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[Fwd: [FOSS-in-Science] Workshop on Scilab between 4 - 7 th July, 09]
by V. Sasi Kumar 30 Jun '09

30 Jun '09

-------- Forwarded Message -------- From: Manjusha Joshi <msj(a)bprim.org> To: foss-in-science(a)mm.gnu.org.in Cc: @mail.bprim.org Subject: [FOSS-in-Science] Workshop on Scilab between 4 - 7 th July, 09 Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:16:24 +0530 Hello, Bhaskaracharya Pratishthana and IIT Bombay are jointly organising a four day workshop on the Open source Mathematical software Scilab from 4th July to 7th July 2009 at Bhaskaracharya Pratishthana, Pune. The workshop is a part of the National mission for the use of Open Source software in Education. More details at http://www.bprim.org/mathsoftwk/scilabjuly09.php Thanks, -- V. Sasi Kumar Free Software Foundation of India Please visit http://swatantryam.blogspot.com

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A project for Inclusive Education of the Disabled recommends proprietary software
by Vimal Joseph 30 Jun '09

30 Jun '09

Dear All, Here is a link to the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) of ‘Inclusive Education of the Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS)’ http://education.nic.in/secedu/sec_iedc.asp This scheme is approved by the cabinet committee on september 2008 http://pib.nic.in/release/rel_print_page.asp?relid=42926 The document says: The use of ICT: Access to technology is especially relevant for the disabled as it increases their access to a vast amount of information not otherwise available. Computers provided to students in secondary schools will also be made accessible to those with disabilities. The scheme will provide for the purchase of appropriate technology by way of special software such as Screen Reading software like JAWS, SAFA, etc. for the visually impaired and speech recognition software for the hearing impaired to develop computer vocabulary for the hearing impaired and modified hardware like adapted keyboards. (Sr. No. I.13 of Appendix-I). The scheme will provide the money to purchase proprietary software like JAWS. They have mentioned about SAFA also. It is a screen reading software for windows available at safa.sf.net. But its licence is not clear and seems to be a dead project. Last commit to the code repository was on 2004. No school will bother about the "etc.." part. So the obvious choice of software under this scheme will be JAWS. As part of the Insight project, we are using GNU/Linux with orca screen reader for the last 2 years and it works very well. It is really a waste of money if the schools are going to purchase JAWS. If they use Free Software, the money they have to purchase JAWS can be used for the development of orca or even used for purchasing more computers. This is definitely an project we should get involved. regards, ~vimal http://insight.kerala.gov.in

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Red Hat protests Swiss govt. support to M$
by V. Sasi Kumar 26 May '09

26 May '09

"Linux vendor Red Hat, and 17 other vendors, have protested a Swiss government contract given to Microsoft without any public bidding. The move exposes a wider Microsoft monopoly that European governments accept, despite their lip service for open source, according to commentators." See: http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/red-hat-sues-switzerland-over-microsoft-m… Best -- V. Sasi Kumar Free Software Foundation of India Please visit http://swatantryam.blogspot.com

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Govt gearing up to gag websites
by Harish Singh 23 May '09

23 May '09

It appears that the Union government is getting ready to throw free speech and due process provisions into the pit. The provisions in the act don't just specify news articles, but a broad range of information like blogs. From article by Manoj Mitta,Times of India, 22nd May 2009, "Under the draft rules framed under section 69A of the IT amendment Act, every state or Central government department will be empowered to decide whether a certain news item, article, blog or advertisement relating to its jurisdiction is safe to remain on the Net. Once somebody sends a "complaint" against any information displayed on the Net, the department concerned will take a call on whether the matter in question affects any of the six concerns mentioned in section 69A: interest of sovereignty or integrity of India, defense of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order or incitement to commit any cognizable offense relating to the other five reasons." See more here : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Govt-gearing-up-to-gag-news-websit… - Harish

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[Fwd: [FSF] FSF Settles Suit Against Cisco]
by V. Sasi Kumar 21 May '09

