May 2003 - Fsf-friends - lists.fsci.in

To open software within three years
by Manjush G.Menon 26 Sep '05

26 Sep '05

Original Message ----- From: "IT@School" <itschool(a)asianetindia.com> To: <manjushmenon(a)hotmail.com> Sent: Saturday, October 05, 2002 5:08 PM Subject: Reply > Mr.Manjush G. Menon > We are not giving to depend totally on Ms. Products. Rather MS > Office is taught along with open office and Windows along with Linux > from this year. Arranging the resource persons for training an open > software, making available the software, the maintenance of a help desk > etc. are logistical issues which could not be immediately undertaken. > We plan switch out to open software within three years. > Executive Director > ---- Original Message ----- From: Manjush G. Menon To: itschool(a)asianetindia.com Sent: Friday, October 04, 2002 5:46 PM Subject: Respected sir, From Manjush G. Menon, Sr.Programmer, Sofker Solutions Pvt Ltd, Kochi-18. To The Executive Director, 'IT @ SCHOOL' Project, SCERT Buildings, Poojapura, Thiruvananthapuram-12. Respected sir, SUB: In protest against the inclusion of products from multinational companies in the syllabus of 'IT @ SCHOOL' It's a very dissappointing fact that when the whole world is moving towards Free software, we at kerala are going behind a major MNC - Microsoft. I hereby register my protest in such an act from 'IT @ SCHOOL' Project team. Breaking of prototypes will definetly help us in finding economical and high quality products for our future generation. For students and programmers, the GNU Linux contains 'GNU Compiler Collections' which includes C, C++, FORTRAN, PERL, TCL etc. Also, for DTP and other publishing purposes, it includes GNU Office utilities like Abi-Word, gedit, and other worksheet utilities, all these with a nominal cost of Rs 700-800/-. The software as it is, is free and the cost is accounted towards the media (CD + Documentation) included. By this letter, I urge you to take this matter seriously and suggest necessary modifications in the action plan of 'IT @ SCHOOL' project. Wishing you all the best and wishing all 'Students @ SCHOOL' a bright future, Thanking you, Yours faithfully Manjush G. Menon. ______________________________________________________ Check out all the latest outrageous email attachments on the Outrageous Email Chart! - http://viral.lycos.co.uk

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PERUVIAN EFFORT COULD BAN MICROSOFT ON GOV. COMPUTERS (fwd)
by Frederick Noronha 16 Sep '04

16 Sep '04

Thanks to George Lessard for posting this across. FN ---------- Forwarded message ---------- PERUVIAN EFFORT COULD BAN MICROSOFT ON GOV. COMPUTERS Peruvian Congressman Edgar Villanueva is pushing legislation to obligate all public institutions to convert exclusively to open-source software. Open-source programs, embodied by the Linux operating system, have underlying code available to anyone who wants to modify or customize it. Such software, in unadorned form, can be downloaded from the Internet for free. Villanueva hopes his measure triggers activity in Peru's software industry by freeing programmers from the constraints of working with coding controlled by a few large companies. Open-source could take the expense out of software upgrades; which is important for a country like Peru that owes about $30 million in overdue software license fees. [SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Associated Press] (http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/3531007.htm)

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Re: Linux users stats for India
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 30 May '03

30 May '03

Would anyone have suggestions for my journalist colleague? FN On Fri, 30 May 2003, Keya Acharya wrote: > Hi Fred, > I'm doing a story for Panos on the usage of opensource and proprietory software, and was wanting to know what percentage of computer-users in India use Linux right now. Safe to say 2% ? Any numbers you can give me ? > Thanks a lot, Keya > Ms. Keya Acharya > Journalist > B 122 Century Park > 48 Richmond Road > Bangalore 560 035 > India. > > Ph: +91 80 5594597 > Fax: +91 80 559 9745 > email: keyaa(a)vsnl.com > -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) | http://www.fredericknoronha.net Freelance Journalist | http://www.bytesforall.org http://goalinks.pitas.com | http://joingoanet.shorturl.com http://linuxinindia.pitas.com | http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks ------------------------------------------------------------------------- T: 0091.832.2409490 or 2409783 M: 0 9822 122436 -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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INTERVIEW: Free software carnival... LatinAm FLOSS
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 30 May '03

