===========================================
LINUXForYou * Dec 2003 (Vol 1 No 10)
In India Rs 50 (with CD)
http://www.linuxforu.com
Pages 102 * US$7.95 0 74470584957
===========================================
THIS ISSUE has probably reached your city. Saw it in Bangalore, and also got
a complimentary copy from the LFY team at LinuxBangalore2003. But when I
reached back to Goa on Dec 4, it wasn't in as yet. So it might take time to
reach 'small town' India... FN
REVIEWED: Mandrake 9.2 * PhProjekt * StarOffice 7.0
COMPUTERS AT TIS HAZARI, the session courts for the city of New Delhi, are
being shifted over to Linux, courtesy the National Informatics Centre. -
Rahul Chopra in this month's editorial.
LINUX LEARNING CENTRE at Bangalore is offering courses
in administration, security, development (internals and
programming essentials, programming with Qt, device
driver programming, MySQL & PHP), RHCE and Red Hat
rapid track certification. www.linuxlearningcentre.com
DotGNU RELEASES CD: It can now be used to implement application programs and
Web services in C# and C applications under multiple operating systems,
including GNU/Linux, FreeBSC, MacOS, MS Windows. The 219 MB release 0.1 CD
is available as a free download at
http://download.freedom.biz/dotgnu/dotgnu-0.1-cdrom.iso.gz.torrent
e-Bridge calls itself "the new state-of-art training
facility from eSpark Infotech is now open in the
heart of Bangalore". It's offering embedded Linux courses
(Linux fundamentals, programming Linux, embedded C & Linux,
realtime C & Linux, Linux internals, device drivers,
networking) and DSP courses (DSP fundamentals, TI/analog
dev programming, audio/video, image processing,
bio-medical systems). www.ebridgesolutions.netLinux.net provides a free e-mail service to those who want an e-mail address
that ends in '@linux.net'
MAJOR UPDATES and releases: OpenNA Linux 1.0, Gibraltar
Firewall 1.0, Xandros Desktop 2.0, Onebase Linux 2.0,
CUPS 1.120rc6.
CAN YOU MAKE money with open source? Registration entails a "nominal fee" of
Rs 5000 for a three-day conference. http://www.linuxasia2004.com/attendees/
February 11-13, 2004, New Delhi.
SEND IN YOUR favourite slogans for a tee-shirt, and win
five free copies of the shirt... LFYedit at efyindia.com
MONEY CAN't buy respect, says Robert Adkins. Some of us might have met this
guy at LB2003 in Bangalore. He's the CTO of Technetra Corp, and an advocate
and implementer of FLOSS solutions for government. He can be contacted at
radkins at technetra.com
CAREERS WITH FLOSS: The number of students opting for
courses in Open Source is growing steadily, even as industry
experts predict a growing need for trained professionals
in this expanding field.
EXIT RED HAT, ENTER FEDORA: It's official now; the free (of cost) version of
Red Hat Linux will not be available anymore. This has created a lot of FUD
in an already unstable environment, thanks to the SCO episode. But is Red
Hat closed for good?
WEB-BASED COLLABORATION SOFTWARE: PHProjekt is an easy-to-install
collaboration suite, which runs on the open source platform and
databases. As the design of the system is developer-friendly,
adding new features and components is a piece of cake.
STAROFFICE: The latest version of Sun's office suite, StarOffice 7, may just
be the right solution for the cost-conscious user. It loads faster than the
earlier version, and sports some noticeable improvements.
IN THE LFY CD THIS MONTH: Slackware (the "oldest Linux distro")
and a range of GNU software for Windows users.
FALLING BACK on backup systems.
MAKING ADOPTION OF Linux in the enterprise easy. www.linux4e.com
Business partners required: http://wwww.linux4e.com/partners
ooWRITER HELPS YOU create your own templates and styles so that you can work
with documents easily.
Open Source is key to IBM's vision of computing. User
empowerment is key to Microsoft's, writes Alolita Sharma
USING DATABASE functions in Calc, a tutorial. (Wish there were more how-tos
for the user in this mag! --FN)
HALDIA DOCKS: it has a uniquely designed Linux installation
with an active-active cluster set up, which is considered
the best of its kind. This has ensured efficiency and
cost-effectiveness.
