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NEWS-OFFTOPIC: Taking Hindi to the core of computers
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 27 Jun '03

27 Jun '03

How does GNU/Linux compare? FN ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Taking Hindi to the core of computers By Sanjay Suri, Indo-Asian News Service London, June 27 (IANS) It was nice, wasn't it, to use the Devnagari script on Microsoft Word? Nice, but not good enough, says Vijay Kumar Malhotra, a former director for official languages with Indian Railways, and now in pursuit of taking Hindi to the core of computers rather than just the face. Malhotra, now language consultant to Microsoft for developing applications in Hindi, is taking Hindi to more than the Word programme. He is working with his team to make all applications in the Office XP system in Hindi. That means Word, Excel and Power Point, all with Hindi integrated into the system. And with Word too, not just Hindi as an option but with Hindi built into the core system. So that right from the menu bar with its options of 'file', 'view', 'help' and what not, everything will be in Hindi. Now his team is working to introduce sorting facilities in Hindi, according to the Hindi alphabet. Malhotra, who has worked on these programmes earlier with York University in Britain and with the University of Pennsylvania, has developed an auto-correct facility and templates already in Hindi. The through-and-through Hindi composition is coming up in the Office 2003 programme shortly, where "the whole environment will be in Hindi", Malhotra told IANS. "Now we will be able to handle all data applications in Hindi," he says. "Like dictionary, thesaurus, indexing and other functions like this." Malhotra is in London these days to take possible uses of Hindi further. One is to develop models available on computer to teach Hindi to students learning it as a new language. That is taking him to Hindi learning centres in Britain to study needs, and ways of meeting those needs. "The new applications will also be a major new tool for e-governance in India," Malhotra says. "Programmes for promoting this have been launched in Haryana, Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. This is a big new field." The implications will be that use of computers will gain new scope in villages where the English interface for primary functions was a restriction. "This will open the gates for e-governance and e-learning," says Malhotra. He is also studying the Cobuild project developed in Birmingham University that takes millions of words in text and draws from them principles of usage. Teaching material is developed on that basis. The Indian government is tying up with Microsoft to develop Hindi further in Microsoft systems, he says. --Indo-Asian News Service

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Novell moves networking services to Linux
by Soundara Rajan N.S. 26 Jun '03

26 Jun '03

Novell is to move its networking services to the open-source Linux platform. Paul Krill Nterprise Linux Services will consist of Novell's file, print, messaging, directory, and management services tailored to the Red Hat and SuSE distributions of Linux. It wil ship at the end of the year. Also being announced are partnerships with IBM, Dell Computer and Hewlett-Packard, who will offer the suite to their PC-based customers with full training and support, according to Novell. The company has been eyeing up datacentre environments deploying Linux, according to Jeff Hawkins, vice-president of the Linux business office at Novell. One analyst said Novell's Linux move was a logical one. "Novell has a long history of providing scalable, reliable, secure and manageable products," said analyst Dan Kusnetzky, vice-president of system software research at IDC. "It has a long history of being a part of the enterprise infrastructure. This is exactly what end-users tell us they want from Linux. So, Linux users or prospective Linux users who feel that these things are important just might feel a little more comfortable when Novell's directory services software, combined with Novell's management and security software, are combined with Linux." A closed beta program for Nterprise Linux Services, for approximately 150 customers, will begin next month. With the file services in the product, users can manage files based on Samba, an open-source software platform providing compatibility with Windows clients on file protocols, Hawkins said. The iFolder function in the package will protect personal information and enable file-sharing between PCs. Enterprise print capabilities in Nterprise Linux Services, hosted on Linux servers, will enable users to access multiple printers via a listing set up on a company's website. Paul Krill writes for InfoWorld

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Linux Security: The Seven Most Deadly Sins
by Soundara Rajan N.S. 23 Jun '03

23 Jun '03

Linux Security: The Seven Most Deadly Sins JUN 20, 2003 By Bob Toxen. Article is provided courtesy of Prentice Hall PTR. The difference between Linux and Windows, according to Bob Toxen, is that with knowledge and a little effort, Linux can be made very secure. However, there are seven problems that affect all unhardened Linux systems regardless of their use. Indulge any of these seven sins and almost certainly your systems will be broken into in one to twelve months. In this detailed excerpt from his book, Real World Linux Security, Bob lays out no-nonsense, thoroughly explained, practical advice that will boost the security of an "out of the box" Linux system by an order of magnitude. More at http://informit.com/content/index.asp?product_id={5E5625C1-0F22-4A8D-94D4-3… Source: InformIT