30 May '03

FREE SOFTWARE CARNIVAL: Latin America takes to FLOSS in a big way... Latin America seems like a world away. But Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) there is growing much like in South Asia, and arguably, better. Recently, a study of FLOSS in that part of the word pointed to the contribution of GNOME (started in 1997 by Mexican devloper Miguel de Icaza), Brazil's Sorceforge-like Codigolivre.org.br portal site, the simple UTUTO distro from Argentina, and the widely-popular PHP-Nuke content management system from Francisco Burzi of Venezuela. This distant continent has also challenged the role of proprietorial software and Microsoft (as done by Peru), and come up with interesting university-based software solutions (see www.univates.br) from Brazil. For instance, the Brazilian UNIVATES says it has saved more than R$500,000 (about US$ 130,000) by *not* acquiring copies of proprietary software for servers and desktops. It saves R$200,000 (US$70,000) each year on software upgrades and maintenance. This is enough to pay the salaries of the development group. Meaning, Univates can effectively produce technology for its own use (and which others can also make use of) at virtually no cost! To understand the larger canvas of the Free Software scene in Latin America, FREDERICK NORONHA <fred at bytesforall.org> spoke to Cesar Brod (39). Brod <cesar at brod.com.br> is vice-president of the Brazilian free software cooperative SOLIS (Cooperativa de Solucoes Livres). More importantly, he coordinated the Latin American leg of a recent Finland-conducted study on the significance of Free/Libre and Open Source Software for the developing countries. After studying Physics at the University of Sao Paulo and the Federal University of Rio Grande de Sul, he dropped out of college to enter the exciting world of software at a young age. "I abandoned university because I was travelling too much," he recalls. Getting involved with computers at the age of 20, he started work with multinationals, and shifted from being a hardware analyst to being a software programmer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To start with Cesar, could you give us an overview of what's happening on the Free Software front in Latin America? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think almost every country (in Latin America) offers a very good story on Free Software. They have very good projects, but the only thing that is actually missing is communication -- people talking with each other about what exactly they have. For instance, you have in Peru, a very good start-up project, which is an ERP for rural agriculture and the environment. This is some kind of thing that is exactly needed all over Latin America, and probably for every Third World country. But the people just dont know about it. In the meantime, this software is very localised. So, the way it is, it won't serve other countries. But with very little effort, and probably very little financing too, it could be adapted to fit a lot of other geographies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Can you give us some other examples of interesting projects you came across in the course of your recent study on FLOSS (Free/Libre and Open Source Software) in Latin America? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- One of the most interesting ones was the FreeMed Project from Cuba. Its a very simple project. It just aims to establish a network connection between doctors in several different hospitals, in order to share information and diagnostics about people and diseases. Another good one is the Free Education Network that was put together by the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. It's using Free Software to teach young people how to use computers, how to do their Math, and actually to use Free Software as a learning aid for all their first grade disciplines. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Which countries, in your view, are the best off in this field in Latin America? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- In terms of Free Software production, Brazil. In terms of software projects allying with the GNU project, it would be Mexico, with Chile getting very close. In terms of a user community, Uruguay has a lot to teach us. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you see some Latin American countries lagging behind? Why? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The truth is I don't know if they are really lacking, or they are simply not communicating enough. For instance, in the first version of my report, I have nothing about Chile. And when the people in Chile got to know what I was doing, they collaborated with a wonderful report, and they actually have a lot of things going on which I was not aware of. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- In terms of revving up the FLOSS engine for take off, what is it that is actually required on the ground in any Latin American country? Is it a good technical base, access to the Internet, the ability of keeping in touch with the outside world, or what? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thats a very good question. I think if you just give computers to the people and just some base training -- very little basic training -- you'll be amazed by the kind of progress that can be made. I'm basing my reply on one experiment done in Uruguay, by MIT professor Etienne Delacroix. He has his programming-and-art workshop, where he introduces people to computers in a very artistic way. For instance, he asks people how can you be sure that this motherboard will work once we know how a hair-drier works... and he compares the small streams of energy that goes into the mother-board with the electric plug of the hair-drier. And he asks people to identify where the big rivers of energy inside those small streams of the motherboard are located. By doing that, he makes people peep into a motherboard, and get it working... and just by doing that he gets people together with technology. People who even lacked access to that kind of technology before. And after a couple of weeks, those people would be programming in C language. So, what's missing is (the means) to re-connect people with technology. The Third World is a technology consumer; once you reconnect people with technology youll see a lot of good things happening. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- What are the three best things that Free Software can give to Latin America that proprietorial software cannot? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Technology independence, regional development. (After some thought) its knowledge-freedom actually.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- What would you see as the main roadblocks that stop FLOSS from getting ahead in Latin America? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Proprietorial software lobbying, meaning actually Microsoft lobbying. There's also fear of the perception of the unknown technology. You can't say the technology is unknown (but that's the perception created). And, still, the lack of support. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- What does Latin America have to give to the rest of the Free/Libre and Open Source Software world? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think we have already given a lot of good examples (laughs). Just to give one, the Gnome platform. Then, there's the PHP Nuke project. And a lot of KDE-standard tools that are coming out from Chile and Brazil. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- While studying the contribution of Latin America, what did you learn? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- That we have been reinventing the wheel in so manycountries that we have been researching. We should communicate a lot more. Actually for a community that lives on the Internet, it's amazing that we still dont know enough about each other's projects. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do tell us about UNIVATES and yourself? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- UNIVATES is a very small university centre in the south of Brazil, and I work for them as the technical consultant. Probably because they are so little and don't have any money, it's a community-owned university. That means we have to be very creative in terms of technology adoption. That's why, in 1999, I have started for them the Free Software Project that ended up in several products to be used inside the university. That became quite popular, initially all over Brazil and now, in the Mercosur (the Southern Cone countries). (See http://www.univates.br/freesoftware) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- And about yourself? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I got to know of Linux just by chance in 1993 -- the kernel and the GNU tools. At that time, I needed a Unix to run in my notebook as I was supporting a customer far from where I was living, and didn't want to travel that much. But a SCO/UNIX license was too expensive. Since then, I have been using Free Software and doing some consulting jobs on that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Has it made a difference to the way you work and think? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's interesting to think about that. I pretty much left the centre of the country, Sao Paulo and Rio, where you make the big bucks, and have moved back to the city where I was born. My life is a lot cheaper... and I have a lot more fun. I started using Free Software because I didn't want to travel; in the past year it took me to Finland and Sweden twice. (ENDS) -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) | http://www.fredericknoronha.net Freelance Journalist | http://www.bytesforall.org http://goalinks.pitas.com | http://joingoanet.shorturl.com http://linuxinindia.pitas.com | http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks ------------------------------------------------------------------------- T: 0091.832.2409490 or 2409783 M: 0 9822 122436 -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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President of India - Think different
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 29 May '03

