Fsf-friends March 2005

fsf-friends@gnu.org.in

51 participants
107 discussions

need for Full timers, was Re: [Fsf-friends] MS' influence in academia
by Nagarjuna G. 13 Mar '05

13 Mar '05

On Sunday 13 Mar 2005 1:20 am, Rakesh 'arky' Ambati wrote: > --- "Nagarjuna G." <nagarjun(a)gnowledge.org> wrote: > > > > > > > > > The issues that you raised are very important. Let > > us discuss how to > > make FSF India's efforts more organized. membership > > issue is soon > > going to be launched. We need full time workers for > > FSF. FSF India > > at the moment has none. This needs resources to > > compensate the full > > timers. > > > > Assuming that there are resources, I want to ask the > > community: how > > many of you are willing to work for FSF as full > > timers if proper > > compensation is given, at various parts of the > > counry? And howmany of > > your are willing to work with full timers during > > your spare time? > > > > Dear Mr.Nagarjuna, > > I believe there is no dire of volunteers for FSF.We > never had enough resources to hire any full timers,in > any case most people like arun,ab and yourself had > been doing great work without expecting anything in > return. > > If you have not posed the above question literally, > you can count me in anytime. Take a look at our website. The site doesnt look at the activities that FSF india is carrying out. Feb we had several activities. some of them were very impressive. They are not listed as events. The details of those events are not recorded on the website. Most of this only due to the absence of one responsible person who takes note of all the events and creates content and sends it to Dileep. Dileep does his job very promptly, but content creation is a very important job. Whether paid or unpaid we need someone to do this job. Several events are happening all over the country. Chennai, Vellore, Mumbai, Puna, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Kharagpur, not to mention the events in Kerala. Why should they get reflected at the site. Several people in India are developing free software, why is that information not getting reflected. We also need volunteers to take responsibility to manufacture and dispatch goodies like Tshirts, stickers, posters, documentation CDs, ebooks etc to people. And send them to each place so that the organizers find it handy. I agree with you, we have no dearth of volunteers, so many of them are listed on our website. We want a coordinator to take their help and spread our activities. We want a coordinator for FSF, whether paid or not. Nagarjuna

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The draft patent law
by Ramanraj K 12 Mar '05

12 Mar '05

http://www.hindu.com/2005/03/12/stories/2005031201151000.htm "The draft patent law", by Frederick M. Abbott, Amy Kapczynski & T.N. Srinivasan in "The Hindu", dt. 12-3-2005 "...Nothing in the TRIPS Agreement requires India to accept this onslaught..."

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[Fsf-friends] INDIA: Appeal from FSUG-Bangalore (about engineering studies)
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 11 Mar '05

11 Mar '05

http://bangalore.gnu.org.in/?VTU-FLOSS_Campaign FSUG-Bangalore | RecentChanges VTU-FLOSS Campaign Please Sign This letter Vice chancellor, Visveswaraiah Technologies University, Belagum, Karnataka. Dear Sir, There are thousands of engineering and polytechnic colleges in India. Each year lakhs of graduates and diploma holders earn their degree. They pay thousands of rupees as fees to get the best facilities. A part of this goes to buying the software's which they use either in college lab or for doing assignments at home.For every software which they use; there is alternate Free Software program available. Now this shows the amount of money which we can be saved if we start using Free Software. This will bring down cost education considerably. Other than cost benefits, Free Software has other advantages * No-fee licensing * Ease of license fee management * Better large-scale programmability * Easier integration * Better performance * Development convenience * Better support There are hundreds of Free Software's programs which colleges or universities can adopt. As Vishweshwaraiah Technological University is one of the biggest universities in India, its time for VTU to moving towards using Free Software. This will make other Universities to follow. Let the VTU have pride to be the first. Here I am giving you an example of three such alternative Free Software's which can be used. * (1) Operating System: Windows v/s GNU/Linux I don't know what university generally recommends to colleges. But presently almost all the colleges use Microsoft Windows based operating system. We all know the best available operating system today is GNU/Linux. It is the best OS any educational institution can have. Students can not only use it but also can study. * (2) Simulation: Matlab v/s Octave Matlab is used in communication and electronics lab. Matlab for individual license for university (academic use) costs $500. Any college will have to buy minimum 25 licenses. Which means shelling out Rs.537500. Octave, which is simulation software written by University professors. This usually comes with the GNU/Linux Operating System. The advantage to students is that they don't have to buy a limited student version to use at home. They can use Octave both at Lab and at home. SciLab? is another open source competitor for Matlab. It uses sophisticated algorithms to analyze data and produce lovely graphics. Now you have the choice which one you want to include in your curriculum. * (3) Office software's: MS Office v/s Open Office Well, we all used Microsoft word to submit our project documents for review and for other academic purposes. Now we have Open Office which is as good as MS office and has some feature Microsoft Office lacks like PDF support, compatibility with older versions of Microsoft Office, HTML editor, a vector drawing application .... It gives you everything starting from word processor, presentation software to PDF generator [Fully compatible with Microsoft Office -- So already existing data in those formats can be used]. Don't you think it's the right time to save money of a poor student ? The above are just examples. There are many such software programs from which the students can benefit. We hope the university understands the urgency and the need. We would be happy to give you any information/help if university needs. Here by we urge the university to make an effort in this direction. Thank you, Please sign this petition * click this link [1] to enter your comments. * Enter your Signature in Text Box right below the _Start Here_ line. * Give your name in the 'Username' and kindly don't edit any other contents. * Click Save button. Start Here 1. Thejesh GN. Milwaukee USA. Former student of VTU [1BT98EC047]. March 01 2005 2. Rakesh 'arky' Ambati (Bangalore India) Fri Mar 11 11:19:57 IST 2005 3. Praveen Arimbrathodiyil (National Instititute of Technology, Calicut) Fri Mar 11 17:34:50 IST 2005 We use GNU/Linux in our main Computer center. It saves a lot of money of the college as there is no licence fee to be paid for each users. Since the source code of the softwares are available many computer science students do projects based on Linux kernel and other such projects. The possibility of use of thin-clients (which our computer center use) reduces the cost of hardware dramatically. It has proved to be beneficail to our college and I urge you to chose Free Software for giving a better alternative for students. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ d88888b d8b db Frederick Noronha * Freelance Journalist * Goa India 88' 888o 88 f r e d @ b y t e s f o r a l l . o r g 88ooo 88V8o 88 http://www.bytesforall.org * http://fn.swiki.net 88~~~ 88 V8o88 Phone 0091.832.2409490 Mobile 09822 122436 88 88 V888 784 Nr Lourdes Convent, Sonarbhat Saligao Goa 403511 YP VP V8P Writing ... with a difference, on issues that matter

