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Re: Vivara Vicharam
by PostgreSQL Server 23 Jan '03

23 Jan '03

On Tuesday 21 Jan 2003 8:04 pm, you wrote: > Hello Anil, > > Thank you for providing information on ATPS and allied organizations. > I shall be much obliged if you reply to the following 2 questions : > > 1. Do you have somebody associated with you here in Trichur? > 2. Do you have any activities in Trichur? 1. Ashokan Njarakkal from Kodungalloor is associated with us. One Mr. Gopikrishna ( Alumini Trichur Engg. College 1989 Admission Mechanical) is a member of OSS. 2. We had earlier approached KILA. (You may pleas contact C K Raju of KILA). We have approached Costford for some joint activities, but did not materialised. Regards, Anil, ATPS

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HP's annual sale of $2 billion linked to Linux
by Soundara Rajan N.S. 23 Jan '03

23 Jan '03

HP's annual sales of $2 billion linked to Linux Hewlett-Packard, the world's largest personal computer maker, said on Tuesday it had annual sales of $2 billion linked to the Linux open computer-operating system, the fast-growing rival to Microsoft'sWindows. "Our Linux business is a $2 billion a year business. We have the most comprehensive Linux offering in the industry," HP Chief Executive Carly Fiorina said at HP's annual enterprise and storage computing event here. Hewlett-Packard has championed the Linux system, one of the few areas of growth in the depressed information technology sector, and its business that sells, installs and runs the system has grown from virtually nothing five years ago. "HP ships more Linux than anyone else. We don't see competitors like Dell at all because of services and support that are needed," she added. International Business Machines Corp also actively promotes Linux, developing software and services around it to challenge the dominance of Windows. Linux, invented by the Finn Linus Torvalds in the 1990s and further developed by a community of software engineers on the Internet, is free of licensing charges, and is regarded reliable and robust because it is rooted in the Unix software architecture. Until its recent emergence as a widely used operating system, Linux has mostly been used by large enterprises for very specific or heavy-duty computing tasks, such as firewalls and Web caching, or for replacing big racks of mainframes. Fiorina did not disclose details, but was understood to be referring to HP's total sales of hardware, software and services that accompany Linux software. HP's total sales in its fourth fiscal quarter ending October 31 was $18 billion. Many users prefer Linux because of the ease of adding or removing hardware for fast-growing computing tasks, such as Web servers, without worrying about spiralling software licensing costs. Fiorina acknowledged that most of her 4,000 strong audience of clients and resellers were struggling with a stagnant economy and flat or falling information technology budgets. "Customers are more focused on 'how do I get better return on my investment'. This is a long-lasting structural change that is not just cyclical. It will stay here also when the economy recovers again," she said. Market research groups such IDC have estimated that the number of Linux installations has grown by some 35 percent last year, while oerall IT budgets were flat or declining. Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service =========================================================== Posted by N.S. Soundara Rajan, Mysore, Ph: 0821 414726 Columnist "Deccan Herald", Spoken English Teacher and Knowledge networker ...connecting people to people, and people to knowledge

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As Linux Nips at Microsoft, Its Advocates Talk Numbers
by Soundara Rajan N.S. 22 Jan '03

