Fsf-friends December 2008

fsf-friends@gnu.org.in

44 participants
73 discussions

Re: [Fsf-friends] Fw: failure notice, Use of Windows in FSFS.IN
by Sebin Jacob 19 Dec '08

19 Dec '08

On the use of windows in fsfs.in, I think the matter is pretty clear. Windows was loaded in the personal laptop of Sun's representative who spoke in technology track. The organisers already admitted that, it was their mistake not to explicitly mention that no speakers should use proprietary OS for making presentations. Then why is this hue and cry? Its not a stock market and there is no bullish trend present. Stating this, I would also like to point out that, free softwares are not only available in free operating systems, but they are equally available and present in proprietary OS's as well. If you want to showcase a platform independent API or SDK, what will be the option left out, if no proprietery OS is allowed in the conference venue? Again, is it good/ethical to develop free softwares in proprietery platform according to your convictions? Another area where proprietery OS was spotted were the stall owned by SBT, one of the sponsors of the conference. There is an ongoing exercise to tie it up with the boycott novell protest in National Conference on Free Software held at Kochi. The issue with Novell is clearly different. Novell was not present in the official sponsors list for Kochi conference duly published in its website. But they were made sponsors over the night. If you are not trying to be blind, it is easy for you to recognise. Novell legitimised M$'s claim on software patents by making use of a loophole in GPL.v2 which prompted the community to come out with a better licence option GPL.v3. If you are all for patents, its better to quit this movement. On the contrary, the sponsors of fsfs.in were known already and if anybody had anything against state bank, then they should have said about it in advance. This is just a flamewar and is not according to merit. I was present full time in policy track at this (fsfs.in) conference and there weren't a single instance were M$ product was used. Whenever a speaker, tended to voice against the spirit of freedom, the delegates raised objection then and there itself and they were not manhandled with. The freedom to protest was observed, not curtailed. But I have some disagreements on smartcity being the sponsor of such an event and that is political. I am all against SEZs and software SEZs are not needed for FLOSS development. This is a personal view, and I do not know anybody who shares the same opinion. If my reading is correct, Anivar might also possess some problem with it. The second thing i was not satisfied with was, though it was not the usual way with journos, I registered for the conference and paid the delgate fee. But on asking for a receipt, I was denied one. But I got more enlightened than the Rs. 500/- I paid, and so I have no big problem with it. Now whether or not to use proprietery software, the answer is, whenever a viable free version is available to execute a project, use it, and if not, go for the proprietary option. I am not an FS fanatic. I have a dual boot system and I use Adobe products which are proprietary. As they run only on Windows and Macs, I use Windows. As the Scribus development is going on, I hope, soon there will be a time, when i could completely opt for Free Software only. As I am not a techie or an engineer, I have not personally contributed to any code, but was active in discussions related to Malayalam localisation of GNU/Linux as a volunteer of SMC. If you think that one could qualify as a free software enthusiast only if he writes some code, I am not your prey. I am attracted to the concept of freedom and am trying myself to understand the code. I dont think, its a holy grail to stay away from. Regards. Sebin -- ...if I fought with you, if i fell wounded and allowed no one to learn of my suffering, if I never turned my back to the enemy: Give me your blessing! (Nikos Kazantzakis)

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Fw: failure notice
by Arvind Kumar Chinniah 19 Dec '08