21 May '09

-------- Forwarded Message -------- From: Brett Smith <brett(a)fsf.org> To: info-press(a)gnu.org, info-fsf(a)gnu.org Subject: [FSF] FSF Settles Suit Against Cisco Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 13:04:47 -0400 [This press release is available on the web at <http://www.fsf.org/news/2009-05-cisco-settlement.html>. FSF Compliance Engineer Brett Smith has written about what we can learn from this settlement at <http://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/2009-05-settlement>.] BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Wednesday, May 20, 2009 -- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Cisco Systems, Inc. are pleased to announce that they have reached a joint agreement. Under the agreement, the FSF has agreed to dismiss its lawsuit against Cisco. Cisco has agreed to appoint a Free Software Director for Linksys, a subsidiary of Cisco, to supervise Linksys' compliance with the requirements of free software licenses such as the GPL (the GNU General Public License). The Free Software Director will report periodically to the FSF regarding Linksys' compliance efforts. Cisco has further agreed to take certain steps to notify previous recipients of Linksys products containing FSF programs of their rights under the GPL and other applicable licenses, to publish a licensing notice on the Linksys website, and to provide additional notices in a separate publication. In addition, Cisco will continue to make the complete and corresponding source code for versions of FSF programs used with current Linksys products freely available on its website. Cisco will also make a monetary contribution to the FSF. The parties recognize Cisco's ongoing obligations under the GPL and other free software licenses. The FSF will continue to independently monitor Linksys' compliance with these licenses, and work with Linksys to resolve any new issues that may arise. "We are glad that Cisco has affirmed its commitment to the free software community by implementing additional measures within its compliance program and dedicating appropriate resources to them, further reassuring the users' freedoms under the GPL," said Peter Brown, Executive Director of the FSF. "Our agreement results in making all of the relevant source code available in the fastest way possible." ### About the FSF 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. ### Media Contacts Brett Smith Licensing Compliance Engineer Free Software Foundation +1 (617) 542 5942 x18 <brett(a)fsf.org> ### info-fsf mailing list info-fsf(a)gnu.org Unsubscribe: http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-fsf -- V. Sasi Kumar Free Software Foundation of India Please visit http://swatantryam.blogspot.com

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Intel beats Microsoft in EU fines
by V. Sasi Kumar 13 May '09

13 May '09

Intel has been fined a record Euro 1.04 billion for anti-competitive practices, beating Euro 497 million fined on Microsoft in 2004. They paid retailers to avoid AMD products. So, it seems, these giants become giants through trickery only! See http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10239487-92.html?tag=nl.e703 Best -- V. Sasi Kumar Free Software Foundation of India Please visit http://swatantryam.blogspot.com

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Fwd: [FSF] ESP launches en.swpat.org: A Wiki for Anti-Software Patent Campaigns
by Nagarjuna G. 05 May '09

05 May '09

-- Nagarjuna G. gnowledge lab, HBCSE, TIFR. India.

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IEEE tutorial on GNU / Linux
by Vikram Vincent 04 May '09

