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

[Fwd: Kudumbasree]
by Arun M 16 May '03

16 May '03

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Test Message
by Nagarjuna G. 16 May '03

16 May '03

Please ignore, another test message, list is down it seems. Nagarjuna

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Kudumbasree
by Arun M 15 May '03

15 May '03

Hi, Kudumbasree project in kerala is planning to hold one day workshop on free software at various centers in Kerala. By 21'st this month a workshop will have to be done at Ernakulam, Pls mail me if some one from Ekm can help. Also a Northen region workshop will be conducted at Vayanad by 26th. Any volunteers ? . Arun.

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Test
by Nagarjuna G. 14 May '03

14 May '03

Test message, please ignore! Admin

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NEWS: 'Banned' Xbox hacking book selling fast
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 14 May '03

14 May '03

URL : http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/30627.html 9 May 2003 'Banned' Xbox hacking book selling fast By [39]Kevin Poulsen, SecurityFocus Posted: 09/05/2003 at 09:32 GMT Hacker-engineer Andrew "Bunnie" Huang says he's already pre-sold between 400 and 500 copies of his self-published tell-all "Hacking the Xbox: an Introduction to Reverse Engineering," weeks before its scheduled May 27th publication date, despite -- or perhaps because of -- looming suspicions by some that the book skirts the edges of legality. "It' s about getting the book out there on principle, because I can't find a publisher willing to publish it," says Huang. "I think it's controversial, but not illegal." With chapters on "Soldering Techniques" and "Installing a Blue LED," Huang's how-to may not seem an obvious candidate for joining Huckleberry Finn and Harry Potter on history's sad list of once-banned books. But Microsoft, the maker of the Xbox, has taken a dim view of home modifications of the game console, focusing its litigious ire in particular on "mod chips" that allow Xbox owners to run software that Microsoft hasn't approved and licensed. With a mod chip installed, users can run everything from virtual juke boxes to the Linux operating system on the game platform -- as well as pirated copies of Xbox games. Last year, a Microsoft lawsuit temporarily shut down the Hong Kong-based company Lik Sang, which sold mod chips over the Internet. And last month, mod chip entrepreneur David Rocci was [40]sentenced to five months in federal custody for conspiracy to violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Rocci was the proprietor of a U.S. website that sold mod chips and helped users locate pirated copies of Xbox games to run on their modified machines. Huang says his book describes some types of mod chips -- explains how they work, and what lessons they offer designers of secure hardware platforms. For example the "Matrix" chip installs solderlessly over a test port manufacturers left on the Xbox motherboard. "You don't leave these test structures on the motherboard, if you want it secure," says Huang. Another chapter helps readers replace the machine's firmware -- a mod chip trick used by sophisticated pirates and tinkerers. "They can be used by the pirating community, and they can be used by the Linux community -- so that one chapter that talks about firmware devices plays to the Linux community," says Huang. "I believe that should be a legal activity." DMCA Fears The book also revisits a technique that cemented Huang's reputation as a hardware hacker last year, which involves building custom hardware to intercept an encryption key as it crosses the Xbox's internal high-speed bus. To avoid legal complications, Huang published his research paper on the technique only after receiving permission from Microsoft, negotiated with the help of EFF attorney Lee Tien. "To get the paper published in the first place we had to negotiate a legal mine field," say Tien, who went on to contribute a chapter on the legalities of reverse engineering to Huang's book. But Huang didn't get Microsoft's blessing for Hacking the Xbox, which goes beyond discussing a single hacking technique. The book aims to teach readers how to think like a hardware hacker, using the internal secrets of the game console the way a med school teacher uses Gray's Anatomy. With the boundaries of federal copyright law, particularly the DMCA, unclear, Huang says tech-publishing house John Wiley & Sons got cold feet and withdrew its plans to publish the book sometime after Rocci's guilty plea. Wiley didn't return phone calls on the matter. Unable to find another publisher, Huang elected to sell the book himself through the Web. He dug into his own pockets to fund a print run of 1,000 books, which he says will be delivered to his home later this month. "It'll be only a matter of two weeks when a pallet of books comes to my doorstep," he says. "Every book will be boxed by my own two hands." Huang began accepting credit cards through his [41]website this week, after already selling nearly half of his initial print run through a PayPal account. He says he's barely reached the break-even point. "He's not going to make a huge amount of money," says Tien. "He thinks that it's worthwhile stuff. That it's interesting, and it's teaching people." "Mainly, at this point, it's boiled down to a political battle, for the freedom to tinker," says Huang. "For my entire life I've been playing with hardware. This is the first time someone's told me I can't play with hardware because it's illegal." Related story [42]MIT grad student shows how to read Xbox security key" [reg_bullet.gif] [43]Cash'n'Carrion Reg Shop [44][hardhome;area=hardhome;pos!=2;sz=160x600;tile=1;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5 ;ord=100054?] 41. http://hackingthexbox.com/

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Re: Report Re:GNU/Linux awareness meet
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 14 May '03

