Fsf-friends December 2003

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43 participants
89 discussions

[Withoutfrontiers] UserLinux (fwd)
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 06 Dec '03

06 Dec '03

---------- Forwarded message ---------- http://userlinux.com/white_paper.html "The Problem Enterprise users have embraced GNU/Linux. But the very aspects that make Linux desirable, its low cost, Open Source nature, and the way it gives customers more control over their software, are under attack by Linux vendors bent on increasing shareholder value. Businesses are paying more as Linux distributions demand a per-seat cost and service lock-in for software that they didn't develop and that others support. Many of the early adopters of Linux are small but profitable industries with extremely sophisticated needs, and commercial Linux distributors simply can't afford to pay much attention to them while larger markets are waiting. "........ take a look seppo _______________________________________________ Withoutfrontiers mailing list Withoutfrontiers(a)lists.mahiti.org http://lists.mahiti.org/mailman/listinfo/withoutfrontiers

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Free Computers
by Ramanraj K 06 Dec '03

06 Dec '03

Manilal K M wrote: >Hello friend, >To sit and write and a code that you have given, we need resources. We need a machine, connectivity. >Where it will comes from. Those who do not have a PC and wishes to do such a job , what he will do? >What I meant by the word 'fund' is the things needed for sustainability. >Manilal > > Personally, many years ago, when Sinclair Spectrum ZX81 32K and BBC 128K micros were being introduced, I was curious to know what these could do. The British Council Library at Chennai, had these two, and allowed the members who requested, to use them freely for 20 minutes. I used to queue, just to hit a few commands and see it run Basic, or play a game of Crosswords. I have personally felt the pain of being without a machine, even though it was of no real use for me then. Not having a PC to do work is a serious problem. I guess most developers would always miss a better machine, and only the scale varies. For Charles Babbage, assembling the hardware itself was a major project, that never materialised during his life time. We are fortunate to live in better times, but still many are without access to a PC [please don't confuse this with Plumbing Connection for water, which might also be missing], and those with a PC might be missing a more powerful machine. We could see this as state responsibility. All public libraries could have as many computers as possible connected to the Internet all the time, and those interested could share and use them. Free computers could be provided in kiosks, schools, public libraries, and wherever possible. We just know that India could afford to lose more than Rs.3000 crores per annum for the past 10 years in counterfeit stamp papers and I am sure with these leaks plugged, we can afford to have Free Computers and other benefits. As the Free Software philosophy reaches more quarters, a more equal public sharing of resources looks quite possible.

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Per-seat licences... and the right price (fwd)
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 06 Dec '03

06 Dec '03

It's becoming difficult to see the differences between "Linux" megacorps and Microsoft. This reminds you of a story: A man once asks a pretty young lady, "Will you sleep with me for ten dollars?" The lady feels outraged, and shouts back: "What do you take me for? A prostitute?" Not giving up, the man says: "Lady, would you sleep with me for a million dollars?" Suitably influenced, she says that could be considered. Comments the man: "Now that we've established you are indeed a prostitute, the only thing left to be determined is the price." Think this is from something George Bernard Shaw wrote... FN _______________________________________________ Red Hat cuts academic pricing Red Hat has announced a cut-price deal for schools and colleges in the US on its Enterprise Linux distributions. The discount scheme is expected to be extended to academic institutions in other countries shortly. Under the deal, the WS distribution for desktops will cost US$25 per seat per year, while the AS distribution for servers will cost US$50. There will also be a site-wide subscription available, priced at US$2500 per year. http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?bw.120303/233375118&tick… _______________________________________________ Perens announces UserLinux plan Bruce Perens has put his thoughts about a 'free as in beer' enterprise Linux distribution into a draft document. A response to the Linux distributions introducing per seat licencing and annual support contracts, Peren's proposed UserLinux distribution will be Debian based, as you might expect given his early contributions to that project. The proposed distribution will have automatic installation, be endorsed by application vendors and certified by standards organisations such as the LSB, and will be backed by a development and service outfit. http://userlinux.com/white_paper.html _______________________________________________

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Re: [Withoutfrontiers] UserLinux
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 06 Dec '03

06 Dec '03

On Fri, 5 Dec 2003, seppo koskela wrote: > http://userlinux.com/white_paper.html > > "The Problem > Enterprise users have embraced GNU/Linux. But the very aspects that > make Linux desirable, its low cost, Open Source nature, and the way it > gives customers more control over their software, are under attack by > Linux vendors bent on increasing shareholder value. Businesses are > paying more as Linux distributions demand a per-seat cost and service > lock-in for software that they didn't develop and that others support. > Many of the early adopters of Linux are small but profitable industries > with extremely sophisticated needs, and commercial Linux distributors > simply can't afford to pay much attention to them while larger markets > are waiting. "........ > > take a look > > seppo > > > _______________________________________________ > Withoutfrontiers mailing list > Withoutfrontiers(a)lists.mahiti.org > http://lists.mahiti.org/mailman/listinfo/withoutfrontiers > -- Frederick Noronha : http://www.fredericknoronha.net : When we speak of free Freelance Journalist : http://www.bytesforall.org : software we refer to Ph 0091.832.2409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price.