22 Jan '03

As Linux Nips at Microsoft, Its Advocates Talk Numbers By STEVE LOHR he evidence is now overwhelming that Linux, once a symbol of software's counterculture, has become a mainstream technology. The Linux World conference that begins in New York tomorrow promises to be a staid, corporate affair. The speakers' list is filled with corporate technology people who will be there to discuss the dollars-and-cents rationale for Linux, an operating system that is distributed free and developed according to open-source principles, in which programmers donate their labor to debug and modify the software cooperatively. Such speakers will hardly be the visionaries and philosophers of the open-source software movement who were the stars of Linux gatherings of a few years ago. These days, executives at companies that have adopted Linux speak in pragmatic terms of the benefits of saving money and gaining flexibility. Even Microsoft has quietly decided to change its tactics this year. No longer will its executives make speeches against what Microsoft regards as the evils of free software and its inherent agenda of denying intellectual property rights. "We still have those concerns, but you're not going to hear us talking much in public forums about them," said Peter Houston, a strategy executive at Microsoft. "In 2003, we're going to emphasize the business benefits of our software — the value for money, the competitive advantage and the safety of investment for customers from buying Microsoft software." Microsoft, it seems, is acknowledging that Linux has become a fixture on the competitive landscape, not something that corporate customers can be persuaded to avoid. To date, Linux has thrived in some sizable niches of the market for operating systems on server computers, the data-serving machines that act as the hubs of computer networks. Linux is widely used on machines that send Web pages to desktop personal computers and for high-performance computing tasks like scientific research, Hollywood special effects and analyses of risk and trading patterns on Wall Street. But the real issue is how far Linux can extend its reach into everyday corporate computing in all kinds of industries. By 2005, it should be "a mainstream choice," along with Microsoft's Windows and commercial versions of Unix, as a server operating system in most industries, said Dan Kusnetzky, an analyst at IDC, a research firm. Linux is typically cast as the enemy of Windows, as the populist challenger to Microsoft and the company's drive to extend its monopoly on the PC desktop into the lucrative business of corporate computing. It is true that Linux and open-source software in general pose a threat to Microsoft, the dominant software maker. Still, the rise of Linux is a more imminent threat to the commercial versions of Unix. Linux is the open-source offspring of Unix, an operating system developed at Bell Laboratories in the late 1960's and early 70's. The leading commercial versions of Unix today are made by Sun Microsystems, I.B.M. and Hewlett-Packard. The Unix flavors run on costly, specialized hardware, while Linux was designed to run on low-cost hardware from the PC industry powered by Intel microprocessors or Intel-compatible chips. And software applications that run on Unix can be moved over fairly easily to Linux. I.B.M. and Hewlett-Packard are placing big bets on Linux, and both are on a path to phase out their proprietary Unix businesses eventually. Companies like I.B.M., Hewlett-Packard, Red Hat, SuSE Linux, Linuxcare and others make money by supplying hardware, technical support, services or software for Linux systems. Sun Microsystems, however, is deeply dependent on its homegrown Unix business — on large, powerful and expensive machines running its Solaris operating system. E*Trade, the online broker and bank, has made a significant shift to Linux over the last year. E*Trade began looking in early 2001 at the potential savings from moving to Linux on Intel-based servers, but it seemed risky, according to Joshua S. Levine, the chief technology officer. But by the end of 2001, when it became clear that I.B.M. and Hewlett-Packard were really investing in Linux, supporting it with hardware, software and services, Mr. Levine decided to make the move. Last year, the company bought 160 Intel-based servers and converted about two-thirds of its data center to Linux, replacing Unix systems, mostly from Sun Microsystems. Last year, Mr. Levine says, the move saved E*Trade about $13 million in data center expenses, including maintenance, depreciation and software licensing fees. And the reduced hardware costs, especially after the replacement is complete, proved irresistible. "I'm replacing $200,000 Unix machines with $4,000 Intel servers," Mr. Levine said. The one thing not being shifted over to Linux machines is the E*Trade databases of customer and trading information. "That is the riskiest thing to do," he said. Mr. Levine, a 25-year veteran of the corporate computing field, said of Linux: "It's just an operating system, and a minimalist one at that. But Linux unshackles us from a proprietary world. It allows me to manage computer hardware manufacturers like I've never been able to manage them." Still, rapid conversions to Linux are the exception. That is especially the case at large companies with corps of in-house programmers accustomed to writing programs for other operating systems. And changing technologies can be risky and disruptive. J. P. Morgan Chase began experimenting last year with using clusters of Linux machines as a high-performance computing environment for conducting risk analyses on vast amounts of market data. Such work is similar in its calculation requirements to scientific research, where Linux has been used for years. The bank is looking at using Linux-based systems for new applications and when hardware has to be replaced. The pilot projects have gone well, and Linux is now being used for some high-performance applications. "It's real, but it's in the early stages," said John Curcio, vice president for distributed computing. Earlier this month, Goldman, Sachs issued a lengthy report titled, "Fear the Penguin," a reference to the Linux mascot. "Linux-on-Intel appears likely to emerge as the dominant platform in corporate data centers," the report predicted. "All of Unix is more at risk than Microsoft's Windows in the next few years," said Thomas Berquist, a Goldman, Sachs analyst and a co-author of the study. "But what is really at risk is the concept of a proprietary operating system. And that has to affect Microsoft." Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/20/technology/20LINU.html?todaysheadlines Posted by N.S. Soundara Rajan Freelance IT journalist, Columnist "Deccan Herald", Spoken English Teacher and Knowledge networker ...connecting people to people, and people to knowledge =================================================================== 34, I Floor, 8th Main, Yadhavagiri, MYSORE 570 020, Ph: 0821 414726