29 May '03

<http://presidentofindia.nic.in/S/html/speeches/others/may28_2003_2.htm> a quote Think different I would like to narrate an event that took place in Rashtrapati Bhavan a few months back when I met Bill Gates, the CEO of Microsoft. While walking in the Mughal garden, we were discussing the future challenges in Information Technology including the issues related to software security. I made a point that we look for open source codes so that we can easily introduce the users built security algorithms. Our discussions became difficult since our views were different. The most unfortunate thing is that India still seems to believe in proprietary solutions. Further spread of IT which is influencing the daily life of individuals would have a devastating effect on the lives of society due to any small shift in the business practice involving these proprietory solutions. It is precisely for these reasons open source software need to be built which would be cost effective for the entire society. In India, open source code software will have to come and stay in a big way for the benefit of our billion people. I2IT has to play a major role in this national mission.

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Take on Gates, Kalam tells Indian techies
by Raj Mathur 29 May '03

29 May '03

[Cross-posted] Take on Gates, Kalam tells Indian techies TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2003 11:31:30 PM ] PUNE: A few months after a disagreement with Microsoft CEO Bill Gates on the issue of software security, President A P J Abdul Kalam on Wednesday called on Indian IT professionals to specialise in open source software rather than relying on proprietary solutions. Full story at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=477… (URL may wrap) -- Raju -- Raj Mathur raju(a)kandalaya.org http://kandalaya.org/ GPG: 78D4 FC67 367F 40E2 0DD5 0FEF C968 D0EF CC68 D17F It is the mind that moves

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FSF India goes proprietary?
by H S Rai 29 May '03

29 May '03

Following mail is in circulation on various GLUGs/Lugs. Please do some image building excercise. -- H.S.Rai http://www.grex.org/~hsrai | Registered Linux User # 223684 http://counter.li.org/cgi-bin/runscript/display-person.cgi?user=223684 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Hi, Today I received a mail from FSF India list about a new logo for FSF India. Curious to see how this fine logo was produced using free software i checked it up using pdfinfo, here is the result [raj@swathi fsf]$ wget -q http://gnu.org.in/graphics/FSFIndia.pdf [raj@swathi fsf]$ pdfinfo FSFIndia.pdf Title: FSFIndia.pdf Creator: Adobe Illustrator 9.0 Producer: Adobe PDF library 4.800 CreationDate: Sat Apr 26 04:18:34 2003 Tagged: no Pages: 1 Encrypted: no Page size: 595.275 x 841.89 pts File size: 56828 bytes Optimized: no PDF version: 1.3 I was shocked and surprised at this blatant use of proprietary software by FSF India. Now cu rious to see if this is an aberration or a practice, I checked other posters from the site. [raj@swathi fsf]$ wget -q http://gnu.org.in/graphics/poster01.jpg [raj@swathi fsf]$ ./jhead -v poster01.jpg Exif header 5530 bytes long <snip> Software = "Adobe Photoshop 7.0?" DateTime = "2003:03:18 15:14:43?" <snip> nuff said, but insults to Stallman and FSF do not end here, The text in poster5, http://gnu.org.in/graphics/poster05.jpg asks all of us to use "Linux" that too in bold red colour. It is also a good exercise to check other pdfs in that page. I do not want to make any comments about the hypocrisy of FSF India, as facts speak for themselves. But one thing is sure, people responsible for this have no clue about the principals of Free Software or GNU project or are least bothered about all that. If there is some one in FSF india who care about the stuff written in the posters please bring out a public apology for doing exactly opposite of what you all have been preaching for long and redo all the graphics using free software. raj PS: The pages referred here are from http://gnu.org.in/graphics/. I know this is a bit off topic here, but the main FSF list do not tolerate any critisism of FSF India.

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LINK: Free Software news... from Brazil
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 29 May '03