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[Fsf-friends] Urge Visveswaraiah Technologies University to go Open Source.
by Thejesh GN 11 Mar '05

11 Mar '05

Hi All, You know how much important for an university to go open source. To force VTU to go open I am collecting the support online. Please sign the petition at http://www.techmag.biz/?q=node/66 Please put your comments when you sign it. Thanks very much for your support. Thejesh GN thejATtechmagDOTbiz

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Fwd: [glugc] Ubuntu 5.04 Preview
by Praveen A 11 Mar '05

11 Mar '05

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Arun Vishnu M.V <arunmvishnu(a)yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 17:08:18 -0000 Subject: [glugc] Ubuntu 5.04 Preview To: glugc(a)yahoogroups.com Hi friends, The Ubuntu Team is proud to announce the preview of their second release: Ubuntu 5.04-preview - codenamed "Hoary Hedgehog" (*). The preview release includes both install CDs and bootable Live CDs for three architectures. There are CD images of the preview release in both Install and Live CD format for Intel/x86, PowerPC and AMD64 here: http://releases.ubuntu.com/hoary/ You can either download from http://releases.ubuntu.com/hoary/ or order Free CD's in http://shipit.ubuntu.com/ The final version of Ubuntu 5.04 is expected to be released in early April. Arun Vishnu http://www.geocities.com/arunmvishnu http://arunmvishnu.blogspot.com/ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT ________________________________ Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/glugc/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: glugc-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. -- "There is no system but GNU, and Linux is one of its kernels." A proud GNU user http://www.gnu.org http://www.edathanattukara.com My Weblog at http://www.livejournal.com/users/pravi Visit me at http://www.pravi.tk Rediscover the web ! Get firefox at http://www.getfirefox.com Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments See http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html

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[Fwd: IPO patent trolls conference]
by Ramanraj K 11 Mar '05

