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'F' for Fedora; 'F' for Free
by Debarshi 'Rishi' Ray 27 Feb '07

27 Feb '07

http://rahulsundaram.livejournal.com/ Fedora is on the verge of becoming the first mainstream GNU/Linux distribution to meet the FSF's standards of a 'free operating system'. Here is the current status: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FreeSoftwareAnalysis https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-advisory-board/2006-April/msg00181.h… Funnily this move is backed by Michael Tiemann (Vice-President of Red Hat and President of OSI). Before signing off something to feed my pride: http://joey.ubuntu-rocks.org/blog/2006/12/28/q-what-should-end-user-graphic… Cheers, Debarshi -- husband v. use sparingly; conserve; save husbandry n. frugality; thrift; agriculture

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Hurd.in meetup during FOSS Meet @ NITC 07
by Praveen A 26 Feb '07

26 Feb '07

Hi, Hurd.in team will be meeting up during FOSS Meet @ NITC 07 to discuss future plans for Hurd.in community. Be there. More details. http://hurd.in/bin/view/Hurd/FOSS_Meet_At_NITC_07 Cheers Praveen -- പ്രവീണ് അരിമ്പ്രത്തൊടിയില് Join The DRM Elimination Crew Now! http://fci.wikia.com/wiki/Anti-DRM-Campaign

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Free Software Convention in Hydrabad
by Arun M 25 Feb '07

25 Feb '07

Dear friends, Free software activist in Andhra Pradesh is organising a convention on free software on 3rd and 4th of March. Event is supported by FSF India. We welcome all the Free Software activists to the event. For more information see the link below. http://nationalconvention.swecha.org/WordPress/ regards arun

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[Article Link] Coming up: a planetary web
by Praveen A 24 Feb '07

24 Feb '07

"People say information is power. I believe that sharing of information is power. Open access to the world's information is what one should look at," says Cerf who is the Vice-President & Chief Internet Evangelist of Google. Read the Deccan Herald article http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/feb212007/index158322007221.asp -- പ്രവീണ് അരിമ്പ്രത്തൊടിയില് Join The DRM Elimination Crew Now! http://fci.wikia.com/wiki/Anti-DRM-Campaign

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Fwd: When is a standard not a standard (sub-titled Microsoft and BIS)?
by Arun M 24 Feb '07

24 Feb '07

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Gora Mohanty <gora(a)sarai.net> Date: Feb 23, 2007 6:55 PM Subject: When is a standard not a standard (sub-titled Microsoft and BIS)? (This message is being sent primarily to the ILUG-Delhi and Sarai PRC mailing lists, but is also copied to people that Venkatesh Hariharan had sent the original message to. Please note that henceforth, I will only be following up on the ILUG-Delhi list. You have to join the list to post there (see <http://www.linux-delhi.org/cgi-bin/anCMS/mailingList.cgi?action=mailingLists> ), but the archives are available publicly at http://frodo.hserus.net/pipermail/ilugd/ and http://news.gmane.org/gmane.user-groups.linux.delhi/ ) Hello, I had the (mis-)fortune of attending a seminar on Information Technology Standardization [sic] organised for the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), by MAIT. The ostensible reason for the meeting was to identify requirements of the IT industry in order "to formulate effective, meaningful and implementable standards". The background for this is an effort by Microsoft to push through a 6000-page document on Office Open XML (OOXML), presumably as a counter-standard to Open Document Format (ODF). Details on this are available on Venky's blog at http://www.osindia.blogspot.com/ Due to other commitments, I had time to attend only the inaugural session, which had a keynote address by Craig Mundie, the chief research and strategy officer of Microsoft Corporation. Incidentally, Microsoft was the only company represented on the panel, and allowed to give a formal presentation, though representatives from open-source companies, and the community were also present. Questions on the talks were also not entertained. What was frankly disgusting was the attitude of BIS officers, even those of senior ones, towards Microsoft; going beyond courtesy, and even obsequiousness, to border on servility. The HP laptop being used for the presentation prominently displayed the Microsoft Vista logo. Mr. Mundie's presentation was, in my opinion, a masterpiece of double- speak, and fascinated me so much that I made sure to make a transcript of his slides. Apparently, having solved issues with security, privacy, and reliability, Microsoft has been focusing on inter-operability over the last 1.5 years. While this might seem like great news, Mr. Mundie was diligent in avoiding any specific commitments, such as the simple one of guaranteeing that any Microsoft application will be able to export to an openly-published, patent-unencumbered, standard format, without loss of information. While the presentation went ahead to extol the virtues of meta-data, and the use of XML data formats, Mr. Mundie somehow omitted to mention that XML does not automatically imply openness, or freedom from patent restrictions. Finally, it seems to be the opinion of Mr. Mundie that industry standards are needed to keep a check on "unconstrained innovation", which leaves me wondering how Microsoft knows about innovation, unconstrained or otherwise. Fun and games aside, I think that it is worthwhile for the open-source community in India at large to formulate a coherent position on the use of openly documented, and patent-free standards for any government data, and to publicise the same to both government organisations, and the media. It is our data, so we should have an absolute guarantee of freedom in using it. I believe that Venky is drafting such a document, that we can put up on a Wiki, and use as a basis for a formal policy paper. Regards, Gora

