Computers in Mission

So, you may well ask, what have computers to do with Christian Mission? Quite a lot when you think about it as many, if not most, people involved in mission use computers. How we use our computers has an impact on those we work with in our partner organisations and those we deal with out side. This is in much the same way as our general behaviour impacts on those around us.

While working with computers within the Diocese of Central Tanganyika we have been encoraging the use of both Linux and OpenOffice.org. Why? What is Linux? What is OpenOffice.org? What has it got to do with me anyway, I'm not a computer expert?

To answer the last question first what you do impacts how other people live - Remember Fair Trade? Yes! What you buy in the supermarket affects people in Tanzania (and the rest of the world). So think of Linux and OpenOffice.org as 'Fair Trade' software - use it and make a differnece.

OpenOffice.org is a software package that does similar things to Microsoft Office. It uses a different file format called OpenDocumentFormat (ODF) and is available for the grand price of nothing and works just fine on computers running Windows, MacOSX and Linux. For some thoughts about ODF see Mission Morals and Computers

OpenOffice.org is just the job for most of us as a replacement for MS Office unless you use MS Access to its' full potential. If you need a relational database and know the difference between a flat file database and a relational database then perhaps you need to stick to MS Access, otherwise you probably don't.

Linux is an operating system, it does more of less the same job as Windows. Kubuntu, Ubuntu, Edubuntu, Mandriva, SUSE and Febora and all differnt examples of Linux. Linux is different from Windows. Some things are easier to do in Windows and some are simpler to do in Linux but because it's differnt it may seem harder, to start with, to use than Windows. Not all laptops, printers or USB broadband modems will work with Linux as the manufactures do not always make the information available that programers need to use to make these things work.

If Linux (I prefer a KDE based version like Kubuntu) works for you then it could save you a lot of money and give you some increased protection against virus and other malware.

If you don't fancy the idea of using or trying Linux (many won't without a friend on hand to help) do try OpenOffice.org. There is nothing to stop you having MS office and OpenOffice.org on your computer at the same time so you can try it out but not commit yourself. You could save some money and you will contribute to freeing many in developing countiries from being forced to use expensive software (or steal it) and you may give a few poor students in this country the freedom of choice to not pay for something they don't need.

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