Fsf-friends December 2005

fsf-friends@gnu.org.in

30 participants
45 discussions

A thorough re-vamp of Curriculum at University of Calicut
by doxa＠sancharnet.in 25 Dec '05

25 Dec '05

Friends, A re-engineering of almost all the practical sessions on Free Software in virtually all the semesters of UG Engineering courses of Computer Sc & Engg (CSE) and Information Technology (IT) at University of Calicut seem to be the most important aspect in the new and revised scheme and syllabi that is to be released soon. The revision work that took almost a year to finalise had been co-ordinated by Prof Valsaraj, Govt Engg College, Thrissur for IT and Prof Chandrasekhara Pillai, NSS College of Engg, Palakkad for CSE. The new scheme draws its inspiration from its predecessor, which had been predominantly worked out at NIT-C, Kozhikode in 1999. A new visible change in the outlook of both schemes has a lot to do with the suggested guidelines of Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), wherein CSE concentrates its discipline towards the theoretical aspects while IT focusses on the application domains. While no major changes were incorporated in the first four semesters for both the disciplines, semesters V to VIII are designed differently with ACM guidelines. Drastic changes are proposed to be incorporated for the laboratory sessions in all the semesters, as well as for the mini project (sixth semester) and main project (final year), where practices and principles in Free Software engineering domain find strong recommendation for implementation and use. The syllabus even discourages software development in some proprietary domains for mini project and main project. The revision committee had given a detailed look into the emerging trends in software engineering practices, world over, and had decided to recommend training the young engineering undergraduates to equip themselves with modern practices, most of which are not at all used in the proprietary software engineering domain. Cheers, CK Raju, Chairman, Board of Studies (CSE & IT), University of Calicut.

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Debian on one DVD?
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 24 Dec '05

24 Dec '05

Debian on one DVD? Jaldhar Vyas [3]reported that one of the problems GNU/Linux users in countries like India face is low bandwidth. Therefore a distribution on CD or DVD is preferred over large network installations or updates. He has found a sponsor and is looking for a 1-DVD version of the Debian system. Jörg Jaspert [4]confirmed that the production is easy since he's done it before. 3. http://lists.debian.org/debian-project/2005/12/msg00089.html 4. http://lists.debian.org/debian-project/2005/12/msg00091.html

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Science Congress... and FLOSS
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 24 Dec '05

24 Dec '05

This (below) has just been announced. Wonder if Free Software too could make its presence at the Science Congress? FN > Please note that there will be a special session on Open Access at the > Science Congress [Venue: MANAGE Auditorium, Hyderabad, Date: 6 January > 2006, > Time: 10.00 - 12.45]. Speakers include: > > Prof. N Balakrishnan, Associate Director, IISc, B'lore (Chairman) > Dr Alma Swan, United Kingdom (Keynote) > Dr Abhijit Lahiri, DSIR, New Delhi > Dr V Balaji, ICRISAT, H'bad > Dr D K Sahu, MedKnow Publications, Bombay > Ms Naina Pandita, NIC, New Delhi > Dr A R D Prasad, DRTC, ISI, B'lore > > Coordinator: Subbiah Arunachalam

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All FSUGs/GLUGs Meet: Jan 1, 2006
by Shakthi Kannan 23 Dec '05

23 Dec '05

Greetings! There were discussions in Indian GNU/Linux Users' Group, Mumbai on where to have the January month's meeting. I had an idea. What if all our FSUGs/GLUGs members from all over India meet together, online?. How would it be if we all meet in the beginning of the New Year? After discussion with the channel ops, I am happy to call for an all-India FSUGs/GLUGs members meet on January 1, 2006 at 1500 hrs IST at #gnu-india on irc.freenode.net. No agenda as such. The idea is to get to meet folks from different FSUGs/GLUGs, get to know what FSUGs/GLUGs have been and are working on, free software ideas/suggestions/plans/activities for 2006. I will broadcast this message to as many FSUGs/GLUGS that I am member of and that I know of. Please feel free to spread the word. Thanking you all and looking forward to meeting you all, SK (a.k.a mbuf on irc.freenode.net) -- Shakthi Kannan, MS Software Engineer, Hexaware Technologies [E]: cyborg4k(a)yahoo.com [M]: (91) 98407-87007 [W]: http://www.shakthimaan.com [L]: Chennai, India __________________________________ Yahoo! for Good - Make a difference this year. http://brand.yahoo.com/cybergivingweek2005/

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Fwd: [hipatia] LINKFw: [Fwd: [Fwd: France is the first country to propose the legalization of P2P downloadingin its new DRM law]]
by Arun M 23 Dec '05