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New release of the deepOfix Mail Server (version 3.1) is available for download now...
by Abhas Abhinav 24 Feb '07

24 Feb '07

Dear Friends, DeepRoot Linux is pleased to announce a new release of the deepOfix Mail Server! Version 3.1 of the deepOfix Mail Server is a major release encompassing a large number of fixes, enhancements and additions. Please do give the new deepOfix Mail Server a try. We are confident that it can meet the server requirements of anyone wanting to use GNU/Linux and Free Software. About the deepOfix Mail Server ------------------------------ The deepOfix Mail Server makes it possible for organisations with minimal technical expertise to have robust server infrastructure. The mail server effortlessly delivers the freedom, reliability and excellence of GNU/Linux to you and is available as Free / Open Source Software itself. It offers unprecented ease of use, doesn't require prior GNU/Linux experience and is backed by a full-time development and support team. As always, we will eagerly await any feedback, criticism, bug reports, wisdom or advice that you might have for us. Cheers, Abhas. Links ----- * Download the deepOfix Mail Server Install CD (version 3.1) http://sourceforge.net/projects/deepofix * deepOfix Mail Server - Version 3.1 - What's new? http://deeproot.in/deepofix/version-3.1 * Development websites deepOfix Installer and OS - http://code.deeproot.in/deepofix EasyPush Server Manager - http://code.deeproot.in/easypush http://deepofix.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/deepofix/ * Subscribing to deepOfix-related mailing lists http://deeproot.in/deepofix/mailing-lists -- i-take-charge at DeepRoot Linux http://www.deeproot.in / +91 (80) 4112 4784 / 85 Getting GNU/Linux to work for you. Faster. Better. Today. Every way.

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X.org officially supports GNU Hurd now!
by Praveen A 20 Feb '07

20 Feb '07

Hi, Interesting news http://xorg.freedesktop.org/wiki/PressReleases/X11R72Released Cheers Praveen -- പ്രവീണ് അരിമ്പ്രത്തൊടിയില് Join The DRM Elimination Crew Now! http://fci.wikia.com/wiki/Anti-DRM-Campaign

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Cuba Embraces Open-Source Software
by Frederick Noronha 19 Feb '07