29 May '03

UNIVATES, a university centre committed to Free Software development HIGHER education institutions aim at the advancement of human knowledge and the dissemination of such knowledge. Free software is completely aligned with this task. UNIVATES, a university centre located in the city of Lajeado, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), has adopted Free Softwareas the basis for its intranet/Internet servers since 1997. BY END 1999, Univates started the development of SAGU (Portuguese acronym for Sistema Aberto de Gestao Unificada, or Open Unified Management System). SAGU went live in July 2000 and is now responsible for managing the academic and financial relationships between students and the varsity. Incidentally, SAGU is also the name of a delicious local dessert! EVEN BEFORE SAGU went live, Univates demonstrated its commitment to Free Software development by publishing the full source code of SAGU on the Internet, allowing the coders' community to see it evolving. It also provided technology-transfer workshops. UNIVATES has saved more than R$500,000 (about US$ 130,000) by *not* acquiring copies of proprietary software for servers and desktops. It saves R$200,000 (US$70,000) each year on software upgrades and maintenance. This is enough to pay the salaries of the development group. Meaning, Univates can effectively produce technology for its own use (and which others can also make use of) at virtually no cost! THE UNIVATES IT Group is now recognised as the most important centre of excellence in Free Software development in Brazil. SOME OF ITS projects: o MIOLO, a set of PHP-based object-oriented database connectors, handlers and presentation features that allow fast system development even for the most complex needs It handles transaction and communication between modules written using MIOLO, thus making life easier for a programmer who wants to build a system with several interdependent modules. http://miolo.codigolivre.org.br o EasyPHP: a no-database, hassle-free tool for creating simple web presence with an easy-to-use administrative tool. o QUALITAS: document control for quality management systems o PILA, bookstore system with front-end point-of-sales, stock, catalog and financial sales reports. o FRED (content management system), a full-featured system for creating services portals for MIOLO-based applns. o IRRATIONAL TULIP: A group of classes and tools for MIOLO application development, such as dia2sql (converts database diagrams into SQL database creates and inserts), MIOLO-IDE (an IDE for developing GTK applications using MIOLO). o CODIGOLIVRE2: Hosting and tools for cooperatively developed Free Software.A MIOLO version of the existing http://codigolivre.org.br (a SourceForge Brazilian fork maintained by UNIVATES). o SCOTTY, support calls and customer relationship tracking, management and statics system. GNUTECA http://gnuteca.codigolivre.org.br GNUTECA is a library automation and catalog-collaboration system. It includes a circulation control system and, when used in an educational institution, it integrates with SAGU (though it also works as a standalone). It is intended to go a step further from the existing (gratis, but not Free Software) UNESCO CDS/ISIS program, and it does provide an easy migration path from it. GNUTECA adheres to all widely-used library standards. It now handles over 80,000 library items offered to over 6,000 students and teachers. GNUDATA http://gnudata.codigolivre.org.br This started as the database support for their regional database which provides demographic and economic information of 40 cities in the Taquari River Valley. It is a database framework for implementing nearly every kind of database in which you need to get comparative/statistical information (demographics, etc). It has a 'query auto-pilot' which allows non-technical users to drill down the database searching for all kinds of stored data. It does percentages and other calculations which the user may want to include in queries. The development version also provides graphics. SAGU - Free Software for academic administration http://sagu.codigolivre.org.br It automates the relationship between students and their educational institution, from the moment a student enrols for an entrance exam until she graduates. SAGU subsystems try to mimic the functions of the university. So it has modules that handle the entrance exam (optical reading of the student's answers, classification, classroom assignment), the enrolment process (which courses the student may chose for a given term, pre-requisites), the academic data (grades, academic history), financial and accounting data (payments, credits, scholarships, interface with the bank and other accounting/ERP systems) and reporting tools. Today, SAGU is being rewritten using Object Orientation techniques... (MIOLO is also the Portuguese word for the inner part of the bread, as well as a brand of a very fine wine produced in southern Brazil!) AGATA REPORT http://agata.codigolivre.org.br Agata Report is a report generator with an EIS tool (graph generation) written in PHP-GTK that allows you to edit and get SQL results from several databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SyBase, MS-SQL, FrontBase, Informix, and InterBase). It connects to a database, lists its tables and fields, and allows you to link among tables... The result is exported to a PostScript, text file or spreadsheets. It's interface has English, Portuguese, Italian, French, German and Swedish support.... More details from Cesar Brod <cesar at brod.com.br> www.univates.br or sagu at univates.br -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) | http://www.fredericknoronha.net Freelance Journalist | http://www.bytesforall.org http://goalinks.pitas.com | http://joingoanet.shorturl.com http://linuxinindia.pitas.com | http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks ------------------------------------------------------------------------- T: 0091.832.2409490 or 2409783 M: 0 9822 122436 -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Updated Graphics
by Kanti Jadia 29 May '03

29 May '03

The FSF-India's proposed logo has been updated. http://www.gnu.org.in/graphics/ Everybody is requested to submit their comments. regards Kanti

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Re: [LIG] FSF India goes proprietary
by Raj Mathur 29 May '03

29 May '03

[Misposted to fsf-friends, resending] >>>>> "Raj" == s raj <Raj> writes: Raj> Hi, Today I received a mail from FSF India list about a new Raj> logo for FSF India. Curious to see how this fine logo was Raj> produced using free software i checked it up using pdfinfo, Raj> here is the result Raj> [stuff about Adobe tools being used to produce pdf anf jpegs snipped] Actually none of those documents has bee produced by FSF, India or other. They are all contributed by individuals, on the invitation of FSF-India to make appropriate posters, logos, etc. I guess you could carry advocacy/fanaticism to the point of not accepting any document (which includes pdfs and graphics) that has been produced using proprietary tools, but it'd be a bit extreme IMO. Similarly, the Kandalaya logo was produced by a professional using Adobe Photoshop. I have no compunctions in putting it up on my web site, even though I myself wouldn't use Photoshop (and not just because I don't even know how to draw a circle in Gimp either!) Regards, -- Raju -- Raj Mathur raju(a)kandalaya.org http://kandalaya.org/ GPG: 78D4 FC67 367F 40E2 0DD5 0FEF C968 D0EF CC68 D17F It is the mind that moves ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: ObjectStore. If flattening out C++ or Java code to make your application fit in a relational database is painful, don't do it! Check out ObjectStore. Now part of Progress Software. http://www.objectstore.net/sourceforge _______________________________________________ Linux-india-general mailing list Linux-india-general(a)lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/linux-india-general

