Comments on: Goroka General Hospital and Open Source http://www.trupela.com/2008/06/23/goroka-general-hospital-and-open-source/ on Tribalism, Open Source and the Unexpected Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:57:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Robert http://www.trupela.com/2008/06/23/goroka-general-hospital-and-open-source/#comment-309 Robert Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:16:34 +0000 http://www.trupela.com/2008/06/23/goroka-general-hospital-and-open-source/#comment-309 Hi Nick, Spot on mate! A couple of months ago I was speaking to a senior AUSAID Advisor - someone directly involved with recommending systems to the National Health Department. This person's words were that Open Source would not be possible in PNG because it all comes from India! (A 25 G's a month consultant!!). Believe it or not but Attache is currently being pushed by certain cronies within Waigani as the platform of choice for E-Government in PNG!! The mind boggles, twists and turns... R Hi Nick,

Spot on mate!

A couple of months ago I was speaking to a senior AUSAID Advisor – someone directly involved with recommending systems to the National Health Department. This person’s words were that Open Source would not be possible in PNG because it all comes from India! (A 25 G’s a month consultant!!).

Believe it or not but Attache is currently being pushed by certain cronies within Waigani as the platform of choice for E-Government in PNG!!

The mind boggles, twists and turns…

R

]]> By: Nick Reese http://www.trupela.com/2008/06/23/goroka-general-hospital-and-open-source/#comment-307 Nick Reese Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:39:06 +0000 http://www.trupela.com/2008/06/23/goroka-general-hospital-and-open-source/#comment-307 The pro MS argument can be quite insidious in developing countries. I tried to get the Dept. of Education in the Solomons to start using Linux on their file server, and their IT guy wrote a statement saying that it would be embarrassing for the Dept. to be seen running Linux (as if it was amateurish). The current file server was being run on a Windows desktop file share. The IT guy had an IT degree from USP. No backup. Hmmm, amateurish. I think the problem with Linux and people who don't understand it stems from the fact that 'a stolen watermelon tastes sweeter'. Windows costs a lot, whereas Linux is free, so therefore Windows must be better! If anyone ever has any problems with you running Linux in the hospital, just point them to the facts about the trouble that people have with viruses and malware in developing countries - most MS software is pirated, not updated, and poorly protected with anti-virus systems - and therefore a lot of time and effort is spent managing malware outbreaks and machine rebuilds. Aaaah, sweet, stable, strong Linux. In developing countries, Linux and open source is the best software model. The pro MS argument can be quite insidious in developing countries. I tried to get the Dept. of Education in the Solomons to start using Linux on their file server, and their IT guy wrote a statement saying that it would be embarrassing for the Dept. to be seen running Linux (as if it was amateurish). The current file server was being run on a Windows desktop file share. The IT guy had an IT degree from USP. No backup. Hmmm, amateurish.

I think the problem with Linux and people who don’t understand it stems from the fact that ‘a stolen watermelon tastes sweeter’. Windows costs a lot, whereas Linux is free, so therefore Windows must be better!

If anyone ever has any problems with you running Linux in the hospital, just point them to the facts about the trouble that people have with viruses and malware in developing countries – most MS software is pirated, not updated, and poorly protected with anti-virus systems – and therefore a lot of time and effort is spent managing malware outbreaks and machine rebuilds.

Aaaah, sweet, stable, strong Linux. In developing countries, Linux and open source is the best software model.

]]> By: Robert http://www.trupela.com/2008/06/23/goroka-general-hospital-and-open-source/#comment-282 Robert Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:07:36 +0000 http://www.trupela.com/2008/06/23/goroka-general-hospital-and-open-source/#comment-282 Hi Yafa, Thanks again for the positive feedback. Keep your fingers crossed for us as we still have much hard work ahead to secure the project funding. Just a matter of finding someone out there with a fat enough a purse! R Hi Yafa,

Thanks again for the positive feedback.
Keep your fingers crossed for us as we still have much hard work ahead to secure the project funding. Just a matter of finding someone out there with a fat enough a purse!

R

]]> By: yafa http://www.trupela.com/2008/06/23/goroka-general-hospital-and-open-source/#comment-280 yafa Tue, 24 Jun 2008 03:25:15 +0000 http://www.trupela.com/2008/06/23/goroka-general-hospital-and-open-source/#comment-280 Its good to read that our health secretary is totally behind the idea of hospital going into IT with the electronic patients records. Its time that PNG hospitals need to update its data and information at the world standard. Its the store of knowledge and from that storage many new discoveries can be done in medical science. PNG can not continue to operate in isolation with junks of papers and difficult to locate patients information for research purposes. Goroka hospital, keep it up and show other PNG hospitals that you can do it. Its good to read that our health secretary is totally behind the idea of hospital going into IT with the electronic patients records. Its time that PNG hospitals need to update its data and information at the world standard. Its the store of knowledge and from that storage many new discoveries can be done in medical science. PNG can not continue to operate in isolation with junks of papers and difficult to locate patients information for research purposes.

Goroka hospital, keep it up and show other PNG hospitals that you can do it.

]]>