Fsf-friends September 2009

fsf-friends@gnu.org.in

17 participants
18 discussions

Fwd: FSMK NewsLetter Volume 4
by Vikram Vincent 22 Sep '09

22 Sep '09

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Rameez Thonnakkal <ssrameez(a)gmail.com> Date: 2009/9/22 Subject: [Fsmk-discuss] FSMK NewsLetter Volume 4 Dear Friend, FSMK saga continues.. FSMK News Letter Volume 4 <http://fsmk.org/node/42> The fourth Newsletter from FSMK is here.. FSMK is greatful to its readers of all walks of life and likes. We are glad to receive your comments whether it is a criticism or praise.. Write to us and distribute this edition to as much of your contacts as possible. We welcome you to have your name on one of the articles in the forthcoming editions. Thanks and Regards, FSMK EB Team. _______________________________________________ fsmk-discuss mailing list fsmk-discuss(a)lists.fsmk.in http://lists.fsmk.in/listinfo.cgi/fsmk-discuss-fsmk.in

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Fwd: [fosscomm] Submissions to ODF Olympiad 2009 open today 20th September 2009
by Nagarjuna G. 20 Sep '09

20 Sep '09

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Ritu ghosh <ritu.ghosh(a)knowledgecommons.in> Date: Sun, Sep 20, 2009 at 8:25 PM Subject: [fosscomm] Submissions to ODF Olympiad 2009 open today 20th September 2009 To: network(a)lists.fosscom.in Dear All, As you are all well aware , Open Document Format is an important standard for ensuring computer literacy and is fundamental to enabling computer education globally. ODF Olympiad was started on the advice of the then President of India, Shri Abdul Kalam, with the view to bring awareness regarding the open source amongst the schools. We have been receiving overwhelming response from schools across the globe including countries like India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal . We strongly believe that this contest will help the government and the schools in faster adoption of ODF . (The new FOSS based Informatics Practices curriculum, introduced by CBSE this year is one of the examples of the step towards this initiative. ) Knowledge Commons along with ODF Alliance and Sun Microsystems will be conducting the *third annual ODF Olympiad* with the view to bring awareness regarding the open source amongst the schools. Other institutes supporting us in this initiative are IIT Delhi, IIM Ahmedabad, Free Software Foundation and ODF Alliance (www.odfalliance.org). The ODF Olympiad rolls out from *September 20th on the Software Freedom Day*. ODF Olympiad 2009 will be conducted in schools across India, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Indonesia (this contest is open to all other countries as well). The winners from each of the countries will compete with each other to win the prestigious Software Freedom Trophy for their school. The students are required to submit presentations using ODF format on specific topics which will be evaluated by an eminent jury based on specific parameters. The posters and letters inviting participation will be sent to schools as a part of communication. The OpenOffice CD (OpenOffice.org) will be available with the October issue of "Linux For You" magazine. For more information can visit the site *www.odfolympiad.org* Looking forward to your support and participation for this initiative. Regards Ritu Ghosh _______________________________________________ network mailing list network(a)lists.fosscom.in http://lists.fosscom.in/listinfo.cgi/network-fosscom.in -- Nagarjuna G. http://www.gnowledge.org/

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Fwd: [FSF] Sugar Labs and FSF announce joint efforts to promote learning platform for children worldwide
by Nagarjuna G. 19 Sep '09

