Fsf-friends September 2006

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28 participants
41 discussions

16th Sept 2006: Software Freedom Day Celebrations in Thrissur
by Anivar Aravind 10 Sep '06

10 Sep '06

WHAT: Software Freedom Day Celebrations in Thrissur WHERE: Vidya Academy of Science and Technology, Thrissur WHEN: September 16th, 2006 Saturday, 09 AM ABOUT: Software Freedom Day (SFD) is a worldwide celebration of Free Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS). It is aimed at educate the worldwide public about of the benefits of using Free Software in education, in government, at home, and in business WHY: We need to celebrate, meet up with peers, share information, build links and solidarity. HOW: That's for you to decide. So do come! CONTACT: Hiran Venugopalan +91 9846951870 Anivar Aravind +91 9846885539 or mail to: sfd06(a)gaia.org.in FOSSers of Vidya & Global Alternate Information Applications(GAIA) are Celebrating software freedom Day in Thrissur on 16th September 2006, in association with Free Software Users Group Thrissur(FSUG-Thrissur) & Palakkad Libre Users Society (PLUS) as a part of Worldwide celebrations on 16th September 2006 as a part of International day of celebration of software freedom. Free Software Movement is leading freedom struggle in domain of information technology. This movement is fight for the freedom of knowledge and freedom to communicate. As a Part of Software Freedom day Celebration we are Organizing a one Day Seminar and Technical sessions on 16th. The Sessions are Freedom: Software,society &culture : Anivar Aravind The world of Python : Baiju.M Free Hardware: Introduction to Phoenix : Pramode CE, IC softwares Reaching Vidya Academy: Vidya Academy of Science & Technology (VAST) is located at 15th Kilometer on Thrissur-Guruvayoor highway and is easily accessible by public and private transport buses which stop at Kaiparambu. For a Location & route Map see http://tinyurl.com/q5a3f ABOUT ORGANISORS: Fossers of Vidya is a group of Free Software Users & advocates in Vidya Academy of Science & Technology. Free Software Users Group Thrissur (http://fsugtsr.org) is a group of GNU/Linux and Free Software enthusiasts from the cultural capital of Kerala, Thrissur. Palakkad Libre Users Society (PLUS, http://plus.sarovar.org) is Advocating and promoting the use of free software by providing technical assistance related to free software, bringing together free software businesses and free software users, and propagating the message of software freedom in and around the city of Palakkad (Kerala, India) GAIA (Global Alternate Information Applications), Founded in 2004, is a collective space for imaginative reconstruction of public sphere, new/old media practices & research, and critical cultural intervention.

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Photo Albums by SPACE, Kerala
by doxa＠sancharnet.in 08 Sep '06

08 Sep '06

http://space-kerala.org/gallery/albums.php Nice collection, Vimal. Cheers for the work. In the meantime, are we deciding anything on the RMS' suggestion that SP-Alternative -Computing-E should be re-done. CK Raju Thrissur ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using NWebmail, BSNL's Webmail Program

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Now I have a complete GNU System on my PC
by പ്രവീണ്‍‌|Praveen 07 Sep '06

07 Sep '06

Hi, I setup a GNU system snapshot and noted down the steps here. http://www.pravi.co.nr/2006/09/07/now-i-have-a-complete-gnu-system-on-my-pc/ We are looking for more hackers to finish the GNU system. Cheers Praveen -- "Value your freedom, or you will lose it, teaches history. `Don't bother us with politics', respond those who don't want to learn." -- Richard Stallman Me scribbles at http://www.pravi.co.nr

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anybody in indian engg campuses doing work like this?
by Kush 06 Sep '06

06 Sep '06

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/082806-open-source.html?page=2

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10 common misunderstandings about the GPL
by പ്രവീണ്‍‌|Praveen 05 Sep '06

05 Sep '06

Hi, IT Manger's journal has an article about 10 common misunderstandings about the GPL which you can read here http://www.itmanagersjournal.com/article.pl?sid=06/08/21/1659203 The experts NewsForge consulted to come up with this are: Richard Fontana, a lawyer with the Software Freedom Law Center and one of the main drafters of the third version of the license; David Turner, former compliance engineer at the Free Software Foundation who is assisting with the revisions of the license; and Harald Welte of the GPL-Violations project<http://gpl-violations.org/>, which tracks possible cases of non-compliance and tries to assist in resolving them. <quote>In the end, Turner concedes, some degree of confusion is probably inescapable. "There's always going to be people who misunderstand," he says, "no matter how you write the license, even in words of one syllable." </quote> Regards Praveen -- "Value your freedom, or you will lose it, teaches history. `Don't bother us with politics', respond those who don't want to learn." -- Richard Stallman Me scribbles at http://www.pravi.co.nr

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problems with installing linux on older hardware
by Kush 05 Sep '06

