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Sun Releases GPL Java Today
by പ്രവീണ്‍‌|Praveen 14 Nov '06

14 Nov '06

[sorry for cross posting] "Months of speculation and waiting are now over. Sun will release key parts of Java under GPLv2 today (November 13th, Monday). The initial release today will include the HotSpot runtime, javac compiler, JavaHelp, and Sun's Java ME implementation. The rest of Java will be released under GPLv2 early next year. Richard Stallman of the FSF has endorsed the move, and will appear on a live web cast <http://www.sun.com/2006-1113/feature/index.jsp> with Sun CEO Johnathan Schwartz and software chief Rich Green. " http://www.javalobby.org/java/forums/t84244.html Great win for Free Software. Cheers Praveen -- "Value your freedom, or you will lose it, teaches history. `Don't bother us with politics', respond those who don't want to learn." -- Richard Stallman Me scribbles at http://www.pravi.co.nr

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Fwd: Freedom Task Force now launched
by Nagarjuna G. 13 Nov '06

13 Nov '06

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Free Software Foundation Europe" <press(a)fsfeurope.org> To: press-release(a)fsfeurope.org Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2006 00:56:12 +0100 Subject: FSFE Launching Freedom Task Force, Co-operating with gpl-violations.org FSFE Launching Freedom Task Force, Co-operating with gpl-violations.org FTF to educate programmers and corporations on how to avoid licensing problems, as well as enforce Free Software licences The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) announced today the launch of the Freedom Task Force, [1] thanks to a grant of EUR 30.000 from Stichting NLnet. The organisation, working closely with Harald Welte of gpl-violations.org [2], seeks to help programmers properly set up and organise projects legally, as well as educate companies to understand how the GPL works. As needed, the purpose of the group will also include enforcement in the case of licence violations. FTF is located in FSFE's offices in Zurich, Switzerland. "Free Software itself has become commercial mainstream, but knowledge about Free Software and in particular its licences is often lagging behind," explains Georg Greve, FSFE's president. "With large companies like SUN embracing Free Software at the heart of their business, the software ecosystem is transforming in ways that underline the requirement for services like the FTF." FTF will include experts with technical and legal backgrounds as well as volunteers, working together to provide organised and co-ordinated responses to individual cases where there may be misunderstandings about what a licence requires or a violation of its terms. FSFE has hired Mr. Shane Coughlan to serve as FTF Co-ordinator. Shane Coughlan on the other tasks of the FTF: "We seek to give commercial and non-commercial Free Software developers the maximum support possible with our fiduciary activities. By helping them bundle their legal interests, we are able to safeguard the legal status of a project while it can focus on technological and managerial issues. For projects that FSFE has accepted into its fiduciary program, FSFE will also be in a position to defend their interests in the eventuality of licence violation." Harald Welte, the first person who enforced the GNU GPL in court, will be working closely with the FTF: "My gpl-violations.org work has shown how much the community needs a more focussed approach to deal with these violations. While there was good contact with FSFE in the past, we will now be working closely together, sharing our information and resources to best protect the rights of Free Software developers." "We have as a primary goal to help corporations to adhere to the licences from the onset, rather than to have to enforce violations later," explains Mr. Coughlan. "We encourage those responsible for compliance for their company to contact us, so we can work together to avoid licence compliance problems, rather than having to later solve problems that could have been avoided in the first place." Stichting NLnet [3] Chairman Teus Hagen expressed pleasure at the launch of FTF: "We are very happy to support the launch of the FTF because in our view this is a timely and necessary step to consolidate Free Software. We ourselves at times felt the need for a reliable partner to handle these issues, and in our experience the FSFE is such a partner. We hope that many others will contribute to and support this effort, and see the FTF as an important step in the maturing of Free Software." [1] http://fsfeurope.org/ftf [2] http://gpl-violations.org [3] http://www.nlnet.nl About the Free Software Foundation Europe: The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and involved in many global activities. Access to software determines participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study, modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues, securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues of the FSFE. Further information: http://fsfeurope.org About gpl-violations.org: In the past 30 months, gpl-violations.org has helped uncover and negotiate more than 100 GPL violations and has obtained numerous out-of-court settlement agreements. The gpl-violations.org project is a not-for-profit effort to bring commercial users and vendors of Free Software into compliance with the licence conditions as set forth by the original authors. The project was founded and is managed by Mr. Harald Welte, a Linux Kernel developer and Free Software enthusiast. For more information on the project, its mission, milestones and goals, please see http://gpl-violations.org Contact: Free Software Foundation Europe Belgium: +32 2 747 03 57 Switzerland: +41 43 500 03 66 UK: +44 29 200 08 17 7 Germany: +49 700 373 38 76 73 Shane Coughlan, FTF Co-ordinator, FSFE extension: 408 Joachim Jakobs, Media Relations, FSFE extension: 404 mobile: +49-179-6919565 -- Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)fsfeurope.org> Free Software Foundation Europe (http://fsfeurope.org) Join the Fellowship and protect your freedom! (http://www.fsfe.org) What everyone should know about DRM (http://DRM.info) -- Nagarjuna

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Free Software Programmes in Indian Social Forum (ISF -06) Newdelhi
by Anivar Aravind 10 Nov '06

10 Nov '06

Dear Friends, I'm now writing from Indian Social Forum in New Delhi. I came to know that Following Programmes Organised by Free Software Foundation (In Association with All India People's Science network(AIPSN)) is happening in ISF. 1. Plenary Session: Intellectual Property Rights: Overarching Issues Speakers: P.M.Bhargava, S.P.Sukla, Debesh das, Amit Sengupta, Satyajit Rath, Mishi chowdhary, Prabir pukayastha Venue: P2 Time : 10th 9.00am-12.00noon 2. IPR and Software Speakers: Prof.Pratap reddy, Raj mathur, Ignatious Kunjumon, Frederic Noronha, Prabir Pukayastha Venu: S10 Time: 11th 9.00am-12.00noon 3. Panel Discussion: IPR, Agriculture& Biotechnlogy Speakers: Abhijit Sen, Satyajit rath, Vineeta Bai, Smitha Gupta, Bhaskar Goswami,Abhay Kumar Venue: M4 Time: 12th 9.00am-12.00 noon 4. Action Plan on IPR & Globalisation Venue: W1 Time: 13th 9.00am-12.00pm ISF06 is happening on Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Grounds, New Delhi From 9-13th. I attended the Plenary Session. Good Discussion is happened even though the audience was little in Number. I Request the FSF Volunteers from Delhi to Come and Join The Programmes One more Happy News. As of WSF2004 in Mumbai, Free Software gives the Soul for the Media Centre of ISF06. Nearly 30 Computers Here are Completly Working On Free Software. Volunteers from ILUG Delhi are Providing Technical Support ~ Solidarity Anivar Aravind

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Re: Join IRC: irc.freenode.net , #marathiopensource, #janabhaaratii
by Vihan Pandey 10 Nov '06

10 Nov '06

> > At the end of the day its up to your free will to determine are you > > interested in ``high quality technically superior software and > > extreme amounts of $$$" or are you interested in building a better > > society based on freedom and equality. > > Or maybe even both! At a technical level yes. But at a philosophical level not without self conflict and contradiction. Regards, - vihan

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IOSNFOSSINASIA
by Frederick Noronha 10 Nov '06