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Re: [Fsf-friends] Re: {Arun M] Another world is possible]
by V. Sasi Kumar 22 Jan '03

22 Jan '03

On Tue, 2003-01-21 at 10:10, Dileep M. Kumar wrote: > You are wrong Mr. Sasi Kumar. Even RMS wont agree to your argument. It > may be true for a general purpose software like an editor. But > programs for specific industry need not be or rather should not be > freely (as in free beer) available on net. Pls refer the discussions > on LIG some time back where for a similar case (RMS himself have > replied to it). Maybe I am wrong. But I still have my doubts on some aspects. If a programmer or a company develops a custom solution for an organisation, say a bank or any company, then that certainly need not be openly available. The developers charge the customer for the work they do, and that is the end of it. But suppose they develop an application and sell it to different customers. I think there is a slight difference here. The implication here is that the application can be used by many people, organisations, or whatever, and is not customised for one customer. In such a situation, I feel that there could be many others who could use it, in the same region of the world where the developers work or outside. In such a case, is it not advisable for the software to be available freely? Further, in such a situation, would it not lead to further developments on the software by other programmers around the world? Again, maybe I am wrong. But it appears that these issues need to be discussed and ideas clarified. > I appreciate OSS for showing others "We can make a living using Free > software business". > > as far as GPL is concerned, you will be violating the spirit behind > it. It could also be sending the wrong message to society. > > No. Not at all. Pls support OSS and similar industries so that the > idea of Free software business grows. Let's not kill or blame such a > movement. They are helping the FSF movement. They also should make a > living ... there is nothing wrong in it. I certainly do appreciate OSS for the work they have done and the work they are doing. But that does not mean that I should agree with everything they do or say. Further, I am not trying to kill the organisation (which I could hardly ever think of doing, or be able to, for that matter) or blaming them. I hardly know the people involved. Again, that does not mean that I should blindly accept everything they say or do. I may still recommend their product if somebody happened to ask me, without even knowing how well it works, simply because it is GPLed. These are separate issues and let us not mix them up. On the other hand, I cannot accept the argument like "they also have to make a living". Because that could be used to justify anything. > > Don't blame somebody for something which we never does ourself. I am not a programmer, and I do not make a living out of software. So, I am sorry, I cannot reply that I put up all my work for free download. Regards V. Sasi Kumar

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Re: information on EIID, ATPS, SEPSIT, OSS
by PostgreSQL Server 21 Jan '03

21 Jan '03

On Monday 20 Jan 2003 9:12 pm, you wrote: > I saw your posting in FSF-Friends and I am curious to know more about the > > following terms you mentioned to give more information about. You wrote : > >anybody else is much interested, > >we can provide full history of EIID, ATPS, OSS and >SEPSIT and what they > EIID ------ The District Panchayat of Ernakulam, as a part of the IXth Five Year Plan decided to strongly intervene in the promotion of electronics and IT related economic activity in the District. A project named Electronics Industrialisation Infrastructure Development Project (Project EIID) was launched which had to formulate a master plan for the District considering its resources and market potential. Project EIID identified IT application in Government as one of the major areas of intervention apart from its commendable efforts in other areas of allied industrial activity. As a result of the suggestion put forward by Project EIID, the District Panchayat of Ernakulam promoted a Scientific and Literary Society named Electronics Industrialisation Infrastructure Development Society (EIID) to implement the project ideas. The Governing Body of EIID comprises of elected representatives of District Panchayat, Grama Panchayat, Block Panchayat apart from technical persons in the District. A model project titled "Panchayat Level Information Network - Local Resource Data Base Preparation" was implemented by EIID as a pilot effort in 3 LSGI in the plan year 1999-2000. As a consequence of the model project, EIID has developed a human resource bank capable in various aspects of the project like Campaign ,System Design, Related Content Generation, Software Development and Support, Electronic Data Conversion and Training. Added to this is the vast network of voluntary service personnel associated with EIID as part of Peoples Plan Programme. ATPS -------- As there was change in Ernakulam District Panchayath Administration they have stoped the actvities of EIID. Tnen ATPS (Apropriate Technology Promotion Society an non-profit making charitable society) was registred by a group of person worked for EIID. ATPS is now providing financila support to OSS. ATPS is registred at Ernakulam. OSS ------ (Open Software Solutions Industrial Co-operative Society) is an Industrial co-operative society formed under the giudance of EIID. Now OSS is having 40 members. Registerd at Chottanikkara Panchayath in 2000 SEPSIT ----------- SEPSIT (Social Entreprenuership Promotion Society on Information Technology) is a charitable society (non-profit making established in 2002) based at Kannur for promoting social entreprenuership in IT sector. CPOSIT ----------- Center for Promotion of Open Systems in Information Technology is a organisation similar to SEPSIT based at Kasaragod district registered in 2003 All these organisations are working for the promotion of GPL in varous sectors (Out of this EIID is not working now.) You may get more information from 'Vivara Vicharam' a malayalam publication. We encourage to set-up similar organisations in all districts of Keralm. We will share our experience with the interested persons. If required we are ready to take initiative for this Regards, Anil ATPS