14 May '03

Details from Jabalpur and Girish <girish(a)apnajabalpur.com> about a recent GNU/Linux event there. FN > herez the details, pardon me if Ive slipped in writing. > We have taken a month's off from our regular weekly meets due to various > reasons, however, the interactions continue informally. > > The detailed report about the event is enclosed. We are yet to recieve > the few photographs we took. > > If you have any queries, please do write back, > > Thanks for your encouragement and support, > With best regards, > > -Girish Shukla > ========== > Linux Users' Group Jabalpur > Website: http://jbplug.sf.net > Mail-list: http://yahoogroups.com/group/jbp-lug > > The Event: > The GNU-Linux awareness meet was held on 20th April, 2003 at premises of > Dubey Chemistry Classes, Wright town, Jabalpur. The event was arranged > at a short notice of less than a week. > > The Objective: > The event was first for jbp-lug marking one year of the lug here. > The objective was to create awareness about software issues and > importance and advantages of GNU-Linux beyond our weekly Sunday meetings. > The event has opened new channels for larger events and activities of > such nature. > > How it went: > 1.Event began around 15 minutes late at 4:45 pm with a brief > introduction about the LUG, Linux and FLOSS. > 2.Linux as a Desktop and server was demonstrated using RedHat8 and MDK9. > 3.This was immediately followed by screening of The Code Linux movie. > ~At intervals, explanation with examples was given in Hindi about what > the movie is saying for those not comfortable with English medium.~ > 4.A technical discussion session followed with discussions from Clusters > to Sockets related to Linux. > 5.The event concluded at around 8 pm with informal interactions and > hands-on experience by newbies on Linux. > > Most of the publicity was through 'tell your friend' i.e. word of mouth. > The event had attendence of around 40-50 people and 10 active LUG > members. No commercial sponserships were solicited for the event and no > fee was charged to anyone. > Only dampening factors being the extremely hot weather, and technical > discussion stretching for longer than scheduled. > The event was attended mostly by students. Engg. students from as far > as, Bhopal had come. There were students from BCA, MCA, Science, > Commerce and Engg. > > Lessons learnt from the event: > ======Light================ > 1.Half baked Techies from MSN's Ovens must be kept in separate box from > the general public. > 2.Seminars Still cause headache. > 3.Free chai is not always a good idea. Instead, Everyone has the Freedom > to buy their own cut-ting. > =======Sober=============== > 4.Good orators, or even good techies can help promote GNU/Linux better. > If few mentors, experts can visit smaller lugs once a while, it will help. > 5.Mentors needed for small lugs. > 6.Distro CDs and demos help a lot in creating awareness and are > essential for LUG. > Somehow, we should ensure that we get the latest distros here in time. > [Presently, Karunakar has been of great help to us in contributing for > the same]. > 7.Large numbers may or may not necessarily be good and fruitful. It is > essential that the message of FLOSS and Linux is effectively communicated. > 8.A LUG works best as a Linux Fans' Club. It accomodates everyone and > everyones' views and concerns in an open and sincere manner. > 9.Events facilitate new ideas and new friends. > 10.Localisation efforts are an important factor for growth of Linux. > > Based on post event response, and the laudable efforts of members, > despite the few glitches, the event objective was achieved but lot > remains to be done. >From girish(a)apnajabalpur.com Wed May 14 09:46:14 2003 I must add,names of members[in no particular order]who made it possible: Mr.Neependra Khare BE Comp. GRKIST Mr.Arnab Ganguly BE IT JEC Mr.Shubham Mishra BE Comp. JEC Mr.Sarvesh Rathore BE Comp. JEC Mr.Anurag Gautam & Mohit BCA JCC Also,Mr.Piyush Shukla BE JEC, Mr.Himanshu Ahirwar B.Com.GKC and many other people who contributed directly or indirectly. Thanks also due to Mr.Pradeep Dubey for providing us space and facility. -Girish

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HP's people notebook running GNU/Linux
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 13 May '03

13 May '03

URL : http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2134514,00.html The HP 'people's notebook' runs Linux 09:40 Monday 12th May 2003 [21]Winston Chai, CNETAsia HP has launched a low cost 'people's notebook' in Asia that is preloaded with Linux Hewlett-Packard is selling a low-cost "people's notebook" running Linux, believed to be the first time that the US IT giant has sold a consumer computer with the open-source operating system installed. HP custom-made the Linux notebook to support a Thai government drive to increase computer ownership, reported the English-language Thai dailies The Bangkok Post and The Nation. The authorities have subsidised the cost of the portable, along with a desktop PC made by a Thai firm. Crowds thronged a Bangkok convention centre on Friday to view and buy the machines. HP's budget laptop will retail for 19,500 Baht (�285). It features an 800 MHz Intel Celeron processor, 128MB of RAM and a 20GB harddisk. There is no CD-ROM or floppy drive. The desktop, made by local computer makers Belta, SVOA and Computec, costs 10,900 Baht (�159). It sports an Intel Celeron 1GHz processor, 128MB of RAM, a 52x CD-ROM drive, 20GB of hard disk space and comes with a 15-inch monitor, speakers and a keyboard. Both machines were introduced by Thailand's Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) ministry and are loaded with Linux TLE, the Thai-language version of the Linux operating system. The ministry will offer 100,000 computers at first but they plan to ramp up to a million in subsequent phases, said the reports. The Ministry has also worked out an easy-pay instalment plan with local banks for buyers. About 30,000 people showed up Queen Sirikit Convention Centre in Bangkok on Friday to view the machines, with some waiting in line from 3am. While the machines appealed to those who could never have afforded a computer before, more sophisticated shoppers were put off by the basic configurations, reported The Nation. HP in Singapore could not offer more details about the Linux notebook at press time. Until now, the use of Linux has largely been confined to servers and not in consumer desktops, a space which is still dominated by Microsoft's Windows OS and to a smaller extent, Apple's Macintosh. None of the large US-based PC makers -- HP, IBM and Dell -- are known to sell consumer desktops or notebook with the Linux OS pre-installed. Smaller makers such as ECS from Taiwan offer Linux as an option in their low-cost, batteryless notebooks, also known as desknotes. US-based manufacturer Lindows also offers Linux-based desktops and a $799 (�496) notebook. _________________________________________________________________ Is Linux really a viable alternative to Windows on the desktop? Read the latest headlines at ZDNet UK's [22]Operating Systems News Section. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,,t285,00.html