BASIC UNIX commands and concepts: an extract from *Running Linux* (Shroff
Publishers, Pp 674 only Rs 425 in India).
VxWorks and LynxOS are definitely the biggest embedded
operating systems in use today. But slowly they are
acknowledging the power of GNU/Linux and how it can
help them maximise deployments.
HELP LINUX GO INDIAN: By using various translation tools, you can join
Language translation groups working across India to help translate GNU/Linux
into your language.
EXPERT INTRODUCTION: Multi-threaded programming under Linux.
KICKSTART YOUR Linux installation (Part I): Installing Red Hat Linux on
multiple machines one after another can be quite tedious. To avoid answering
the same question over and over again, try the KickStart method, as it does
not need any user intervention.
WRITE CHEQUES. NOT JUST BOOKS: Niyam Bhushan on how
anybody can turn thoughts into words, and words into wealth.
NFS CLIENTS for Windows.
OpenSSL PACKAGE offers a vast crypto library of algorithms
WAIT QUEUES in Linux device drivers
UNDERSTANDING recursive sub-routines
INDIA-RELATED NEWS:
HP launches GNU/Linux laptop
Mandrake's latest distribution
Oracle announces 10g for GNU/Linux
Delixus offers India Linux
CxProtect anti-virus mailing solution for mail-servers
Trade management system from Network Programs
Netweb Technologies unveils Tyrone
MRO-Tek rolls out Network Management Systems
Review of FLOSS at BangaloreIT.com
===========================================
DISCLOSURE: This journalist (FN) writes a monthly column for LFY and gets
paid for it. Promoting awareness about the content of LFY however is not
part of the job, and is carried on with the intention spreading awareness
about FLOSS among different GNU/Linux user groups in India.
--
Frederick Noronha : http://www.fredericknoronha.net : When we speak of free
Freelance Journalist : http://www.bytesforall.org : software we refer to
Ph 0091.832.2409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price.
Hi,
Can someone point me to a comprehensive collection of materials used for
training in Free Software in schools in Kerala? Any and all of these
would be appreciated:
- Teachers' training material
- Teachers' training curricula and time frames
- Ditto for the Train the Trainers programme
- School curricula on and using FS
- Accompanying textbooks, training guides, etc.
Anything else that is available apart from this would be great.
Thanks,
-- Raju
--
Raj Mathur raju(a)kandalaya.org http://kandalaya.org/
GPG: 78D4 FC67 367F 40E2 0DD5 0FEF C968 D0EF CC68 D17F
PsyTrance & Chill: http://schizoid.in/ || It is the mind that moves
Hi fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in,
I set up a Facebook profile where I can post my pictures, videos and events and I want to add you as a friend so you can see it. First, you need to join Facebook! Once you join, you can also create your own profile.
Thanks,
Siva
To sign up for Facebook, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=821098587&k=S4D3PVRSRT6E2EFGQCZ42USVWWJK6X2…
fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in was invited to join Facebook by Siva Kumar Epari. If you do not wish to receive this type of email from Facebook in the future, please click on the link below to unsubscribe.
http://www.facebook.com/o.php?k=6c5737&u=1247270151&mid=12d0f04G4a57d507G0G8
Facebook's offices are located at 1601 S. California Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94304.
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/27980/1090/
RMS comes under attack again
by Sam Varghese
Thursday, 24 September 2009
It appears to be open season for launching attacks on the head of the
Free Software Foundation, Richard Matthew Stallman, the man who is in
large measure responsible for the status that free and open source
software enjoys today.
Featured Whitepaper
Legacy Tools: Not For Today’s Helpdesk
The latest attack on Stallman is a lengthy post by ZDNet blogger Jason
Perlow and is based on remarks that Stallman is said to have made
during the Free Software Day celebrations in Boston.
There is no audio or video file of the remarks, just the one blog post
by Ubuntu developer and Ubuntu evangelist Martin Owens whom Perlow
quotes.
The relevant portion of Owens' blog post which Perlow uses as the
basis for his attack is the claim that Stallman called Miguel de
Icaza, the current vice-president of Novell, a traitor to the free
software community.