10 Nov '06

------------------------------------------------------------------- IOSNFOSSINASIA * IOSNFOSSINASIA * IOSNFOSSINASIA * IOSNFOSSINASIA * ------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 8"""88 8""""8 8"""8 01010101010101010101010101010101010 8 8 8 8 8 8 Compiled by Frederick [FN] Noronha. 8e 8 8 8eeeee 8e 8 Supported by the International Open 88 8 8 88 88 8 Source Network www.iosn.net Copyleft 88 8 8 e 88 88 8 May be reproduced with due credit 88 8eeee8 8eee88 88 8 01010101010101010101010010101010010 8"""" 8"""88 8""""8 8""""8 8""""8 8 8 8 8 8 e eeeee 8 8 eeeee e eeeee 8eeee 8 8 8eeeee 8eeeee 8 8 8 8eeee8 8 " 8 8 8 88 8 8 88 88 8e 8e 8 88 8 8eeee 8e 8eee8 88 8 8 e 88 e 88 88 88 8 88 8 88 88 88 8 88 8eeee8 8eee88 8eee88 88 88 8 88 8 8ee88 88 88 8 November 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------- IOSNFOSSINASIA * IOSNFOSSINASIA * IOSNFOSSINASIA * IOSNFOSSINASIA * ------------------------------------------------------------------- Spotlight ------------------------------------------------------------------- START A FOSS PACIFIC RESEARCH PROJECT WITH IOSN PIC The Pacific Island Countries (PIC) node of the International Open Source Network (IOSN) is formed by a consortium of 4 regional organizations: Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society (PICISOC), South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), Secretariat of the South Pacific Community (SPC), and the University of the South Pacific (USP). This consortium is led by USP, which coordinates IOSN PIC from its Faculty of Science and Technology's School of Computing, Information, and Mathematical Sciences. IOSN PIC focus areas include: FOSS applications in PIC; FOSS techniques to support the creation, storage and delivery of teaching and training materials; incorporation of FOSS in academic courses; Linux System Administrator Training of Trainers and certification; legal issues related to FOSS; localization of FOSS; and awareness raising. IOSN PIC aims to foster research in the area of FOSS applications and development in the region, and is currently seeking ideas and expressions of interest for possible projects. IOSN will not be involved in every case in managing and implementing all projects, but it can assist in seeking funds from donors and providing technical advice. For more information, please contact Dr. Marko Schütz <schutz_m AT usp DOT ac DOT fj>. IOSN PIC is one of three centres of excellence of IOSN. Others include IOSN ASEAN+3 and IOSN South Asia. For more information, please visit http://www.iosn.net Other resources related to FOSS in PIC: IOSN PIC - http://www.iosn.net/pacific-islands/ Pacific Island Countries Free/Open Source Software Communities and Activities Report (PICFOSSCAR), first edition, 22 March 2006 - http://www.iosn.net/pacific-islands/picfosscarpdf/view (PICFOSSCAR's third edition is planned for December 2006. Please share short reports of any activities related to FOSS in the region.) USP-IOSN Microgrant Programme for Pacific Island Countries - This Programme is a competitive grants scheme available to individuals or teams in the Pacific Island Countries. http://www.iosn.net/pacific-islands/usp-microgrants/ FOSS Resources for PIC - http://www.iosn.net/pacific-islands/countries/ Asia-Pacific Reports ------------------------------------------------------------------- ASIAN TEAMS CELEBRATING SOFTWARE FREEDOM DAY: Bangladesh Linux Users Alliance http://www.linux.org.bd/ Bangladesh Open Source Network http://www.bdosn.org/ Bangla l10n Team (bangla_l10n AT yahoogroups.com) Jahangirnagar University Open Source Network (ju_osn AT yahoogroups.com) Chittagong University (cu_osn AT yahoogroups.com) BUET Open Source Network (buet_osn AT yahoogroups.com) RUET Open Source Network (ruet_osn AT yahoogroups.com) SUST Open Source Network (sust_osn AT yahoogroups.com) Brunei: Brunei LINUX Users Group http://blug.mms2udirect.net Location: Bandar Seri Begawan and Kuala Belait Local parent organization: Brunei LINUX Users Group Team Contact: Hj Azaman Hj Suleiman Contact information: azlinux AT gmail.co China: http://hackinglinux.org/ Indonesia: OpenSource (http://opensource.3wsi.net) Debian (http://debian.3wsi.net) Linux-aktivis (http://www.linux.or.id) kslbl (http://kslbl.hcm-consultant.com) Contact Person : [Meta Nurwidyanto] meta AT softhome.net, [Nasir Simbolon] nasir AT kecapi.com, [Richard Sitompul] richard.sitompul AT gmail.com [Muhammad Hafizh] acid20burn_tux AT yahoo.com Surabaya Linux User Group (http://surabaya.linux.or.id) [Moh. Noor Al 'Azam] noorazam AT rad.net.id, [Cahyo Darujati] darujati AT rad.net.id Jogjakarta Linux/FOSS User Group (http://jogja.linux.or.id) info at jogja dot linux dot or dot id Java User Group Indonesia (http://www.jug.or.id) jug-indonesia AT yahoogroups.com BlueOxygen Federation (http://www.blueoxygen.org) Project: Cimande (http://cimande.dev.java.net) Komodo - Digital Library System (with Minister of R&D) Kresna (http://kresna.ristek.go.id) Contact: frans AT blueoxygen.org Iran: Isfahan Linux Users Group. ziaee AT itland.ir (Majid Ziaee) Farsi Linux Project Ebadiebadi AT aictc.com Israel: Hamakor, an Israeli FLOSS NPO Action Plan for SFD. See discussion here (english mostly): Softwre Freedom Day - Call for Help [http://linmagazine.co.il/node/view/3436] Chameleon.org.il Technical Howto Documents Writting Contest: Chameleon is holding a Technical Howto Documents Writting Contest day. Main Prize: SuSE Linux 10.1. every participant will get a Linux Technical Kit Resource Kit. Malaysia: Malaysian Open Source Group (http://my-opensource.org) Free/Open Source Society Malaysia (http://foss.org.my) Aizat <aizat.faiz(a)gmail.com> Mongolian Open Source Initiative: Week of FOSS is one week event a part of SFD that will educate computer science students about FOSS at their universities. During this week we will give talk on topics what is FOSS, what are benefits, how does it develops, how I can get involved to the students of 10 major computer science teaching universities in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. http://www.mnosi.org/ Nepal: Team Name: FOSS Nepal Community Contact: fossnepal AT gmail dot com Pakistan: Team Islamabad. Location: Pakistan Software Export Board, Ministry of IT & Telecom. Open Source Resource Center (http://www.osrc.org.pk) Team Contact: Sufyan Kakakhel skakakhel AT pseb.org.pk Team Karachi. Local parent organization: Department of Computer Science - UNIVERSITY OF KARACHI. NUCES-FAST Karachi. Date: September 10th, 2005. Team Lahore. FOSSFP: Free and Open Source Software Foundation of Pakistan. [http://www.fossfp.org] Team Contacts: Dr. M Anwar-ur-Rehman Pasha, Chairman Fouad Riaz Bajwa, General Secretary. Singapore: Harish Pillay will be speaking on "The Importance of Open Source in Education". Both Red Hat and LUGS are participating in this event. http://wiki.lugs.org.sg/SoftwareFreedomDay2006 Contact information: harish.pillay AT gmail.com Sri Lanka: The Lanka Linux User Group (LKLUG) [http://www.lug.lk/] and the Sri Lankan FOSS community [http://www.foss.lk/] BLOGS: http://budlite.blogspot.com/2006/09/open-invitation-to-celebrate-software.h… http://nirmaljayasinghe.wordpress.com/2006/09/17/free-and-open-source/ http://chaarmax.blogspot.com/2006/09/software-freedom-day-tomorrow.html http://budlite.blogspot.com/2006/09/freedom-lost-at-software-freedom-day.ht… http://chanux.wordpress.com/2006/09/21/software-freedom-day-2006-1-2/ http://chanux.wordpress.com/2006/09/21/software-freedom-day-2006-2/ Philippines: Vizcayano Linux Users Group V.L.U.G http://vlug.vizcayano.com Pangasinan Linux Users Group P.L.U.G http://www.plugz.cjb.net baguiocity philippines http://CLANph.farvista.net Vietnam: http://www.hanoilug.org/ IOSN News ------------------------------------------------------------------- FOSS@WORK An International Workshop for Small and Medium IT Enterprises, Heritage Hotel, Manila, Philippines, 12-15 November 2006 The International Open Source Network (IOSN) ASEAN+3, UNDP-APDIP, InWEnt-Capacity Building International of Germany and University of the Philippines Manila are hosting a workshop on FOSS for Small and Medium Enterprises in the IT industry (SMITE). While there are many SMITEs working with and on FOSS solutions, many others in the region are still unfamiliar with FOSS. IOSN ASEAN+3 is organizing a workshop for developers, senior IT staff and IT decision makers of SMITES, to provide orientation and technical training on FOSS architecture and community management skills. The workshop will: be an opportunity to network experienced FOSS developers with potential FOSS developers; be an opportunity to share experiences and best practices, and promote collaboration; and enhance the technical skills of developers through power training Topics Overview of FOSS Business models for FOSS FOSS collaboration and project management tools Content management systems Productivity (OpenOffice + localization) IP-based voice services Developing multimedia with FOSS SMS programming with FOSS And more Workshop participation fee is Php 5,500.00 (or USD$100.00) - subsidies are available for qualified applicants. Register online at http://www.iosn.net/asean-3/countries/philippines/events/foss-at-work/regis…. Find out more at http://www.iosn.net/asean-3/countries/philippines/events/foss-at-work or email asean3(a)iosn.net Linux System Administrator Training of Trainers ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangkok, Thailand, 28 August – 9 September 2006 Quezon City, Philippines, 9 – 21 October 2006 Two regional training of trainers sessions were held over the last two months in Bangkok, Thailand and Quezon City, Philippines. A major barrier against adoption and deployment of FOSS in developing countries is the lack of human resources with FOSS skills. These introductory programmes aims to address the problem by training trainers so that they can train others in their countries, and therefore kick-start a self-sustaining development of FOSS human resources. The course introduces Linux trainers to training with open content Linux system administration training materials and low-cost certification examinations of the Linux Professional Institute (LPI). The training of trainers session held in Bangkok attracted 20 participants from Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia and Thailand. It was co-organized by IOSN, the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), NECTEC Human Resources Development Center and Linux Professional Institute. The session in the Philippines was co-organized by IOSN ASEAN+3 and Linux Professional Institute. Both events were supported by InWEnt-Capacity Building International of Germany and Open Society Institute. For more information, please visit http://www.iosn.net/asean-3/countries/thailand/tot/linux-training-of-traine… http://www.iosn.net/asean-3/countries/philippines/events/tot/training-of-tr… Asia Source II ------------------------------------------------------------------- Free and Open Source Technologies for NGOs and SMEs, Sukabumi, Indonesia 22-30 January 2007 This follows the much-remembered and talked-of eight-day Asia Source held in Bangalore in January 2005. This camp was one in a series of international camps on the use of free and open source software being organized across the developing world. Asia Source II seeks to build the skills and networks of those in the region who are working in the non-governmental organization (NGO) and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sectors. The event will bring together people from the more technical to the more content-oriented. These range from software developers and system administrators, to trainers, consultants and FOSS advocates, as well as technology/NGO project managers, and tech-savvy activists/NGO workers. Areas of focus will include the following: TRACK ONE: Open Publishing and Broadcasting: Communication Strategies and Writing Effectively. Graphic Design, Web Tools [Content Management Systems, Blogs, Wikis] and Audio/Video Production and Streaming. Script Writing and Story Boarding. File Formats and Conversion Utilities. Shooting and Editing Methodologies Who should attend: Campaigners, Content Developers, Web Masters, Activists, Fundraisers, Graphic Designers, Film Makers, Radio Professionals, New Media Practitioners and Archivists. TRACK TWO: Alternative Hardware and Access: Refurbished Hardware, Thin Clients, Hardware Hacking, Wireless Solutions and Community Radio. Who should attend: Server Administrators, Network Administrators, Trainers, E-Riders, Rural Community Organisers, Relief Workers, Privacy Activists and ICT4D Professionals. TRACK THREE: FOSS Implementation and Migration: Moving an NGO or SME from proprietary software to FOSS. Participatory Design and Planning, Evaluating FOSS, End-User Training and Support Techniques, Dealing with Desktops, Proxy Server, Firewall, Mail Server and Groupware. Change management and migration strategies. Who should attend: Server Administrators, Network Administrators, Trainers, E-Riders, ICT4D Professionals and Software Developers TRACK FOUR: Information Management: Mapping Information Sources and Requirements. Best practices for Creating Specifications, Information Architecture and User Interface Design. Web-based Databases, Geographical Information Systems, Customer Relationship Management, Application/Communication Security and Disaster Management Systems. Who should attend: Heads of Organisations, Senior Management, Campaigners, Activists, Fundraisers, Archivists, Community Organisers, Environmentalists, Relief Workers and Health Workers. Workshop participation fee is USD$75.00 – subsidies to cover the participation fee is available for qualified applicants. The deadline for application is 17 NOVEMBER 2006. Find out more and register online at http://www.iosn.net/regional/asiasource-2007, or email asiasource2(a)iosn.net NEW FOSS CASE STUDIES ------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 new case studies from across the world are available on http://www.iosn.net/publications/case-studies The case studies looks at the successful deployment of FOSS in select projects from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America. In each case study, the reasons for choosing to use FOSS together with the development, implementation and impact of the FOSS applications are discussed. The benefits obtained and challenges encountered as well as any valuable lessons learned are also highlighted. These case studies are from a forthcoming IOSN publication entitled, "Breaking Barriers: The Potential of Free and Open Source Software for Sustainable Human Development – A Compilation of Case Studies from Across the World." To submit a case study on how your project has successfully deployed FOSS, please email info(a)iosn.net. The case study should follow the same format as follows: Summary; Background of Organization; Objectives of Project; FOSS Application (Description, Choice of FOSS, Development and Implementation, Deployment, Impact); Lessons Learned; Current Status of Project; Benefits and Challenges; Other Information; Conclusion; Contact Information (Project Name, Organization, Contact Person(s), Street/Postal Address, Email(s), Telephone, Fax) Website(s) Links from Asia-Pacific ------------------------------------------------------------------- OPTIONS AND SOLUTIONS: OLD HARDWARE http://polishlinux.org/choose/linux-on-old-hardware/ By Borys Musielak Is [GNU]Linux a good choice for your old PC? This article examines the main issues connected with using GNU/Linux on some very old hardware. The article also covers choosing a distro, a desktop and the key applications for such a configuration. An article by FROM BANGLADESH: Ubuntu Bangladesh http://www.ubuntu-bd.org/ FROM VIETNAM: Hacao Linux http://hacao.com/ Hacao Linux is a small Vietnamese Linux distribution, based on Puppy Linux (http://www.puppylinux.org/) by Nguyễn Quang Trường. The Hacao Office.2.01 VN version integrates the free office suite OpenOffice.org 2.0.3 in Vietnamese and can be installed to a 256 MB USB drive. FROM PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES: Pacific Island Countries FOSS mailing list – http://lists.apdip.net/mailman/listinfo/iosn-pacific [iosn-pacific] provides a forum to discuss FOSS issues in Pacific Island Countries. Archives: http://lists.apdip.net/pipermail/iosn-pacific/ ------------------------------------------------------------------- IOSN NEWSLETTER: FOSS in Asia-Pacific is compiled by Frederick Noronha and supported by the International Open Source Network <http://www.iosn.net> IOSN promotes the adoption of free/open source software, open standards and open content for sustainable human development in the Asia-Pacific region. IOSN is a network with a small secretariat based at the UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok and three centre of excellence -- IOSN ASEAN+3, IOSN PIC (Pacific Island Countries) and IOSN South Asia, based in Manila, Suva and Chennai respectively. To find out more, contact the centres of excellence. IOSN ASEAN+3: asean3(a)iosn.net IOSN PIC: pic(a)iosn.net IOSN South Asia: southasia(a)iosn.net IOSN is an initiative of UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information, and supported by the International Development Reserch Centre of Canada. To include Asia-Pacific related news about FOSS in this newsletter, please email frededericknoronha(a)gmail.com This newsletter is released under the Creative Commons Attribute 2.5 license. Reproduction of the contents of this newsletter is encouraged, provided acknowledgement of the source(s) is made. -------------------------------------------------------------------