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DEBIAN: Plans in India for 10th anniversary?
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 21 Jun '03

21 Jun '03

_______________________________________________ Debian soon to be 10 years old The Debian GNU/Linux distribution will have been around for a decade on August 16th, and project members have planning celebrations on several continents. While few details have been confirmed at this stage, debconf.org has put together a page to coordinate efforts. In the UK, a party in Cambridge has been proposed, but there's still time for alternative proposals. http://www.debconf.org/10years/ _______________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) | http://www.fredericknoronha.net Freelance Journalist | http://www.bytesforall.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indialists.org: Taking the development debate online to discuss issues related to India's health, education, environment and more... -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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[Fsf-friends] NEWS: New initiative packages Free Software for Governments
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 20 Jun '03

20 Jun '03

New initiative packages Free Software for Governments SOMEWHERE IN CYBERSPACE, June 20: Governments bold enough to opt for the freedom that comes with Free Software now have another tool in their armoury that will make their switchover easier. A Free Software package know as Government Distro was launched on June 19th by the Free Software Consortium (FSC), a global organisation dedicated to the promotion and distribution of Free Sofware. Free Software gives its users the freedom to run, study, redistribute and improve the vital code that goes into the software programs, and a number of governments across the globe have been either opting for it or seriously studing its potential in anticipation of a switch-over. Some governments have favoured Free Software not just for its technological prowess, but also for the transparency it offers, its affordability and its very 'sharable' nature without being encumbered by licensing restrictions. Government Distro is a compilation of programmes that are already being widely used by the public sector in Brazil, Argentina and Spain. It contains the GNU/Linux Operating System, an Office suite called Open Office, email and instant messenger, and many other applications, according to a statement from the Free Software Consortium. "Government Distro is meant to be the first big step towards the implementation of Free Software in the public sector around the world", says Jaco Ainzenman, one of the FSC founders, and current Business Development Government Body Coordinator. "All these programs have been used and tested previously, in order to certify its functionality. They have all being designed by highly talented hackers all around the world," said Ainzenman. The a full version of Government Distro is available for download at www.fsc.cc/governmentdistro. All the programmes in Government Distro are user-friendly and have been in used since 1999. Besides, Free Software Consortium is offering technical assitance for Government Distro users. More information is available from governmentdistro(a)fsc.cc

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Robot... walking on GNU/Linux
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 20 Jun '03

20 Jun '03

---------- Forwarded message ---------- >From the PRC (Project Resource Centre) mailing list on sarai.net (Delhi): --__--__-- Message: 3 Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 23:51:02 +0530 From: Sagar Behere <behere(a)sancharnet.in> To: prc(a)mail.sarai.net Subject: [PRC] final update: project successfully completed :-))) Reply-To: prc(a)mail.sarai.net Hello all, We are the robotics guys. For those who were not following the initial posts (but clicked on this one after reading the subject ;-), here is a quick recap. "We were planning to build a robot and control it using free software." Now let's move on to the results. We have build a 4 degree of freedom SCARA type robot. SCARA stands for Selective Compliance Assembly Robotic Arm. A SCARA robot has an elbow and a forearm (both rotate) and a vertical linear arm. There is a last roll axis which is used for orientation of the tool. The joints used stepper motors as their actuators. We adapted the Enhanced Machine Controller software for our purposes. We wrote the robot kinematics module and the same has been successfully integrated into the mainstream code. Here is what the control software can make the robot do: 1) The robot can be programmed using the CNC industry standard G and M codes. You can create a drawing in a CAM software, it generates these codes. The codes can then be fed to the robot controller and the robot starts moving. Effectively, you draw a shape in the CAM software, and the robot will trace out exactly the same path. 2) The robot has pick-and-place capabilities and point-to-point motion. 3) It is also possible to have "continuous path control" over the robot. This means that the tool tip can be made to follow a desired trajectory in space. 4) Of course, the velocities and accelerations and other things are adjustable. 5) The software is capable of other things like driving servo motors, backlash compensation, PID control etc. 6) Ther eis a backplotter which graphically shows the motion of the tool tip as it moves. 7) Many, many other features :-) A few applications the robot will be useful for are: 1) Spot welding 2) arc welding 3) Applications like applying sealants, glue etc. in manufacturing processes. 4) vertical assembly operations. 5) certain types of machine loading and unloading. 6) painting and coating two and a half degree surfaces 7) light machining operations like drilling, boring, reamming, tapping etc. 8) Engraving. -------------- In conclusion, the robot has successfully achieved its design goals :-) If there are any questions, we'll be glad to answer. Sagar --__--__-- _______________________________________________ prc mailing list prc(a)mail.sarai.net http://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/prc End of prc Digest