19 Sep '09

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Peter Brown <peterb(a)fsf.org> Date: Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 10:37 PM Subject: [FSF] Sugar Labs and FSF announce joint efforts to promote learning platform for children worldwide To: info-fsf(a)fsf.org Sugar Labs and Free Software Foundation Celebrate Software Freedom Day, Announce Joint Efforts to Promote the Sugar Learning Platform for Children Worldwide http://www.fsf.org/news/sugar-labs CAMBRIDGE, MA, September 18, 2009 - Sugar Labs, nonprofit provider of the Sugar Learning Platform for children, and the Free Software Foundation (FSF), which promotes computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer programs, have announced joint efforts to collaborate and promote Sugar on the occasion of Software Freedom Day, September 19th. The FSF will host an event in Boston featuring Sugar Labs Executive Director Walter Bender, FSF president Richard Stallman, and other speakers. Peter Brown, FSF's executive director, said, "The Sugar Learning Platform is fast becoming an essential route to computer user freedom for children around the world. The international free software movement is getting behind Sugar, and we want to use Software Freedom Day as an opportunity to help draw community attention, developer resources, and external funders to the important work going on at Sugar Labs." The FSF has upgraded its hosting services support of Sugar Labs to keep pace with its growth. As part of the ongoing relationship, Bernardo Innocenti, a member of the Sugar Labs Oversight Board, is working at the FSF offices. Mr. Innocenti stated: "The FSF and Sugar Labs are pursuing distinct, but interdependent goals; Free (as in Freedom) Software is a fundamental part of globally accessible education, and good education enables critical thought, a pre-requisite for appreciating the value of Freedom." Sugar is a global project. Translated into 25 languages, it is used in classrooms in 40 countries by over 1 million children as part of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) nonprofit program. Sugar's simple interface, built-in collaboration, and automatic backup through each student's Journal have been designed to interest young learners. The recently released Sugar on a Stick (SoaS) project brings Sugar to even more children, allowing young learners to keep a working copy of Sugar on a simple USB stick, ready to start up any PC or netbook with the child's environment and data. Pilot projects in schools with Sugar on a Stick are underway in Boston, Berlin, and elsewhere. SoaS is free software available under the General Public License (GPL) and is available for download without charge at sugarlabs.org. According to Walter Bender, "Sugar is running on over 99% of all of the OLPC-XO laptops around the world because governments prefer its quality, openness, built-in collaboration, and easy localization to indigenous languages. Teachers and students are exercising their freedom by modifying and improving Sugar and its Activities. With Sugar on a Stick, access to Sugar is even more widespread." For example, Uruguay has distributed a Sugar-equipped OLPC laptop to every student in the country. Alexandre Oliva of FSF's sister organisation Free Software Foundation Latin America (http://www.fsfla.org) said, "I was amazed when I first saw Sugar in action in Peru two years ago; shortly thereafter, my daughter tasted Sugar and loved it. She's going to elementary school next year, and I'm very happy she can now easily carry Sugar with her, and share it with her friends. Myself, I'm going to spread its freedom into as many schools as I can." Karsten Gerloff, President of Free Software Foundation Europe (http://fsfe.org), added: "Education and Free Software are both all about sharing knowledge. Through projects like Sugar, young people around the world can discover the creativity that freedom makes possible. Together with the political backing that FSFE's Edu-Team and others are building, Sugar puts Free Software in its rightful place in education." Sugar Labs relies on the efforts of software developers who donate their skills to the project. Mr. Bender continued, "We are looking for developers with experience in GNU/Linux, Python and/or Gtk+ for contributing to the Sugar shell and educational Activities for children. We also need testers, experienced packagers, and educators willing to contribute their ideas for Sugar in the classroom." About Sugar Labs Sugar Labs, a volunteer-driven, nonprofit organization, is a member project of the Software Freedom Conservancy (http://conservancy.softwarefreedom.org). Originally part of the One Laptop Per Child project (http://www.laptop.org), Sugar Labs coordinates volunteers around the world who are passionate about providing educational opportunities to children through the Sugar Learning Platform. Sugar Labs is supported by donations and is seeking funding to accelerate development. For more information, please visit http://www.sugarlabs.org. Sugar Labs is a registered trademark of the Software Freedom Conservancy. Other names are trademarks of their respective owners. About the Free Software Foundation The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and use of free (as in freedom) software -- particularly the GNU operating system and its GNU/Linux variants -- and free documentation for free software. The FSF also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of freedom in the use of software, and its Web sites, located at fsf.org and gnu.org, are an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at http://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA. ### For more information, please contact: Sugar Labs: Sean Daly, Marketing Coordinator website: http://www.sugarlabs.org e-mail: pr(a)sugarlabs.org Free Software Foundation: Peter Brown, Executive Director website: http://www.fsf.org e-mail: campaigns(a)fsf.org info-fsf mailing list info-fsf(a)gnu.org Unsubscribe: http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-fsf -- Nagarjuna G. http://www.gnowledge.org/