19 Dec '08

Dear friends, My friend vijayan tried to send a message to fsf-friends which couldnt reach... you all.. so.. i thought I will forward the mail... Can anybody tell why it could not reach the list. I hope it is not done purposefully. If done so.. i think the list lost its.. 'Free' ness and the boasted openess to criticism. --- On *Mon, 12/15/08, MAILER-DAEMON(a)yahoo.com <MAILER-DAEMON(a)yahoo.com>*wrote: From: MAILER-DAEMON(a)yahoo.com <MAILER-DAEMON(a)yahoo.com> Subject: failure notice To: srinivasanvijayan(a)yahoo.com Date: Monday, December 15, 2008, 10:31 AM Hi. This is the qmail-send program at yahoo.com. I'm afraid I wasn't able to deliver your message to the following addresses. This is a permanent error; I've given up. Sorry it didn't work out. <fsf-friends(a)gnu.org.in>: CNAME lookup failed temporarily. (#4.4.3) I'm not going to try again; this message has been in the queue too long. --- Below this line is a copy of the message. Return-Path: <srinivasanvijayan(a)yahoo.com> Received: (qmail 6046 invoked by uid 60001); 14 Dec 2008 15:31:16 -0000 DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws; s=s1024; d=yahoo.com; h=X-YMail-OSG:Received:X-Mailer:Date:From:Reply-To:Subject:To:In-Reply-To:MIME-Version:Content-Type:Message-ID; b=4lLMDBsPwcLGlieXvc/SFOYNWHWSITdU6Oe4cgjn4vv3rknd1yqGNa9RvErFDAI8+lvLhzscU/Wd1I+GssES98XP6WZJYQmU8jyXAEDdgA5XuZlp9wECdRHgJE2FslTeRMEOvOqdVVK3v0A5v962XM6XaN8XmbJSUmDK1ZZp+2E=; X-YMail-OSG: sfznaasVM1mFb8J5X2aDSG8WN5JOSp8j6eiOzSJkKb9cyxFo7aCzr_ZcPELlNQc_Mr751VnZeXWfqwnUUZ8390VqQNa29TCTMQqUFPKSKk5Ov8sz16g80k7lImkrLRRVGDfHluv_NS2hviITCWZyIjrv8U65femuSFhL2B7q5uD6LyZN1RWWYbc74bOJ5vVNQdssr9QWgXzyU7cSm9DRbLEJQMo55Q-- Received: from [59.92.1.61] by web34307.mail.mud.yahoo.com via HTTP; Sun, 14 Dec 2008 07:31:16 PST X-Mailer: YahooMailWebService/0.7.260.1 Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2008 07:31:16 -0800 (PST) From: VIJAYAN S <srinivasanvijayan(a)yahoo.com> Reply-To: srinivasanvijayan(a)yahoo.com Subject: Re: [Fsf-friends] Use of Windows by some speakers To: fsf-friends(a)gnu.org.in In-Reply-To: <729f28760812130622y3ea84cfaya88b20972facada4(a)mail.gmail.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="0-1472797888-1229268676=:5536" Message-ID: <398190.5536.qm(a)web34307.mail.mud.yahoo.com> --0-1472797888-1229268676=:5536 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Dear Friends, =A0 Why did not the organiser release the code of conduct that inculde prohibit= ing the use of properity software in the venue when a participant apply to = conduct their program? When the organisers failed to issue such whip during= the stage of organising and what is the point in expecting the audience to= raise this issue at the venue. Most of the time the audience are passive a= nd it seldom be spontaneous unless it is organised. I expect the FSF india = should issue a statement in thier website explaining their position on this= issue and=A0should not hesitate to come forward with an apology. =A0 Vijayan --- On Sat, 12/13/08, Arun M <arun(a)gnu.org.in> wrote: From: Arun M <arun(a)gnu.org.in> Subject: [Fsf-friends] Use of Windows by some speakers To: fsf-friends(a)gnu.org.in Date: Saturday, December 13, 2008, 8:22 AM Dear Friends, =A0Thanks for pointing out that some of the speakers used=A0proprietary=A0s= oftware in FSFS conference. It is a serious mistake and=A0 I will be taking this up in organising committee of the conference to ensur= e that this mistake is not repeated.=A0 I talked to the person in charge of the technical track and he said two or = three speakers in technical track used=A0proprietary=A0operating system.=A0 It seems that they had their development environment setup in their laptops= with=A0proprietary OS hence wanted to use their laptop. Unfortunately=A0no one=A0pointed out this at the venue. Otherwise we could = have corrected there itself. Most of the free software activists were spending their time in Policy track and exhibition.=A0 In the policy track, participants objected to speakers when they took posit= ion which was not acceptable to free software=A0 community.=A0 I request my friends to raise voices when ever you see these kinds of mista= kes. By raising your voice and protesting,=A0 we will be able to better educate others. Mistakes can be an=A0opportunity= =A0for education.=A0 Couple of other points raised in blogs: 1. I dont think it is wrong to show windows like theme in the exhibition.= =A0 2. One blogger try to ridicule free software=A0activists=A0as fanatics.=A0A= nother blogger finds fault in stating that free software is a social moveme= nt.=A0 Warm regards Arun _______________________________________________ Fsf-friends mailing listFsf-friends@mm.gnu.org.inhttp://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends =0A=0A=0A <http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends=0A=0A=0A> --0-1472797888-1229268676=:5536 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><DIV>Dear Friends,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Why did not the organiser release the code of conduct that inculde prohibiting the use of properity software in the venue when a participant apply to conduct their program? When the organisers failed to issue such whip during the stage of organising and what is the point in expecting the audience to raise this issue at the venue. Most of the time the audience are passive and it seldom be spontaneous unless it is organised. I expect the FSF india should issue a statement in thier website explaining their position on this issue and should not hesitate to come forward with an apology.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Vijayan<BR><BR>--- On <B>Sat, 12/13/08, Arun M <I><arun(a)gnu.org.in <lt%3Barun(a)gnu.org.in>></I></B> wrote:<BR></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid">From: Arun M <arun(a)gnu.org.in <lt%3Barun(a)gnu.org.in>><BR>Subject: [Fsf-friends] Use of Windows by some speakers<BR>To: fsf-friends(a)gnu.org.in<BR>Date: Saturday, December 13, 2008, 8:22 AM<BR><BR> <DIV id=yiv568324305>Dear Friends, <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV> Thanks for pointing out that some of the speakers used proprietary software in FSFS conference. It is a serious mistake and </DIV> <DIV>I will be taking this up in organising committee of the conference to ensure that this mistake is not repeated. </DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>I talked to the person in charge of the technical track and he said two or three speakers in technical track used proprietary operating system. </DIV> <DIV>It seems that they had their development environment setup in their laptops with proprietary OS hence wanted to use their laptop.</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>Unfortunately no one pointed out this at the venue. Otherwise we could have corrected there itself. Most of the free software activists</DIV> <DIV>were spending their time in Policy track and exhibition. </DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>In the policy track, participants objected to speakers when they took position which was not acceptable to free software </DIV> <DIV>community. </DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>I request my friends to raise voices when ever you see these kinds of mistakes. By raising your voice and protesting, </DIV> <DIV>we will be able to better educate others. Mistakes can be an opportunity for education. </DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>Couple of other points raised in blogs:</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>1. I dont think it is wrong to show windows like theme in the exhibition. </DIV> <DIV>2. One blogger try to ridicule free software activists as fanatics. Another blogger finds fault in stating that free software is a social movement. </DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>Warm regards</DIV> <DIV>Arun</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV></DIV><PRE>_______________________________________________ Fsf-friends mailing listFsf-friends@mm.gnu.org.inhttp://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends </PRE></BLOCKQUOTE></td></tr></table><br> --0-1472797888-1229268676=:5536-- -- Thanks & Regards Siddhartha Malempati _______________________________________ "Fighting patents one by one will never eliminate the danger of software patents, any more than swatting mosquitoes will eliminate malaria."

