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3393 discussions

RMS in France with the KDE team
by Amol Hatwar 04 May '03

04 May '03

Hi all, The KDE team recently exhibited their stuff to RMS. RMS gave a nod and called KDE Free :). More info can be found at this link: http://phil.freehackers.org/writings/tea-with-stallman.html ah. ______________ It's most certainly GNU/Linux, and not Linux. Read more here: http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html

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Slapping Credits on Free Software
by Amol Hatwar 04 May '03

04 May '03

Hi all, I recently caught this story on slashdot. It's about Hans Reiser's (ReiserFS fame) view about making software author's names more visible. He also talks about FSF and V3 of the GPL. I'd suggest people who develop software to have a look :). Here's the link: http://newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=03/04/28/1859244 Regards, ah. _____________ It's most certainly GNU/Linux, and not Linux. Read more here: http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html

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Survey for Free Software/Open Source developers... (attn: South Asia)
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 03 May '03

03 May '03

URL : http://siepr.stanford.edu/programs/OpenSoftware_David/FLOSS-US_announcement… FLOSS-US The Free/Libre/Open Source Software Survey for 2003 [1]http://www.stanford.edu/group/floss-us/survey.fft A Survey of Software Developers FLOSS-US is an online survey currently being conducted by researchers at Stanford University's Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). It is a part of the study of the Economic Organization and Viability of Open Source Software undertaken by SIEPR's Knowledge, Networks and Information for Innovation Program (KNIIP) which is being supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. This survey has been designed in cooperation with Rishab Aiyer Ghosh (MERIT and Infonomics, University of Maastricht), who led the FLOSS survey of Open Source/Free Software developer communities, carried out with the sponsorship of the European Commission during 2002. [[2]http://floss1.infonomics.nl] To establish comparability with the previous sample of voluntary respondents, FLOSS-US asks questions on the same range of topics that the original FLOSS survey addressed, including: � Motivation: monetary / non-monetary, reputation, pleasure, creativity, jobs � Expectations: what do you expect of others? What do they expect of you? � Organization: efficiency, quality, comparison with commercial software � Law: intellectual property licenses, authorship, public domain � Technology: preferred programming tools In addition, developers are invited to provide information about their experiences and opinions on several other issues, such as: extent and intensity of OS/FS activities and project roles; relationships with commercial enterprises based on Free/Libre/Open Source software; support of OS/FS projects by proprietary software firms. Announcements of this new online survey will be posted in languages other than English, and at sites likely to be visited by developers in regions outside as well as within western Europe and North America. We will make public tabulated responses for each of the questions as soon as the survey period is closed, and the results of our further analyses will also be published on the SIEPR/KNIIP website. We are committed to protecting respondents' privacy: no personal identifiers will be stored with your answers and responses will be reported in aggregates that will prevent inferences about individual identities. If you are an Open Source/Free Software developer, please assist this research: go to the questionnaire at [3]http://www.stanford.edu/group/floss-us/survey.fft and fill it out! At the end of the questionnaire you will find links to to the SIEPR/KNIIP website and further information about our project. When you have submitted your response there will be an opportunity to comment on the questionnaire itself, and to request any of the publications that will be based upon analyses of the survey data. References 1. http://www.stanford.edu/group/floss-us/survey.fft 2. http://floss1.infonomics.nl/ 3. http://www.stanford.edu/group/floss-us/survey.fft

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Hi Friends
by Tarun Gaur 02 May '03

02 May '03

Hi New and old friends, Was out on a trip. could not contribute much to the amazing world of fsf. A short note to say hi to all my friends who believe in the spirit of free software. Regards to all, Tarun _________________________________________________________________ Hot new gizmos. Check 'em out. http://www.msn.co.in/Computing/Gizmos/ Right now!