04 May '09

Free Software Movement Karnataka(FSMK)<http://fsmk.org/> in coordination with IEEE Bangalore section, IBM Linux Technology Centre and BMSCE announces a Linux kernel tutorial. IEEE announcement follows. IEEE Bangalore Section in association with BMS College of Engineering and Free Software Movement, Karnataka (FSMK) announces TWO DAY TUTORIAL ON GNU/LINUX Kernel Workshop By Eminent & Experienced Faculty from FSMK and IBM Date: May, 9th and 10th (Saturday, Sunday) Venue: BMS College of Engineering, Bull Temple Road, Basavanagudi Bangalore - 560 019 Prerequisites: Its expected that all participants will have: 1. Basic knowledge of Operating Systems 2. Good working knowledge of C 3. Hands-on experience desirable 4. Kernel programming experience is a bonus 5. Basic scripting knowledge (ex: shell scripts) 6. Working knowledge of Gnu/ Linux. Ex: 7. Booting a Gnu/ Linux system 8. Basic system administration (adding/removing users etc) 9. Basic commands (ls, ps, chmod, mkdir, vi, etc) We have planned to provide computer system for as many participants as possible, but would encourage, especially non-student participants ,to bring their own laptops so we can accommodate more numbers. Program: May 9th, (DAY 1) 8:30AM onwards: Registration 9:30 -10:30 AM: Inauguration: (Venue: Auditorium, BMS College of Engineering) Chair: Mr. K.. Ramakrishna , POWERGRID, Bangalore, Chairman, IEEE Bangalore Section Chief Guest: Dr. S. Bisalaiah, M.A , Ph.D, Former Vice- Chancellor, UAS, Bangalore, Member, Managing Body, BMSET, Chairman, Board of Management, BMSCE Guest of Honour: Dr. K Mallikharjuna Babu Ph.D., Principal, BMS College of Engineering 10:30-11:00 AM: Tea 11:00AM to 1:00 PM: SESSION 1 Basics of Gnu/ Linux Programming & Tools 1. Simple C programs 2. Simple Makefiles 3. gcc, stace, ltrace, gdb, objdump, nm, LD_PRELOAD [EXERCISE] 4. Quick overview of a typical hardware on which Gnu/ Linux runs (CPU, Memory, Interrupt controller, IO Bus etc) 5. Overview of the Linux Kernel 6. Kernel Layout 7. CodingStyle 8. Important subsystems 9. Kernel configuration 10. Building and booting a new kernel [EXERCISE] 1:00PM to 2:00 PM: LUNCH 2:00PM to 5:00PM SESSION 2 Linux Kernel Internals: An Overview (3 hours) 1. Process and threads [EXERCISE] 2. Memory Management [EXERCISE] 3. Filesystems [EXERCISE] 4. Interrupts and exceptions & System Calls [EXERCISE] 5. Kernel synchronization 4. How is the operating system changing [DISCUSSION] 5. What are the key areas of focus [DISCUSSION] 6. Generic questions and answers May 10th, (DAY 2) 9:30-10:30 PM SESSION 3 Device Drivers (1 hour) 1. Kernel module programming 2. Char and block drivers 3. ioctls 4. Writing simple char device driver [EXERCISE] 10:30:10:45 Tea 10:45-1:00PM SESSION 4 Kernel Debugging (2 hours , 15 Minutes) 1. printk 2. Dynamic instrumentation techniques 3. SystemTap and tracing (ftrace and markers) [EXERCISE] 4. kexec/kdump/crash analysis [EXERCISE] 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM LUNCH 2:00PM to 5:00PM How You can contribute 1. Introduction to the free software community 2. How to contribute 3. New exciting areas of work in the kernel 4. Generic questions and answers Tutorial is organized in various sessions as above. Lunch and Tea are provided. Please report at 9am at the venue. Course Fee per participant: Non-member: Rs. 1500/-; Student Rs. 700/- IEEE member Rs. 1200/- ; IEEE Student member Rs.550/- Organizing Committee: Sethuraman Ganesan Chair,PAC, IEEE Bangalore Section Hitesh Mehta, Secretary, IEEE Bangalore Section Dr. T.Srinivas, SAC,IEEE Bangalore Section Ravi Kiran A.,MDC, IEEE Bangalore Setion V V Srinivasan,Treasurer, IEEE Bangalore Section Please send your registration to: Mr. Sethuraman Ganesan Chair - Professional Activities IEEE Bangalore Section ABB Ltd, Khanija Bhavan, 5th Floor, West Wing, 49, Race Course Road Bangalore 560001 Phone: +91 99014 99033 e-mail: sganesans(a)yahoo.com Visit IEEE Bangalore Section at http://www.ieee.org/bangalore.

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Fwd: [JOB] Project on FOSS adoption in Indian education
by Vikram Vincent 04 May '09