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Fwd: [IndiChix] Free Computer Technology Convention in Kolkata
by Anivar Aravind 18 Dec '08

18 Dec '08

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Mani A <a.mani.cms(a)gmail.com> Date: Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 8:32 PM Subject: [IndiChix] Free Computer Technology Convention in Kolkata To: LinuxChix-India <indichix(a)linuxchix.org> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 IOTA will organize a convention from 26th to 28th December 2008. The objectives of this convention are to create awareness on FOSS in the state, inform people about its suitability for sustainable development of the country, interact with the policymakers and other sister organizations for its adoption and come up with a road-map for the institute's activity. An exhibition will also be organized along with the convention. In recent times researchers, professionals, developers and activists in different prestigious academic and research institutions in the world, as well as in several companies in India and abroad have actively become involved with development and adoption of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and Open Hardware. This convention will act as a unique catalyst to accelerate the endeavor and ensure involvement of academia, government departments and companies in the promotional activities of FOSS-based systems and applications. The organizing committee is taking steps to ensure good participation, both in terms of quantity and quality, through * A strong technical program * Panel discussions * Industry Forum The convention will be attended by academicians, business leaders, researchers and designers from all over India. Invited speakers from all over India and abroad will present their thoughts, experiences and research results. Registration has been Extended (Beyond 18th Dec): http://www.iotawb.org/fctprog.html Best A. Mani -- A. Mani Member, Cal. Math. Soc -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFJSmf7oIK4BlImohYRArn4AJwMRUdk1ZInr6wb7qO27jBle4XoOACgnx+S iEQys2GZ9xNOlIi21+eqZ38= =nS1U -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________________ IndiChix mailing list IndiChix(a)linuxchix.org http://mailman.linuxchix.org/mailman/listinfo/indichix -- Any responsible politician should be encouraging a home grown Free Software industry because it creates the basis for future jobs. Learning Windows is like learning to eat every meal at McDonalds.