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Re: Educational case studies
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 02 May '03

02 May '03

Could FSFIndia help to make this possible? Tks, FN On Fri, 2 May 2003, Doug Loss wrote: > Frederick, > > Could you ask the responsible people at Trivandrum and at Kannur to > make case study entries for their Linux implementations at > <http://casestudy.seul.org>? I'd appreciate it. Thanks! > > -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) | http://www.fredericknoronha.net Freelance Journalist | http://www.bytesforall.org http://goalinks.pitas.com | http://joingoanet.shorturl.com http://linuxinindia.pitas.com | http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks ------------------------------------------------------------------------- T: 0091.832.2409490 or 2409783 M: 0 9822 122436 -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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[link] school tool
by Suraj 02 May '03

02 May '03

There is this wonderful project that is starting off. The reason why I'm posting this here is that this tool, though is technical good, seems very shady - in that 1. it wants to dual license its code, 2. the site claims the free version "might" be under the GPL. So we should all participate in this projects and vote for GPL and make sure that if this tool reaches the same fate as that of source forge we can atleast fork off a new free project and take it further. -Suraj -- BEGIN LINK -- [1][mainlogoleft2.png] [2][mainlogotsf.png] Navigation: [3]Home [4]Documentation [5]Vision [6]Specification [7]Architecture [8]Roadmap Community [9]Mailing Lists [10]Resources [11]Contact [12]SourceForge.net Logo [clear.gif] Welcome to the SchoolTool Project SchoolTool is a project to develop a common school administration infrastructure that is freely available under an Open Source licence. Our vision is to create a platform that is equally compelling for schools and colleges in First and Third World countries, that supports best practices in school administration and which is readily customised to suit local regulatory requirements. Our hope is that the first version of SchoolTool will: * be available under a variety of licences including at least one Open Source licence (probably the GPL). * support critical school administration tasks: student registration, timetabling, attendance tracking, test results tracking, report writing and web portal functionality * support a web interface for remote deployment and administration * meet regulatory requirements and local customs in South Africa, the UK and the USA You can read more about the SchoolTool Vision, and the detailed SchoolTool Requirements. We are developing SchoolTool largely in Python, which makes it platform-independent (it should run on Linux, UNIX, the Mac OS and Windows). Key target platforms for support are Linux and WindowsXP. You can read about the SchoolTool Architecture. Development of SchoolTool is hosted on the SourceForge network. If you have an interest in effective school management then please join the mailing list and help us to make this a robust tool that suits your needs. SchoolTool development is funded by [13]The Shuttleworth Foundation, a non-profit organisation that supports social innovation based in Cape Town, South Africa. We are always looking for new and innovative ways to improve education, please take a look at our web site and send us a proposal! Latest News: 2003-04-27: Mailing List Created. Please see our SourceForge Project Summary page and join the schooltool-devel mailing list if you would like to participate in the discussion. 2003-04-21: SchoolTool Reborn. Development recommences, Mark Shuttleworth will lead project from London. Initial target is system that meets basic requirements for schools in US, UK and SA. References 1. http://schooltool.sourceforge.net/ 2. http://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org/ 3. http://schooltool.sourceforge.net/index.html 4. http://schooltool.sourceforge.net/docs.html 5. http://schooltool.sourceforge.net/vision.html 6. http://schooltool.sourceforge.net/spec.html 7. http://schooltool.sourceforge.net/arch.html 8. http://schooltool.sourceforge.net/roadmap.html 9. http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=63502 10. http://schooltool.sourceforge.net/resources.html 11. http://schooltool.sourceforge.net/contact.html 12. http://sourceforge.net/ 13. http://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org/ -- END LINK -- -- +-------------------------------------------------<suraj(a)symonds.net>--+ | Besiege the seekers, if they have to seek, not | | to seek those who have no qualms in hiding | | (dreading alms - 7), Thirukkural | +--<http://www.symonds.net/~suraj/>------------------------------------+

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LINK: Association for Free Software, annual conference 17 May 2003
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 30 Apr '03