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Fwd: [lahar23@hotmail.com: [LIG] GNU- Lesser General Public License- Help Needed]
by Nagarjuna G. 12 May '03

12 May '03

Could some one help him? Nagarjuna

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Akruti fonts
by Kanti Jadia 12 May '03

12 May '03

http://www.gnu.org.in/ Cyberscape ,the company which released the first set of Indic fonts under GPL has withdrawn some of the fonts due to possible copyright issues. Cyberscape ,which released the Akruti fonts under GPL has withdrawn the following fonts due to possible copyright issues. Devnagari - dev1-n.ttf and dev1-b.ttf Gujarati - guj2-n.ttf and guj2-b.ttf Bengali - bng1-n.ttf and bng1-b.ttf Kannada - knd2-n.ttf and knd2-b.ttf Tamil - tml2-n.ttf and tml2-b.ttf Telugu - tlg1-n.ttf and tlg1-b.ttf Punjabi - pnj1-n.ttf and pnj1-b.ttf Oriya - ori2-n.ttf and ori2-b.ttf Malayalam - mal1-n.ttf and mal1-b.ttf FSF-India discourages the use of the above mentioned fonts for your work, particularly GPL based work. We regret for the inconvenience caused ----------------------------------------- Enjoy your Freedom,use GNU/Linux. http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html -----------------------------------------

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Re: Re: [Fsf-friends] Prof Nagarjuna G
by Kanti Jadia 12 May '03

12 May '03

i don't know which cat per se. Lets get the syllabus for the various universities first. (in soft copy preferably) regards Kanti On Sun, 11 May 2003 Frederick Noronha (FN) wrote : >Okay, but who will bell the cat? This could be an important 'cat' >to >spread Free Software in our colleges. FN > >On Fri, 9 May 2003, Kanti Jadia wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > It would be better to customize knoppix for this. > > > > regards > > > > Kanti > > > > On Fri, 09 May 2003 Frederick Noronha (FN) wrote : > > >Prof Nag, I'm going to mention this at a college talk in >Goa. > > >We're > > >waiting anxiously for it ;-) And I'm going to bug you till >you > > >get > > >there... FN > > > > > >--- > > >I am presently planning a single CD distribution containing >the > > >applications > > >and goodies requiered for a regular engineering college >student. > > >I would > > >like to keep in mind the syllabus and projects students do. >Can > > >some of you > > >tell us what kind of applications are used/needed by >students? > > >We can build > > >the list and sit on one sunday and make the distro. Debian > > >GNU/Linux has > > >special scripts to make custom CDs from their original >master > > >distribution. > > >I am planning to use this. --Prof Nagarjuna G > > >http://mm.ilug-bom.org.in/mailman/search/college-distro/ > > > > > >-- > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > >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 > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > >_______________________________________________ > > >Fsf-friends mailing list > > >Fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in > > >http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends > > > > > > ----------------------------------------- > > Enjoy your Freedom,use GNU/Linux. > > http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html > > ----------------------------------------- > > > >-- >------------------------------------------------------------------------- >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 >------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >_______________________________________________ >Fsf-friends mailing list >Fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in >http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends ----------------------------------------- Enjoy your Freedom,use GNU/Linux. http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html -----------------------------------------

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Re: [Fsf-friends] Prof Nagarjuna G
by Suresh Titus John 12 May '03

12 May '03

Syllabi for some of the courses at IITs are available online. IIT Madras: http://www.iitm.ac.in/academics/curriculum.html IIT Bombay: http://www.iitb.ac.in/courses/index.html IIT Kharagpur: http://www.iitkgp.ernet.in/acadsnew/curric.php Hope these are useful. /Suresh Titus On Mon, 12 May 2003 Kanti Jadia wrote : >i don't know which cat per se. > >Lets get the syllabus for the various universities first. >(in soft copy preferably) > >regards > >Kanti > >On Sun, 11 May 2003 Frederick Noronha (FN) wrote : >>Okay, but who will bell the cat? This could be an important >>'cat' to >>spread Free Software in our colleges. FN >> >>On Fri, 9 May 2003, Kanti Jadia wrote: >> >> >> > Hi, >> > >> > It would be better to customize knoppix for this. >> > >> > regards >> > >> > Kanti >> > >> > On Fri, 09 May 2003 Frederick Noronha (FN) wrote : >> > >Prof Nag, I'm going to mention this at a college talk in >>Goa. >> > >We're >> > >waiting anxiously for it ;-) And I'm going to bug you till >>you >> > >get >> > >there... FN >> > > >> > >--- >> > >I am presently planning a single CD distribution containing >>the >> > >applications >> > >and goodies requiered for a regular engineering college >>student. >> > >I would >> > >like to keep in mind the syllabus and projects students do. >>Can >> > >some of you >> > >tell us what kind of applications are used/needed by >>students? >> > >We can build >> > >the list and sit on one sunday and make the distro. >>Debian >> > >GNU/Linux has >> > >special scripts to make custom CDs from their original >>master >> > >distribution. >> > >I am planning to use this. --Prof Nagarjuna G >> > >http://mm.ilug-bom.org.in/mailman/search/college-distro/ >> > > >> > >-- >> > >> >------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> > >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 >> > >> >------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> > > >> > >_______________________________________________ >> > >Fsf-friends mailing list >> > >Fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in >> > >http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends >> > >> > >> > ----------------------------------------- >> > Enjoy your Freedom,use GNU/Linux. >> > http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html >> > ----------------------------------------- >> > >> >>-- >>------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>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 >>------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >>_______________________________________________ >>Fsf-friends mailing list >>Fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in >>http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends > > >----------------------------------------- >Enjoy your Freedom,use GNU/Linux. >http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html >----------------------------------------- > >_______________________________________________ >Fsf-friends mailing list >Fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in >http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends