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[urgent] Free Software Support organisation
by Arun M 28 May '03

28 May '03

Hi, Projects like IT@School initially went for proprietary platforms. But efforts of FSF India and other initerested people have helped to bring in some changes. Project Akshya and IT@School is now considering Free Software. And a lot of request for Free Software support organisations comes in these days. We need to make a list of organisation providing support for Free Software in different parts of Kerala. So if you are an organisation willing to provide professional support mainly training, installation and maintenance of GNU/Linux systems please provide me following details. 1. Contact 2. Type of service provided 3. Manpower available 4. Experience 5. Districts where service can be provided. Pls treat this as urgent and provide the information. Arun.

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[Fsf-friends] LINKS: Enterprise GNU/Linux implementation (Mumbai, June 12-13)
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 27 May '03

27 May '03

ENTERPRISE GNU / LINUX IMPLEMENTATION Hotel ITC Grand Maratha Sheraton, Mumbai June 12 & 13, 2003 Day One Thursday, June 12, 2003 09:15: GNU/LINUX -- GENESIS & ITS PRESENT RELEVANCE * Free Software Paradigm vs. Proprietary Software Paradigm * Fundamental Difference: o Is software a goods or a service? o Copy able and non-copy able resources * Ethics & Business Model for copy able resources * Creativity, Hacking & Publishing * Users' right to repair * What is the meaning of 'free' in free software? * The genesis of Free Software: 1984 to today * The birth of GNU/Linux * Why is GNU/Linux Relevant? o Stability o Security o Virus Free o Open Standards o Economical o Social Relevance o Ethics & Economics o Education o Owned & Regulated by the community * Is it legal to sell free software? o Sell software with the source code * Free software in India Dr. Nagarjuna G Director (Free Software Foundation, India), Academic Member (HBCSE) 10:00: GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES Dr. S. Ramakrishna, Senior Director, Ministry of IT 11:00: OPEN SOURCE ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE * Current trends and landscape of non-proprietary software * 'Open source', 'free software', 'GNU Public license' - Explained * Industry trends in adoption of non-proprietary software in large enterprises and organization � benefits and challenges * Role of open source / non-proprietary software, including Linux, in the enterprise architecture planning in the near and medium-term future. * Defining Enterprise Architectures involving structured moves towards increasing use of non-proprietary software. * Strategies for enterprise architecture planning and experiences in adopting Linux and other non-proprietary software in complex settings * State of the industry in 'enterprise strength non-proprietary software architectures' Dr. Gautam Shroff, Head: Enterprise Architecture, TATA Consultancy Services 12:00: ENTERPRISE STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES FOR LINUX MIGRATION 14.00: Strategies for Deploying Linux on Enterprise Servers Basant Kerketta, System Analyst The New India Assurance Co. Ltd. 14:45: LINUX IN AN ON-DEMAND ERA The emerging e-business on demand marketplace is resulting in heightened need for interoperability and standardization within the IT infrastructure that supports it. Linux shines out in this regard, because of it's unique ability to run across hardware platforms, right from embedded devices to the biggest mainframes in the business, as well as its ability to support a broad range of middleware, software and enterprise applications across the board. In this session the latest trends in Linux, as well as how it can used in various customer scenario's, to meet today's rigorous demands from cutting edge technology will be discussed Sandeep Menon, Linux Business Manager � ASEAN/SA, IBM India Ltd. 15:45 :Linux Usage in an Online Environment G.M. Shenoy, Sr. Vice President, NSE.IT 16.30 :Deploying GNU / Linux Abhijit Dasgupta, VP: IT, Times of India Group Day Two Friday, June 13, 2003 09.15: Deploying GNU / Linux in a Multi User / Multi Environment Dr. G. Sivakumar, Head: Computer Centre, IIT, Mumbai 10.00: Deploying Financial and HR applications on Linux Platform * The background under which we went in for the HR and Financial applications * WHat OS oprtions were available to us * Why we chose Linux over others * What were the concerns * How we addressed these concerns * What was�our experience with Linux implementation� (what were the issues that we faced and how we resoved them) Neeraj Bhai, CTO, IDBI Bank 11.00 State of the Dolphin Gerardo Narvaja , MySQL AB 12:00: COST EFFECTIVE SUPER COMPUTING FOR THE ENTERPRISE An alternative to traditional supercomputing is a method of linking multiple computers together to form a unified and very powerful system.. Beowulf clusters are specialized supercomputers that are gaining popularity in the technical and enterprise computing market because of their high performance at a relatively low cost * Evolution of Supercomputing * Details of Beowulf Clustering and how to select the right cluster for your application * Designing a linux cluster * Network Interconnects * Storage management * Cluster Management and Monitoring * Scalabiltiy , Reliability and Availability. * Area of Applications * Case studies on price performance gain with clusters Narayanan Subramaniam, Technical Head Benz Infotech Consultancy Services 14:00: LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF NON-PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE * The Alternative Intellectual Property of OSS * The Legal innovation involved in Open Source Software * Legal Validity of the GPL: Is the GPL legally enforceable? * Understanding the differences between the various licensing options available within the Open Souce Movement � the Free Software v. Open Source Debate * Survey of cases / judicial developments in the area Lawrance Liang, Legal Researcher, ALF 14.45 Deploying GNU/LINUX in eGovernance N. C. Nagarjuna Reddy Officer on Special Duty IG Registration & Stamps, Govt. Of A. P. 16:00: LINUX ON THE DESKTOP Breach Candy hospital runs a totally integrated hospital information system that runs on a Linux platform for both backend and front-end operations. Mr. Desai would discuss the implementation strategies and how this has benefited the hospital. Dilip Desai, Head IT, Breach Candy Hospital 16:20 GNU / Linux Deployment for the Enterprise � Indian Scenario * Is GNU / Linux Enterprise Ready ? * Economic viability of Linux implementation for the Enterprise. * Factors to be considered before deploying Linux in organizations. * Infrastructure Requirement. * Migration Challenges - Windows to Linux * Legal aspects of GNU / Linux Service providers. * Long term and short-term financial viability. * Evaluating economic viability of desktop implementation of GNU / Linux MODERATOR: Prakash Advani, Sr. VP, Netcore Solutions Pvt. Ltd. * Dilip Desai, Head: IT, Breach Candy Hospital * Shashank Sathe, CIO, Repro India Co-Sponsors: Benz Infotech Consultancy Services Official Publications: Linux For You More information, contact: HASHIM POONAWALA T: +91-22-2828 1301 F: +91-22-2828 1305 E: hashim at marcusevansin.com