30 Apr '03

Association For Free Software AFFS Annual Conference, 17 May 2003 Norfolk, England, 29 April 2003 -- AFFS is pleased to confirm details of its first Association For Free Software Annual Conference (AFFSAC), to be held at Aston University in Birmingham on Saturday 17 May 2003. This is a great opportunity for free software supporters and developers to meet, share experiences and plan activities for the year ahead. AFFSAC is a one-day plenary conference, with sessions about topics such as networking, multimedia and activism. The conference is free to AFFS members and those who have applied to join, with small charges for optional extras. Online registration and electronic ticketing is available on the AFFS web site at http://www.affs.org.uk/ Uniquely, the talks give priority to people developing and using free software, with speakers announced by project rather than company. Talks range from the 5-minute "lightning talk" to 40-minute keynotes, followed by question-and-answer sessions. The full programme will be published shortly before the conference and more applications from speakers are welcomed until then. The conference has been welcomed by the developer group, the Association of Free Software Professionals. Neil Darlow of AFSP said: "AFFS and AFSP can, through cooperation and individual effort, promote the recognition of free software to a level where enterprises and consumers of software will routinely consider free software as a viable solution." Later, at the same venue, the AFFS Annual General Meeting will hear reports on the first year's work and current members will make key decisions about the year ahead. Association For Free Software The Association for Free Software is a non-profit association with the primary goal of promoting the adoption of FSF free software in the UK, formed in 2002. The Free Software Foundation says that free software is software that gives users the rights to use, distribute, modify and redistribute modifications of it. AFFS is the UK associate body of the Free Software Foundation Europe. Aston University The Aston University Campus is in the centre of the exciting and vibrant city of Birmingham, home to over 50,000 students. Birmingham, Britain's second city, is flourishing and is now internationally recognised as a leader in leisure, entertainment, business, shopping, industry and sport. ENDS Notes 1. For more information about AFFS see http://www.affs.org.uk/ 2. For more information on FSF Europe see http://www.fsfeurope.org/press/ 3. For more information on Aston University see http://www.aston.ac.uk/ 4. Email contact: frontdesk(a)affs.org.uk

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EVENT-GOA: LaTeX, TeX, Free Software in the Enterprise... network security (5.5.2003)
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 30 Apr '03

30 Apr '03

SIX PROPONENTS of Free Software from Kerala are to visit Goa shortly, and to interact with those interested in issues they're working on. Those coming are CV Radhakrishnan, CV Rajagopal, E Krishnan, Anil Kumar, S. Rajkumar and KG Kumar. Some of the presentations planned for Monday, May 5, 2003 from 4 to 6 pm at the Padre Conceicao College of Engineering, Verna are: o Introduction to LaTeX and digital typography o TeX as a business solution: a case study of the BSNL Trivandrum telephone directory o GNU/Linux and Free Software in the Enterprise: with a case study of the online bill payment system of BSNL Tvm. o Free Software and its relevance in higher education (subject to confirmation) o Network security using Free Software tools. All are invited to this interesting meet. If you'd like any particular emphasis, kindly send your feedback to KG Kumar of the Indian TeX Users Group at <kg at tug.org.in> See you on May 5 at Verna! FN PS: Below is a feature relating to the work of some members of the team, which puts the issue in context... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6738 Currents: Free Software Makes Telephone Users' Lives Easier in India Posted on Thursday, March 20, 2003 Large prep and printing job made manageable and affordable with free tools. Thanks to free software, one-third of a million telephone users living in Southern India will no longer find locating phone numbers such a complex process. Telephone directories often take a notoriously long time to be published in India, meaning phone subscribers are lost when trying to locate numbers they need. GNU/Linux increasingly is attracting attention in Corporate India, not only for its usually lower costs but also because of its high quality products. Last weekend, the latest edition of the Thiruvananthapuram telephone directory--from the regional capital of the south-western province of Kerala--was processed and typeset using a range of free software tools. These tools provided substantial savings in cost and time, while producing a neatly laid-out and elegant publication ahead of schedule. The two-volume directory, to be distributed to all subscribers of the Thiruvananthapuram secondary switching area as of March 25, contains 1,200 pages and 320,000 entries. Some 400,000 copies of the directory currently are being printed by the locally based St. Joseph's Press, using typesetting software and programs provided by River Valley Technologies (RVT), also based in the Kerala capital. RVT specialises in typesetting and publishing solutions using free and open-source software. For the phone directory publishers domestic telecom giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), this is the first complete directory to be published since 1999. K. Sreekantan Nair, Principal General Manager of the Thiruvananthapuram telecom district, said BSNL has spent Rs 35 million on printing the directory. Normally, an order of this magnitude -- a print run of 400,000 copies, each with 1,200 pages printed on 48 GSM white paper in three columns of Helvetica Narrow 7 point typeface, with 94 lines per column--would have taken six months and involved around 50 employees wholly dedicated to the work. In this case, however, the press was able to finish the entire printing process in four months, using a smaller team. At present, SJP's printing presses are operating 21 hours per day at their maximum capacity of 20,000 copies per hour to finish the printing. Using software like PageMaker or QuarkXPress could have taken a longer time, said RVT. Instead, they used a combination of free software programs to extract BSNL's data, process it and typeset it into camera-ready copy. RVT managing director C. V. Radhakrishnan said the BSNL data of telephone numbers, subscribers names and addresses was supplied as files in dBase, an outdated database software that goes back to the days of the DOS operating system. Using a set of free software libraries downloaded from the Internet and locally customised, this data was extracted into the PostgreSQL relational database, also free software, and was then entirely recreated. RVT wrote a Java program to pipe this newly generated database into TeX.