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FOSS.in talks...
by Frederick Noronha 10 Nov '06

10 Nov '06

QUOTE: FOSS.IN is one of the world's largest and most focussed FOSS events, held annually India. Over the years, it has attracted thousands of participants, and the speaker roster reads like a "Who is Who" of FOSS contributors from across the world. ENDQUOTE http://foss.in/2006/info/Final_List It was truly an herculean task to wade through the tons of amazing talks and tutorials, and we must admit that we have left out a lot of good talks for unavailability of slots. The organizers express gratitude to all the people who submitted talks and hope they will be involved with the event in some way. The List 1 A.R.KARTHICK OPENCLOVIS ASP - An Open Sourced Carrier Grade Middleware Talk 2 Aaron Seigo KDE4 And You Talk 3 Aaron Seigo Writing Applications With KDE4 Workshop 4 Aditya Godbole Porting the FreeBSD kernel Talk 5 Ajit Sabnis Open Source Portal Talk 6 Anandaraj Thangappan Eclipse plugin development Talk 7 Andrew Cowie On The Cutting Edge: solving the fundamental structural problem of the free software movement Talk 8 Andrew Cowie Opening GTK to Java programmers: the past, present and future of the java-gnome bindings project Talk 9 Aneesh Kumar K.V Linux Kernel Clustering Framework Talk 10 Anurag Shekhar Apache Derby 10.2 Talk 11 Archana Kumar Open Source IT Monitoring Tool - A look at Zenoss Talk 12 Ashutosh Dhanesha Project INVITE Talk 13 Ashwin Chaugule Linux WiFi Stacks Talk 14 Avik Sengupta OpenBSD in the wild - a personal journey Talk 15 B N Poornima Best Practices in Linux Kernel Testing Talk 16 B.C. Sekar Adding new protocol decode support in Ethereal Workshop 17 Bijon B Shaha A 'Toaster' in Service of Freedom Talk 18 Biju Chacko Using Gentoo Portage to Build a Sand Boxed Application Stack Talk 19 Biswaranjan Nayak The State of OTG in the Linux Kernel Talk 20 Charles Rose Software Change Management for Hardware Talk 21 Christof Wittig How we Fix the Software Industry with Open Source Talk 22 Christoph Hellwig Contributing to the Linux Kernel for fun and profit Talk 23 Christoph Hellwig The TFRC Tunnel Protocol - an XFRM-based tunnel driver for Linux 2.6 Talk 24 Danese Cooper The Truth about FOSS and Open Standards Talk 25 Dibya Prakash Porting Ruby into Symbian OS - Google SOC project Talk 26 Frederick FN Noronha Ten Tips To Turbocharge The Team: Getting Smaller User-Groups Moving Talk 27 Gopalarathnam Venkatesan JSON - a lightweight data-interchange format Talk 28 Guntupalli Karunakar Indic computing workshop Workshop 29 Harald Welte OpenPCD and OpenPICC: Free Software and Hardware for RFID Talk 30 Harald Welte Developing with OpenEmbedded on the Simputer Talk 31 Harsha Padmanabha Image builder for Embedded Systems Talk 32 Indranil Das Gupta IT Asset Management using FOSS tools Talk 33 Isaac Praveen Developing web applications with perl/Catalyst Talk 34 Jaimon Jose Secure Linux Programming Talk 35 Jaya Kumar The Linux kernel, GPLv2 and GPLv3 Draft2 Talk 36 Jaya Kumar ALSA and OLPC audio Talk 37 Jayasankar Divakarla Linux Security Module. Talk 38 K .Sebi Kumar Open standards and CGL driving Telecom revolution Talk 39 K. K. Subramaniam FOSS tools in primary schools Talk 40 Kai Voigt MySQL 5.0 & LDAP Talk 41 Kalyan Varma Digital Photography and Linux Talk 42 Kartik Mistry How to become 3rd Indian Debian Developer Talk 43 Kushal Das Inside of Fedora Extras, a technical journey Talk 44 Luke Kanies Puppet - Portable System Automation Talk 45 MADHUKAR GUNJAN CHAKHAIYAR iSCSI - An emerging technology and its footprint in Linux. (( STANDARD- IETF 50 AND RFC 3720 )) Talk 46 Mahesh T. Pai Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodiet? Talk 47 Manu Konchady A FOSS Bridge to Cross the Digital Divide Talk 48 Mathew Varghese Open Source Product Documentation Framework Workshop 49 Natarajan Kannan Webmarker - Your marker pen for the web Talk 50 Nirav Mehta FOSS infrastructure for your organization Talk 51 Noor Ul Mubeen sUSBix - stick to it ! Talk 52 Pankaj Kaushal Monitoring Large Scale Web Applications with Nagios Talk 53 Peter Karlsson Application Perf Tuning on OpenSolaris using DTrace Talk 54 Philip Tellis libyahoo2 - the 'other' messaging library Talk 55 Pradeepto Kumar Bhattacharya Interview Tips - How to perform well in your next Interview? Tutorial 56 Prashanth Mohan Tutorial Session on LDTP Tutorial 57 Prashanth N Udupa Visualization on Linux with VTK Designer Talk 58 Priti Patil Project Talk: janabhaaratii: Localisation of Free/Open Source Software Talk 59 Raghu Venkataramana WET – A commercial grade opensource web testing tool Talk 60 Rahul Sundaram One Laptop Per Child - challenges & development Talk 61 Ramya B.B Pushing drivers to user-space Talk 62 Rasmus Lerdorf Getting Rich with PHP 5 Talk 63 Roger Persson Creating a Flexible Robot Controller using Python Talk 64 Russell Nelson Which Open Source License? Talk 65 Russell Nelson "But I'm not a hardware guy" Tutorial 66 Shyamal Misra SDL - The New Mantra of Game Development Talk 67 SijiSunny An Historical Merging from Xfree86 to Xorg Talk 68 Sirtaj Singh Kang Writing an SMS Service with Free Software Talk 69 Sirtaj Singh Kang Qt Graphics View - A Fresh Canvas Talk 70 Sivakumar Thyagarajan Building an open source Java EE 5 application server - Project GlassFish Workshop 71 Sony Kuruvilla Philip OpenVPN - A functional and easy VPN Tutorial 72 Sudhakar Thaths Chandra Hacking the Slug Workshop 73 Sulamita Garcia Makefiles - Dark Magic in Programming Talk 74 Sulamita Garcia Creating Load Balance environments Tutorial 75 Sunil Abraham Impact of Indian Copyright and Patent Law on FOSS Talk 76 Suparna Bhattacharya ext4 development - a work-in-progress update Talk 77 Suparna Bhattacharya Linux and the art of minimalist development Talk 78 Tim Pritlove Closing Keynote Talk 79 Vamsee Krishna Kanakala Strap on your rocket packs: Web Development in Common Lisp Tutorial 80 Venkata Kishore BrandZ: A framework for non-native vitualized operating enviroment in OpenSolaris Talk 81 Vivek K.S. OpenAlchemy Talk 82 Vrushali Mahalley Overview of Open Web Single Sign-On Talk * * * * * People who wish to attend FOSS.IN can now register themselves online and avail the cool 50% discount on the Rs.1000 delegate fee - if you register online and bring your registration code to the venue, you have to pay only Rs.500! Online Registration will be open till the 22nd of November 2006, after which registration opens at the venue (without discount). Please read the instructions carefully, and don't forget to bring your registration code to the venue! Here's the URL to go to: https://foss.in/2006/cfp/delegates/ -- FN [https://southasiaict4d.wordpress.com/] 9822122436 +91-832-240-9490 [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers] [http://fn.goa-india.org] Technology, freedom, people: You can contribute to make this mix work!