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List of 'Non GPLv3' softwares in gnu.org
by Maxin John 18 Dec '08

18 Dec '08

Hi, The below listed packages are some of the widely used GNU/Linux Free Softwares hosted in gnu.org. Package License URL ========================================================= bash gplv2 http://www.gnu.org/software/bash/ diffutils gplv2 http://www.gnu.org/software/diffutils/ gdbm gplv2 http://www.gnu.org/software/gdbm/ libtool gplv2 http://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ ncurses MIT http://www.gnu.org/software/ncurses/ time gplv2 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/time/ bc gplv2 http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/bc/ dejagnu gplv2 http://www.gnu.org/software/dejagnu/ gperf gplv2 http://www.gnu.org/software/gperf/ make gplv2 http://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/make/ The common nature of these packages are: a) Free Softwares hosted in gnu.org b) All are non GPLv3 While we are fighting to make GNU/Linux kernel and other softwares to be under GPLv3, why we are forgetting these packages as these packages are hosted in gnu.org itself ? I think , it will be better for use to use a page in any of the open wikis to track these programs (the above given list is not complete) and complete the conversion to GPLv3 on a priority basis for these packages. Hmm.. I don't think we can do something to a package like ncurses which is distributed under MIT License. Thanks and Regards, Maxin B. John

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Fwd: [Gnash-dev] Fundraising for RTMP support
by Praveen A 18 Dec '08

18 Dec '08

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: strk <strk(a)keybit.net> Date: 2008/12/17 Subject: [Gnash-dev] Fundraising for RTMP support To: gnash(a)gnu.org, gnash-dev(a)gnu.org Hi all. This mail to inform you that Linux Fund has started fundraising for a project adding RTMP support to Gnash. For more info and donations: http://linuxfund.org/projects/gnash/ Thanks for partecipating :) --strk; GIS & Flash consultant/developer () ASCII Ribbon Campaign http://foo.keybit.net/~strk/services.html /\ Keep it simple! _______________________________________________ Gnash-dev mailing list Gnash-dev(a)gnu.org http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnash-dev -- പ്രവീണ്‍ അരിമ്പ്രത്തൊടിയില്‍ <GPLv2> I know my rights; I want my phone call! <DRM> What use is a phone call, if you are unable to speak? (as seen on /.) Join The DRM Elimination Crew Now! http://fci.wikia.com/wiki/Anti-DRM-Campaign

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visit to Ambetkar Centre
by Nagarjuna G 18 Dec '08

18 Dec '08

I enjoyed the visit to the center on 14th. This center can set a good example of how free ICT can open up several new options. Making such a center sustainable and soon replicate that in several other places in the country is our challenge. one of the immediate things that can be done is to create an album of paintings and create a book at lulu.com and market it internationally. That may generate some revenue, which can be used in turn to create more such centers. Do check if the center can become a digital wikibazaar/mart by providing some services to the neighborhood. Does having such centers in rural and sub-urban areas possible? Can we use this center as a breeding center for others? there are several such questions I have in my mind. As long as we do this with 100% transparency, these centers can demonstrate to the rest of the world how to run a p2p trade with social development and involvement. -- Nagarjuna G http://www.gnowledge.org

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Re: [Fsf-friends] [FSUG-Bangalore] visit to Ambetkar Centre
by Nagarjuna G 18 Dec '08

18 Dec '08

On Wed, 2008-12-17 at 15:45 +0530, Nidhin Sasi wrote: > Freeing knowledge would ofcourse increase the conscious of the > oppressed about their rights, but would that automatically give them > the basic rights? Most of the denial of their rights stems from the > fact that the resources are still captivated by a minority in the > society. Unless they fight for those rights, these rights would always > be alien for them though in the process though there might be progress > in their situation based on the intensity of different struggles. ICT > has revolutionised the world in such a way that human beings if have > access can attain most of the knowldge at their finger tips and also > establish communication with anyone in any part of the world. > But the denial of the basic rights would still cause them obstacles > even to freely pursue this available Free Knowledge. Though we see > them laughing, singing, playing in the daylight and among the crowd > each of them might have different difficult situations in their homes > which are mostly connected to their lack of accessibility of their > basic rights. > We can build good toilets and better infrastructure in their > locality if we go for fund drive, but would that give a solution to > their numeorus other problems they are facing ? Especially in a city > like Bangalore with high rates of inflation - what about the food > costs, health costs, transportation costs ? Most of the families at > the average 3 or 4 children or more, and I think AC3 kids are better > off than children in many other areas. > > Fighting without empowering oneself is not effective. Currently people do fight with external help from a political party or a social organization, and external leadership and continue to remain powerless even after struggles after struggles. Sustainable social change does not come without power in the local hands. They cannot claim power without knowledge. Nagarjuna