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NEWS: Free Software protests Microsoft's participation
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 30 Apr '03

30 Apr '03

URL : http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6784 [50]Linux Community NYFairUse representatives staged a peaceful protest at last month's DC conference supposedly aimed at exposing free and open-source software to government officials. [51]NYFairUse representatives, costumed as the American Founding Fathers, left the warm comfort of their homes at 4:00 in the morning on March 17th, 2003, to go down to Washington DC. We left for George Washington University in full colonial regalia in a 15-person passenger van. The purpose of our trip was to protest the mismanagement of the EGOVOS conference taking place that morning. The central issue that galvanized NYFairUse in this situation is the increasingly irresponsible manner in which free and open-source software advocates have been putting together conferences and events. EGOVOS was supposed to be a showcase for free and open-source software in government, be it local, national or international. The conference had the potential to open up a stubbornly closed market by laying out the legal, moral and practical foundations for the use of free software in everyday government operation. Instead, it became a platform and photo opportunity for the Microsoft organization--the inevitable result when the $40 billion company dedicated to destroying free software is invited to make a presentations. As expected, Microsoft didn't let their shareholders down. The few news items that came out of this conference were about Microsoft's "Shared Source". Microsoft's money buys real loyalty in the technology press, and in a conference with little media coverage the only mainstream press was from E-Week, which ran a full article on Microsoft's misdirections under the headline, "Microsoft's Matusow: No Right Way to Create Software". The article did everything it could to blur the differences between free software and the closed, anti-competitive methods of monopolists. All of this becomes fodder for their next $100 million campaign aimed at every CTO in the nation. Worse than that, it takes food off the table of our free software consulting industry and the developer community it supports. Their presence crippled people who sell free software for a living. It damaged those who could offer the uninitiated (such as the attendees of the conference) a solid, firsthand presentation of the benefits of free software. It leaves the public confused about the benefits of free software in their businesses, jobs and lives. Bad Leadership versus Good Advocacy NYFairUse first heard about the problem with EGOVOS through the NYLXS mailing list, as part of a follow-up on our experiences with the 2003 Linux World Exposition in New York. At the Expo, NYLXS member David Sugar voiced his confusion about his product (the GNU/Bayonne telephony system) losing the award for Best System Integration Software to Microsoft's Services for Unix. NYLXS had its annual dinner after the convention, and we spoke with Linux Journal editor Don Marti about the award and its implications to our membership. Something didn't seem right, but Don offered a reasonable explanation for the turn of events. NYFairUse had an impromptu discussion about the award and about the rumblings coming from SCO that suggested they might be preparing lawsuits against the GNU/Linux community for infringing upon UNIX patents. We decided to keep an eye on upcoming developments on both fronts. A few days later. David Sugar e-mailed the NYLXS list about Microsoft's presentation at EGOVOS. We quickly had a broad and lively discussion about the situation, with the participation of the Washington DC-area LUGs, developers from California and Canada, members of the Free Software Foundation, NYFairUse, GNU Enterprise, The Open Office Marketing List, a few interested journalists, NYLUG and eventually Bruce Perens (who happens to be a member of the group hosting the EGOVOS conference, the Cyber Security and Policy Institute). I watched my e-mail account fill with hundreds of private messages from people across the east coast, all volunteering to protest Microsoft's inclusion. NYFairUse had an internal discussion and decided that the last thing we wanted was an unwieldy demonstration in front of hundreds of government officials who might be investigating free software for the first time. We need to reverse the trend of Microsoft getting a free public relations boost at the expense of free software developers and advocates, particularly at our own venues, so we decided that NYFairUse would go in with a focused message presented by a small and prepared group. We