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[Fwd: [Fsf-friends] [Fwd: Kudumbasree]]
by Arun M 26 May '03

26 May '03

Hi, Kudumbasree is organising workshop in Wayanad and would like to have some one for introducing GNU/Linux. The workshop will be on 29th at Sultan Batheri. Any volunteers ? expenses will be covered. regards, arun. Workshops in Trivandrum and Ernakulam(thanks to Balakrishnan and Pai) went well, so we can expect a lot more schools going for GNU/Linux. May be Kerala will soon become state with maximum GNU/Linux literacy. Training session for around 80 people are organised from 28th at Malappuram. This is being done part of Akshya project.

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Project Shiksha: Microsoft widens presence
by Arun M 25 May '03

25 May '03

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/05/14/stories/2003051402841600.htm <snip> World software major Microsoft is acquiring a more visible presence in India in areas outside the pale of its everyday business. Six months after Bill Gates' sanctioned a Rs. 2,000 crore investment over three years in social and software development sectors, senior company officials today asserted that the plans were firmly on track. Kerala and Uttaranchal, they said, would be the first two beneficiary States of project Shiksha — its plan to accelerate computer literacy by inculcating IT skills to over 80,000 teachers and 35 lakh students. Kerala for its obvious high literacy rate and Uttaranchal for the pleasant experience of `Teach the future' programme conducted jointly with Intel. </snip> Seems that Kerala will become battleground again ;) M$ is not going to have a very good time here. arun.

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W3C approves patent policy
by Kanti Jadia 23 May '03

23 May '03

hi, http://www.w3.org/ The policy http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20030520.html public Director's decision http://www.w3.org/2003/05/12-director-patent-decision-public.html the press release http://www.w3.org/2003/05/patentpolicy-pressrelease patent policy home page http://www.w3.org/2001/ppwg/ --------------------------------------------------- FSF's Position on Proposed W3 Consortium "Royalty-Free" Patent Policy http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/w3c-patent.html regards Kanti ----------------------------------------- Enjoy your Freedom,use GNU/Linux. http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html -----------------------------------------

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Ghostscript: No longer GNU
by Amol Hatwar 23 May '03

23 May '03

Hi all, Ghostscript 7.07 is the last Ghostscript release as Free (GPL'ed) software. Future versions will be labeled GNU Ghostscript. They say in a story at their site that their development process has become incompatible with the goals of the GNU project as interpreted by Richard Stallman. The story can be read here: http://www.ghostscript.com/article/41.html Can someone shed light on this issue? Regards, ah ________________ It's most certainly GNU/Linux, and not Linux. Read more here: http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html

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From Wharton: Social Entrepreneurship
by Amol Hatwar 22 May '03

22 May '03

Hi all, I remember sending a link to an article that talked about social-entrepreneurship again. I subscribe to wharton's newletter called 'Knowledge'. Instead of talking pure business, Wharton gives the issue apt focus. Accessing the resources may require registration. Point your browsers to: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/052103_ss.html Regards, ah

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Sarovar.org
by Nagarjuna G. 22 May '03