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Urgent requirement for free software supporters in Mysore
by renuka prasad 17 Dec '08

17 Dec '08

Hi all let me tell you the background first ------------------ ( RMS , please correct me if some things are wrong here ) Richard M Stallman met Mr Manivannan who is the Mysore district Collector and Distric magistrate , We got a very good response from Mr Manivannan . He has shown interest ( serious ) in shifting all those systems that are running proprietary softwares. But he insisted very much on the list of all those people who are based in mysore and can support the free softwares ( currently the support level is may be hand holding , and may be even customizing the installation according to the thier need and as well train the people who will be using them. Now the strategy about how to take forward will have to be discussed and according to the guidelines of free software foudation -india this will have to be taken up. Dr Nagarjuna could you please give us some guidelines so that things will be clear to all those who want to be part of this. Any organization , individual who can support has to be present in front of Mr Manivannan on the day we meet him ( after fixing an appointment ) . please pass on the message to your known ones ( if they are not on this list , get the details and update here ) and who ever replies will have a chance to serve and hepl in taking forward the free software movement. Regarding monetary benifits , i have no idea-- probbaly all those will be told or discussed by Mr Manivannan when all the people meet there Initiatlly i will be going to mysore for one or two days ( dates not yet fixed )- any one from FSUG-bangalore wants to join reply here and then we meet people in mysore and see that they will take on the things further ( it is not that we are the one who are guiding -- it is that we are just in touch with Mr Manivannan and then after introducing the people from mysore ---our job to some extent is done .. rest they can take care .. Suggest the best ways in which this information has to be communicated to all those people who are in mysore who are free software enthusiasts / supporters / developers who can help in this regard once it is sure that information is passed on to to all , those who have shown interest will be meeting with Mr Manivannan and the things will later be explained during the meting. Mr manivannan is very clear that the supporters should be based in in and around myosre .. consider this a sn urgent requirement and lets meet as soon as possible if people have some ideas about how this could be taken forward can please suggest -- Renuka Prasad B Lecturer, Department of M.C.A R.V.College of Engineering Bangalore 560059 9901945674

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some deccan herald coverage of rms visit
by Senthil Sundaram (sensunda) 17 Dec '08

17 Dec '08

hi, http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Dec172008/cyberspace20081216107137.a sp http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Dec172008/state20081217107186.asp -s

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Re: [Fsf-friends] [MyLUG #599] [Fwd: Urgent requirement for free software supporters in Mysore]
by Shashishekhar S 17 Dec '08

17 Dec '08

Hello all, > Richard M Stallman met Mr Manivannan who is the Mysore district Collector > and Distric magistrate , We got a very good response from Mr > Manivannan . He > has shown interest ( serious ) in shifting all those systems that are > running proprietary softwares. That is a very interesting development. > > But he insisted very much on the list of all those people who are based in > mysore and can support the free softwares ( currently the support level is > may be hand holding , and may be even customizing the installation > according > to the thier need and as well train the people who will be using them. Now > the strategy about how to take forward will have to be discussed and > according to the guidelines of free software foudation -india this > will have > to be taken up. I shall be able to help with this -- marshalling resources and people (there are quite a few, but have to be motivated :-p) > > Dr Nagarjuna could you please give us some guidelines so that things will > be clear to all those who want to be part of this. Is there any prior experience -- in terms of deploying free software for government organizations -- elsewhere? > > Any organization , individual who can support has to be present in > front of > Mr Manivannan on the day we meet him ( after fixing an appointment ) . > please pass on the message to your known ones ( if they are not on this > list , get the details and update here ) and who ever replies will have a > chance to serve and hepl in taking forward the free software movement. Do let me know about the appointment. > > is not that we are the one who are guiding -- it is that we are just in > touch with Mr Manivannan and then after introducing the people from mysore > - ---our job to some extent is done .. rest they can take care .. I sure hope so :-) > > Suggest the best ways in which this information has to be communicated to > all those people who are in mysore who are free software enthusiasts / > supporters / developers who can help in this regard > once it is sure that information is passed on to to all , those who have > shown interest will be meeting with Mr Manivannan and the things will > later > be explained during the meting. MyLUG has a good representation of people from the industry, academics and hobbyists as its members and hope everybody has seen this email and volunteer for the effort. Also, do let us know if there are any official FSF policies/processes for effecting these migrations. Thanks and Regards, -- Shashishekhar S

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Fsf-friends December 2008