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The Peacemaker
by Soundara Rajan N.S. 19 Jun '03

19 Jun '03

The Peacemaker How Linus Torvalds, the man behind Linux, keeps the revolution from becoming a jihad. By David Diamond It's no accident that Linus Torvalds has been calling the shots for Linux longer than most world leaders have been in power. In the 12 years since he uploaded his operating system and became de facto master of the open source universe, the 33-year-old programmer has endured waves of attacks from developer zealots seeking to hijack open source to further their own agendas - toppling Microsoft, fighting the music industry, stopping the commercialization of open source software. Through it all, Torvalds has maintained a Zen-like ability to defuse political opposition and saved Linux from being either co-opted or abandoned. Torvalds, who holds down a day job as a software engineer at chipmaker Transmeta, told Wired how he keeps the peace. WIRED: The open source community has all manner of rabid devotees. What's your strategy for keeping these forces at bay? TORVALDS: My basic strategy has always been to not care too much. It actually ends up working wonders - avoiding confrontation by just walking away. The thing is, I don't usually feel as deeply about some of the issues they feel strongly about, and that makes it easier just to ignore the politics - and as a result, the political consequences. That also allows me to concentrate on the things I do enjoy, namely the technical discussions. How long will that work? Well, it's worked so far. Every once in a while an issue comes up where I have to make a statement. I can't totally avoid all political issues, but I try my best to minimize them. When I do make a statement, I try to be fairly neutral. Again, that comes from me caring a lot more about the technology than about the politics, and that usually means that my opinions are colored mostly by what I think is the right thing to do technically rather than for some nebulous good. You got royally flamed for a recent statement on Slashdot.org in which you defended digital rights management, which is hated by many in the open source community because it allows hardware to lock out some applications. Why did you stick your neck out? I rewrote that post three times. I expected to offend some people, but I wanted to make sure I was fairly noninflammatory. I used humor and tried not to make it a black and white thing. You basically said you're OK with DRM. What effect will that have? The whole point of that post was to set developer expectations right. We've allowed a lot of the technology that DRM requires for a long while already, but from my discussions with some kernel developers, it was clear that not everybody was on the same page as to what that meant for Linux. To avoid future clashes and disappointment, I would much rather bring the issue into the open and make sure people know about it. That way developers can make up their own minds about whether they want to work on a system that may someday be used in ways they don't agree with. Have you lost any sleep over the DRM flamefest? I lose sleep if I end up feeling bad about something I've said. Usually that happens when I send something out without having read it over a few times, or when I call somebody names. I like being on friendly terms with most people. This time it's been a fairly amicable discussion. I expected much worse. Most leaders expend a lot of energy trying to stay in power. What do you do to maintain support? To me, the most important part has always been a certain aura of neutrality. By staying neutral, I end up being somebody that everybody can trust. Even if they don't always agree with my decisions, they know I'm not working against them. People know that when I make a technical decision, it's not politically motivated. Obviously, I also try to maintain support by just being good at what I do. Don't you run the risk of alienating supporters out on the fringes? Part of my job is managing expectations. I have a nagging fear that someone will come up to me years from now and say, "I gave you the best five years of my life, and look what you've let Linux become." You seem pretty thick-skinned and even-keeled. Do you ever doubt yourself? Not really. But I think part of that is because I'm fairly comfortable with the notion of saying "Sorry, I was wrong," even in public. Another way of putting it: I don't have to doubt myself, because to some degree I don't have to care whether I'm right or wrong. If I'm right, I'm right, and if I'm wrong we can go back and fix it. The only thing you generally can't go back and fix later on is that small detail of trust, which is another reason I'd rather bring these things out in the open, so that people know what I think. You've said that you're "just an engineer." What do you mean by that? I wear that as a badge of honor. I think of myself as an engineer, not as a visionary or "big thinker." I don't have any lofty goals. I just want to have fun making the best damn operating system I can. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Diamond (ddiamond(a)well.com) wrote about Philippine labor exports in Wired 10.06. He's the coauthor, with Torvalds, of Just For Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary.