22 May '03

----- Forwarded message from Radhakrishnan CV <cvr(a)river-valley.org> ----- > Date: Thu, 22 May 2003 00:52:08 +0530 (IST) > From: Radhakrishnan CV <cvr(a)river-valley.org> > Subject: [OT] Sarovar.org > To: Nagarjuna G <nagarjun(a)hbcse.tifr.res.in> > > > Can you post the following in an appropriate FSF List? > > Thanks for your assistance. > > Radhakrishnan > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > > We are happy to announce the release of Sarovar.org to the world! > > Sarovar.org is a portal for hosting FLOSS projects, similar to > sourceforge or Savannah. As far as we are aware it is India's first > and only site to offer such facilities. Sarovar.org has all the > features that you will expect from such a site, including web space, > mail lists, cvs etc. > > The root of the idea to have such a site can be traced back to the > Indic computing meeting at Bangalore, where there was a desire to have > some hosting space for Indic computing projects. We had some > discussions about it back in Trivandrum and we thought we can make > such a space for developers in India for hosting their work. The > result is sarovar.org. > > Sarovar.org is a Compaq machine running Debian Woody and a customized > gforge. It is hosted in Trivandrum and connected to BSNL, VSNL and > SingTel. All the traffic from it should come without leaving > India. We are also planning to mirror some important sites right here, > including Linux kernel and mail lists. We are also open to other ideas > to use this resource. Please let me know if you have any. > > Please feel free to pass this news to other lists or people who might > also be interested in such a facility. > > With warm regards, > > Radhakrishnan > ----- End forwarded message ----- -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ nagarjun at hbcse tifr res in. http://www.gnowledge.org/ I support Public Library of Science http://www.plos.org/

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Confirmation regarding the Akhruti fonts
by Sayamindu Dasgupta 21 May '03

21 May '03

Hi, As you may know, the Free Bangla Fonts Project had converted all the fonts from Akruthi, and had released it under the package Mukti (Freedom). We are going to re-release the Mukti package once again under the release name Mukti Reloaded ;-), and it will contain the fonts *not* withdrawn by Cyberscape. However, now the fonts will be going into the distros, and can someone reconfirm the name of the fonts that were withdrawn by Cyberscape. -thanks- Sayamindu -- Sayamindu Dasgupta [http://www.peacefulaction.org/sayamindu/] Get my Public Keys at http://www.peacefulaction.org/sayamindu/keys.html : ####[ GNU/Linux One Stanza Tip (LOST) ]####################### Sub : Simple console calculator (#2) LOST #222 A command line calculator which also understands precedence: Try :$echo "(12 + 2) / (5 + 2) ^ 2" | bc ### integer maths Or :$echo "scale=4; (17 / 3) + 0.517" | bc ### 'real' maths Note:'scale' is the decimal round off figure (real numbers). ####<bish(a)nde.vsnl.net.in>#################################### :

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Geek fair
by Raj Shekhar 19 May '03

19 May '03

Free Geek (freegeek.org) is based in Portland, Oregon, FREE GEEK is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that recycles used technology to provide computers, education and access to the internet to those in need in exchange for community service. They are organizing a GEEK FAIR. Below are the details. Please spread the word around. ========= Sunday, June 29, noon-8pm FREE GEEK's 2nd Annual GEEK FAIR Block Party An all day event on the block in front of FREE GEEK. Hard Drive Shuffleboard, Live Music, Square Dancing, Food, Sidewalk Sale, Funny Hats. Wow, There is so much going on...Well, just rest assured that this will be the greatest day of your life. And if you decide to stop by, it will be ours too. We now return to you to our Donation FAQ, already in progress... -------------- Hi, Due to an overwhelming response, we are sending form replies to most inquires and some information given may not apply to your request, DONATIONS: We accept any computers and any related hardware, in any condition. We also accept: Video Monitors Software and manuals Printers Terminals Fax Machines Telephones We DO NOT Accept: Televisions Microwave Ovens Copiers Appliances COST: We have a fee of $10.00 per monitor (CRT) regardless of condition. If you are donating equipment that is known to be broken or a computer older than a 586 PC or PPC Mac, we do ask for a voluntary $5.00 donation per system, to help with our processing costs. DROP-OFF: We are located at 1731 SE 10th Avenue, Portland (2-1/2 blocks south of Hawthorne Blvd.). Our hours are 11a - 7p Tuesday - Saturday. PICK-UP: Unfortunately, we cannot provide pick up for donations at this time. We do hope to add pick-up services in the future. WHAT HAPPENS TO DONATED COMPUTERS AND EQUIPMENT: Pentium PCs and some 486-level machines are tested and refurbished if possible. Most of the refurbished computer systems are then made available to our clients in exchange for volunteer time at FREE GEEK. Some computers are given to local non-profit organizations. We do sell some equipment in our Thrift Store if it is not crucial to our mission of giving away systems. Older machines such as 286 and 386 PCs are salvaged for useful parts and the remainder is recycled, recovering the metals and plastics for re-use. Monitors, printers and other components are also evaluated for re-use, with all non-functioning or obsolete components being recycled. Apple Computers and Apple clones are also accepted, all computers older than a PPC are transferred to Mac Renewal, a Eugene organization that repairs and refurbishes the donations and makes them available to kids, seniors and the differently abled. WHAT HAPPENS TO INFORMATION LEFT ON COMPUTERS: All functioning hard drives are re-formatted at least twice during our testing and refurbishing process. Non-functioning or older, smaller drives are physically destroyed during the recycling process. TAX DEDUCTIBLE RECEIPTS: FREE GEEK is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization and can provide you with a receipt for your tax-deductible donation. PREPARING YOUR DONATION FOR DROP-OFF: Please bring as little packaging and boxes as possible. Please recycle the boxes for your equipment through your curb-side recycling program. We no longer recycle Styrofoam, but you can drop it off at the Metro Recycling Transfer Station, call 503-234-3000 for more information. RECYCLING SOFTWARE AND MANUALS: We no longer accept all software and manuals. The paper and cardboard packaging can be recycled in your mixed paper curb-side recycling bin. The portion that cannot be recycled through your curbside program can be brought to FREE GEEK, such as the floppy diskettes, CDs and jewel cases. If you have the manuals for specific pieces of equipment (i.e. motherboards) please bring them with the equipment. EXTRA CREDIT: Recycling computer is labor intensive. Doing any of the following to prepare your equipment for donation will help us speed the processing and recycling of your equipment. Untangle all cords and cables. Coil them up with a rubber band or twist tie. Attach power adapters (AC adapters, transformers) to their associated equipment (such as powered speakers, printers or external modems) as best you can, we suggest wrapping with clear packing tape. Specific Computer Equipment Needs: - Pentium II class (and faster) computers - Memory (72 and 168 pin) - Hard drives (2 GB and larger) - Modems (28.8k and faster) - 10 bT and 100bT network hubs - CAT5 network cable - RJ45 connectors/wall jacks - HP inkjet cartridges Technician needs: - Technician manuals (PC repair) - Linux/Unix Manuals - Phillips head screwdrivers - Flat head screwdrivers - Stardrivers (Torx) - Nutdrivers - Powerdrivers w/recharger - Multi-testors - Needlenose pliers - Wire cutters - Tin snips Other Misc. Needs: - Digital camera - Cleaning supplies - Food (snacks, Mountain Dew) - Office supplies - Rubber bands - Printer paper - Magic markers - Tape (scotch, masking, duct) - Storage shelving - Shop carts - Warehouse carts Thanks, Rev.Phil Sano Office Manager revphil(a)freegeek.org FREE GEEK Community Technology Center 1731 SE 10th Avenue Portland, OR 97214 (503) 232-9350 12p-8p Tu- Sa www.freegeek.org sign-up for our email newsletter: freegeek-news-request(a)romhat.net ===== FREE GEEK 1731 SE 10th Avenue Portland, OR 97214 (503) 232-9350 www.freegeek.org info(a)freegeek.org -- Raj Shekhar http://geocities.com/lunatech3007/

