Writers Note: This Article has been re-edited to delete several references to Ubuntu which appeared in the original Article and were in breach of the Fedora Ambassador Rules which bar Fedora Ambassadors from commenting on other Linux Distros.
Several people use Open Source in their day to day lives, from the Firefox browser to various flavors of Linux and Unix. Who makes this software that we download for free and can share with oyur friends for free? Most people imagine some programmer in the West. Well, here in Kenya, we have a highly reputed open source programmer, known as Ken Kasina. Ken Kasina's major contribution has been a system installer in PC-BSD. PC-BSD is a desktop fork of the leading Unix variant, FreeBSD. Kasina has also done other contribution on PC-BSD's usability and made several contributions to its Kernel.  Some of his other past work is Kexi, which was a previously dormant (currently ongoing) project on a Microsoft Access like databse application for the Linux K Desktop Environment (KDE). Kasina is now one of three Fedora ambassadors in the country. Currently, Kasina is working on the Anaconda Installer which might be included in the next Fedora Linux release and other Linux variants. Kasina is also a contributor to the Ushahidi project. Dennis Mbuvi got to talk to Ken Kasina to get more on what it takes to be a developer. Ken Kasina is an open source developer. He says that he does open source development for the love of it. "You get to learn a lot of stuff not available (taught) in college, " he says as he gives his second reason for developing  the open source community. Kasina says that he also gets to meet a lot of people as an open source developer.
On why Kenya has largely remained stagnant in the development field, Kasina says that most developers lack an approach in business. Developers are largely interested in the methodologies and programs whereas customers want solutions and aren't interested in these methodologies.  There is also lack of auditors who are able to look at code i.e audit code in terms of its security and how well it solves business problems.
Kasina has been active in Open Source operating software development, starting with contributions in PC-BSD which helped improve the usability by developing user friendly system installers. This went a big way as most Unix variants have been largely accused of being user unfriendly.
Fedora relies on voluntary developers and contributed code from the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)company which owns the Fedora trademarks. RHEL is the largest Linux Vendor which makes it's money from offering Linux support and customizations to enterprises.
Kasina has moved to Linux looking to improve its Anaconda installer, which he terms as not friendly.  He will also be working to improve Nautilius browser, which is a Linux equivalent for Windows Explorer. Both are used to navigate files and folders within the OS.
Another major Linux issue that Kasina commented on was various problems concerning wireless drivers which resulted in varying wireless performance with reports of alternate strong and poor detection and failure at times to connect to secured networks. He says that the problem comes in most of the drivers being proprietary. Most Linux developers work on open source software hence few people working on proprietary drivers. Also , most developers working on Linux networking come from developed countries where connectivity is mostly via Ethernet cables hence they may not notice such problems.  As a Fedora ambassador , Kasina is tasked with popularizing Fedora, mentoring other young developers to contribute code and applications to Fedora and providing support for Fedora users. Ambassadors hold once a month meetings and are responsible for distributing Fedora merchandise including branded t-shirts and clothing.  Open source developers are slowly coming up in the country, with the biggest activity coming from the Ushahidi project. Ushahidi is a project that integrates Google maps and user generated reports from SMS, Twitter or direct reporting to map disaster/crisis zones. Ushahidi was inspired from the post election violence and has been used in the Haiti Earthquake, medicine stock tracking in Western Kenya and tracking of xenophobic violence in South Africa. Ushahidi has been an important tool in bringing open source innovators together and increasing opensource uptake. One of the challenges facing Opens source uptake in the country has been misconception, with most organisations thinking that Open Source is limited to Unix and its derivatives, which is not the case. Opens Source defines software collectively contributed to by the community and released with its source code which can be changed and/or re-distributed free of charge.
Slow adoption of Open Source software has also been a challenge, and this has been fueled by lack of developers who are able to comfortably develop  Open Source. Most developers are tied to scripting languages associated with the Microsoft Visual Basic and .Net platforms.  Kasina lists benefits of Open Software solutions as their easy to build nature, easy to maintain and easier to integrate other features. This means that such solutions require a little customization for use and users can add and remove features with ease especially where plugins are available. Another benefit is that Open Source software is usually cutting edge, with the latest knowledge and features quickly finding their way into these features.  When coming to what can be done to increase Open Source development in the country, Kasina draws comparisons between Kenya and Brazil. Brazil is way ahead in Open Source development , "They have summer camps dedicated to code and security." Kasina says that if we had similar camps here, we would have a similar number of teenage developers in the country.
There is good news though, Kenyans are slowly picking up with notable contributions in Ushahidi and PC BSD. "The situation would be better if people adopted the right mentality and knowledge, " says Kasina. "We have brains, Bernard Owuor customised Open Source cyber manager," explains Kasina on the availability of talent in the country. (Owuor's  cyber manager is currently in use in many cyber cafe's that have deployed Linux in the country since Microsoft began a crack down on cafe's running unlicensed Microsoft software. ) What is needed is more delopers to research and be knowledgeable in Open Source software.
On the government he says what needs to be done is to increase the effort, such as having the Kenyan government adopt Open Source. Kasina says there is great effort from the government ranks such as the Information permanent secretary Bitange Ndemo. Government adoption of Open Source software can greatly aid its adoption.
The lack of open source developers has led to a shortage in the job market with the demand  outstripping the available expertise. Developers are to blame for this , with most developers not wanting to share and work together. Most developers also have an attitude that most things are impossible while all they need is to put more effort. Most developers have put the OS as a top priority whereas it is just a means to the hardware. "No language is impossible, you can learn it in 2 days and do whatever you wanted, " he says referring to many developers being limited to one or two programming languages.  "We need to be a community, " Kasina says on developer cooperation. He gives an example of how he himself was mentored by developers from abroad through interaction in forums.  Other challenges that face developers is lack of system analysts. Kasina lists this as the missing link between developers and business managers. A developer cannot be everything being involved in development, gathering business requirements and selling and supporting the application. Such developers are bound to fail , and therefore there is need for distinction of the people playing roles in the system development process. There are also very few credible security analysts in the country, and this too is another consideration in the software process, as secure software is a critical requirement. "Developers who think things cannot be done(impossible to do) have yet more to learn," those are Kasina's parting words.