11 Mar '05

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: IPO patent trolls conference Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 20:20:49 +0100 From: "André Rebentisch" <arebenti(a)web.de> Organization: http://freemail.web.de/ To: Us-parl(a)ffii.org, wipo-parl(a)ffii.org http://www.ipo.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Meetings_and_Events/2005_IPO_Meet… Trade Association to Raise Public Awareness of Approaches to Intellectual Property Rights WASHINGTON, March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Patent reform is a top public policy issue. One of the more controversial elements in patent reform is the debate over patent "trolls." The term patent "trolls," coined by Intel Corporation, refers to a company that acquires patents, sometimes from bankrupt firms, and seeks to leverage the acquired portfolio by identifying those who allegedly infringe on one or more of the patents. Both sides of this issue will be represented at the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) "Patent 'Trolls' and Patent Property Rights" Conference on March 14, 2005. This unique conference will examine the effects of patent "trolls," patent assertion companies, and patent licensing companies. Executives from industry, legal scholars, and other experts will discuss strategies and tactics for coping with patent infringement and possible legislative reforms. One major concern is the rising cost of patent litigation. In 2004, according to Hildebrandt International's Law Department Survey, companies reported that spending on IP litigation rose 32 percent over the previous year. According to Herbert Wamsley, executive director of IPO, "There are IPO members who believe this sharp rise in patent litigation costs can be attributed to organizations known as trolls." However, Wamsley adds, "There are other members who disagree. Either way, it is important to broaden the public's understanding of the systems for developing, protecting, and enforcing intellectual property rights." The luncheon address will be given by Adam H. Jaffe, Dean of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Economics at Brandeis University. Professor Jaffe is co-author of Innovation and Its Discontents: How Our Broken Patent System is Endangering Innovation and Progress and What to Do About It. Other sessions will include: * Patent "Trolls": What they are? How do they affect the industry? Affect the patent system? * Independent Patent Asserters and Licensing Organizations: What are they? Who buys and why? How are patents sold? How do independent patent asserters and licensing companies affect innovation? * Reform Proposals Directed at "Trolls" * Operating in Today's Patent Assertion Environment For more information on the IPO "Patent 'Trolls' and Patent Property Rights" Conference please visit http://www.ipo.org. About Intellectual Property Owners Association Founded in 1972, IPO is a national trade association for owners of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets in all industries and fields of technology. IPO was established to broaden public understanding of intellectual property rights. Members include large and small businesses, intellectual property attorneys, and independent inventors and authors. SOURCE Intellectual Property Owners Association Web Site: http://www.ipo.org ______________________________________________________________ Verschicken Sie romantische, coole und witzige Bilder per SMS! Jetzt bei WEB.DE FreeMail: http://f.web.de/?mc=021193 _______________________________________________ Us-parl mailing list Us-parl(a)ffii.org http://lists.ffii.org/mailman/listinfo/us-parl

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Politics of FLOSS
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 10 Mar '05

10 Mar '05

POLITICS OF OPEN SOURCE CLASS: Sweden's University of Go"teborg is offering a class on the politics of free / open source software. The course will run from April to June. It's online, it's free, and it's in English. Applications are due March 15. For more information, visit http://www.informatik.gu.se/eng/education/politicalscience.xhtml [Thanks to Michael Gurstein for posting this to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers list --FN] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ d88888b d8b db Frederick Noronha * Freelance Journalist * Goa India 88' 888o 88 f r e d @ b y t e s f o r a l l . o r g 88ooo 88V8o 88 http://www.bytesforall.org * http://fn.swiki.net 88~~~ 88 V8o88 Phone 0091.832.2409490 Mobile 09822 122436 88 88 V888 784 Nr Lourdes Convent, Sonarbhat Saligao Goa 403511 YP VP V8P Writing ... with a difference, on issues that matter

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Re: [Fsf-friends] Very inetresting plot by microsoft to target Free software enthusiasts
by amal manuel 10 Mar '05

10 Mar '05

hi, > Free software development is not merely a `process'. > It is a cause. It > is a belief. It is a state of mind. Freedom is > something worth living > and breathing. absolutely. man make commodities for him, later become the slave of those. in this scenario, protecting freedom is very important. amal ~amal "its always darkest, before it goes pitch black" __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site! http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/

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[Fsf-friends] Very inetresting plot by microsoft to target Free software enthusiasts
by Praveen A 10 Mar '05

10 Mar '05

Hi all, This is about a Microsoft plan to find "focus group" (I dunno what it means). This shows how Microsoft targets students with cds, softwares,books.... It all started with a request from swroop ch (http://swaroopch.info ) with subject "Want to talk to Microsoft (India) about Linux?" http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linux-bangalore-non-tech/message/4789 It is very long thread but it is worth it. It was about a meet organised by .Net group in Bangalore who invited Swaroop for the meet saying they wanted to learn about FOSS. Then someone from that group mails, Chitnis brings out the plot..... very inetresting like a thriller (Even Chitnis traced the root to Microsoft US !) He told the guy who invited FSF/OSS people to participate in their meet. >>>> But anyway, now that I have your attention - here is your first step towards understanding this whole "Linux thing" that you are so curious about: When you ask the question, do you focus on "Linux"? Do you perceive it to be a "product" that competes with "Windows"? If so, you already took a wrong turn two crosses back. Because what you see as a product is in reality a *by-product* of a process. Free and Open Source Software is the result of a collaborative development process that has existed for decades that was given a more formal definition in 1984, and it is this *process* that really challenges the whole existing software scenario (and, of course, people like Microsoft :) Once you understand *that*, then you are just a few steps away from understanding the whole thing. We'll be glad to help. Come on in - the water is great! :) <<<<<< -- "There is no system but GNU, and Linux is one of its kernels." A proud GNU user http://www.gnu.org http://www.edathanattukara.com My Weblog at http://www.livejournal.com/users/pravi Visit me at http://www.pravi.tk Rediscover the web ! Get firefox at http://www.getfirefox.com Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments See http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html