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Re: [Fsf-friends] Re: {Arun M] Another world is possible]
by Dileep M. Kumar 21 Jan '03

21 Jan '03

On Tue, Jan 21, 2003 at 09:38:57AM +0530, V. Sasi Kumar wrote: Just as a programmer has the freedom to make use of code written by someone, (s)he has the responsibility to give back to the community code that (s)he has written. I think that is the spirit. Do correct me if I am wrong. A second point is that the strength of Free Software originates from the fact that thousands of programmers see the code and identify bugs in it. Without this facility, there would hardly be any difference between proprietary software and Free Software. In view of both these aspects, it is essential that GPLd software is made freely available to anyone who wishes to download it. You are wrong Mr. Sasi Kumar. Even RMS wont agree to your argument. It may be true for a general purpose software like an editor. But programs for specific industry need not be or rather should not be freely (as in free beer) available on net. Pls refer the discussions on LIG some time back where for a similar case (RMS himself have replied to it). I appreciate OSS for showing others "We can make a living using Free software business". as far as GPL is concerned, you will be violating the spirit behind it. It could also be sending the wrong message to society. No. Not at all. Pls support OSS and similar industries so that the idea of Free software business grows. Let's not kill or blame such a movement. They are helping the FSF movement. They also should make a living ... there is nothing wrong in it. Don't blame somebody for something which we never does ourself. Regards -- .''`. Dileep M. Kumar <dileep(a)kumarayil.net> : :' : http://www.kumarayil.net `. `'` `- Debian GNU/Linux - Choice of the Freedom Lovers

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Re: [Fsf-friends] Re: {Arun M] Another world is possible]
by CK Raju 21 Jan '03

21 Jan '03

I think perhaps the dialogue between M$ and Villanueva would quell some of the doubts arising here. The link is at http://pimientolinux.com/peru2ms/villanueva_to_ms.html CK Raju

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OSS and free software
by Sajith V K 21 Jan '03

21 Jan '03

OSS may be the first free-software based bussiness moden in kerala. I suggest a discussion on free-software bussiness model But being a bussiness firm don't free them from their duties. OSS says they provides the source code to their customers, which I beleaves meaning less. 1. Why OSS is not ready to give the source code for public, when anybody can get it from OSS's customers ?.(It only ensures that they get atleast one customer !!!!!) 2. Why OSS beleve source should be opened? (Is it just because GPL says it?) 3. Now several persons says 'core softwares (OS,compilers etc) should be free and the rest ........ How OSS view this? _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

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Re: [Fsf-friends] Re: {Arun M] Another world is possible
by V. Sasi Kumar 21 Jan '03