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Re: [Fsf-friends] Prof Nagarjuna G
by Suresh Titus John 12 May '03

12 May '03

Syllabi for courses at IITs are available online. IIT Madras: http://www.iitm.ac.in/academics/curriculum.html IIT Bombay: http://www.iitb.ac.in/courses/index.html IIT Kharagpur: http://www.iitkgp.ernet.in/acadsnew/curric.php Hope these are useful. /Suresh Titus On Mon, 12 May 2003 Kanti Jadia wrote : >i don't know which cat per se. > >Lets get the syllabus for the various universities first. >(in soft copy preferably) > >regards > >Kanti > >http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends

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[Fsf-friends] Fwd: Issue #49 of Georg's Brave GNU World, the monthly GNU forum has been relea
by Kanti Jadia 12 May '03

12 May '03

Note: Forwarded message attached -- Orignal Message -- From: "Georg C. F. Greve" <greve(a)gnu.org> To: Brave GNU World Announcement Mailinglist <brave-gnu-world(a)gnu.org> Cc: "comp.os.linux.announce Moderator" <linux-announce(a)sws1.ctd.ornl.gov> Subject: Issue #49 of Georg's Brave GNU World, the monthly GNU forum has been released. ----------------------------------------- Enjoy your Freedom,use GNU/Linux. http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html -----------------------------------------

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The social enterprise
by Amol Hatwar 12 May '03

12 May '03

Hi all, Perhaps budding Entrepreneurs might want to read this article at C|Net. Here's a link: http://news.com.com/2010-1071_3-999961.html The article talks about making technology deliver maximum good the people first, and then worrying about finances later. Jim Frutecherman (the author) describes the social enterprise as a technology venture run like a business but structured as a nonprofit with two bottom lines: social and financial. The goal is not to make lots of money, but instead, to deliver the maximum good while operating in a sustainable manner (generally at breakeven). The technology user is treated as a customer--not the recipient of charity--and the enterprise must meet his or her needs or lose revenue. ___________________ 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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Second Consultation in Delhi (fwd)
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 10 May '03

10 May '03

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Trillion dollar dreams
by Amol Hatwar 10 May '03

10 May '03

Hi all, I had decided to stop M$ bashing, but this recent article at salon.com that talks of possible aftermath of a security vulnerability at hotmail.com. I now feel motivated to use this in more material that I write and speak about from now on. Perhaps, you'd want to do the same. Here's the URL: http://salon.com/tech/wire/2003/05/08/passport/index.html 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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Re: [Fsf-friends] Prof Nagarjuna G
by Kanti Jadia 09 May '03

09 May '03

Hi, It would be better to customize knoppix for this. regards Kanti On Fri, 09 May 2003 Frederick Noronha (FN) wrote : >Prof Nag, I'm going to mention this at a college talk in Goa. >We're >waiting anxiously for it ;-) And I'm going to bug you till you >get >there... FN > >--- >I am presently planning a single CD distribution containing the >applications >and goodies requiered for a regular engineering college student. >I would >like to keep in mind the syllabus and projects students do. Can >some of you >tell us what kind of applications are used/needed by students? >We can build >the list and sit on one sunday and make the distro. Debian >GNU/Linux has >special scripts to make custom CDs from their original master >distribution. >I am planning to use this. --Prof Nagarjuna G >http://mm.ilug-bom.org.in/mailman/search/college-distro/ > >-- >------------------------------------------------------------------------- >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 >------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >_______________________________________________ >Fsf-friends mailing list >Fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in >http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends ----------------------------------------- Enjoy your Freedom,use GNU/Linux. http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html -----------------------------------------

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Prof Nagarjuna G
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 09 May '03

09 May '03

Prof Nag, I'm going to mention this at a college talk in Goa. We're waiting anxiously for it ;-) And I'm going to bug you till you get there... FN --- I am presently planning a single CD distribution containing the applications and goodies requiered for a regular engineering college student. I would like to keep in mind the syllabus and projects students do. Can some of you tell us what kind of applications are used/needed by students? We can build the list and sit on one sunday and make the distro. Debian GNU/Linux has special scripts to make custom CDs from their original master distribution. I am planning to use this. --Prof Nagarjuna G http://mm.ilug-bom.org.in/mailman/search/college-distro/ -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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IT department plans Rs 1.5-cr Linux push
by searchlight＠sancharnet.in 09 May '03