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Re: Join IRC: irc.freenode.net , #marathiopensource, #janabhaaratii
by Vihan Pandey 09 Nov '06

09 Nov '06

Hello, You wrote : One more thing, AFAIK FSF doesn't believe in the > promotion of term ``Open Source''. Can someone give clarification on > this issue? The clarification has been made innumerable times, since the time ``certain" people decided the term ``Free Software" was not the ideal term and values of freedom would not find place in the software industry and among ``techies". The entire concept is VERY well documented here : http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/ The specifics vis a vis ``Open Source" are here : http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html At the end of the day its up to your free will to determine are you interested in ``high quality technically superior software and extreme amounts of $$$" or are you interested in building a better society based on freedom and equality. The decision you make in terms of following the movement and term ``Free Software " or ``Open Source" consequently decides a better future for one. Moreover what you preach to others will have an impact as well. The choice is yours. Regards, - vihan

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Launch of India Legal Information Institute
by Talwant Singh 08 Nov '06

08 Nov '06

INAGURATION OF INDIA LEGAL INFORMATION INSTITUTE Dear Sir/Madam, You will be glad to know that India Legal Information Institute is will be inagurated on 25th of November, 2006 at 10:30 am at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi by the Hon. Prime Minister. This is going to be India's First Free Legal Portal providing: 1. Central & State Laws, 2. Judgements of Supreme Court/High Courts & District Courts 3. Biographies of all Legal Luminaries, 4. Legal News, Views & Events 5. Legal, Cyber & Forensic Education 6. E-Library of Law 7. E-Journal 8. Discussion Forums 9. Law Blog 10. Links to other Legal Websites Your constructive suggestions to make this Institute a success are welcomed. Thanks Talwant Singh

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FSF announces release of gNewSense 1.0
by Debarshi 'Rishi' Ray 08 Nov '06

08 Nov '06

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Sullivan <johns(a)fsf.org> Date: 02-Nov-2006 17:07 Subject: FSF announces release of gNewSense 1.0 To: gnu-prog(a)gnu.org BOSTON, November 2, 2006 - Free Software Foundation announces release of gNewSense version 1.0. (Screenshots available at http://www.fsf.org/news/gnewsense) gNewSense (http://www.gnewsense.org) is a free software GNU/Linux distribution created by two Irish free software advocates, Brian Brazil and Paul O'Malley, and is based on the Ubuntu and Debian distributions. The goal of gNewSense is to provide users with a software package that offers the stability of Ubuntu with the addition of freedom. In announcing the release of version 1.0, the gNewSense developers stated, â€œFrom a philosophical perspective we wanted to create a GNU/Linux distribution where the user has access to all the sources for all software on the system. This includes everything from the heart of the kernel through to the everyday desktop applications." With the avowed goal of providing a completely free distribution - one without non-free kernel binary "blobs" or any other non-free software, the Free Software Foundation has announced sponsorship of the project. Ted Teah, FSF's free software directory maintainer explained, "With all the kernel firmware and restricted repositories removed, and the reliance on Ubuntu's proprietary distribution management tool gone, this distribution is the most advanced GNU/Linux distribution that has a commitment to be 100% free." gNewSense will provide users with full security updates and is available for immediate download in LiveCD ISO format along with a version of the Ubiquity graphical installer. Furthermore, the gNewSense team has created a set of software called Builder which allows users to create their own gNewSense-based distributions. gNewSense provides detailed instructions on how to use the software and the recipe to roll out a customized distro. The Free Software Foundation is providing the gNewSense team with a high end build machine (running with a free BIOS), with bandwidth and with assistance in developing artwork. The FSF plans to aid widespread adoption of the distribution and, with the release of gNewSense 1.0, is making a call for volunteers who have the skills to act as the following: * Developers; * Website Maintainers; * Graphic Artists; * Freedom verifiers to monitor package additions and mailing lists; * Documentation Writers. To volunteer, please, sign on at irc.freenode.net and /join #gnewsense. You can also join the mailing list via the project website http://www.gnewsense.org/ ----30---- About the Free Software Foundation 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. Their Web site, located at www.fsf.org, is an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support their work can be made at http://fsf.org/join They are headquartered in Boston, MA, USA. Press contact: To schedule an interview with the developers of gNewSense, please contact Ted Teah at the Free Software Foundation (+1 617-542-5942) or Peter Brown (+1 617-542-5942) or email pr(a)fsf.org ---------- -- John Sullivan Program Administrator | Phone: (617)542-5942 x23 51 Franklin Street, 5th Fl. | Fax: (617)542-2652 Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA | GPG: AE8600B6 -- http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnu-prog -- "India is not, as people keep calling it, an underdeveloped country, but rather a developed nation in an advanced state of decay." --Shashi Tharoor

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Join IRC: irc.freenode.net , #marathiopensource, #janabhaaratii
by priti patil 08 Nov '06

08 Nov '06

Hi all, Join us here for discussions ! Regards Priti Patil --------------------------------- Sponsored Link Try Netflix today! With plans starting at only $5.99 a month what are you waiting for?

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[OT] Adobe collaborates with Mozilla Foundation to Open Source Flash Player Scripting Engine
by Ajay Pal Singh Atwal 07 Nov '06

07 Nov '06

Good news I hope Licenced under MPL/GPL/LGPL see http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200611/110706Mozill… http://www.mozilla.org/projects/tamarin/ -- Sincerely Ajay Pal Singh Atwal Dept of CSE & IT BBSBEC, Fatehgarh Sahib Punjab, INDIA -------------------------------- http://www.bbsbec.ac.in http://www.ajaypal.com -------------------------------- ajaypal[at]bbsbec.org, ajaypal[at]acm.org

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Join IRC: irc.freenode.net , #marathiopensource, #janabhaaratii
by priti patil 07 Nov '06

07 Nov '06

Hi all, Join us here for discussions ! Regards Priti Patil --------------------------------- Sponsored Link $200,000 mortgage for $660/mo - 30/15 yr fixed, reduce debt, home equity - Click now for info

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Invitation for "1st Orientation Programme for Marathi Translators and Marathi Wordlist Editors, janabhaaratii, C-DAC, Mumbai
by priti patil 03 Nov '06

03 Nov '06

Invitation for Marathi Translators and Wordlist Editors Empanelment On behalf of "janabhaaratii" a Govt. of India funded project, we are very glad to invite "English-Marathi Translators" having * Computer Operation knowledge * Fluent with Marathi language and Computer Terminologies Desirable: * Familiarity with Indian Language text processing using GNU/Linux platform * Familiarity with different kinds of translations & issues thereof * Familiarity with tools to support translations * Knowledge of Data Entry in Marathi is essential Also "Marathi Wordlist Editors" who are expected to contribute to the wordlist having variety of words from various domain, in terms of editing existing wordlist and also making it qualitatively and quantitatively better. For registration visit: http://www.janabhaaratii.org.in/page_gen.php?lang=en&body=/announcement/tra… or send in your mail at "Alka Irani" <alka(a)cdacmumbai.in>, "Priti Patil" <prithisd(a)cdacmumbai.in >, "Gracy Abreo" <gracy(a)cdacmumbai.in> No registration fees, but registration is the MUST. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Agenda for "1st Orientation Programme for Marathi Translators and Marathi Wordlist Editors" will be Date: 10th Nov 2006 Venue:C-DAC Mumbai (Formerly National Centre for Software Technology) Air-India Bldg, 8th Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai- 400 021 Telephone: +91 22 2202 4641, +91 22 2283 6924 Fax: +91 22 2204 9573 Time 10:00 - 17:00 10:00 - 12:30 * Concept Introduction (30 min) * Dos and Don't of Translation and Wordlist Edition (60 min) * Introduction of Translation Tools (60 min) Lunch Time 12:30 - 13:30 13:30 - 17:00 * Practice Session (60 min for getting familiar with Marathi text input process) * Actual work (till 17:00) No registration fees, but registration is the MUST. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Priti Patil janabhaaratii, C-DAC Mumbai (Formerly National Centre for Software Technology) Air-India Bldg, 8th Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai- 400 021 Telephone: +91 22 2202 4641, +91 22 2283 6924 Fax: +91 22 2204 9573 --------------------------------- Cheap Talk? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates.