23 Dec '05

http://www.audionautes.net/blog/index.php?2005/12/22/63-france-is-the-first… --- Aziz Ridouan, president of the Association of Audionautes approves the two provisions voted by the French Parliament to authorize content downloading on Internet. Following these provisions, the French Code of Intellectual Property shall now feature an article L-122-5 stating that : « Authors cannot forbid the reproductions of Works that are made on any format from an online communication service when they are intented to be used privately and when they do not imply commercial means directly or indirectly. » These provisions were proposed by the Association of Audionautes and the Artist-Public Alliance. They were initially contrary to the project defended by the French Government, but they were voted by 31 votes against 30. This Law proposal is not definitive yet, but Jean-Baptiste Soufron, Legal Counsel of the Association of Audionautes approves this vote and wants to point out that France is the first country in the world to propose the legalization of P2P downloading. http://www.audionautes.net The Association of Audionautes is a non-for-profit organization founded by French high-school and college students in order to react to the abusive threats of the musical industry. They now help more than 80 people to organize their defense, and they regroup more than 6000 members including students, lawyers, artists, etc. Press contact: +33 624 414 265 / contact(a)audionautes.net Legal contact: +33 617 962 457

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Re: Fsf-web subscription request
by Anivar Aravind 23 Dec '05

23 Dec '05

On 12/20/05, Amol Hatwar <amol(a)hatwar.org> wrote: > Is FSFI going to be represented at Linux Asia in Delhi? I am based in > Gurgaon and think I can help. Any Plans? Anivar -- Knowledge is power... share it equitably! http://www.gnu.org

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[Fwd: [BOAI] OA recommendations of Ukrainian Parliament]
by V. Sasi Kumar 23 Dec '05

23 Dec '05

-------- Forwarded Message -------- From: Iryna Kuchma <kuchma(a)irf.kiev.ua> Reply-To: BOAI Forum <boai-forum(a)ecs.soton.ac.uk> To: boai-forum(a)ecs.soton.ac.uk Subject: [BOAI] OA recommendations of Ukrainian Parliament Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 10:47:31 +0200 Open access is one of the priorities in developing information society in Ukraine — Recommendations of Ukrainian Parliament Ukrainian Parliament (Verhovna Rada) passed resolution On Recommendations of Parliamentary hearing on Developing information society in Ukraine (from 01.12.2005 № 3175-IV) where open access is called one of the priorities in developing information society in Ukraine. In Close 2 Developing informational infrastructure of this Resolution it is recommended for the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to create favorable conditions for developing open access repositories in archives, libraries, museums and other cultural institutions. In Close 5 Creating accessible electronic information resources it is recommended for the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to stir to activities on creating accessible national electronic information resources especially with scientific-technical and economical information; to develop model regulation on repository of electronic documents; and for the Ministry of education and science of Ukraine to speed up development of state program on ICT in educatio! n and science including the close on development of open access resources in science, technology and education with open access condition to state funded researches. (Ukrainian version of this resolution: http://zakon.rada.gov.ua/cgi-bin/laws/main.cgi?nreg=3175%2D15) Open Access is also one of the priorities in National strategy on developing information society in Ukraine introduced to Ukrainian Parliament by Parliamentary Committee on Science and Education. Open Access recommendations in Ukraine where first introduced by the participants of Open Access Scholarly Communication Workshop, February 17-19 2005, organized by International Renaissance Foundation, Open Society Institute, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, International Association of Academies of Sciences and National University Kyiv Mohyla Academy and supported by the British Council Ukraine. Iryna Kuchma Social Capital and Academic Publications Program Manager International Renaissance Foundation phone: (+380) (44) 461-9500 fax: (+380) (44) 486-0166 e-mail: kuchma(a)irf.kiev.ua http://www.irf.kiev.ua/programs/scaap

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The Battle for Bangalore
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 22 Dec '05