09 May '03

IT department plans Rs 1.5-cr Linux push SUDHA NAGARAJ Source: 'Economic Times' dt May 09, 2003 TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, MAY 09, 2003 12:37:57 AM ] NEW DELHI: IBM chief Samuel J Palmisano's 'learning' visit to India may have gone off more silently than expected. But his pitch to the Centre on the benefits of using Linux was not wasted. While maintaining that its stance is of strict technology, platform and vendor neutrality, it is equally true that the Department of Information Technology has also crafted its own Linux India Initiative. Minister for information technology, Arun Shourie informed Lok Sabha that a proposal for the same has been submitted to the Planning Commission for budgetary support during '03-04 as part of DIT's annual plan for '03-04. Government sources reveal that Rs 150 lakh is proposed for the Initiative now. Funds will be spent after formal approval. Opportunities and relevance of open source, more specifically, GNU/Linux in the Indian context has been discussed among DIT officials, industry, academicians, state governments, developers and NGOs late last year. All of them were interested in pursuing the initiative. While it is becoming clear that the authorities are not interested in getting into a proprietary and open source software tussle, Mr Shourie has stressed that the DIT has not prescribed preferential treatment of one over the other. But the fact is that there is space for both and the choice must be exercised by each user. The Linux India Initiative emerged out of the multi-stake holder meeting as a consensual action plan, after specific steps such as setting up of resource centres, special interest groups, suitable provisions in the procurement policy of the government and government institutions, R&D, labs of various educational institutions, especially engineering colleges. Interestingly, some work was already on in DIT societies in the area of open source software. C-DAC, Mumbai (erstwhile National Centre for Software Technology) has developed Linux with Hindi language support and development is now underway for supporting other Indian languages also. Funds allotted for development of INDIX localisation of Linux - Phase I during '00-01 was Rs 39 lakh. In '02-03, Rs 50 lakh has been spent for Phase II. In the overall trend, support for Indian language has also been developed by IT vendors - specifically IBM middleware. Efforts are now on to roll out support that adheres to Linux standards by unifying individual efforts by IITs and C-DAC. It is learnt IBM is in touch with these developers and as soon as the support confirms to standards, not only the operating system, but also the applications will have Linux support. ====================================================== posted by NSS

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NEWS: IBM invests to develop open source software
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 08 May '03

08 May '03

IBM invests to develop open source software By Imran Qureshi, Indo-Asian News Service Bangalore, May 7 (IANS) IBM India Wednesday formally agreed to set up its Linux-based centre of excellence in Hubli, 400 km from here, in a bid to develop talent and technology devoted to open source software. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Karnataka and IBM India provides the framework for the discussions that IBM chairman and CEO Sam Palmisano had with Chief Minister S.M. Krishna Monday. "The Hubli branch of the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-Bangalore) is the single largest point of over 100 students working on open source in India," IIIT-B director S. Sadagopan told IANS. "IBM would help guide its emergence as a open source hub for not only talent but also technologies." The importance that Big Blue attached to the MoU signing ceremony could be gauged from the presence of Steve Mills, senior vice president and group executive, software group, IBM Corp. Frank Luksic, IBM country executive, software group and developer relations, signed the MoU with Karnataka IT Secretary Vivek Kulkarni in the presence of Krishna and Abraham Thomas, managing director, IBM India. "IBM has developed several open source technologies that have been accepted by the world," Mills told reporters after the ceremony. "We could, perhaps, look at some of those developed at the centre of excellence after some time. Our investment spans a whole range of activities, including developing software skills and financial elements." However, both Mills and Luksic declined to specify the amount of the investment. "Investment in education cannot be quantified. We go by building skills and talent," said Krishna. The Hubli unit consists of 100 students drawn from seven engineering colleges of north Karnataka, all of whom are working on open source software projects. The branch is linked to IIIT on the outskirts of Bangalore through a virtual private network and the students listen to live lectures daily. The Hubli branch had already received a donation of Rs.10 million from Sudha Murthy, chairperson of the Infosys Foundation. "The setting up of the centre for excellence is a small effort to convert a downloading nation to an uploading nation," Sadagopan said. Said Mills: "IBM is committed to education and skill building. We are excited about this centre of excellence so that we can upload new ideas." "Customers now expect their technology infrastructure and solutions to work with hardware, software and solutions from multiple vendors, bringing to an end the era of proprietary systems. "Industry and governments will now cooperate closely to create innovative and reusable solutions through open source software," Mills added. --Indo-Asian News Service

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Keep an Open Mind About Open Source: It's the Law!
by searchlight＠sancharnet.in 08 May '03

