Linux is a beautiful thing,  ... did I say "thing?" I meant creature. Yes Linux is a creature, one that we've all grown addictedly fond of. Like every creature goes through all the normal processes of maturity and growth. And Linux is growing .. Oh yes it's growing at an astoundingly quick rate. Faster than what the experts even anticipated.
  
         This is all music to my ears, as a Linux enthusiast I'm ever impressed with this growth, yet as always there's more to be done to really make an impact. To really cause the digital revolution that Ghana desperately needs we need to take things to the next level ... and that's where my painful realization begun.


Its no secret to anyone that Linux has several distributions [popularly referred to as distros]. Each distro aims to solve the same problem using the methods they see fit and this is where the rich diversity and community heritage begins. Most Ghanaians have started using various Linux distro's. Most are conversant with Ubuntu, which proves that Canonical did a very good job with their distribution. Several people have tried Live CD's but are hesitant to do an actual HD install, whiles several more just return to Windows.

Most people use Ubuntu or a derived distro from it. Personally my friends and I have been using Ubuntu because we've been going with the assumption that Ghana has a local mirror. I recently met someone who I told about  this and that I thought the Ubuntu mirror in Ghana was AITI, a computing college in the capital. To my surprise this was false.

Yes no Ubuntu repo in Accra. To me this was devastating, no added advantage or local speed. If you live in Ghana, you'll agree that the internet speeds currently leave so much to be desired. It doesn't end there, a majority of the populace live without an internet connection and hence many people aren't even affected by this because they dont have an 'online presence'. Even Gabon, a country with military rulers who people would think are worse off than Ghana have a decent mirror. This facts astounds me and needs to be addressed. I'm determined to do something about this, but I cant do it all by myself. We need to move fast! Anyone living in Ghana who think they can play a part in this can pm me.

The full list of Ubuntu mirrors and Repos HERE