21 Jan '03

On Sun, 2003-01-19 at 23:57, PostgreSQL Server wrote: > > We are distributing all software developed by OSS, under GPL since the > formation of OSS (ie in early 2000). It is accroding to the statements in the > OSS's bylaw. Its Arun's duty to prove his statment that OSS is taking > opportunistic stand. Arun, you may recall the discussion between us at Bose > Bhavan, Ernakulam, when I have clarified all these things to you. Let me make > it clear that, It is not our duty to hand over the software to Arun. GPL does > not mention that software should be given to a particular person or > Institution. We are distributing our package along with service for a > price. The customer gets its source code, they can modify it and they can > re-distribute it under GPL. I am not aware of the details of your confusion with Arun, but I would like to note a point or two here. When we are dealing with moral and ethical issues that led to the formation of the Free Software Movement, we cannot confine ourselves just to the terms set forth in the GPL. The GPL is only a licencing scheme that was formulated to reflect the principles of behind the Free Software Movement. If we imbibe the spirit of the movement, then we will be able to see that the whole issue is about sharing with the community, and not just giving a copy of the source code to the customer, who, for all one knows, would often not be able to make head or tail out of it. Just as a programmer has the freedom to make use of code written by someone, (s)he has the responsibility to give back to the community code that (s)he has written. I think that is the spirit. Do correct me if I am wrong. A second point is that the strength of Free Software originates from the fact that thousands of programmers see the code and identify bugs in it. Without this facility, there would hardly be any difference between proprietary software and Free Software. In view of both these aspects, it is essential that GPLd software is made freely available to anyone who wishes to download it. > > OSS (full name Open Software Solutions Industrial Co-operative Society Ltd. > Chottanikkara) is an Industrial Co-operative Society which is a good example > for social entreprenuership in the field of Information Technology. The > Society is having around 40 members among them one is honourary member. All > the regular members, who were now associating with OSS is fully depended on > OSS. They have no other income. The honourary member does not accept any > payment from OSS. So it is the responsibility of OSS to provide income to its > member. So we provide software solution for local needs for a price. It is understandable that those who work for the organisation have to earn their livelihood. The general understanding in the Free Software community is that this should be achieved through selling services. You certainly have the right to charge for installation and maintenance from every user who engages you to install and maintain. If you insist that you will give the source code only to those who purchase the software from you, then, even if you may not be violating the letter of the law as far as GPL is concerned, you will be violating the spirit behind it. It could also be sending the wrong message to society. It may be easy to say that, if you cannot make a living through selling services, then you do something else. But we all know that in the context of our state this is not easily practiced. But I am not sure that not putting up your software for download would help you earn more income. If a programmer really wanted to make use of your code, (s)he could get it from one of your customers, as you yourself have stated. Or, am I wrong there? > > - Is software patents and 'closing' the source only issues ? > > - What is the stand on 'cost effective' proprietary software ? > I thing softare part of our discussion will be focused on GPL'd software. Cost > effectiveness is also a important matter of concern Cost effectiveness becomes secondary because of a few reasons. I think the most important issue is empowerment. People who talk about Total Cost of Ownership forget about the costs of dependency in the long term and the gain to society through empowerment. While cost becomes important for a society like ours, it can be properly considered only when all the implications are taken into consideration, and not just the immediate cost of implementation. I find a similarity here with the debate about environment and development, where many people tended to overlook the long term environmental costs of development projects and saw only the short term benefits. It is, therefore, important to see things in their proper perspective. Regards V. Sasi Kumar

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Free Software ... at OneWorld
by Frederick Noronha 20 Jan '03

20 Jan '03

Dear friends, Oneworld.net is organising a meet of its NGO partners in early February. So, at the last minute (virtually) a thought struck me and I dashed off a mail to Delhi. If we are talking about the principles of freedom and development, wouldn't it make sense to talk about Free Software, GNU/Linux and related issues? Jaba Menon called back from Delhi, and offered to have a one-hour panel, which possibly could be included to sensitise NGOs to the entire debate about freedom around software concerns. Needless to say, this has immense implications not just to software, but also to knowledge and information, and how we gain/lose from the entire framing of the copyright debate. I'm copying this letter to friends in Delhi. Oneworld needs to put together a panel of 2-3 persons, who could speak for an hour collectively, and also field questions. Raju Mathur, Tripta@Sarai and Sunil Abraham, these are the first three names that came to my mind. Could you'll help please? I know that Sunil is in Bangalore, but he has done useful work in helping NGOs shift over to software generally, and of late, in promoting Free Software. Raju has both the technical and oratorial skills. Tripta is with an NGO herself (Sarai), and that too, one of the few that has been strongly pro-Free Software. Am copying this message also to Karl, who is working on the international NGU project, meant to take Free Software to the NGOs. Please let's work together to make this happen. I would very much like to be in Delhi, but my writing commitments mean it is difficult to take time off without everything else collapsing here, since I work on my own. FN -- Frederick Noronha Freelance Journalist Goa India 0091.832.2409490/2409783 http://www.bytesforall.org Writing with a difference ... on what makes *the* difference

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