rejected the calls for a broad and raucous protest: if all the volunteers showed up we would have outnumbered the actual conference participants. We had to figure out how to attract attention, raise the necessary issues, put the open-source "leaders" on notice and still not turn the conference completely upside down. The answer NYFairUse came up with was exciting, fun and effective. We are fortunate to have associates working on Broadway, and they introduced us to costume designers who dressed us as Colonial Americans, circa 1776. Suddenly everything came together, and NYFairUse was ready to move ahead in a constructive manner. The core of the NYFairUse action included Joe Grastara, Dave Williams, Cesar Vargas, Sunny Dubbey, Adam Kosmin, Tim Wilcox, Marco Scoffier, Vincenzo L., Ray Connolly and myself. Dave Williams and Joe Grastara helped us construct an effective message that became our pamphlet. Ray arranged for transportation and drove both to and from the event, a total of twelve hours. Cesar, Sunny, Ray, Tim, Adam and myself dressed as Founding Fathers. Marco and Vinnie helped everyone prepare. The entire enterprise was underwritten by NYLXS. Most of the participants met in Brooklyn and stayed overnight at my home, where a weekend-long InstallFest was taking place. Ray, as the driver, got several hours sleep while the rest of us made final preparations. At 4:00 AM, NYFairUse embarked on the trip to Washington. We arrived safely at 9:30 in the morning, fully dressed in costumes and ready to make our case. figure Reaching our Audience: Confronting Hostile Guards Upon our arrival at George Washington University, the appearance of seven historic American heroes astonished people, and cameras flashed all around. After we picked up our badges and began handing out our pamphlets, people flowed out of the main auditorium to surround us and inquire about who we were and what we were handing out. We brought 400 pamphlets, and all but a dozen where given away. Each NYFairUse member became a center of attention. We managed to talk personally with nearly every member of the conference accept for Bradley Kuhn, who refused to talk to any of us for some reason. Our pamphlet strongly condemned the organizers of the conference for not appropriately representing the free software movement and for caving in to self-interest over the good of the community. We explained that they were giving Microsoft a free public relations opportunity to confuse the issues and to promote their "Shared Source" disinformation campaign. The conference itself, although filled with luminaries from the international Free Software Community, was limited in its attendance. During our visit, no more than 500 people were at the presentations, but the numbers might have been closer to 300. The small gathering proved useful, as NYFairUse was able to contact nearly every participant directly. We had nearly 100% penetration of the conference, including both attendees and speakers. Many of us spent several minutes talking to individuals, and I personally had the pleasure of speaking about the problem with European Union Minister Philip Aigrain, whom I had previously met in Bordeaux last year. I also spent a few minutes talking to Georg Greve of the European FSF, David Axmark of MySQL, Sarah Brown from Public Knowledge and many others whose names I failed to get. The same was true for all of the NYFairUse members. At one point while giving out pamphlets, the security guards came over. Searching for the leader of the protest, one guard approached me and asked who was in charge. I waved him off, and he became very annoyed. He asked me my name, so I smiled and said, "George...like in Washington, and you're in my University." I spotted journalist Grant Gross and said, "Look Grant, they're throwing us out of here!" Grant took out his notepad and the cameras gathered around. The guard retreated and went to speak with Tony Stanco. They decided that it was better to let us proceed than to face the bad press. A few minutes later Tony Stanco came over to talk to me. I spent a couple of minutes with him, during which he asked me if I got everything I wanted out of the event. I told him that we'll know in a few months, if Microsoft still is getting a free ride courtesy of the Open Source community. Mr. Stanco reassured me that what we were doing was okay. Having his approval was not reassuring. I made it clear that it wasn't our intention to have a blood-letting. Our purpose was to get a message across to the open-source leadership, explaining what we require of them and what standards we expect. Mr. Stanco then pointed to the crowd, saying, "You see these people? You'll never get through to them with screaming and yelling." I replied, "Maybe -- it depends on the need. In