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by prabhakar kini 05 Dec '03

05 Dec '03

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Re: [Fsf-friends] Novel, Suse, Ximian...
by Manilal K M 05 Dec '03

05 Dec '03

Hello, I think we should think in this direction. But the main problem who will provide the funds ? Manilal ----- Original Message ----- From: Ramanraj K <ramanraj(a)md4.vsnl.net.in> Date: Thu, 04 Dec 2003 17:11:45 +0530 To: fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in Subject: Re: [Fsf-friends] Novel, Suse, Ximian... > What is needed is a Free Software Distribution/Installation program > under the GPL that allows users/distributors to customize Free Software > Distribution without referring to a particular FOO distribution package. > > SuSE has YaST - Yet another Setup Tool that is released under the SuSE > License. RedHat has Anaconda that is covered under the RedHat Licence. > We do not know what Licence will cover Fedora or the future Novell > distribution. All the other Free Software included in the > distributions, that are ultimately used, are covered by the GPL, FreeBSD > license or other like free licence. > > Recently, Knoppix has made an attractive entry by making installation as > simple as loading a cd. Knoppix is released under the GPL, and based > on the Debian distribution. A straightforward installation program like > Knoppix, under the GPL, giving the user the choice of using any of the > kernels, HURD, Linux or FreeBSD, should help the community to release > more custom distributions, and we should be able to talk more plainly, > generally and directly about applications, without any bother about the > distribution tool/package used. > > > _______________________________________________ > Fsf-friends mailing list > Fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in > http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends -- ______________________________________________ Check out the latest SMS services @ http://www.linuxmail.org This allows you to send and receive SMS through your mailbox. Powered by Outblaze

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Novel, Suse, Ximian...
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 05 Dec '03

05 Dec '03

I wonder what RMS (and others on this list) would make of the recent Novel acquisition of Suse, Ximian and other similar initiatives. Is it good for the community? Is it bad? Or is it a mixed blessing, which we will need some time to evaluate? FN -- Frederick Noronha : http://www.fredericknoronha.net : When we speak of free Freelance Journalist : http://www.bytesforall.org : software we refer to Ph 0091.832.2409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price.

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Re: [Fsf-friends] Novel, Suse, Ximian...
by Ramanraj K 04 Dec '03

04 Dec '03

What is needed is a Free Software Distribution/Installation program under the GPL that allows users/distributors to customize Free Software Distribution without referring to a particular FOO distribution package. SuSE has YaST - Yet another Setup Tool that is released under the SuSE License. RedHat has Anaconda that is covered under the RedHat Licence. We do not know what Licence will cover Fedora or the future Novell distribution. All the other Free Software included in the distributions, that are ultimately used, are covered by the GPL, FreeBSD license or other like free licence. Recently, Knoppix has made an attractive entry by making installation as simple as loading a cd. Knoppix is released under the GPL, and based on the Debian distribution. A straightforward installation program like Knoppix, under the GPL, giving the user the choice of using any of the kernels, HURD, Linux or FreeBSD, should help the community to release more custom distributions, and we should be able to talk more plainly, generally and directly about applications, without any bother about the distribution tool/package used.

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Re: [Fsf-friends] Novel, Suse, Ximian...
by Manilal K M 04 Dec '03

04 Dec '03

Hello Mr. Noronha, I agree with the last part of your message. It's a mixed blessing. It'll wipe out the concept that Free Software is not needed by the enterprise. But the fear is that will it become proprietory. For this we need sometime to evaluate. We have to consider the RedHat's issue in this context Manilal ----- Original Message ----- From: "Frederick Noronha (FN)" <fred(a)bytesforall.org> Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2003 10:22:15 +0530 (IST) To: Richard Stallman <rms(a)gnu.org> Subject: [Fsf-friends] Novel, Suse, Ximian... > I wonder what RMS (and others on this list) would make of the recent Novel > acquisition of Suse, Ximian and other similar initiatives. Is it good for > the community? Is it bad? Or is it a mixed blessing, which we will need > some time to evaluate? FN > -- > Frederick Noronha : http://www.fredericknoronha.net : When we speak of free > Freelance Journalist : http://www.bytesforall.org : software we refer to > Ph 0091.832.2409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price. > > _______________________________________________ > Fsf-friends mailing list > Fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in > http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends -- ______________________________________________ Check out the latest SMS services @ http://www.linuxmail.org This allows you to send and receive SMS through your mailbox. Powered by Outblaze

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Fsf-friends December 2003