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Fantastic GNewSense
by doxa＠sancharnet.in 03 Nov '06

03 Nov '06

This new sense appears to be the most sensible. It appears that the spirit of GPLv3 has already started to work, before the body is built. Like throwing a few yards ahead.... Cheers to the Builders...., CK Raju

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UK Court of Appeal ruling rejecting patents for computer programs
by Ramanraj K 02 Nov '06

02 Nov '06

A news report and a link to the judgement of the UK Court of Appeal rejecting patents for computer programs is available at http://www.out-law.com/page-7429 -Ramanraj K

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COMMERCIAL: From a FLOSS magazine in India....
by Frederick Noronha 01 Nov '06

01 Nov '06

From: "Niraj Sahay" <niraj(a)efyindia.com> Date: Wed Nov 1, 2006 4:49 pm Subject: [Commercial] Highlights - LFY November 2006 teamlfy Dear Readers, With the Fedora team, as usual, pushing the release date of FC6 again and again (before finally releasing it on 24th and it getting available for download on 25th), we were left with no option but to go for the next most requested distro on the bulletinn board - Mandriva Linux 2007. This distro is a treat for users who like to work on multi-architecture platforms (32-bit and 64-bit). Coming to the editorial highlights, we have a mega interview with Javed Tapia, founder Red Hat India, who speaks to the media for the first time after stepping down from his position of director - India. In the trends section, this month we discuss about the use of Linux in tghe supercomputing world. We have two very interesting case studies this month, one that discusses the first mover advantage taken by Samsung by incorporating the 'Linux-compatible' logo in their printer advertisement and the other about Bombay high court adopting Linux/OSS. In our opinions section, this month, the community opines on how whether IPR is a boon or a bane. Also, in the 'Down Memory Lane' series, we look at the history of the KDE project. FOR YOU & ME * KDE: Kudos All the Way! * Mandriva Linux 2007: The Ia Ora Magic Casts a New Spell * Enigmatise Youe E-mail * Opinions: IPR - Incentive or Disincentive to Innovate * Linux in Telecommunication: A Mighty Combo * The Director's Cut: Interview - Javed Tapia * From e-Governance to Open Governance ADMIN * WLAN Cards on Linux: Tweak Your Way Out * Getting Wireless with Tux * Get SMART! * Easing Data Migration with Portable Data Containers DEVELOPERS * The Basics of JVMTI * Perl Development on Linux with Eclipse IDE * A uClinux Primer * Simplifying Audio Conversion with Glade * Build and Integrate Your Own Small Office Intranet POLICYMAKERS * Linux is the Way to Go, Your Honour! GEEKS * Linux Rules the Supercomputing World PLAYERS * Will Tux Boost Samsung's Printers into the No.1 Position? * Wind River - Embracing Tux with Open Arms: Venkatesh Kumaran, Wind River India COLUMNS * BraveGNUIndia: When Governments Promote FLOSS * FreedomYug: Steal This Film ON LFY DVD * Mandriva Linux 2007 (Free Edition) The latest distribution from the Mandriva stable, Mandriva Linux 2007 (free edition) is simply fabulous. A highly versatile distribution, this DVD is readily installable on both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures. ON LFY CD * 3D applications software: Blender 2.4, OpenSceneGraph, Irrlicht SDK 1.1, Art of Illusion, myStudio - Free/Open source 3D software, JPatch, K-3D, screenhack, Aqsis, Ayam, gSculpt, Aztec 3D Modeller, * Newbies: KIso 0.8, Sweep, JACK Rack, Ardour, Rosegarden 1.4.0 * Power Users: GNOME Partition Editor, QTParted, RRDTool, John the Ripper, GNU FreeIPMI * Fun stuff: Open Noid, Fighter 2, HoloRacer, Pang Zero, Elephants Dream, SolarWolf, LinCity-NG, Extended Death Match, Danger from the Deep * Updates: Kernel 2.6.18, Clam AntiVirus We hope you enjoy reading the issue. Please send all your feedback on lfyedit(a)efyindia.com WHERE TO GET YOUR COPY? Problems getting a copy of LFY? Feel free to reach out to our distributors (IBH) listed below: # Ahmedabad - Mr. S. K. Sharma (079-26577068) # Bangalore - Mr. Devaru Bhatt (080-22261305, 080-22252385) # Chennai - Mr. Vijay Rengan (044-28273893) # Hyderabad - Mr. Ramesh Rajgopal (040-27564945, 040-27561140) # Kolkata - Mr. Mehta (033-22498096/97) # Mumbai - Mr. Indur Vaswani (022-24943707) # New Delhi - Mr. P. K. Das (011-23313014/15) # Pune - Mr. Ashok Basant (020-26131261) # Trivandrum - Mr. Hari Kumar (0471-2475443) HOW TO SUBSCRIBE OR COMPLAIN? Go to our website www.lfymag.com OR email at support(a)efyindia.com OR call at 011-26810601/02/03 -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha http://fn.goa-india.org 9822122436 +91-832-240-9490 http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/ Free Software gives you the freedom to run, study, copy and improve software!

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Piracy, FLOSS, peer production, new models, innovation... a voice at the IGF
by Frederick Noronha 01 Nov '06

01 Nov '06

Piracy creates jobs, but [Free Software and] Open Source and Open Standards create opportunity, create entrepreneurs. And I think that's the challenge for the IGF as well, how to look at it is a public interest forum, the Internet is a public space, and how can we facilitate maximum sharing, maximum creativity, peer production, new models, innovation. --Anriette Esterhuysen, at the Internet Governance Forum, Athens, November 1, 2006 http://www.intgovforum.org/IGF-Panel2-311006am.txt -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha http://fn.goa-india.org 9822122436 +91-832-240-9490 http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/ Free Software gives you the freedom to run, study, copy and improve software!

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RSF: 24-hour online demo against internet censorship (November 8)
by Anivar Aravind 31 Oct '06

31 Oct '06

Reporters without borders urges internet users to join in 24-hour online demo against internet censorship http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19459 Where: www.rsf.org When: 11 A.M. on 7 November to 11 A.M. on 8 November No one should ever be prevented from posting news online or writing a blog, but they are in the 13 countries singled out by Reporters Without Borders for a 24-hour online protest against Internet censorship. Worldwide, 61 people are currently in prison for posting "subversive" content on a blog or website. Reporters Without Borders is compiling a list of 13 countries whose governments are "Internet enemies" because they censor and block online content that criticises them. The Internet scares. Censors of every kind exploit its flaws and attack those who pin their hopes on it. Multinationals such as Yahoo! cooperate with the Chinese government in filtering the Internet and tracking down cyber-dissidents. The defence of online free expression and the fate of bloggers in repressive countries concern everyone. So Reporters Without Borders is offering Internet users tools to campaign against Internet predators and is calling on them to participate in an INTERNATIONAL CYBER-DEMO. Everyone is invited to support this struggle by connecting to the Reporters Without Borders website (www.rsf.org) between 11 a.m. (Paris time) on Tuesday, 7 November, and 11 a.m. on Wednesday, 8 November. Each click will help to change the "Internet Black Holes" map and help to combat censorship. As many people as possible must participate so that this operation can be a success and have an impact on those governments that try to seal off what is meant to be a space where people can express themselves freely. Protests will also be staged by Reporters Without Borders bureaux around the world to condemn Internet censorship and ethical misconduct of the Internet giants when operating in one of these countries. Reporters Without Borders will publish the list of the 13 Internet enemies on 7 November and at the same time will launch its blog platform, rsfblog, and an Arabic-language version of its press freedom website. The agency Saatchi & Saatchi has created an Internet ad calling on the entire Internet community to take part in the 24-hour campaign. All media, websites and blogs that want to support this large-scale protest are invited to get in touch with Cédric Gervet at +33 1 4483-8474. Freedom of expression is not a luxury. It is everyone's right!

