Fsf-friends December 2008

fsf-friends@gnu.org.in

44 participants
75 discussions

Fwd: [Indlinux-group] how do non-open formats survive?
by Praveen A 08 Dec '08

08 Dec '08

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Vinod Kumar <rigvinod(a)gmail.com> Date: 2008/12/7 Subject: [Indlinux-group] how do non-open formats survive? To: Indian Linux group <indlinux-group(a)lists.sourceforge.net> With a little help from friends, I suppose. See the recent call for proposals from the Department of BioTechnology, Gov of India, for the Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme (BIPP). "The companies should submit a concept note not exceeding 3 pages or a detailed proposal(5 copies+one soft copy[MS Word file and not a PDF file] through E.mail or CD) strictlt in the prescribed format available on the DBT website http://dbtindia.nic.in on or before 31st December..." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SF.Net email is Sponsored by MIX09, March 18-20, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The future of the web can't happen without you. Join us at MIX09 to help pave the way to the Next Web now. Learn more and register at http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;208669438;13503038;i?http://2009.visitmix.com/ _______________________________________________ IndLinux-group mailing list IndLinux-group(a)lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/indlinux-group -- 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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DCOS Agreement on Procurement in Support of Interoperability and Open Standards emerges at 3rd IGF, Hyderabad
by Anivar Aravind 07 Dec '08

07 Dec '08

6 December 2008 At the close of the final day of the 3rd Internet Governance Forum in Hyderabad, India, the Dynamic Coalition on Open Standards (DCOS) released an agreement entitled the "Dynamic Coalition on Open Standards (DCOS) Agreement on Procurement in Support of Interoperability and Open Standards." Under the procurement agreement, governments, publicly funded and non-profit institutions agree to promote interoperability and accessibility through the use of open standards. Anivar --------- Dynamic Coalition on Open Standards (DCOS) Agreement on Procurement in Support of Interoperability and Open Standards 3rd Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Hyderabad, India 6 December 2008 Preamble The Contracting Parties, *Recalling* the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Declaration of Principles which states that "[i]nternational standards aim to create an environment where consumers can access services worldwide regardless of underlying technology," *Recognizing* that standards are increasingly global concerns, involving goods and services that move in international trade across borders, *Aware* that current competition and legal remedies may not be enough to solve the inherent tensions that routinely arise in the realm of patents and standards, *Desirous* of encouraging procurement policies that require evaluation of multiple, competing products based on open ICT standards in order to ensure a level playing field for vendors, governments and consumers, *Cognizant* of the need for procurement policies for software programs that are predicated upon an open standard, Open Standards ============= Given the multiplicity of interpretations of the term open standards, for the purpose of this document we endorse as an acceptable definition the position contained in the European Union's draft European Interoperability Framework: 1) The open standard is adopted and will be maintained by a not-for-profit organisation, and its ongoing development occurs on the basis of an open decision-making procedure available to all interested parties (consensus or majority decision etc.). 2) The open standard has been published and the standard specification document is available either freely or at a nominal charge. It must be permissible to all to copy, distribute and use it for no fee or at a nominal fee. 3) The intellectual property - i.e. patents possibly present - of (parts of) the open standard is made irrevocably available on a royalty free basis. 4) There are no constraints on the re-use of the standard. (IDABC EIF v2 draft (http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/7728)) As noted in the European Interoperability Framework cited above, open standards or technical specifications must allow all interested parties to implement the standards and to compete on quality and price. The goal is to have a competitive and innovative industry, not to protect market shares by raising obstacles to newcomers. Thus, open standards or technical specifications must be possible to implement in software distributed under the most commonly used open source licences, with no limitations arising from patents associated with the standard in question. In addition to the above requirements, it is recommended that there should be multiple independent implementations of the standard. *Governments, publicly funded and non-profit institutions* agree to implement the following policies. Governments, publicly funded and non-profit institutions Hereby agree to the following measures in order to promote interoperability and accessibility through the use of open standards. 1. To create a policy statement on interoperability and open standards, to be available to employees and the public. 2. By 2010, procurement of all software should be vendor neutral and implement open standards 3. By 2010, tender specifications for hardware (including peripherals and mobile devices) should require that manufacturers provide the driver and interface information necessary to work with a reasonable range of proprietary and free operating system platforms. 4. By 2010, all public facing web pages should conform to W3C standards for structure, presentation and accessibility. 5. By 2010, tenders for the supply of web based services (for example, online reservations) must specify the requirements of point 4. 6. By 2010, agencies should implement policies regarding the storage and archiving of government data and records to ensure that data is stored in open data and document formats. Signed by the following parties: -------------------------------------------- Aslam Raffee, Government IT Officers' Council, OSS Working Group,Republic of South Africa Association for Progressive Communications (APC) Bob Jolliffe, Freedom To Innovate, South Africa Centre for Internet and Society, India Eddan Katz, Electronic Frontier Foundation Hamid Rabiee, Sharif University of Technology, Iran Knowledge Ecology International Moving Republic, India Shuttleworth Foundation, South Africa Swathanthra Malayalam Computing, India Endorsed by the following parties: ------------------------------------------------- Bangladesh Friendship Education Society, Bangladesh Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF), India Foundation for Media Alternatives, Philippines OpenForum Europe -- Anivar Aravind http://anivar.movingrepublic.org 7/1, 1st Floor, 1st Cross , Ankappa block J.C Nagar, Bangalore -560006 Ph +91 9449009908 / +91 80 23435606 -- 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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GNU Labs at MES College of Engineering, Kerala kicks off
by Praveen A 06 Dec '08