08 May '03

Keep an Open Mind About Open Source: It's the Law! By Tiernan Ray E-Commerce Times May 07, 2003 http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/21454.html Representative Phil Barnhart of the Oregon state legislature in March introduced a bill that would compel the state to pledge to strongly consider Linux and other open source programs in all future purchase decisions. Barnhart's bill doesn't require that the state purchase Linux or any other software. It simply calls for an examination of the merits of open source software during the buying process. Regardless of what you think of Microsoft's newly released Windows 2003 server, Linux or any other piece of software, it's worth taking a closer look at what Barnhart is asking of the state. It may be throwing oil on the fire to add yet another complication into the practice of shopping for IT, but there are good reasons to consider instituting similar referenda inside most corporate IT shops. Chief among those reasons: to keep vendors honest. ******************************************************************** If companies were to take an oath to consider open source, it would be yet another spur to competition in the marketplace. ******************************************************************** Flying Without a Net A big part of the Oregon proposal has to do with saving money by buying freely available software. Barnhart writes in a comment on the legislation posted on his Web site that open source could save the state "millions of dollars." With IT spending growth worldwide still forecast to be between negative 1 percent and positive 6 or 7 percent in 2003, it's no surprise that programs that cost little or nothing are appealing to many. In that sense, Barnhart's bill really does take "free software" to mean "free as in beer," as Richard Stallman feared many would. Nonetheless, Barnhart's bill is not just about saving money. It's also about maintaining control over the software you buy. With Windows NT reaching "end-of-life" this year in terms of its support contracts from Microsoft, many IT shops are realizing that the software they bought from the big, reliable company will soon be unacknowledged by that same company. It's kind of like the old Mission Impossible caveat: "We will disavow any knowledge of this product." The Oregon proposition states in its findings that "It is also in the public interest that the state be free [...] of restrictions imposed by parties outside the state's control on how, and for how long, the state may use the software it has acquired[...]" It goes on to say that "Open source software contains no restrictions on how, or for how long, it may be used." The legislation does not say explicitly that Windows NT will cease to function after its end-of-life, but the formal language, and the comparison of open and closed source, serves as a tacit acknowledgment that proprietary software is essentially dead once the big, reliable vendor that sold it abandons its creation. Imagine No Vendors Even control, however, is not the ultimate issue. Companies still may find third parties that can help them with their aging software installations. In fact, many companies have been running Windows NT, Windows 2000 Server and other products for long enough that they have uncovered many of the bugs and discovered solutions they can implement without Redmond's help. Instead, the greater reason underlying the bill is contained in the simple proviso to "consider" the alternatives. "Consider," the bill says, "acquiring open source software products in addition to proprietary software products." No requirements, in other words, to buy open source, but rather a mandate to entertain the alternatives in a market. After more than five years of judicial football over the effects of monopolies, there is no better advice for the world's software users than to consider the alternatives. One of the most potent effects of Linux, StarOffice, the GNU codebase and the Mozilla browser, among other open-source projects, is to ensure an indestructible competitive presence in the marketplace. In answer to the proprietary vendors' caveat -- We may make your software obsolete -- open source is a memento mori: Remember that you may be passed over by customers. Amid the crazed turf battles and daily horror shows of building critical infrastructure, the exhortation to consider open source is a reminder that there are alternatives, and that users should always desire choice. Building such resolve into official IT practice is probably a good idea for every company that will buy software in coming years posted by N.S. Soundara Rajan, Mysore, India

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The Remote IT Village Project
by Raj Shekhar 08 May '03

08 May '03

I came across this project on Slashdot. The Remote IT Village Project attempting to connect several isolated villages deep in the Laotian Jungle to the rest of the world using wireless networks, pedal-power and Laonux (customized Linux installs translated into the Laotian language). Power surges can be a hassle when the nearest computer store is hundreds of miles away, but they're shooting for a May 18th "go live" date." <http://www.jhai.org/jhai_remoteIT.html> The conditions are almost(or exactly) like the Indian villages, so I thought to bring this to everyones notice. Please spread the word and if someone can whisper a word about this to our GREAT INDIAN BUREAUCRACY, it would be nice. -- Raj Shekhar http://geocities.com/lunatech3007/

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NEWS FROM BRASIL: Announcing SOLIS, a Free Software Co-operative (fwd)
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 07 May '03

07 May '03

---------- Forwarded message ---------- SOLIS, Free Software Co-operative Lajeado, RS, Brazil May, 7th 2003 What is a Co-operative? "Co-ops are based on helping each other and caring for others. A co-operative is a a type of business or organization. It is a group of people who are working together to solve their own problems and meet their needs. Co-ops are different from other types of organisations since they abide by three main rules: * Co-ops treat people fairly and respectfully; * Co-ops encourage people to work together towards solving their mutual problems; * Co-ops provide products and services to meet people's needs rather than solely for the purpose of making money." (Extracted from http://www.ica.coop/kids) What is Free Software? "Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software: * The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0). * The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this. * The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2). * The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this." (Extracted from http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/free-sw.html) Reading the definitions above, you will see Co-operative and Free Software share a common set of principles, based on community building and freedom. It seems natural to use a co-operative organization to produce Free Software. This is what SOLIS does. Started at the UNIVATES IT department (www.univates.br/freesoftware), SOLIS is formed now by almost 30 people who make their living producing free software (half of them working directly with free software development in projects such as SAGU, GNUTECA and others) and selling training, customization and services to customers who are able to understand and share the Free Software phylosophy. All software produced by SOLIS is licensed under the GPL. UNIVATES, an University Center in the South of Brazil, actually helped the startup of SOLIS by allowing the University's IT department to provide services and training on the software produced originally for the University. Amazingly enough, if you search Google (www.google.com) with the keywords: Free Software Brazil -- you will see UNIVATES pages as the first ones being displayed. Instead of capitalizing on top of free software services itself, UNIVATES decided to outsource its own IT services to the group already providing these services to the University, allowing the inauguration of SOLIS. By doing this, UNIVATES expects SOLIS will grow and provide a workplace for its computer science and other students, fostering regional development, once money spent on free software solutions stay in the region and won't go to proprietary software companies outside Brazil. SOLIS starts with a full set of products for academic administration, library automation and others, and it is setting up local partnerships in order to "free" (GPL) a comprehensive set of solutions for small and medium enterprises. "We understand by offering free software for our local industries and commerce, we will allow them to better automate their business and become more competitive, at the same time we create job positions for people who will be supporting this software and further developing it. Right now, the existing proprietary software solutions don't allow the automation of several businesses in our region.", says João Alex Fritsch, President of SOLIS. Because SOLIS is a cooperative, not a corporation, there is no danger that SOLIS will accept outside investment from people who have no ethical attachment to the principles of free software. Such investment has been the downfall of many free software companies, since the outside investors often decide to develop non-free software. For more information, please contact Cesar Brod, Executive Vice-President, at cesar at brod.com.br, or visit www.solis.coop.br Cesar Brod Executive Vice-President cesar at brod dot com dot br SOLIS, Cooperativa de Soluções Livres www.solis.coop.br 55 51 3714-7040