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Re: [ILUG-BOM] Mr. Stallman's talk at Himachal
by Debarshi 'Rishi' Ray 29 Oct '06

29 Oct '06

> Here's a link to the report on the speech of Mr. > Stallman. Neat and simple. > http://www.himvani.com/news/2006/10/28/im-saint-ignucius-richard-mathew-sta… That article has been authored by Mrs. Saroj Thakur-- lecturer of English in NIT Hamirpur. There are a few typos though. > One could actually, be surprised, at the initial two > photographs. Why? Here are some more (not complete): ftp://glug-nith.org/media/rms/20061025-nitham/ ftp://glug-nith.org/media/rms/rms-20061025-nitham.tar.bz2 ftp://glug-nith.org/media/rms/rms-20061025-nitham.tar.gz Cheers, Debarshi -- "India is not, as people keep calling it, an underdeveloped country, but rather a developed nation in an advanced state of decay." --Shashi Tharoor

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Mr. Stallman's talk at Himachal
by Roshan 29 Oct '06

29 Oct '06

Here's a link to the report on the speech of Mr. Stallman. Neat and simple. http://www.himvani.com/news/2006/10/28/im-saint-ignucius-richard-mathew-sta… One could actually, be surprised, at the initial two photographs. -- http://houdini-aboutnothing.blogspot.com/ __________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Answers: Share what you know. Learn something new http://in.answers.yahoo.com/

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KERALA: MBC-LUG makes a silent entry ..
by Frederick Noronha 29 Oct '06

29 Oct '06

Prof George Easaw is our friend from Goa, geasaw @ gmail.com, who recently shifted to Kerala. He has played a key role in building GNU/Linux skills at the Goa Engineering College, including in arranging the visit and talk of Richard M Stallman to this institution! We all miss him in Goa. But at least, he's lighting fires elsewhere :-) FN MBC-LUG makes a silent entry .. The Linux User Group (MBC-LUG) at Mar Baselios Christian College of Engineering and Technology, Peermade, Iduki, Kerala has started functioning from 25 October 2006. Ms Reenu George, faculty from Comp Science Engg will be co-ordinating the meetings. The first meeting was attended by six staff members and almost 20 students from first year to final year of engg from diff branches. The meeting was held in the new 60+3 machine lab (all PIV, with LCD monitors) with it's own audio (5 + 1 woofer) and video projection facilities. Probably this is the first dedicated Linux lab with this capacity ( 60 + 3) anywhere in the state of Kerala ......!!!!! and hope it is the first in India too .. The meeting started with an explanation of the concept of free software and the birth of Gnu / Linux, the role played by RMS, ( he is a familiar name here..). The demo was very interesting for the staff and students most of whom were working on Gnu / Linux for the very first time .. It was interesting to navigate thru Linux using the text commands and also to do some matrix computations and 2D plotting using Octave. The LUG will meet every Tuesday from 4.30 to 6 PM (except during exam time..) The Lab will anyway be open for students to work upto 8 PM on any working day.. Internet connectivity will be given to the lab soon. The lab technicians are slowly getting used to networking in Linux which too will be done soon.., connecting all the 63 machines.. -- Kind regards, George Easaw Ph.D., Professor, Dept. of Mech Engg., MBC College of Engg. Kuttikanam, Peermade, Idukki, Kerala. 685 531 INDIA. mobile : (0)-924-931-9335 -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha http://fn.goa-india.org 9822122436 +91-832-240-9490 http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/ Free Software gives you the freedom to run, study, copy and improve software!

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Top Story on Forbes : [RMS] Toppling Linux
by Baishampayan Ghose 27 Oct '06

27 Oct '06

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hello, The guys at the Forbes magazine seem to have got something absolutely wrong. There is a front-page article on Forbes which claims ``Software radical Richard Stallman helped build the Linux revolution. Now he threatens to tear it apart.'' It then goes on to say, ``Richard M. Stallman is a 53-year-old anticorporate crusader who has argued for 20 years that most software should be free of charge.'' and also calls all the Free Software supporters ``a band of anarchist acolytes''. The author makes a lot of laughable claims in the whole article which in some way seems to be targeted directly at defaming rms and the Free Software Movement. I think we should protest against it by mailing Forbes. The full article is located at http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/1030/104_print.html I am quoting the full article here so that people can read it without visiting the website, text in [] are mine -- - --- On The Cover/Top Stories Toppling Linux Daniel Lyons 10.30.06 Software radical Richard Stallman helped build the Linux revolution. Now he threatens to tear it apart. The free Linux operating system set off one of the biggest revolutions in the history of computing when it leapt from the fingertips of a Finnish college kid named Linus Torvalds 15 years ago. Linux now drives $15 billion in annual sales of hardware, software and services, and this wondrous bit of code has been tweaked by thousands of independent programmers to run the world's most powerful supercomputers, the latest cell phones and TiVo video recorders and other gadgets. But while Torvalds has been enshrined as the Linux movement's creator, a lesser-known programmer--infamously more obstinate and far more eccentric than Torvalds--wields a startling amount of control as this revolution's resident enforcer. Richard M. Stallman is a 53-year-old anticorporate crusader who has argued for 20 years that most software should be free of charge. He and a band of anarchist acolytes long have waged war on the commercial software industry, dubbing tech giants "evil" and "enemies of freedom" because they rake in sales and enforce patents and copyrights--when he argues they should be giving it all away. Despite that utopian anticapitalist bent, Linux and the "open-source" software movement have lured billions of dollars of investment from IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Red Hat and other tech vendors, plus corporate customers such as Wall Street banks, Google and Amazon and Hollywood special-effects shops. IBM has spent a billion dollars embracing Linux, using it as a counterweight to the Microsoft Windows monopoly and to Sun Microsystems' Unix-based business. Now Stallman is waging a new crusade that could end up toppling the revolution he helped create. He aims to impose new restrictions on IBM and any other tech firm that distributes software using even a single line of Linux code. They would be forbidden from using Linux software to block users from infringing on copyright and intellectual-property rights ("digital rights management"); and they would be barred from suing over alleged patent infringements related to Linux. Stallman's hold on the Linux movement stems from the radical group he formed in 1985: the Free Software Foundation. The Boston outfit, which he still runs, is guided by a "manifesto" he published that year, urging programmers (hackers) to join his socialist crusade. The group made Stallman a cult hero among hackers--and ended up holding licensing rights to crucial software components that make up the Linux system. Stallman hopes to use that licensing power to slap the new restraints on the big tech vendors he so reviles. At worst it could split the Linux movement in two--one set of suppliers and customers deploying an older Linux version under the easier rules and a second world using a newer version governed by the new restrictions. That would threaten billions of dollars in Linux investment by customers and vendors alike. Click here to see which tech companies Stallman's attack could hurt. A cantankerous and finger-wagging freewheeler, Stallman won't comment on any of this because he was upset by a previous story written by this writer. But his brazen gambit already is roiling the hacker world. His putsch "has the potential to inflict massive collateral damage upon our entire ecosystem and jeopardize the very utility and survival of open source," says a paper published in September by key Linux developers, who "implore" Stallman to back down. "This is not an exaggeration," says James Bottomley, the paper's chief author. "There is significant danger to going down this path." (Stallman's camp claims Bottomley's paper contains "inaccurate information.") Simon Lok, chief of Lok Technology in San Jose, Calif., a maker of cheap wireless-networking gear, dumped Linux a few years ago in fear of the Stallman bunch. "I said, 'One day these jackasses will do something extreme, and it's going to kill us.' Now it's coming to fruition," Lok says. "Some of this stuff is just madness. These guys are fanatics." He adds: "Who do these people think they are?" Even the Linux program's progenitor and namesake, Linus Torvalds, rejects Stallman's new push to force tech companies to design their software his way and to abandon patent rights. Torvalds vows to stick with the old license terms, thereby threatening the split that tech vendors so fear. The new license terms Stallman proposes "are trying to move back into a more 'radical' and 'activist' direction," Torvalds says via e-mail. "I think it's great when people have ideals--but ideals (like religion) are a hell of a lot better when they are private. I'm more pragmatic." But then, Richard Stallman rarely is pragmatic--and in some ways he is downright bizarre. He is corpulent and slovenly, with long, scraggly hair, strands of which he has been known to pluck out and toss into a bowl of soup he is eating. His own Web site (www.stallman.org) says Stallman engages in what he calls "rhinophytophilia"--"nasal sex" (also his term) with flowers; he brags of offending a bunch of techies from Texas Instruments by plunging his schnoz into a bouquet at dinner and inviting them to do the same. His site also boasts a recording of him singing--a capella and badly--his own anthem to free software. ("Hoarders can get piles of money / that is true, hackers, that is true. / But they cannot help their neighbors, that's not good, hackers, that's not gooood," he warbles, which culminates in polite applause from his followers.) He hasn't hacked much new code in a decade or more. Instead he travels the world to give speeches and pull publicity stunts, donning robes and a halo to appear as a character he calls "St. IGNUcius" and offer blessings to his followers. (GNU, coined in his first manifesto, is pronounced "Ga-NEW" and stands for "Gnu's Not Unix"; the central Linux license is known as the GNU license.) And though he styles himself as a crusader for tech "freedom," Stallman labors mightily to control how others think, speak and act, arguing, in Orwellian doublespeak, that his rules are necessary for people to be "free." He won't speak to reporters unless they agree to call the operating system "GNU/Linux," not Linux. He urges his adherents to avoid such terms as "intellectual property" and touts "four freedoms" he has sworn to defend, numbering them 0, 1, 2 and 3. In June Stallman attempted to barge into the residence of the French prime minister to protest a copyright bill, then unrolled a petition in a Paris street while his adoring fans snapped photos. Long ago Stallman was a gifted programmer. A 1974 graduate of Harvard with a degree in physics, he began graduate school at Massachusetts Institute of Technology but dropped out and took a job in an MIT lab. There he grew furious that companies wouldn't let him tinker with the code in their products. A Xerox laser printer was a key culprit. In the early 1980s he called on hackers to fight their oppressors by helping him create a free clone of Unix, naming it GNU. Stallman and his allies hacked away for nearly a decade but couldn't get GNU to work. In 1991 Torvalds, then an unknown college kid in Finland, produced in six months what Stallman's team had failed to build in years--a working "kernel" for an operating system. Torvalds posted this tiny 230-kilobyte file containing 10,000 lines of code to a public server, dubbing it "Linux" and inviting anyone to use it. Soon people were combining Torvalds' Linux kernel with Stallman's GNU components to make a complete operating system. The program was a hit. But to Stallman's dismay people referred to it as Linux, not GNU. Torvalds became famous. Stallman got pushed aside. The ultimate insult came in 1999 when his Free Software Foundation was given a "Linus Torvalds Award." Stallman accepted but said it was "like giving the Han Solo award to the Rebel Alliance." As programmers wrote hundreds of building blocks to add to Linux, Stallman's Free Software Foundation persuaded them to hand over their copyrights to the group and let it handle licensing of their code. Stallman wrote the central license for Linux: the GNU General Public License or GPL. For his part, Linux creator Torvalds never signed his creation over to the group--but he did adopt the GNU license, granting Stallman further sway. In recent years Stallman and the FSF have been cracking down on big Linux users, enforcing terms of the existing license (GPLv2, for version 2) and demanding that the big tech outfits crack open their proprietary code whenever they inserted lines from Linux. Cisco and TiVo have been targets; Cisco caved in to Stallman's demands rather than endure months of abuse from his noisy worldwide cult of online jihadists. Nvidia, which makes graphics cards for Linux computers but won't release enough of the code behind them to satisfy Stallmanites, also came under attack. "It's an enemy of the free software community, so we call them 'inVideous,'" says Peter Brown, executive director of the Free Software Foundation. Now the Stallman stalwarts are pushing a new version of the Linux license--GPLv3, with its tougher restrictions and a ban on anything that would protect or enforce copyright and other digital rights. Thus Stallman is living an anarchist's dream: The tech giants he has spent his career attacking send lawyers to sit at his feet and beg. Stallman has invited companies to comment on his drafts but insists he alone decides what goes into the final version, due in early 2007. Often he won't listen. HP suggested changes in patent language in the new license. In a sign of how much fear Stallman inspires even at the largest tech company in the world, HP's lawyers emphasize they didn't "ask for changes"--they merely "suggested modifications." Whatever. Stallman rejected them. In September a committee of leading Linux companies spent two days in Chicago discussing the GPLv3 with Stallman's representatives--and left worried. Stallman's camp refused to answer even simple questions about whether v2 and v3 code will be able to coexist. "They've been at this for nine months, and it's time to clarify. Everyone wants to make sure that Linux keeps accelerating," says Stuart Cohen, chief executive of Open Source Development Labs, a vendor-funded consortium in Beaverton, Ore. that employs Linus Torvalds and supports Linux development. Most major tech vendors declined comment rather than risk tangling with Stallman's enforcers, such as his sidekick and attorney, Columbia Law School professor Eben Moglen. A spokesman for Novell, the second-biggest Linux distributor, says the company won't comment because negotiations are ongoing. Red Hat also declined to comment. Privately some Linux vendors say they hope Stallman will relent and soften the terms of GPLv3. One big potential victim of the Stallman stunt is Red Hat, the leading Linux distributor, with 61% market share. Red Hat bundles together hundreds of programs contributed by thousands of outside coders. If Linus Torvalds sticks with his old kernel under the older and less restrictive version-2 license, and Stallmanites ship version-3 code, what is Red Hat to do? The two licenses appear to be incompatible. There's also the problem of forfeiting patent enforcement rights if Red Hat ships v3 code. Red Hat could stay with an entirely "v2" Linux system, taking on the burden of developing its own versions of whatever programs move to v3. But it's not clear that Red Hat has the staffing to do that. "Red Hat gets a lot of code from people who don't work for Red Hat. They would have to replace all that and do the work in-house," says Larry W. McVoy, chief executive of software developer Bitmover and a longtime Torvalds collaborator. Even then, however, Stallman and his loyalists may carry on developing their own v3 versions. This "forking" of multiple incompatible versions could lead to "Balkanization" and derail Linux, the Torvalds camp warns. Red Hat and other Linux promoters also may find themselves in an awkward spot with customers. "IT managers want to buy stuff that puts them at as little risk as possible. If there was a risk that Stallman could become such a loose cannon, that's something most IT managers would have wanted to know before they bet their companies on Linux," McVoy says. Some customers are wary. ActiveGrid, an open-source software maker in San Francisco, originally planned to distribute its program under a gpl license but changed plans after a big European bank declared it wouldn't use products covered by the gpl, says Peter Yared, chief executive of ActiveGrid. The biggest beneficiaries of Stallman's suicide-bomber move could be other companies Stallman detests: the proprietary old guard--Microsoft, which pitches its Windows operating system as "safer" than Linux, and Sun, which lost customers to Linux but now hopes to lure them back to an open-source version of its Solaris system, which doesn't use the GPL. And a big loser, eventually, could be Stallman himself. If he relents now, he likely would be branded a sellout by his hard-core followers, who might abandon him. If he stands his ground, customers and tech firms may suffer for a few years but ultimately could find a way to work around him. Either way, Stallman risks becoming irrelevant, a strange footnote in the history of computing: a radical hacker who went on a kamikaze mission against his own program and went down in flames, albeit after causing great turmoil for the people around him. Collateral Damage Richard Stallman's kamikaze attack on Linux could hurt tech companies that have built thriving businesses on top of this free program. These are the top targets. [HP, Novell, Red Hat, IBM] - --- Regards, BG - -- Baishampayan Ghose <b.ghose(a)gnu.org.in> Free Software Foundation of India http://www.gnu.org.in/ 1024D/86361B74 BB2C E244 15AD 05C5 523A 90E7 4249 3494 8636 1B74 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.2.2 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFFPfWLQkk0lIY2G3QRAsEpAKCLIvzRymnA7CWAOpW50tPL0WxEtQCgvXq6 vLBsQro33MrxpL0adKMHaKk= =sJjV -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Linux on cheap BigApple PCs from Rs.3000 onwards.
by Nutan Ishfaq 27 Oct '06