04 May '09

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Prabhu Ramachandran <prabhu(a)aero.iitb.ac.in> Date: Mon, May 4, 2009 at 3:51 PM Subject: [JOB] Project on FOSS adoption in Indian education Hello, Project positions are open at IIT Bombay for a new government funded project on adoption of Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) in Indian science and engineering education. Applicants may email their resumes along with a one page writeup on why they think they are well suited for the project to: admin.foss[at]iitb.ac.in News, announcements and details regarding the project are available here: http://www.aero.iitb.ac.in/~prabhu/Projects/FOSSEducation Overview of the project ----------------------- The eventual goal is to replace the use of commercial tools in Indian science and engineering education at the college level. Towards this we are working on the following broad themes: - Python for scientific computing. - Scilab (http://www.scilab.org, http://www.scilab.in). - Multimedia authoring tool suited for Indian languages with a LaTeX backend. - Other projects related to the above. I will be personally involved with the "Python for scientific computing" component. This will broadly involve: - NumPy (http://numpy.scipy.org), - SciPy (http://www.scipy.org), - matplotlib (http://matplotlib.sf.net), - Sage (http://www.sagemath.org), - Mayavi (http://code.enthought.com/projects/mayavi), - ETS (http://code.enthought.com/projects), - SymPy (http://code.google.com/p/sympy), and various other packages of interest. As part of the project you will have opportunity to work with the core developers of these major projects. Requirements ------------ The positions are all for a maximum duration of 3 years. The initial appointment will be for a period of 1 year which will be extended based on performance. - Project manager: 1 position - Technical writer: 1 position - Software Developers/content generators: - Python: 4 positions - Scilab: 3 positions - LaTeX: 2 positions You will need to stay on campus or commute to IITB. Accommodation will be provided if available, otherwise HRA will be provided. Qualifications --------------- Project manager: - Good knowledge of programming and open source software community - People management - Communication - Organizational skills Technical writer: - Excellent language and communication skills (spoken and written) - Familiarity with computers - Willingness to learn Programmers/content generators: - Willingness to learn - Good programming skills - Passion for FOSS - Experience with FOSS - Good math and science skills System administration and web development skills are also required so strong applications with those skills would also be considered. Experience with Python/Scilab/LaTeX is a plus. Experience with working on a FOSS project is a big plus. Job description --------------- As part of this project you will work towards creating material for adoption of the various existing FOSS tools in the science and engineering curriculum. This will involve generation of a significant amount of documentation in the form of tutorials, audio/video demonstrations, written material, and lectures. The material will often go towards augmenting existing courses. The project will involve working with several well known packages and improving them both in terms of documentation and code to add features or fix bugs. We will be hosting several workshops, sprints and conferences where you will get to meet the developers of many important packages. Remuneration ------------- The pay will be in the range Rs. 10000 to 30000 depending on the qualifications and experience. For extra-ordinary people the upper limit is flexible. Accommodation will be provided on campus if available. Why you should apply -------------------- - You get paid to improve and write FOSS. - You get to do really meaningful work -- your work will influence generations of future students all over India and potentially elsewhere. - You get to work on some of the most important projects that will influence the future of science and engineering. - You get to meet and work with the authors of various important packages. - You will be at IIT Bombay and will have best of both worlds -- good pay and an academic environment. Thanks. Prabhu Ramachandran http://www.aero.iitb.ac.in/~prabhu -- Vikram Vincent +919448810822 http://swatantra.org/ http://fsmk.org/

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[gNewSense-users] DeltaH CD 2.2 gNewSense Release
by mail＠swathanthran.in 15 Apr '09

15 Apr '09

Karl Goetz <karl(a)kgoetz.id.au> writes: > Hi all, >> systems, using GNOME as the default desktop environment (others such as > XFCE or KDE are available post installation). > > Download links: > Live CD: > http://cdimage.gnewsense.org/gnewsense-livecd-deltah-i386-2.2.iso > Source tarball: > http://cdimage.gnewsense.org/gnewsense-cdsource-deltah-i386-2.2.tar > Torrent: > http://cdimage.gnewsense.org/gnewsense-livecd-deltah-i386-2.2.iso.torrent > > > Short list of changes (full list available via SVN log): > gNewSense: > - Installer now supports two more filesystems > - GLX re-introduced > - changed description of -updates and -backports in "Software Sources" > - use linux-image-generic instead of linux-image-386 > - lsb_release output corrected > - GNU Icecat repo available via Software Sources > > Builder: > - Substantial code restructuring > - CD isos have had their naming format changed > - Usplash packaging cleaned up, helping portability > - Contents-$ARCH.gz files are generated > > - Website: > To coincide with this release, a new skin has been applied; we hope you > like it. > > > As always, we're in #gnewsense on irc://chat.freenode.net. > More details about gNewSense can be found at http://www.gnewsense.org > > Thanks, > > Karl Goetz, on behalf of the gNewSense dev, art and web teams. > > PS. > On a personal note, I'd like to ask you not to find major regressions > in my first release. > :P

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