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Linux Desktop Myths Exploded
by searchlight＠sancharnet.in 07 May '03

07 May '03

STUDY: Linux Desktop Myths Exploded By James Maguire NewsFactor Network May 05, 2003 http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21431.html Hype about Linux on the desktop is increasing, according to Gartner's recent study, "Myths of Linux on the Desktop." The goal of the research was to enable enterprises to be objective in understanding the benefits of the Linux OS on the desktop, separating open-source fact from fiction. "I want to stress that I didn't mean to be negative about Linux," Gartner analyst Michael Silver, the report's author, told NewsFactor. Linux's appropriateness for any given population has a lot to do with the specifics of each business' environment and its architectures of applications in use, he said. To understand the real benefits, enterprises need to realize that some common assertions will prove to be myths, Silver says. =================================================================== "Supported versions of Linux are not free," Gartner analyst Michael Silver notes. Consumer versions of Linux are basically free, but "enterprises that require vendor support for their client OS will need to pay for it." =================================================================== Myth: Linux Will Be Less Expensive Many Linux proponents argue that using Linux instead of Windows saves a substantial chunk of change because StarOffice/OpenOffice.org then can be used instead of Microsoft Office. "This is a bad argument," says Silver, because "StarOffice and OpenOffice.org can run fine on Windows." He noted that if users believe they will save money running StarOffice instead of Microsoft Office, they can run it on their current version of Windows without spending a fortune to migrate all of their applications to a new platform. Myth: Linux Is Free "Supported versions of Linux are not free," Silver notes. Consumer versions of Linux are basically free, but "enterprises that require vendor support for their client OS will need to pay for it." While these costs may work out to be less than the cost of a Windows license and support, they need to be understood. Many free, open-source applications ship with Linux distributions, but Silver raises this question: Are they the applications the enterprise needs? "Thus far, we have not heard of open-source movements to replace large enterprise resource planning systems ... and most current vendors do not charge less for a Linux user than a Windows user." Myth: Linux Means No Forced Upgrades "Many users complain that Microsoft forces them to upgrade to newer releases of Windows," Silver wrote. "However, we believe that things will not be that much different in a Linux environment." Linux vendors only support their consumer releases (and free distributions) for a maximum of two years, Silver noted. "Linux independent software vendors realize that they cannot support their products on every version of Linux that has or will ever ship," the report says. "So while there will always be the option of support from the open source community ... we believe Linux users will feel forced to move to newer releases of Linux just as Windows users feel forced to upgrade to new versions of Windows." Myth: Linux Management Is Easier Significant reductions in staffing are not likely to be achieved "simply by switching OSes without changing policies, lockdown or the degree of management tool implementation," according to Silver. He notes that from a software break/fix perspective, many support calls are due to users doing something that misconfigures their system. He expects Linux to have a slight edge over Windows for three reasons: 1) the existence of fewer viruses targeting Linux desktops; 2) fewer problems caused by conflicting applications; and 3) difficulty of understanding and repairing the Window registry. Since Linux is purely file-based, administrators may be able to troubleshoot application problems more easily. Myth: Linux Has a Lower TCO Management tools have been available for Windows for years, Silver observed, but many enterprises still have not been able to manage their Windows environment. This has often been due to too much complexity, lack of sufficient policies or standards, or cultural and political issues, according to Silver. If this is true with Windows, "we see little reason to believe that the cultural or political issues will change just because the enterprise is now using Linux," he observes. Myth: Linux Means Longer Hardware Life "It is true that a three- or four-year-old PC that is not powerful enough to run Windows XP and Office XP may be able to run Linux and StarOffice," Silver says. "However, enterprises need to budget for some additional costs to maintain older PCs." He points out that a new PC bought with Linux today with a goal of a six- to eight-year lifespan likely will require an expenditure for at least one OS upgrade during that time. Furthermore, "enterprises should realize that if they buy two different model notebooks and two different model desktops and keep their PCs for four years, they will have 16 different varieties of hardware to manage," the report says, and more varieties of hardware and software will be more difficult and expensive to manage. Myth: Skills Are Transferable "Although Unix skills are transferable to Linux, Windows skills are not as similar," Silver observes, noting that "most enterprises' Unix skills today exist in a server-oriented department in the IT reporting structure, which is usually separate from the desktop support group." Enterprises should consider whether their current structure will prevent them from leveraging skills across desktops and servers, Silver advises. Bottom Line The bottom line is that Silver sees some cost savings in migrating to the Linux desktop but says the move "will probably not eliminate all of the costs the enterprises expects." But there is undisputedly healthy market interest in this migration. Significant sales growth is expected within a three- to five-year time frame, according to Forrester analyst Ted Schadler. There are a number of market segments for the Linux desktop, he told NewsFactor, including Asian and Eastern European governments that want an alternative to Microsoft; direct point-of-sale Linux PCs -- what Schadler calls "the dedicated desktop"; and small enterprises. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © Copyright 1998-2003 NewsFactor Network. All rights reserved.