this case, we don't need to scream. In another situation, a louder voice might be useful." Mr. Stanco then said, "Have you ever heard Microsoft talk? They're going to be the best promoters of Free Software when they open their mouths." I reiterated my points: Microsoft's presence at the EGOVOS conference takes attention away from other, more deserving individuals and focuses it on themselves. Mr. Stanco refused to recognize the situation he created. He also failed to understand that this was part of a broader trend the community faces: the increasing encroachment of Microsoft in venues designed to sell free software to the public. The public deserves better. By 2:00 PM, we essentially had spoken to everyone at the conference. We made a lot of contacts, and in addition to handing out pamphlets, NYFairUse members handed out literature about their own government and business projects. In fact we took about 30 folders representing the Free Software Chamber of Commerce, our New York Free Software consultants network. Every folder was given out. We had a long discussion with the head of Hewlett Packard Research in Europe, who was very upset with us because he believed we opposed the commercialization of Free Software. We spent some time explaining how this was not the case, that we were upset because someone was giving Microsoft a free pass to the Open Source movement without making them contribute anything. The NYFairUse Position People often have asked why NYFairUse discriminates against Microsoft. The truth is that NYFairUse has no such bias. Our approach to Microsoft is the same as it is toward any company that warns businesses to avoid the GPL (as if a standard Microsoft EULA would withstand legal scrutiny). After all, they publish detrimental lies, such as this one from the current Microsoft web site: The GPL is designed to prevent commercial development of software distributed under the license. It does this largely by requiring licensees to make available, at little or no cost, the entire source code for any program that incorporates any amount of GPL code. Given that requirement, commercial developers cannot recover their research and development investments by charging reasonable and appropriate fees for their original software if it uses any GPL code. Free-software developers have every right to pursue this anti-commercial objective. Microsoft's concern is the resulting degradation of the software ecosystem that would be triggered by widespread acceptance of the GPL, particularly within the governmental and academic research sectors. This ecosystem has sustained unparalleled innovation throughout the industry for the past quarter-century. The principal role of government and universities in the ecosystem is to undertake basic research and to dispense the findings both into the societal base of technical knowledge and to private enterprises and individuals capable of developing these innovations commercially. Commercial enterprises, in turn, engage in applied research to develop products that advance the state of technology, generating jobs, profits and tax revenues that boost the economy (funding additional basic research in the process). Commercial enterprises also disseminate innovations directly into the larger technical-knowledge base. Microsoft uses its monopoly to thwart free software projects, such as SAMBA when it bans companies from releasing CIFS tools under the GPL, and when it participates in the Digital Rights Management scam that will end the practical use of free software through the Palladium "trusted computing" platform. But it wasn't Microsoft that we were upset with on this occasion. We are mad at people such as Tony Stanco, who discriminate against free software developers and distributors for their own personal advancement. And we let them know about it. As a footnote, after our trip to George Washington University, NYFairUse made a trip to Capitol Hill while still dressed in our costumes. We got big smiles all along the halls of Congress, especially at Congressman Weiner's office. He's a member of the the sub-committee on Intellectual Property and the Internet. We have a handshake deal to install a GNU/Linux system in his office, so stay tuned.

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few errors in new design
by Sameer N. I. 30 Apr '03

30 Apr '03

hi, I just saw the FSFIndiaPoster.pdf the colours used are fine except on the "weave your own code". the text that reads "Weave your own code". the colour of "Weave" is green you used. It appears on top and the colour for "Code" is saffron. It should be interchanged because saffron is on top in our national flag and green is at bottom. please check. Best regards. Sameer.

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