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Very Important
by Praveen A 09 Mar '05

09 Mar '05

Dear Friends, Patents are a devious tool to harm developing countries' development. Not only will patents harm software; but will also lead to rise in prices of medicines. [Read further for more info] What you can do ? a) Post this on your blog/website too if you have one b) Email this to as many people as you know c) Email to the Editor of various magazines, newspapers that we don't want patents d) Email to the President of India and any political party in India who has an email Why are patents bad ? Below are some medicines whose cost are given as follows (In India in Rupees) [In US in Rupees] CIPROFLOXACIN (29 Rupees) [2353 Rupees] DICHLOPHENAC (4 Rupees) [675 Rupees] These are just two examples. Wondering why medicines are SO cheap in India? This is because India had a big pharmaceutical industry. They can produce drugs at a fraction of the cost at what Merck wants to sell them for. Infact the drug prices are way lower in India than in Pakistan next door because India happened to develop its own pharmaceutical industry. Note: Because India had its own patent law which allows only process patent for food, chemicals and drugs. The American Corporations don't like that .They want more children to die in India. They want more profit; which means more children die in India. They want to make sure that India doesn't produce drugs costing less than the American counterparts. Now this is done in two ways under GATT. One way is to increase the length of patents. The other is to change their character from Process Patent to Product Patent. Note: Quoted from a speech by Noam Chomsky The thing that made American prices higher is now put up as an Ordinance in India. It is being considered in next Session of our Parliament. Note: Half of all U.S. bankruptcies are caused by medical bills. See the news report from msnbc http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6895896/ So we need to ACT now before it is too late, before we will need to burn our pocket before even buying a tablet of Disprin or the like. Please follow the actions as mentioned above to spread this fact among as many people, so that this Bill is not passed. Note: Global Campaign against Indian Patents Amendment (GCAIPA) is a forum to co-ordinate the actions against the Patents amendment bill globally. http://gcaipa.org/ Maybe, the legislature will listen… But let us try our best. Note: All this happens because the rulers think that the common people are donkeys and considering the fact that the low literacy rate is one cause, it is all the more important that we, the previlaged minority, who enjoys the advatages of education has a greater responsibilty. -- PS: You might be wondering why this important issue is not discussed in the mass media or in the parliament. 1. Do you know that the ordinance was issued after 3 days of closing the session 2. It was issued hurriedly when the nation was facing the Tsunami disaster and all the media attenstion was there. 3. People think it is not their problem untill they face it personally. For more deatils see my bolg http://www.livejournal.com/~pravi and these posts 1. IS Rs. 29 = Rs. 2353 ? http://www.livejournal.com/users/pravi/11432.html 2. Changing rules of patents http://www.livejournal.com/users/pravi/11699.html 3. Patent laws http://www.livejournal.com/users/pravi/11927.html and http://www.livejournal.com/users/pravi/12417.html We didn't consider the recommendations by the committes which we appointed to study patents and we are even giving more than what they asked for (loyal than the king) [even WTO did not ask for patenting of life forms and we are allowing evn that -- patenting of life forms like ameba, fungus ...] Countries like Brazil are aware of these issues and they framed the rule to protect their people. See the news report from BBC - Brazil to break Aids drug patents.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4059147.stm Our Government did not think of our people and they are selling the people of India for some Dollars. [See after this rule comes into place not only the poor but even the middle class cannot afford the medicines. The medical treatment is going to be available to only an elite minority.] It is already happened with Lukemia patients. Indian companies produce drugs for treatment of Lukemia at Rs 99 a capule and 4 per day it amounts to Rs 12,000 per month. Many cannot afford that and now after the change in patent rule of 1995 [It increased the duration of patents from 7 to 20 years] an MNC called Novartis filed a case in Chennai high court saying it has patent for its drug Gleevec. The Chennai high court stopped the production of drugs by Indian companies and now the only drug available for Lukemia patients is Gleevec of Novartis. And the cost -- Rs 1,25,000 only !!!!! We should not sit idle. It is time to act !!!! _______________________ -- "There is no system but GNU, and Linux is one of its kernels." A proud GNU user http://www.gnu.org http://www.edathanattukara.com My Weblog at http://www.livejournal.com/users/pravi Visit me at http://www.pravi.tk Rediscover the web ! Get firefox at http://www.getfirefox.com Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments See http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html

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Fsf-friends March 2005