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SITEWATCH -- Indic Computing: Design Axes for the Indian Language Computing Market
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 07 May '03

07 May '03

URL : http://indic-computing.sourceforge.net/designaxes _________________________________________________________________ [12]The Indic Computing Project > [13]Design Axes for the Indian Language Computing Market _________________________________________________________________ Design Axes for the Indian Language Computing Market Joseph Koshy The Indic-Computing project Copyright � 2003 by A. Joseph Koshy $Date: 2003/04/30 07:23:50 $ Abstract Despite nearly four decades of work, computing in local languages remains unavailable to the common man in the Indian subcontinent. In this article we identify seven core issues, namely [14]power, [15]usability, [16]interoperability, [17]locality of information, [18]value addition, the effect of [19]social structure and the quality of the supporting [20]development ecosystem, that need to be addressed before pervasive Indian language computing can become a reality. We analyse a few existing projects and show that the levels of success achieved by these is consistent with their tackling of these seven core issues. Finally, we present a ``road map'' for making computing pervasive in Indian society and list the areas where the [21]Indic-Computing Project hopes to make a contribution. Document status: Third draft. _________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents 1 [22]Introduction 2 [23]The Design ``Axes'' 3 [24]Analyses 4 [25]Road map 5 [26]Acknowledgments 1 Introduction The so-called ``digital divide'' remains a yawning gulf today for most Indian citizens. In a country with over one billion citizens, 99 out of 100 do not use computers. Numerous organizations have attempted in the past to increase the penetration of information processing technologies in the Indian sub-continent. Until date, these efforts have been relatively unsuccessful (see [27]the sidebar The Case of the Missing Market). Local language computing has not made inroads into mainstream Indian society. We believe that this situation has arisen because prior efforts have not taken cognizance of the core characteristics that underlie the Indian context. Rather unsurprisingly, these characteristics turn out to be different from those in the so-called ``developed'' societies--in other words, a successful product or service for the Indian subcontinent has necessarily to be designed differently from one aimed at a ``developed'' market. The major contributions of this article are as follows: * We identify seven core areas that a computing technology needs to address before it can succeed in the Indian context. * We provide a model explains the lack of success of prior initiatives to bridge the digital divide. The model can be used to evaluate the impact a new technology would have in the Indian context. * We offer for discussion, a ``road map'' for pervasive Indian language computing that has a higher probability of success than current efforts.. The Case of the Missing Market Estimates of the size of the Indian language computing market vary widely. A survey conducted by the [28]Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore described the existing Indian language market as predominantly DTP and print driven, with a market size of about INR 64 Crores (INR 640 million). However, an article in the [29]June 24th, 2002 issue of DataQuest, author Yograj Verma estimated that the potential size of the Indian language market to be as large as INR 65,260 Crores (INR 652.6 billion). According to this estimate, the potential size of the indigenous market rivals that of the existing ``export oriented'' software industry. In reality, computing infrastructure has yet to make significant headway into Indian society. The use of computers remains an essentially urban phenomenon, mostly restricted to the English speaking elite in the country. There clearly is a gap between what the market could be and what today's market players are able to provide. 1.1 Target Audience This document has been written with the following audiences in mind: * Planners designing computing infrastructure for developing societies. Many of issues highlighted here would be present in other developing societies, and the solutions developed would be of use there too. * Software developers and development managers interested in developing software for the Indian language software market. * Educationists, especially those in Indian technical colleges. * Open-source developers attempting to add support for Indian languages to open-source software. 1.2 Prerequisites Awareness of the technical issues in Indian language computing is assumed. The reader wishing to refresh his or her knowledge may find tutorial sections of the [30]Indic-Computing Handbook, and some of the questions and answers in the [31]Indic-Computing FAQ to be of help. 1.3 What this article is not A few statements about what the article does not cover would also be in order. * The article does not cover the benefits that a pervasive computing infrastructure brings to Indian society. It also does not go into the issues of the appropriateness of information technology; as with all tools, the use of information technology would be appropriate in certain contexts and inappropriate in others; the judgment call on this matter would need to be taken by the stakeholders involved. * We do not identify specific end-user solutions that are needed in the market today. Though there are many opportunities that we can see, discussing these would be out of scope for this article. In this document, we sketch the broad architectural characteristics that successful solutions in the Indian context would possess. 1.4 Structure of this document The rest of this article is structured as follows: * In [32]Section 2 we look at the seven core issues that need to be solved before any computing technology can succeed in a large-scale in the Indian context. * We then analyse a few existing projects in [33]Section 3 in the framework of our model. * [34]Section 4 lists some of the next steps that need to be taken up before pervasive computing can become a reality in the Indian context. This section also provides the rationale for the tasks that the Indic-Computing project has taken up. ______________________________________________________________________ [35]Next The Design ``Axes'' This, and other documents, can be downloaded from [36]http://indic-computing.sourceforge.net/. _________________________________________________________________ [37]Built With WebMake [38]Copyright � 2001--2003 The Indic-Computing Project. Last Modified: Wed Apr 30 12:56:11 2003 Webmaster: [39]jkoshy((a))users.sourceforge.net

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