22 Dec '05

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9071-1927247,00.html The Battle for Bangalore India is turning into a battleground for the hearts and minds of software developers. On one side are the forces of opensourcing, ranged against them is Bill Gates's Microsoft. It is a battle neither can afford to lose, writes Gervase Markham A nasty catfight has been going on in Washington and the American press. The essence of the battle calls into question the patriotism of CEOs who would sell out their countrymen for a quick buck by taking advantage of offshoring - a word guaranteed to cause an American software engineer to choke on his high-caffeine Jolt. American companies, being squeezed by low-cost, high-work-ethic competition from Asia, are looking to cut overheads by outsourcing their IT jobs. The destination of much of this exodus is the booming tech sector of India, as the world's second most populous country leverages the widespread knowledge of English, a legacy of its colonial past. The nexus of this growth is Bangalore, which boasts more than 200 technology companies and the highest number of engineering colleges of any city in the world. And now a different fight has begun in earnest. In terms of the global IT landscape, it is perhaps more significant. It is the battle for the hearts and minds of those tens of thousands of Indian software developers. On one side is Microsoft, hoping to tempt them with visions of a smoothly-integrated development system from a single vendor. On the other side is the free software movement, talking about the importance of liberty, unrestrictive licensing and control of your own computing environment. At stake is the ability to harness the brainpower of an entire subcontinent of hackers. In the most recent exchange of fire, Microsoft's shot made the loudest bang. Buoyed by a no doubt sincere but also profile-raising series of visits by Bill Gates to Delhi slums and AIDS counselling centres, there was extensive international coverage of Microsoft's "Ready Launch 2005" event at the Bangalore Palace. There, Gates announced a $1.7 billion investment in India over the next four years, split between "donations" of software to schools, job creation and building, and developer evangelism. However, reading the reports, one can't help but see a slightly patronising tone in their approach. One announcement which typified this was "Code4Bill" - a recruiting exercise dressed up as a competition, involving a series of online tests and real-world interviews. These whittle down the entrants to a final 20 who win internships at Microsoft India, and maybe even (gasp!) a job. The lucky grand prize winner gets to work in the "Bill Gates Technical Assistants Team" in Redmond for a year. By contrast, the FOSS.IN (FOSS stands for "free and open source software; .IN is the country code for India) conference, a week beforehand in the very same venue, received comparatively little publicity. There were 2,700 attendees gathered to hear big names in the Linux world such as Alan Cox, the impressively-bearded Welsh kernel hacker, who gave "brutally technical" programming talks. The event's sponsor list reads like a roll call in the ABM ("Anyone But Microsoft") army - Intel, Google, Sun, HP. At first glance, despite the Microsoft marketing muscle and donated dollars, free software should be a shoo-in. In a country which wants to encourage entrepreneurship and expand its economy, why pay more for less control? However, the free software community has its own, rather unexpected hurdle to overcome - a cultural one. Despite India being "the world's largest consumer of free software", not much code is making its way back to the major projects. It seems that Indian developers often have a difficult time engaging with the community. There have been several reasons suggested for this. One is that the Indian university system is more oriented to creating large numbers of employable graduates who pass tests, assembly-line style, than encouraging creativity and risk-taking. In a country where an engineering degree is the ticket to a reasonably comfortable life, no one wants to rock the boat. Another factor is that Indian developers are often most comfortable with a structured work plan and clearly-defined boundaries. This style of working is not a good fit for the self-motivated, somewhat chaotic style of the free software bazaar. So at the moment, the scales are evenly balanced. India is there for the taking. In five years' time, will India be Coding 4 Bill, or Coding 2 Share? ----------------------------------- Gervase Markham works for the Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting choice and innovation on the internet. His blog is Hacking for Christ http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/gerv/

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[Fwd: [foss.in] Suday Times London mentions FOSS.IN]
by Sameer N Ingole 22 Dec '05

22 Dec '05

Hi, Interesting, please read.. > -------- Original Message -------- > >Hi, > > You might have seen todays Times of India article about Battle for >Bangalore's Technical brains (page 16). The original article appeared in >Sunday times >http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9071-1927247,00.html > >Regards >Praveen A > >-- > "GNU is the system, and Linux is the kernel." >A proud GNU user http://www.gnu.org >Me scribbles at http://www.pravi.co.nr > > > Regards, -- Sameer N. Ingole /*****************************************************/ Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. /*****************************************************/

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Re: Re: [Fwd: PIL against Bangalore One (long)
by Frederick Noronha 21 Dec '05

21 Dec '05

Hi RMS, Bangalore One is a major e-governance project, which went to Microsoft, in Bangalore, India. It appears that a group of technical people, including some expats (Indians based overseas) have now gone to court, challenging the manner in which a huge contract was awarded to Microsoft. It's nice to see citizens -- and those not necessarily involved with Free Software/Open Source themselves -- waking up to the implications of proprietorial software in the Third World. The information I posted is based on what I received. I don't have additional details, but this seems like one development that needs to be kept track of. FN ============================================================ From: "Richard M. Stallman" <rms(a)gnu.org> Date: 2005/12/21 Wed AM 11:00:32 GMT+05:30 To: fred(a)bytesforall.org Subject: Re: [Fwd: PIL against Bangalore One (long) I can read the words, but I don't understand what it means. I gave up after about 10%. ============================================================ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Frederick Noronha 784 Near Convent, Sonarbhat SALIGAO GOA India Freelance Journalist TEL: +91-832-2409490 MOBILE: 9822122436 http://fn.swiki.net http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks fred at bytesforall.org http://www.bytesforall.org

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Fsf-friends December 2005