IHLs and the open source community.  Through the program, users will be able to channel their Linux and open source feature requirements into the open source desktop environment - as well as other open source applications and utilities.  Furthermore, the program will give western IHLs and IT vendors a venue to review and support a developing nation's IHLs involved in the Global Desktop Project.

Through the Global Desktop Project, partners will benefit not only from the development of a user-friendly open source desktop, but also from:
1. Significant local expertise in Linux, open source and distributed development methodologies, which will position participating regions as a desirable location for companies moving software development efforts to Asia; 2. Integration of distributed development, Linux and related software into the local educational curricula and improved training for students in IT, computer science, engineering and other technical programs; 3. A support and information network of IT users in government; enterprise IT, small and medium-sized enterprises, that channels local needs into software that such organizations use on a daily basis;  4. Positioning IHLs as valued and influential members of the worldwide open source community;  5. Empowering individuals, government agencies, local businesses and other organizations towards technological self-determination.

Scott McNeil                                                                      General Manager                                                               UNU-IIST Open Computing Initiatives

Project Leader Global Desktop Project

+853.504.0414   Direct Line +853.712.9300   General Office

United Nations University - International Institute for Software Technology P.O. Box 3058 Macau, People's Republic of China