OZAMIZ, Philippines, 9 October 2005 — Linux, the operating system favored by many computer geeks over proprietary ones because it’s free, is gaining ground among Internet cafés and business establishments in this southern Philippine city amid a crackdown against pirated computer software.
The crackdown came in the wake of reports that software giant Microsoft is launching a low-priced Filipino version of Windows XP called Windows XP Starter Edition. It costs about $30 (1,680 pesos) as opposed to the Windows XP Home Edition that sells for $80 (4,480 pesos).
The news has surprised some Internet café owners but has surprised law enforcement agencies more.
A team sent by the Philippine Anti-Piracy Team, composed of agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Optical Media Board (OMB), Philippine National Police (PNP), IP Coalition and the Business Software Alliance (BSA), caught not a single café operating with unlicensed software.
Some operators said they realized that the anti-piracy grup meant business as the nationwide crackdown on users and distributors of pirated software netted several operators in the key cities of Cagayan, Iligan, Cotabato, Davao and Cebu.
A report by the Malindang Herald said that the crackdown even scared even the users of unlicensed software at the Ozamis City Hall, as well as schools and electronic and business establishments.
They hid and padlocked their computers after learning that the anti-piracy team was coming to Ozamis, said the paper.
“What this means is that the Anti-Piracy Law is gaining foothold,” said one Internet café owner in Manila’s suburb of Quezon City, who said he has stopped using unlicensed software after a close brush with the law.
The Philippine Congress enacted the Anti-Piracy Law recently amid pressures from foreign governments, particularly the United States, where most software makers are based.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that around 100 Internet cafés operate within the northern region of Mindanao, where Ozamis City belongs. The region has an average of 12 computer units per Internet café who are doing business for at least 10 hours a day with P15 up to P20 per hour rental.
Last week, some of the closed Internet café reopened but using the open source and cheaper Linux as operating system.
The local Internet organization in Ozamis, on the other hand, appealed to the government to help them obtain licensed operating systems software at a low cost for their business to continue without fear of legal sanctions. “A cheaper, localized version of Windows will be good because it will convince people in the low end of the market to go from Linux to Windows,” said Hans Dee, president of Microsoft reseller Mannasoft Technology Corporation.
Chairman Edu Manzano of the Optical Media Board said that the supposed raids follows the month-long warning by the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team to legalize unlicensed software. “We are reminding companies to stop patronizing pirated software and make sure that all software programs they are using in their business are legal,” Manzano said.
Ozamis Internet café operators have lost a total of P250,000 in revenues when they closed shop temporarily, according to reports.