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Report on Python/Free Software for mathematics seminar at CKGM College
by Pramode C.E. 19 Sep '09

19 Sep '09

http://pramode.net/2009/09/19/report-on-python-and-free-software-for-scient… Keep up with people you care about with Yahoo! India Mail. Learn how. http://in.overview.mail.yahoo.com/connectmore

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National Workshop on Web Accessibility at Trivandrum on September 25-26, 2009
by Arky 18 Sep '09

18 Sep '09

Announcement of National Workshop on workshop on Web Accessibility The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) and Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment (SPACE) are organizing a workshop on web accessibility for web developers from the public and private sector from September 25 to 26, 2009. The workshop will take place at Christ Nagar International School, Kowdiar, Thiruvananthapuram, between 09:30-17:30 hours each day. The workshop seeks to bring together practitioners from Government Departments, as well as from small and medium enterprises across the country. The primary aim of this workshop is to demonstrate the importance of creating accessible web sites and to educate the developers of government and private web sites on how to incorporate accessibility features into new as well as existing web sites. The training comprises both theory-oriented and practical sessions.The trainers are specialists in various aspects of web accessibility. The main focus will be on WCAG 2.0 guidelines. The workshop is for persons already involved in developing web sites with good knowledge of HTML, XML, CSS, etc. In addition to training web developers in accessibility, the workshop will also serve as a platform for capacity building by training potential accessibility trainers. The programme is supported by Kerala State IT Mission, which runs INSIGHT - ICT Centre for the differently abled in association with SPACE. Hurry! Interested persons are requested to register immediately as seats are limited. Candidates may register directly on the website at http://c11.space-kerala.org/webw/ SPACE Office Address Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment C-11, Elankom Gardens, Vellayambalam, Thiruvananthapuram Kerala, India email - contact(a)space-kerala.org, thomas(a)space-kerala.org Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment C-11, Elankom Gardens, Vellayambalam, Thiruvananthapuram Kerala, India Mobile: +91 94964 13317 Office Phone: +91 47123 18997 ~~~ Rakesh 'arky' Ambati| IT Consultant| http://www.braillewithoutborders.org | Blog: http://playingwithsid.blogspot.com Add whatever you love to the Yahoo! India homepage. Try now! http://in.yahoo.com/trynew

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SFD 2009, Ernakulam Live@giss.tv
by Vimal Joseph 17 Sep '09

17 Sep '09

http://giss.tv/interface/?mp=space.ogg you can use VLC player <http://videolan.org/>. The address of the stream is: *http://giss.tv:8000/space.ogg*<http://giss.tv:8000/space.ogg> http://softwarefreedomday.org/ernakulam -- Free Software, Free Society സ്വതന്ത്ര സോഫ്റ്റ്വെയര്‍, സ്വതന്ത്ര സമൂഹം <http://fsfs.in>

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Need Ubuntu CD/DVD :: Blind People Association , Ahmedabad
by Arky 11 Sep '09

11 Sep '09

Hi, Blind People Association (http://www.bpaindia.org/) needs a Ubuntu gnu/Linux CD/DVD. Can anyone from Ahmedabad help them out. Contact: Khom Sharma (Intern) <krsharmaatiise(a)gmail.com>, Blind People's association Vastrapur Jagadish patel chok Ahmedabad --arky Rakesh 'arky' Ambati| IT Consultant| http://www.braillewithoutborders.org | Blog: http://playingwithsid.blogspot.com See the Web's breaking stories, chosen by people like you. Check out Yahoo! Buzz. http://in.buzz.yahoo.com/