27 Oct '06

Hi Linuxers, Now, if you folks saw the ad from BigApple in the Indian Express yesterday, you should see *tremendous* potential in it for both Linux and Linuxers. [BigApple is at http://bigapple.in/] You have expertise in installing and troubleshooting Linux. You have a shared knowledge base. You guys are helpful and open minded. You deserve to take this up and benefit from it either by credit or by cash. Here is how I think you can go about doing it: (1) BigApple is selling Pentium 1, 2 and 3 based PCs at prices as low as Rs. 3000/- !! Which means their target customers are the low income group. Naturally, they cannot afford to buy a licensed version of Windows. And obviously, you cannot expect Windows XP or Win2000 to run on those low end machines - trust me - I have an old P-1 166 MHz with 128 MB RAM and it is *pathetic* with anything more than Windows 98. (2) Enter Linux! Damn Small Linux, Feather Linux, Flash Linux, UTUTO Linux, SLAX Linux, and obviously, Knoppix. (3) I hear someone shout: "But Linux is not dumb-user friendly". Google for XPde, EDE, xfce. These *mimic* the Windows Look and Feel, running over X, and since they are just desktops, you can always switch your Linux distro keeping the look and feel the same !! We could have someone providing a migration application which would shift all your data from one distro to another, but set up the same desktop and of course, restore your data as well. (Just save all the migration settings and desktop data in an xml file) (4) We have GnuBharati already, so, BigApple can pre-install GnuBharati onto their PCs for non-English users - Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati, etc. - that's a *big* user base. (5) People basically use PCs to make text documents, spreadsheets, presentations(Open Office), listen to music, watch movies, play games, chat, surf the web, send and receive email. All these apps are stable and mature on Linux long ago. You know more than I do :-). (6) So, what remains is user training, that is, *if* you still find XPde / EDE / xfce not good enough. NOTE: this situation is highly unlikely, but nevertheless. There are one hell of a lot of unemployed BSc and ITI-trained youngsters. Since the PCs come at Rs.3000/- to Rs. 5000/- and in Marathi or Hindi, everyone will want to own a computer. So, if these guys go around every house installing PCs, they will make a decent income as well. (I should be a Minister, don't you think? :-) :-) ) (7) None of the people who have bought P4's will ever revert to P3,2,1. I mean, that does not happen, simply. So, we are not troubling anyone's market share. Means, nobody will trouble us with litigation, threats or pressure. And, since nobody really purchases Windows licenses for home PCs, Microsoft wont lose any income either. So, this is clean business, without hurting anyone's revenue or business. (8) What has brought about this new change? BigApple kept aside the traditional profit hunger for the benefit of a non-targetted market segment. Normal hardware assemblers are out-and-out profit-hungry people. Even if they *can* provide older processors for cheap, they will say that they cannot, and so, they force the latest, unnecessarily high tech products down our throats. BigApple has decided to be different. So, poor folk in this country will also get computers. (9) Triband / DataOne is good. Majorly. Its freakin' cool! So, now, since your computer is going to be used only for mail, office documents, music and web surfing, you can depend on Web2.0 providers like Google, ZOHO etc. for online storage of your documents. So, in simple words, ********************************************************************************* Your old P3,2,1 PC is a *thin client* for your ZOHO / Google server! ********************************************************************************* (10) Now to the *fairy tale* angle: One Rs.5000/- PC in each village of India with *one* high speed broadband connection means that village is connected to the world for about Rs.1000/- a month. Permanently. Yup! (a) If you keep a program running that will relay weather forecasts, Thunderstorm warnings, farming information, rates of foodgrains, business outsourcing to villages from cities (idea released under GFDL), etc. you have a heaven just waiting to descend onto the Indian landscape. (b) e-governance. I think "samajhdar ko ishara kafi hai". (c) [more applications waiting to be invented in the near future by FSF / Mum-LUG / BigApple ] I guess I have taken a lot of your time by now. The big idea is out. Run and grab it! (Gosh! I sound like an ad maker !! ;-) ) Wishing you all (at least some) success with this new idea, Best wishes, A badly trapped M$ slave :-) Btw, I am NOT a BigApple employee! Instead, I'm a poor M$ ASP.Net programmer venting out my frustration at being forced to buy Windows XP Pro for $149 + INR 1800+ as custom duty and shipping charges (= INR 8000+) , because all my customers have Windows (pirated, of course) on their machines. One thing that does strike me is that these folks find *Windows* difficult to use!! So maybe there is some *important* lesson for aspiring desktop Linux support engineers. I emailed the CEO of BigApple and it seems this potential of Linux wasn't so clearly envisaged by them as well! Yet another reminder that Linux is yet to catch on. PS : EDE = Equinox Desktop Environment