06 Dec '08

Hi, The activities of GNU Labs, a free software-based volunteer project, began at the MES College of Engineering, Kuttippuram, on Friday with a day-long workshop. http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/06/stories/2008120652210300.htm GNU Labs encourages the idea of sharing knowledge, supporting the ideals of the Free Software Foundation. It aims at improving the existing work of free software by helping students to complete their curricular project works. More about GNU Labs http://fci.wikia.com/wiki/GNU_Labs If anyone is interested to start a GNU Lab in their college can use the wiki discussion page. A website for GNU Labs is under construction. Cheers Praveen -- 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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The ABC of FLOSSware
by Anivar Aravind 05 Dec '08

05 Dec '08

http://openeducation.org.au/wiki/index.php/The_ABC_of_FLOSSware Also came across this Free Software for education catalogue http://cc.com.au/osv/education_FOSS_catalog.pdf Anivar -- 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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Statement of FSF India board on recent incidents
by sandeep reddy 04 Dec '08

04 Dec '08

*Praveen A* pravi.a at gmail.com <fsf-friends%40mm.gnu.org.in?Subject=%5BFsf-friends%5D%20Statement%20of%20FS…> *Tue Dec 2 * >That does not surprise anyone. Because even on this list I don't seem >to remember seeing you. Just the work on defeating OOXML would speak >volumes. Microsoft managed to buy ISO, but we stood firm and I'm >really proud if the role FSF India, especially Nagarjuna, along with >many others, played. We were leading the world to protect document >Freedom. This is just one incident, and I can go on. May I ask where >were you when the whole Free Software community around the world were >fighting to protect document Freedom? Yet again you have proved that you know nothing and no one outside this mailing list of yours. If you are justifying the works of the so called directors so much, then you should probably be able to answer the next set of questions as well. Being board members of FSF-I it is obvious that each of them commands respect and we too had high regards for them, but the Kochi incident shook our beliefs to the roots. During the Kochi Conference, when the protesters were barging into the sponsors' stall and pasting posters in such an uncivilized way, holding such esteemed positions, we expected that the board members present there would exercise their power and take charge of the situation. But what followed left us astonished, we realized that stopping them was out of question and besides this, they even joined hands with them! Wasn't that a scar on the entire event? Wasn't it an immature act? Couldn't the board members have thought of anything but a protest? Wasn't the event a pride for them like it was to all of us? We were so glad to be a part of such an event and were even complimenting the achievements of FSF so far, but what followed left us speechless. It was this melodramatic piece of unformulated crap that sparked off all the controversies. And to clarify another thing, all the success accomplished so far is the result of a concoction of the efforts put in by millions of us across the country and not just one or two people in the lime light like you have mentioned. So if we don't appear on the mailing list it does not mean that we don't exist. It just means that we appear and make our voice heard when required so people like you and those in power realize that there is a lot more outside your little world thats keeping watch on every move of yours... >he readily recognised the work Nagarjuna has done and wanted us to be proud that we have a fighter >like Nagarjuna. Ya right, we too appreciated the fight Nagarjuna had been fighting in the yesteryears, he is undoubtedly still fighting but there seems to be an entire turnover in the cause and reason he is fighting for now!!! Lol... Point to ponder: "No fighter fights alone to win a battle, he needs his entire army to stand by him!" So does your fighter Nagarjuna!!! We are all members of the army, you've gotta remember that! >I am now really amazed at the shear number of people pop in here and >repeat the same lies. Do you seriously think everyone would just >believe your words and start doubting about people like Nagarjuna and >others in FSF India? >The community know them very well, because unlike people like you who >come here and shout again again, we have seen what they have done, >what they are doing and what they are ready to do. >They don't need certificates from you. I'm surprised that you are amazed by the number of people you see now, didn't you know that our organization had all of us and not just a bunch of you??? How many people would lie? You have the answer yourself, you are amazed by the number of people lieing you say, i guess in your amazement, you forgot to notice that these people are from varied parts of the country! How then are all of them stating the same so called "LIE"? The entire country is lieing against a handful of you who are being so honest? Thats so sad! I just wish it were a little believable! And by the way which community are you talking about? You seem too confused, it is ALL OF US that together makes the community, and if so many of the members of this very community are questioning you today, whom are you talking about in you lines - "The community know them very well" "we have seen what they have done, blah blah blah" Who is this 'WE"? Just you and a handful of those who claim to put us all out and state that they and they alone are the community? Lol! Who said we are certifying them? This is perhaps the first time I'm listening to something so ridiculous, I don't think a Leader needs to be certified by his team, as far as i know it has to be the other way round! A leader needs no certification, his acts should speak for him and not people like you or anyone else. So get the facts clear before you speak on behalf of our leaders bcoz else u'll be ridiculing them by your childish talk like you just did! With Freegards, Sandeep