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WinFS horn in Longhorn
by Amol Hatwar 19 Jun '03

19 Jun '03

I remember M$ touting a new file system called CIFS. I wonder what happened to that... This time they're playing the WinFS horn in their new OS codenamed Longhorn. WinFS is supposed to be M$'s new file system that will make searches faster by maintaining multiple indexes. Also, it also has a built-in RDBMS engine for tracking files... More here: http://www.tomshardware.com/storage/20030617/index.html Ciao, ah

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[En Avance] PDF is vulnerable
by Amol Hatwar 19 Jun '03

19 Jun '03

Those who follow security will find the following amusing: An anonymous person has again posted vulnerability information gleaned from the Computer Emergency Response Center (CERT) approximately 10 days in advance of CERT's intended release of information to the public. The vulnerability involves Adobe PDF files; the files might be able to execute arbitrary commands on a system viewing a PDF file that contains malicious hyperlinks. In past months, the anonymous poster who goes by the alias "Hack4life," has somehow managed to obtain private information from CERT without the company's knowledge and subsequently disclosed that information to the public before vendors were ready to do so. CERT works with vendors who experience security problems to coordinate patch and information release. The anonymous person's antics undermine that process. More here: http://www.wininformant.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=39320 -------- CERT walks the middle ground and does a good job of it, but it is a little humorous to see an entity dedicated to security struggle to protect its own information. The anonymous being behind the leaks even tells the world when new information will be released, and yet his or her identity remains a mystery. The lesson here is that security is only as good as your ability to discern the lack of it. If you ever reach a point where you think you're secure, you are at your most vulnerable then. Ciao, ah

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Linus ... the peacemaker
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 18 Jun '03

18 Jun '03

>From: "Soundara Rajan N.S." <searchlight(a)sancharnet.in> >Subject: [Fsf-friends] The Peacemaker >To: fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in >The Peacemaker >How Linus Torvalds, the man behind Linux, keeps the revolution from >becoming a jihad. >By David Diamond >It's no accident that Linus Torvalds has been calling the shots for Linux >longer than most world leaders have been in power. In the 12 years since >he uploaded his operating system and became de facto master of the open >source Linus Torvalds is an amiable guy, granted. But, it is perhaps a grave mistake to reduce an entire movement to simply building a technically more-efficient solution. Loaded terms by the media don't help either (e.g. "keeps the revolution from becoming a jihad"). Free Software is no more about software alone. It has grown far beyond that. Today, it is challenging the manner in which artificial blocks are used to control the spread of knowledge and information in fields ranging from education to music, from journalism to scientific knowledge. We need to take the boundaries of this debate further. This is an issue that affects the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of millions. We in the information-deficit, knowledge-scarce regions face this daily. Linus seems to look at the word "politics" as something negative. One could argue that even the decision to "keep out politics" is a very political stand in itself. Last year, when I visited Finland in connection with the FLOSS-in-the-developing-world study, there was quite some debate on Linus "just for fun" approach. Someone came up with the suggestion that he was keen to make himself seem less political, so as not to become unacceptable in the US. Sam Williams biography of RMS has an interesting point. To quote Williams: "Most importantly, the MacArthur (genius grant) money gave Stallman more freedom. Already dedicated to the issue of software freedom, Stallman chose to use the additional freedom to increase his travels in support of the GNU Project mission. "Interestingly, the ultimate success of the GNU Project and the free software movement in general would stem from one of those trips. In 1990, Stallman paid a visit to the Polytechnic University in Helsinki, Finland. Among the audience members was 21-year-old Linus Torvalds, future developer of the Linux kernel -- the free software kernel destined to fill the GNU Project's most sizable gap." (Okay, one can expect disagreement here from Free Software enthusiasts over the "sizable gap"...) Williams continues: "When it was time to release the 0.12 version of Linux, the first to include a fully integrated version of GCC, Torvalds decided to voice his allegiance with the free software movement. He discarded the old kernel license and replaced it with the GPL. The decision triggered a porting spree, as Torvalds and his collaborators looked to other GNU programs to fold into the growing Linux stew." Without intending to turn this into a Linus-versus-RMS or Linux-versus-GNU tug-of-war, we must not reduce the entire idealism (or politics, if you want to call it that) that has gone into this movement which is nearly two decades old. Should we diminish the goal to just building technically efficient software? Or is this a battle over whether knowledge itself becomes another commodity, sold to the highest bidder? FN PS: They say, reasonable men change to the ways of the world. Therefore, all progress depends on unreasonable men.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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