The IOSN will conduct awareness-raising activities such as conferences, seminars, and workshops. It will plan and execute events surrounding the many aspects related to Free/Open Source Software (FOSS). For example, the IOSN can facilitate the planning and sourcing of funds/participants for an annual Conference on FOSS Licensing. Alternatively, it can facilitate discussion on technical issues and other specific matters via mailing lists, discussion groups and the website.

Role of the Software Repository

FOSS is already available for government and/or educational uses, but not many know of their existence. Examples are the MySQL Database, Plone/Zope portal toolkit, OpenUSS, KEWL, and others. As a result, governments and organisations may not be using low-cost solutions. For Government and educational applications, FOSS must find a central home and be resourced toward specific uses at relevant institutions within Asia-Pacific. The IOSN will play the role of an open source information repository: identifying, documenting, and advising institutions and governments toward free/affordable software. The IOSN will also create a repository of FOSS for collaborative work, providing FOSS developers and others with either the actual software itself in its databases, or a compiled list of links to sources. The IOSN will also link up with FOSS application developer groups such as KDE, GNOME and CDS-ISIS, among others, sourcing solutions for the wider Asia-Pacific Region. The IOSN Portal will play a vital role in listing affordable FOSS packages for use in the region.

Database of Experts and Human Resource

As a center for FOSS expertise and technical support, the IOSN will create and maintain an open database of FOSS programmers, private entities, and experts in the region willing to take on challenges presented to them by governments and other institutions. Programmers will serve as resource persons to the IOSN and activities supported by it. The resource facility will also allow key experts the opportunity to take on projects secured through the IOSN. Further, experts can be sourced to teach particular training sessions organized by the Network. Such an opportunity will aid governments in adopting affordable solutions while regional programmers have the opportunity to earn income, establish/enhance reputations, and further their talents in the field.

Small Grants Programme

The IOSN will establish a small grants program to support FOSS R&D (please see R&D & Localization below). The programme will provide grants in the range of $500 to $10,000 for work on localization efforts, local font development, and FOSS generally.

Technical Support

As the IOSN becomes more established, and regional competencies and networks have been established, the IOSN will be able to coordinate technical support for FOSS applications. It will do this in partnership with FOSS providers both small and large scale (eg. Red Hat, Debian.) This service would be one of the intrinsic benefits for members and providers working closely with the Network. Members can call in for assistance with technical issues while the Network can act as a clearinghouse for technical support, information, and other resources.

R&D & Localization

In the area of localization where software markets are too small for major software vendors to justify investments in developing local-language character sets, FOSS is the greatest avenue for the creation of local and relevant content. There is currently a lack of understanding over the importance of local language capabilities and language representation online.

The R&D Component will cover the following major areas:

• Fonts & Standards Development
• Localization
• Toolkits and Primers on FOS
• Equitable Access
• Q&A on OS R&D/Case Studies of implementations
• Anti-Virus Systems for FOSS based systems

Local font development based on minimal, internationally acceptable norms and standards will be a primary focus of the IOSN. This aspect is geared to assisting local communities of various languages in adopting and benefiting from the ICT revolution. The creation of fonts and standards, including standards for internationalised domain names (IDN's), are important in Asia-Pacific. R&D work on this would be subcontracted by the Center throughout the region.

Localization will involve making applications available in several languages that are common in Asia-Pacific. This is achieved primarily through the implementation of appropriate electronic interchange standards (Unicode) and designing fonts under internationally recognized standards (TrueType and OpenType). Similarly, for Operating Systems it is important that the Graphical User Interface (GUI) is geared for Asia-Pacific languages. The IOSN will work towards facilitating localized FOSS solutions for the Asia-Pacific region and provide packaged information in the form of toolkits to aid the process of localization by indigenous researchers and developers in the region.

The IOSN will also mirror websites where there are resources already available. The following is a preliminary list of broad areas/subjects: fonts, localization, Linux/FreeBSD kernel source code (with LXR), LDP, and tools and resources for internationalisation (I18N). IOSN will produce technical and non-technical Primers for the IOSN community and governments requiring assistance as they implement FOSS. These Primers will assist governments in understanding the issues surrounding FOSS.

Much research needs to be done in ensuring equitable access, where all communities are able to benefit from networked technologies, applications, and operating systems. The R&D dimension of the IOSN will conduct research on access methods through FOSS, standards for access by the handicapped (especially the blind), poor or disadvantaged communities. The IOSN can support new applications that will benefit disadvantaged communities toward equitable access objectives.

The IOSN itself could be involved in some testing and R&D work, as well as the production of Primers and toolkits. However, as noted above, all this work will primarily be subcontracted to the pool of researchers, developers, and other experts connected with the IOSN throughout Asia-Pacific. Programmers will be able to use the small grant scheme, which aims to assist programmers in their work. This will help build and strengthen human resources and technical capacities in the region.

R&D: Total Asia-Pacific FOSS Package (TAP)

This aspect could be undertaken in the later stages (3-4 year timeframe) of the IOSN. Presently, a user is required to download and install multiple components when setting up a FOSS operating system, especially if localized packages are involved. This is inconvenient and can be a potential barrier for people using Linux and FOSS software applications. The vision of the Total Asia-Pacific FOSS Package (TAP) is to package pertinent components such as mail clients, word processors, web browsers, and other applications into one, customized open system for developing country governments in Asia-Pacific. The TAP package can aid non-expert users, especially those with little experience in Linux, to adopt FOSS operating systems and supporting applications. Down the line when the IOSN is more established, it could consider developing pre-packaged solutions for non-expert users in Asia-Pacific, distributed in several Languages.

Training and Capacity Building

One of the more fundamental challenges facing FOSS is the lack of expertise in guiding individuals and institutions toward adopting FOSS solutions and applications. The IOSN can facilitate training of individuals and government technicians in the Asia-Pacific. The IOSN will partner with existing organisations and experts in providing training sessions on Linux. Curriculum could follow the following themes:

• Linux and Programming
• Free/Open Source Software for localized computing, information exchange and processing
• Creating Effective Technical Support
• Free/Open Source Software and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) models

Other relevant courses will also be offered by the IOSN in partnership with local and national public, private, academic, research, and other organizations working on FOSS in the region.