05 Sep '06

One problem that I have always faced with installing linux and have dual boot systems is the need to resize existing partitions--specially NTFS partitions. Can anybody advise which open source softwares are best to do this job painlessly? I recently came across partition logic but have still to try it. what are the key tools one needs to install linux effectively on a desktop? some which come to mind are 1. ultimatebootcd.com (for special fdisk(otherwise windows creates problems if the linux fdisk is only used), booting etc) 2. ghosting software (for painless and multiple installations simultaneously/in parallel) 3. a linux distribution --ubuntu/fedora/easyubuntu etc

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FreeDOS 1.0 released !
by doxa＠sancharnet.in 04 Sep '06

04 Sep '06

========Cross posting - Announcement========= "FreeDOS 1.0 Yes, the FreeDOS Project has reached the "1.0" milestone. Please download the FreeDOS "1.0" distribution from ibiblio. If you prefer to purchase a CDROM rather than download the iso file, wait a few days for our online distributors to have their sites ready. We're partnering with at least two CD shops. This is a very important day for FreeDOS. A lot of you have put in so much work over the years, helping to make everything perfect. Even if you didn't contribute code, you helped out the FreeDOS Project by submitting comments and bug reports. Thank you! What is FreeDOS FreeDOS is a free DOS-compatible operating system for IBM-PC compatible systems. FreeDOS is made of up many different, separate programs that act as "packages" to the overall FreeDOS Project. These days, there are three main uses of FreeDOS: 1. To run old DOS games (like DOOM, etc.) 2. To run old business software that only supports DOS 3. To support an embedded DOS system, such as a computerized cash register or till You can run FreeDOS on pretty much anything. While can run FreeDOS on a dedicated PC, now it's most often run inside a PC emulator. You can find PC emulators for all computer platforms (Windows, Linux, Mac.) If you are new to DOS, we recommend you use an emulator to install and boot FreeDOS....." http://www.freedos.org/freedos/files/ ===============End of Announcement======== Cheers to the FreeDOS team. A lot of Indian hardware shops already ships with FreeDOS as default OS. CK Raju ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using NWebmail, BSNL's Webmail Program

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finding ways and means to wean away windows users towards linux
by Kush 04 Sep '06

04 Sep '06

One way to wean existing users towards linux or open source softwares is by giving them a feel of the various open source softwares under windows so that the migration towards linux becomes easier (training etc costs become less etc) A lot of equivalent open source softwares now exist in both worlds (linux and windows) such as gaim/openoffice/gimp etc etc. I found these 2 sites which are very helpful http://www.opensourcewindows.org/ http://osswin.sourceforge.net/ Recently I came across mistika too which though not open source is a special purpose software under linux which shows that newer software development may be moving towards linux. Kush

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problems with open source
by Kush 03 Sep '06

03 Sep '06

Many open source programs like openoffice/jashaka etc now only come with versions that can work with windows XP etc instead of also working with earlier windows versions. This necessitates buying or using pirated versions of windows and also upgrading the hardware sometimes. What can be done to continue making softwares for all versions of windows instead of the latest versions? Can some of us write to the developers of various such softwares and to the linux media channels of this anomaly? 2ndly I have been trying to popularise linux at the individual level but the problem which is cropping up again and again is the demand for a relatively high end hardware. e.g. ubuntu needs at least 512 MB ram and most people wanting free software are the poorer types having older hardware and it always necessitates a hardware upgrade. I have tried other linuxes such as puppylinux or damn small linux (needs atleast 128mb ram) or kanotix (256mb ram) but do not have the expertise to advise people properly of all the possible applications they need with these other linuxes. I am most experienced with ubuntu since it has easier install/upgrade options/software such as the synaptic GUI . Am sure other open source proponents also would have come across similar dilemnas. What we need is a gui based linux for the lower end hardwares in the same way ubuntu/edubuntu/xubuntu is for the higher end hardwares-- because most of us are still laymen where linux is concerned. Having multiple distributions means a lot of learning is required to test and upgrade packages without breaking the dependencies etc and that reduces the masses taking up linux fast enough. Kush

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olpc project in kerala or any other advanced state
by Kush 03 Sep '06

03 Sep '06

Is there any equivalent project like the one laptop per child project in Brazil here in any of the 30 plus states of India or in any of the 500 plus districts of India? What looks most interesting is the self cranking/auto powering feature of the OLPC laptops (because of our dismal electricity problem in most of India). Wonder what hardware they have and what softwares are put on them. Anybody here who has first hand experience of the gadgets and if they are worth anything. I mean lot of hype is created for such projects including our own under 10,000 rupees computers but these sadly fail because of 2 types of problems-- 1 mass scale manufacturing and management of distribution etc (large scale concerns) 2 problems in quality and benefits of the device plus no mechanism to improve on the existing device after users report defects and ask for enhancements. (individual concerns) Kush

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Fsf-friends September 2006