19 Feb '07

http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20070216/D8NB1EK05.html Cuba Embraces Open-Source Software Email this Story Feb 16, 3:42 PM (ET) By JOHN RICE (AP) Richard Stallman, President and founder of the Free Software Foundation, speaks during the... Full Image HAVANA (AP) - Cuba's communist government is trying to shake off the yoke of at least one capitalist empire - Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) - by joining with socialist Venezuela in converting its computers to open-source software. Both governments say they are trying to wean state agencies from Microsoft's proprietary Windows to the open-source Linux operating system, which is developed by a global community of programmers who freely share their code. "It's basically a problem of technological sovereignty, a problem of ideology," said Hector Rodriguez, who oversees a Cuban university department of 1,000 students dedicated to developing open-source programs. Other countries have tried similar moves. China, Brazil and Norway have encouraged the development of Linux for a variety of reasons: Microsoft's near-monopoly over operating systems, the high cost of proprietary software and security problems. Cuban officials, ever focused on U.S. threats, also see it as a matter of national security. Communications Minister Ramiro Valdes, an old comrade-in-arms of President Fidel Castro, raised suspicions about Microsoft's cooperation with U.S. military and intelligence agencies as he opened a technology conference this week. He called the world's information systems a "battlefield" where Cuba is fighting against imperialism. He also noted that Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates once described copyright reformers - including people who want to do away with proprietary software - as "some new modern-day sort of communists" - which is a badge of honor from the Cuban perspective. Microsoft did not return calls seeking comment. Cuba imports many computer preloaded with Windows and also purchases software in third countries such as China, Mexico or Panama. Valdes is a hard-liner who favors uniforms and military haircuts, but the biggest splash at the conference was made by a paunchy, wild-haired man in a T-shirt: Richard Stallman, whose Free Software Foundation created the license used by many open-source programs, including Linux. Middle-aged communist bureaucrats and ponytailed young Cuban programmers applauded as the computer scientist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology insisted that copyright laws violate basic morality; he compared them to laws that would threaten people with jail for sharing or modifying kitchen recipes. Stallman also warned that proprietary software is a security threat because without being able to examine the code, users can't know what it's doing or what "backdoor" holes developers might have left open for future entry. "A private program is never trustworthy," he said. Cuba also has trouble keeping proprietary software current. Its sluggish satellite link to the outside world makes downloads of updates agonizingly slow. And U.S. companies, apparently worried about American laws restricting trade with Cuba, are increasingly blocking downloads to the island. Cubans try to get around the problem by putting software updates on a server located on the island. But many computers wind up unpatched and vulnerable. Cuba's Cabinet also has urged a shift from proprietary software. The customs service has gone to Linux and the ministries of culture, higher education and communications are planning to do so, Rodriguez said. And students in his own department are cooking up a version of Linux called Nova, based on Gentoo distribution of the operating system. The ministry of higher education is developing its own. Rodriguez's department accounts for 1,000 of the 10,000 students within the University of Information Sciences, a five-year-old school that tries to combine software development with education. Cuba is also training tens of thousands of other software and hardware engineers across the country, though few have computers at home. Most Cubans have to depend on the slow links at government internet cafes or schools. Rodriguez shied away from saying how long it would take for Cuba to get most of its systems on Linux: "It would be tough for me to say that we would migrate half the public administration in three years." But he said Linux use was growing rapidly. "Two years ago, the Cuban free-software community did not number more than 600 people ... In the last two years, that number has gone well beyond 3,000 users of free software and its a figure that is growing exponentially." Even so, most of the computers at this week's technology conference showed the red, green, blue and yellow Windows start button in the bottom left-hand corner of their screens. And the start of the open-source sessions was delayed as organizers fiddled with the computer running their projector. The conference room screen had been displaying the words "Windows XP." -- FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490 (after 1300IST please) http://fn.goa-india.org http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com

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Key expiry breaks most D-I Etch RC1 images
by Debarshi Ray 15 Feb '07

15 Feb '07

http://times.debian.net/1073 "The expiration of the Debian archive's signing key for 2006 has broken most of the installation media from etch RC1." Cheers, Debarshi -- After the game the king and the pawn go into the same box. -- Italian proverb

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The Government of West Bengal speaks out in favor of FOSS
by Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay 11 Feb '07

11 Feb '07

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 An article in Anandabazaar Patrika (a leading Bengali daily) dated 11th February 2007 - From the article এ বার মুক্ত সফটওয়্যার ব্যবহারের পক্ষে রাজ্য [Bengali] রাজ্যের তথ্যপ্রযুক্তি মন্ত্রী দেবেশ দাস বলেন "ফ্রী অ্যান্ড ওপেন সোর্স সফটওয়্যার (ফস) এর ব্যাপকতর ব্যবহার এই সম্যসার সম্ভাব্য সমাধান" । [...] আরও অনেক বেশি সংখ্যক লোকের কাছে কম্পিউটার শিক্ষার সুযোগ পৌঁছে দেওয়ার জন্য লিনাক্স এর মত মুক্ত সফটওয়্যার বড় ভূমিকা নিতে পারে বলে তাঁর দাবি [/Bengali] ie the Minister of Information Technology for the state of West Bengal Debesh Das said (in the context of not having enough developer/software engineering skills in the state) that "the wider usage of Free and Open Source software would be a possible solution to the problem". He also stated that FOSS software like Linux have the potential to reach out to a wider audience for the training of Computer. The article also quotes him as saying "In the present times, most of the computers come with a preloaded OS that have a high royalty tag associated with them, using FOSS can change that situation. With the reduction in the prices of the computer hardware the usage and penetration would increase in schools, colleges and administrative offices. An increase in the skilled manpower base would also be observed. - -- You see things; and you say 'Why?'; But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?' - George Bernard Shaw -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.5 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Fedora - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFFzonbXQZpNTcrCzMRAvZiAKC3Igq2wMqWl+z4l1tX9e7aYbWTDACfWLDR gRLSNnW7PHqabXeXMn/FNrg= =rqFb -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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