I asked the FSF for a transcript of Stallman's remarks; this was the
reply I got from operations manager John Sullivan: "His talk was
primarily answering questions, so there's no draft or transcript. I
can't confirm those comments as a whole, but if you want to ask about
specific ones I will do my best."
Let's assume that Stallman did make the remarks. Is he
mischaracterising de Icaza's current position? The short answer is no.
The software activities that de Icaza is involved in right now serve
the ends of Microsoft. Read about it here. And here.
The one thing that amazes me about Perlow's post is that he has made
no mention of de Icaza's current billet at Novell, the company that
signed a patent licensing deal with Microsoft, a deal that sold out
the entire FOSS community, and made Novell some kind of a pariah.
Add to that his tendency to tell half the story to build his argument
and you have a classic case of spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt.
Page 2 and 3
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/27980/1090/1/1/http://www.itwire.com/content/view/27980/1090/1/2/
Miguel snuggles closer to Microsoft
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/27785/1090/
CodePlex Foundation will help spread use of Mono
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/27941/1090/
--
FN +91-9822122436 P +91-832-2409490
Updated: http://goabooks.wordpress.com
Hi Cherian,
I would invite your attention to RMS' blog :
http://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/rms-entry-20041128/view?searchterm=PDVSA
RMS' words :
*[I spent a week in Venezuela, giving a speech and some interviews at an
event which invited speakers from all across Latin America. During the
event, the state oil company PDVSA announced its decision to switch 100% to
free software. Their decision is not based on convenience or cost; it is
based on sovereignty. Their computers used to be handled by a US company,
SAIC. When opponents of President Chavez tried to drive him from office by
shutting down oil protection, the US government helped out by telling SAIC
to prevent them from using their computers. PDVSA therefore knows from
experience that using non-free software means you are at the mercy of the
developers, and has decided to solve the problem for good and all.*]
Now I invite your attention to another an RMS interview :
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/128452,qa-richard-stallman-founder-of-the-gnu…
In which RMS was asked the following question :
*[Qn. Do you think public authorities should be leading the way with free
software?
Ans: Every public agency has a duty to maintain its control over its
computing, as a matter of sovereignty. Using a non-free program means giving
the program's developer control over that computing. Thus, public agencies
must reject proprietary software and move to free software. Venezuela and
Ecuador are on the right track.]*
Cherian, In PDVSA case SAIC acted an arm of Amerian establishment. UID
project is a project which involves the security of our nation. Microsoft is
a US company, what is the guaranty Microsoft will not follow the SAIC way?
As far as I know FSMK followed what Richard Stallman has said regarding use
of proprietary software in public agencies, which is nothing but
compromising our country's soveriegnity. Now, is it a crime to follow
Richard Stallman? No, for sure.
So kindly stop making stupid comments, and I request you to apologise for
doing the same. Last time you posted what you do in your home, helping your
wife and all, for posting a BBC news link which revealed Microsoft's racist
hind side.
My friend sent me the following link, which will give you a clearer picture
of Microsoft. Do read it :
http://www.ecis.eu/documents/Finalversion_Consumerchoicepaper.pdf
Warm Regards,
Roopesh
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/26913/free-software-suited-ui-card.html
There are compelling arguments to support the use of a free software, but
advocates of free software doubt if the government would decide on one,
given the money involved and the weight the companies owning proprietary
software carry. But use of proprietary system, they feel, would be
tantamount to compromising national security.
“A software can be termed as secure only if the freedom to examine or
modify the code lies with its user, in this case, the Government of India,”
proclaims the Free Software Movement of Karnataka (FSMK), a body that
supports use of free software and propagates its usage in various spheres of
activities.
Naturally, the movement finds Microsoft’s proposal to undertake the project
‘disturbing.’ While on one hand — a write up in the FSMK newsletter claims —
Microsoft’s involvement would sabotage a state’s, and by default its
citizen’s, right to control the software on which the most crucial data
would sit, it also paints an alarming picture of the IT giant’s associations
with the US government and slips in the suggestion that it would let the
Americans sabotage the whole network as a part of a cyber attack if things
come down to that.
Swecha appeals to the community, organizations and individuals to sign the
following petition to cancel the proprietary tender issued by the NIC for
procuring laptops for the Supreme Court of India.