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Employee Agreement of a FOSS company
by Sri Ramadoss M 03 Dec '08

03 Dec '08

Hi, While the sum of money is accumulated with the investor, the sum of knowledge in the form individuals is extremely difficult to unite for wide range of reasons, which the investors exploit (for individuals involved seldom come together against investors' exploitation). How would an Employee Agreement of a FOSS company differ from a Proprietary Company? While its total surrender of everything at Proprietary Companies for a monthly salary how are FOSS companies different in this regard? Can successful FOSS entrepreneurs & employees at FOSS only campanies like Redhat (not forcing if you really want to go by any Non-disclosure agreement with your Employer) share their experiences? -- Regards, Sri Ramadoss M

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NIIT and Adobe
by Nagarjuna G 03 Dec '08

03 Dec '08

This kind of nexus should be campaigned against. what strategy should we follow. http://www.digitallearning.in/news/news-details.asp?News=NIIT-ties-with-Ado… -- -- Nagarjuna G http://www.gnowledge.org

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Re: [Fsf-friends] [ubuntu-in] [OT slightly] Rant .gvfs & gnome-clock issues (specifically libgweather)
by shirish 02 Dec '08

02 Dec '08

Reply in-line :- On Sat, Nov 1, 2008 at 22:46, Onkar Shinde <onkarshinde(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Shirish, Omkar, > Your bug report is not very descriptive. It is not easy to understand. > Please update the bug report accordingly. That bug report is just to add the name the existing database, there would be need to be few others to tell the full story. > Also assuming that you are referring to the international airport at > Chakan, is it operating currently? I mean should we really expect the > location to be added in libgweather if it is not in operating state? Nope, the International Airport whose details I've put up is the one at Lohegaon from where limited flights happen. The code VAPO has been given to Lohegaon Airport. Giving below the references :- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pune_International_Airport or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pune_Airport http://www.world-airport-codes.com/india/lohegaon-5918.html http://worldaerodata.com/wad.cgi?id=IN64220&sch=VAPO http://www.aai.aero/allAirports/civil_op_airports.jsp (This is the Airports Authority India Website) http://www.aai.aero/allAirports/pune_generalinfo.jsp So what I am referring to you is an Airport which is functioning, it also has a weather station whose code is given as VAPO, now whether its functioning or not, don't know, somebody told me its not functioning. That's all I know. > Onkar -- Regards, Shirish Agarwal This email is licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ http://flossexperiences.wordpress.com 065C 6D79 A68C E7EA 52B3 8D70 950D 53FB 729A 8B17

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Statement of FSF India board on recent incidents
by sandeep reddy 02 Dec '08

02 Dec '08

>2. Was the "National Free Software Conference" in Kochi a follow-up to the conference held in Hydrabad in 2007? > No, it cannot be considered so. FSF India came to know about the `Second National Conference in Kochi` only when the organisers started sending mails to various fora about the >conference. We were surprised to see this because FSF India was one of the organisers of the first conference in Hyderabad. We tried to communicate with the organisers of the >conference in Kochi and clarify the situation. The facts will be clear from the communications we had with them in that regard that we are publishing now. >After the communications from FSF India, the organisers removed the reference to the first national convention organised by FSF India and renamed the convention in Kochi as >simply the 'National Free Software Conference'. >The Organisers of the event continued to refer to their event misleadingly as the followup to the first convention organised in Hydrabad by FSF India, jointly with Swecha and >University of Hyderabad. ######################### The one question that came to my mind after reading that post was, 'Does one name an event based on the people organizing it or based on the kind of event being organized?' Does your above stated answer mean that only if FSF India is part of the organizing team, an event can be called a National Conference from now on? Why are you refraining from accepting the 'National Conference in Kochi' as a follow-up to the conference held in Hyderabad, is still not clear. ----------------- I have not seen any active and live participation by FSF-I in any other place but the mailing list here, where you actively participate in warding of the blames put forth on you or simply criticize and comment on other's work. This is really annoying, the position you hold requires you to set an example to all those looking up to you. Don't mind me suggesting but i think it would be much appreciated by all of us if we could get to see some constructive work from your side.

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A Window to Freedom - on Dec 4 at Sahitya Academy Hall, Thrissur
by Praveen A 02 Dec '08

02 Dec '08

A one day seminar on Free Software organised by FSUG Thrissur http://fci.wikia.com/wiki/Thrissur/A_Window_to_Freedom Cheers Praveen -- 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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Fsf-friends December 2008