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Microsoft's Killer Formula on Indian Establishments
by ck raju 11 Sep '09

11 Sep '09

The inspiration for this writing is the recent public applauding of the computerisation efforts of Information Kerala Mission by a person heading a political estabilshment in Kerala. The audience is reported to be a trade-union organisation formed by the employees of IKM. There's hardly any doubt about the ingenuity of the plan that IKM unfolded in Kerala through its operations meant for networking the 1200+ local self-government institutions to the State Planning Board. Microsoft services were designed and developed, for its usage here. IKM being a technical body created entirely for this purpose, thus became a monopoly consultant for the government on most of its matters pertaining to applications in Information Technology. The State now, needn't require any external flow of queries for the purpose of initial consultations. Everything to the minutest detail would be provided by IKM. Once IKM decided on the solutions, wherever public participation is needed, quotations would be solicited. Owing to the secrecy of its operations and the extreme delicate nature of its implications, the biggest need for the successful design of a proprietary solution was thus identified not as the developers, but the consultant itself. This genuine and highly imaginative move was to be later replicated by Microsoft Inc at a number of other establishments in India, many of them in other State Governments, Public Sector Establishments like Banks etc and the Central Government. Microsoft's novel entry into National Informatics Center which controlled most of the technological activities of the Central government helped it in identifying the IKM-like establishment for the Central Government - in this case it were identified as NIC. The NIC's clout and its huge presence in almost all departments made it the biggest catch of Microsoft. NIC were to act like the monopoly consultant to Central government, much like the role IKM played for Government of Kerala. In the Ministry of Rural Development, NIC's consultation services are at its imaginative best. For the network of over 3,00,000 gram panchayats and block panchayats of our nation, NIC consultants have offered Microsoft-based services, which would require among other things, Microsoft tools and accessories. A single software application what would have been worth a few lakh of rupees at the most, now runs into at least Rs 20 billion when the project gets matured. Unsatisfied at this, the NREGS monitoring system now tries to rope in as many proprietary technologies as possible to make it appear complex - the latest experiment is also participated by some of the tribal panchayats in Wayanad - to make the whole ICT venture give a "pro-poor people" appeal and a sanction of the left-supported Government (so that it can be replicated in West Bengal and Tripura and at all other states where there is a Left political presence!). The people there are planned to be supplied with Smart Cards to record their attendance at NREGS ! Similar applications would also be run as pilot projects of NREGA monitoring system in villages of Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar. The ingenuity of the formula that IKM proved for Microsoft doesn't end with governments. In scientific and research establishments like ISRO, an application which mimics googleearth - the Bhuvan experiment - now requires citizens of this country to have Microsoft Operating Systems on their boxes ! What IKM couldn't do Kerala, a single Madhavan Nair could do for the whole country !! Imagine the extent of Microsoft's imagination !! Imagination is indeed more important than Knowledge - how right was Einstein !! In the banking sector, where citizens have to necessarily trust all their personal financial transactions and savings, Infosys-applications act like IKM - insisting that the core-banking applications should be run only on "Internet Explorer based Windows", for many critical online applications like railway ticketing etc. A "regret" is the most what one can expect from the banks !! If one tried to appeal to the Banking Ombudsman, the shock continues as most of the applications there are also Microsoft-ised. NIC's foray into all the parliament activities, all individual departments or ministries, even the President of India's web-services made this Microsoft-isation complete.While the entire world struggled for decades to make Bill Gates the richest person on this planet for his stupid software, the Governments and Public Institutions in India have achieved in a few months !! That's the power of the genuinity of the consultative-trick - one that IKM experiment helped in opening up of the third-eye of Microsoft !! This killer formula is continuing with its trickery and will continue to do so in the near future. The Corporates know that Indians are there for their buying - what they didn't know is how cheaply they can get through !! With a "Government for the Corporates, Police for the people" democracy, sky is the limit. CK Raju, IIT Kharagpur

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Fsf-friends September 2009