Organizations can add their name in the
wiki<http://www.swecha.org/wiki/index.php?title=Petition>page provided
and individuals can sign
the petition <http://www.swecha.org/node/23#form>. All the respective
organizations are requested to host the petition and gather the signatures
of members associated with them. Swecha would gladly provide the space for
petitions of the respective organizations.
The tender is available at http://tenders.gov.in/
<http://tenders.gov.in/details.asp?tempid=1&tid=del242328&work=1&cno=0>
Regards
Siva
Swecha
Hello,
As part of the MHRD funded open source mission at IITB, Asokan P and Prabhu
Ramachandran are planning a 2 day Python workshop, along with Bhaskaracharya
Pratishthan:
Topic: Programming with Python
Date : Oct 10th and 11th, 2009
Time : 10 am to 5 pm
Venue : Bhaskaracharya Pratishthan
Instructors: Prabhu Ramachandran and Asokan P.
Website : http://www.bprim.org/mathsoftwk/python/pythonwk09.php
Intended audience:
College and University Teachers/Professors/Lecturers from any Engineering or
Science domain, and Engineering students who would like to use Python for
their basic computing and plotting needs.
Prerequisites:
Participants should be comfortable computer users and be familiar with
programming constructs such as loops, conditionals.
Familiarity with programming editors-- scite, notepad++, vi, emacs- will be
a plus.
Familiarity with using the commandline will be another plus.
Objectives:
At the end of the program the participants will have a good understanding of
the Python language, and selected libraries.
They will be able to write good modular procedural code and use objects.
They will get a overview of the other major topics, features and libraries
and be able to learn these on their own if required.
Coverage:
* Motivation, background and design philosophy.
* Basic data types: int, float and string
* Core data structures: lists, tuples and dictionaries
* Functions
* Tool chain
* Overview of the standard library
* Matplotlib
* NumPy and Scipy
* 3D plotting
* Debugging and testing
Methodology:
Completely hands on, exploratory mode with minimal lectures introducing
essential concepts and techniques.
Typically we will have short 10-15 minute lectures, followed by series of
graduated problems. The participants will solve them exploring the
documentation to do so and the solutions will be discussed.
Laptops can be brought by participants, and additional laptops/computers can
be provided for use for those required. Charging points will be available.
As far as installations go, you would require the following:
-- For Debian/ Ubuntu and the like:
(a) IPython
(b) Python doc
(c) the Python Profiler
(d) Scipy/Numpy
(e) Matplotlib
(f) Mayavi2 (optional)
-- For Windows XP (x86), Windows Vista (x86), Mac OS X 10.4+ (x86), RedHat 3
(x86, amd64), RedHat 4 (x86, amd64), RedHat 5 (x86, amd64), and Solaris 10
(x86, amd64) :
(a) get the EPD (http://www.enthought.com/products/epd.php) bundle and
you'll have everything you need! This is available for free for those in
academia and others can utilize the free 30 day trial version for now.
In any case, we will be providing live DVDs containing all the required
installations and some additional tools on site.
Registration :
You are requested to fill up the form on the website with signature and a
stamp from your college. Alternatively you can mail the form by email and
submit the hard copy at the time of the workshop. There is no registration
fee. Admission will be on first come first serve basis. The number of seats
is limited.
Travel and Accommodation :
Travel support will also be provided for second class train fare/bus for
outstation participants who are college teachers. Accommodation will be
provided at the venue. Lodging and boarding will be provided free of charge
for outstation participants. Arrangement of lunch for all participants will
be taken care of by the organisers. All participants will get a DVD
containing Python and other Open Source software. Details of the workshop
will be updated on the website periodically.
The number of seats is limited.
Contact:
Those who intend to participate should send an e-mail to bhaskara_p(a)vsnl.com,
or call Mrs. Manjusha Joshi, Coordinator, Ph. No. 9822 319328 (4 pm - 7 pm)
or the Bhaskaracharya Pratishthana Office (020- 25434547,25410724) between
(12-6).
Thank you.
Regards,
Kadambari Devarajan.
--
Check out my blog at
http://kadambarid.livejournal.com