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Security in M$
by CK Raju 18 May '03

18 May '03

Another blow to security conscious M$ users Windows 2000 renders Windows XP passwords useless. Someone could dig out truth in this article http://www.brainsbuzz.com/w/030213/ CK Raju

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Mailman udpated
by Nagarjuna G. 18 May '03

18 May '03

Due to some unknown problems which could not be fixed with the old version, I decided to upgrade mailman to 2.1 version. This version seems to be more feature rich particularly for the administrators. During this repairing period all the messages posted were delivered yesterday early morning. Please let me know if you are facing any recent problems. this will help us to keep mailman working better. If any of you know mailman very well and are willing to coordinate with me the lists, please come forward. Thanks for your cooperation. Nagarjuna

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by Indranil Das Gupta 16 May '03

16 May '03

confirm 931595

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[Fsf-friends] Re: Fsf-friends -- confirmation of subscription -- request 931595
by Indranil Das Gupta 16 May '03

16 May '03

On Friday 16 May 2003 04:28 pm, fsf-friends-request(a)mm.gnu.org.in wrote: > Fsf-friends -- confirmation of subscription -- request 931595 > > We have received a request from 61.0.137.80 for subscription of your > email address, <indradg(a)cal.vsnl.net.in>, to the > fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in mailing list. To confirm the request, > please send a message to fsf-friends-request(a)mm.gnu.org.in, and > either: > > - maintain the subject line as is (the reply's additional "Re:" is > ok), > > - or include the following line - and only the following line - in the > message body: > > confirm 931595 > > (Simply sending a 'reply' to this message should work from most email > interfaces, since that usually leaves the subject line in the right > form.) > > If you do not wish to subscribe to this list, please simply disregard > this message. Send questions to fsf-friends-admin(a)mm.gnu.org.in. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GnuPG Keys : http://www.icbic.com/indradg/gnupg/ Fingerprint : 2F63 DFF3 939D 1988 99FD FF0E 4EAE A4B1 B196 C4DB -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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[Fsf-friends] Re: Fsf-friends -- confirmation of subscription -- request 224484
by Balaji N 16 May '03

16 May '03

>On Fri, 16 May 2003 15:32:09 0530 fsf-friends-request(a)mm.gnu.org.in wrote. >Fsf-friends -- confirmation of subscription -- request 224484 > >We have received a request from 203.145.186.2 for subscription of your >email address, <nbalaji(a)rootshell.be>, to the >fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in mailing list. To confirm the request, >please send a message to fsf-friends-request(a)mm.gnu.org.in, and >either: > >- maintain the subject line as is (the reply's additional "Re:" is >ok), > >- or include the following line - and only the following line - in the >message body: > >confirm 224484 > >(Simply sending a 'reply' to this message should work from most email >interfaces, since that usually leaves the subject line in the right >form.) > >If you do not wish to subscribe to this list, please simply disregard >this message. Send questions to fsf-friends-admin(a)mm.gnu.org.in. > nbalaji at rootshell dot be www.members.irtt.org/~balaji

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