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Ubuntu 6.10 released
by doxa＠sancharnet.in 26 Oct '06

26 Oct '06

"Ubuntu is suitable for both desktop and server use. The current Ubuntu release supports PC (Intel x86), 64-bit PC (AMD64), UltraSPARC T1 (Sun Fire T1000 and T2000) and PowerPC (Apple iBook and Powerbook, G4 and G5) architectures...." Details at http://www.ubuntu.com CK Raju ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using NWebmail, BSNL's Webmail Program

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Fwd: [ANN] Tamil Tagset released
by Bharathi Subramanian 25 Oct '06

25 Oct '06

From: "Kenneth Gonsalves" i am thrilled to anounce that the NLP group of AU-KBC has released a tamil tagset under the creative commons license. you may view the tagset here: http://nrcfosshelpline.in/web/activityfull/4/ and download it from: http://nrcfosshelpline.in/web/down/5/ congratulations to Dr Sobha and her team Bye :) -- Bharathi S

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Top Story on Forbes : [RMS] Toppling Linux
by Vihan Pandey 24 Oct '06

24 Oct '06

Hello, Thanks a lot BG for putting this to everyone's notice. The article is extremely inflammatory and goes to the extent of demonising RMS and FSF. In fact i think FSF ought to sue forbes over it. i can understand constructive criticism but this is pure concentrated malice. There ais a link to a discussion thread about the same and i think ALL of us ought to put a piece of our minds there. The sad part is in order to post, you need to register. i've used an alias: edudkniht spelt backwards to register and have posted my reply : http://forums.forbes.com/forbes/board/message?board.id=stallmanreaction&mes… PLEASE, others do the same. We can' take this lying down. Regards, - vihan

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RMS' plans in Delhi
by Raj Mathur 24 Oct '06

24 Oct '06

Hi, Anyone got RMS' programme when he's back in Delhi from Dharmsala this month? Delhi University is very keen that he should give a talk there, so if any of you is in touch please let me or Gora Mohanty (CC'ed this message) know. Also, would anyone have Arun M's contact number? The one I have seems to have been switched off a couple of weeks ago and not restarted :) Thanks, -- Raju -- Raj Mathur raju(a)kandalaya.org http://kandalaya.org/ GPG: 78D4 FC67 367F 40E2 0DD5 0FEF C968 D0EF CC68 D17F It is the mind that moves

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RMS talking at MDI, Gurgaon
by Sasi Kumar 24 Oct '06

24 Oct '06

Richard Stallman will be speaking at the Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, on 26th October 2006 between 4 and 5:30 pm. The IT department at the Institute is understood to be very much excited about it. They are also trying to fix a press conference at the Institute, since the time may be short for him to travel to Delhi. He has to leave for Mumbai the same evening. The programme was organised by Akshay Sasikumar, a frist semester International Management student there. -- V. Sasi Kumar Free Software Foundation of India Please see: http://swatantryam.blogspot.com/

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Re: Fsf-friends Digest, Vol 42, Issue 16
by naveen mudunuru 24 Oct '06

24 Oct '06

the recording of hyderabad talk will be made available, very soon. On 10/24/06, fsf-friends-request(a)mm.gnu.org.in <fsf-friends-request(a)mm.gnu.org.in> wrote: > Send Fsf-friends mailing list submissions to > fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > fsf-friends-request(a)mm.gnu.org.in > > You can reach the person managing the list at > fsf-friends-owner(a)mm.gnu.org.in > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Fsf-friends digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. RMS' plans in Delhi (Raj Mathur) > 2. Re: Richard Stallman's Talk at Hyderabad (nipra) > 3. Re: Richard Stallman's Talk at Hyderabad (Ciaran O'Riordan) > 4. Re: RMS' plans in Delhi (Nagarjuna G.) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 15:14:33 +0530 > From: Raj Mathur <raju(a)linux-delhi.org> > Subject: [Fsf-friends] RMS' plans in Delhi > To: "Principal Support List of FSF-India" <fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in> > Cc: gora(a)srijan.in > Message-ID: <200610231514.33993.raju(a)linux-delhi.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Hi, > > Anyone got RMS' programme when he's back in Delhi from Dharmsala this > month? Delhi University is very keen that he should give a talk > there, so if any of you is in touch please let me or Gora Mohanty > (CC'ed this message) know. > > Also, would anyone have Arun M's contact number? The one I have seems > to have been switched off a couple of weeks ago and not restarted :) > > Thanks, > > -- Raju > -- > Raj Mathur raju(a)kandalaya.org http://kandalaya.org/ > GPG: 78D4 FC67 367F 40E2 0DD5 0FEF C968 D0EF CC68 D17F > It is the mind that moves > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 18:48:12 +0530 > From: nipra <prabhakar.nikhil(a)gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [Fsf-friends] Richard Stallman's Talk at Hyderabad > To: "Principal Support List of FSF-India" <fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in> > Message-ID: > <884c455a0610230618g587436a2x59d404808bb4a422(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > Hi, > > On 10/23/06, Sandip Bhattacharya <sandip(a)lug-delhi.org> wrote: > > Sunil Mohan Adapa wrote: > > > Title: Software and Freedom > > > > > > Speaker: Richard M. Stallman > > > > > > Location: Tagore Auditorium, Osmania University, Hyderabad. > > > > > > Time: 4 p.m., 20th October, 2006 > > > > I will ask this again. Doesn't *ANYBODY* record these talks of RMS and > > put them up anywhere for public benefit? I am sure RMS of all the people > > would not have a problem with this, but many many people would benefit > > from it. > > Don't know about the recording of this talk but the talk given at JNU > on 21st Oct was recored for around half an hour ( though his talk was > around 2 hrs long). Considering that most of RMS talks about Free > Software is very similar one can get benefitted by watching his > earlier talks. A detailed list can be found here: > > http://nipra.be/Speeches_.txt > > Regards > Nikhil Prabhakar > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: 23 Oct 2006 14:38:11 +0100 > From: Ciaran O'Riordan <ciaran(a)fsfe.org> > Subject: Re: [Fsf-friends] Richard Stallman's Talk at Hyderabad > To: Principal Support List of FSF-India <fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in> > Message-ID: <9l7iyrm9to.fsf(a)vorcha.compsoc.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 > > > nipra <prabhakar.nikhil(a)gmail.com> writes: > > Don't know about the recording of this talk but the talk given at JNU > > on 21st Oct was recored for around half an hour ( though his talk was > > around 2 hrs long). Considering that most of RMS talks about Free > > Software is very similar one can get benefitted by watching his > > earlier talks. A detailed list can be found here: > > > > http://nipra.be/Speeches_.txt > > There is also a good list on the Wikipedia page about him: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman#Speeches > > And FSFE is starting to compile a list of free software videos here: > http://fsfe.org/en/advocacy/videos > > Usually when Richard gives a talk, it's about either: > > 1. "GNU/Linux and the free software movement" > 2. "The Dangers of sofware patents" > 3. "Copyright vs. Community in the age of computer networks" > 4. "GPLv3: an overview of the changes" > > But I find the questions and answers sessions after his talks are very > interesting. > > I think recording his talks is quite important, not only because it is a > good way to raise awareness of software freedom but also so that history > will benefit from a detailed record of his philosophy. > > > -- > Ciarán O'Riordan __________________ \ http://fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3 > http://ciaran.compsoc.com/ _________ \ GPLv3 and other work supported by > http://fsfe.org/fellows/ciaran/weblog \ Fellowship: http://www.fsfe.org > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 09:14:33 +0530 > From: "Nagarjuna G." <nagarjun(a)gnowledge.org> > Subject: Re: [Fsf-friends] RMS' plans in Delhi > To: raju(a)linux-delhi.org, "Principal Support List of FSF-India" > <fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in> > Cc: rms(a)gnu.org > Message-ID: > <62b3fb50610232044y6d995544tbabd59bae104ee37(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > I think he is doing a press conference in Delhi on 26th before leaving > for Mumbai that evening. I am cc this to RMS who may have the > confirmed information. > > Nagarjuna > > On 10/23/06, Raj Mathur <raju(a)linux-delhi.org> wrote: > > Hi, > > > > Anyone got RMS' programme when he's back in Delhi from Dharmsala this > > month? Delhi University is very keen that he should give a talk > > there, so if any of you is in touch please let me or Gora Mohanty > > (CC'ed this message) know. > > > > Also, would anyone have Arun M's contact number? The one I have seems > > to have been switched off a couple of weeks ago and not restarted :) > > > > Thanks, > > > > -- Raju > > -- > > Raj Mathur raju(a)kandalaya.org http://kandalaya.org/ > > GPG: 78D4 FC67 367F 40E2 0DD5 0FEF C968 D0EF CC68 D17F > > It is the mind that moves > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Fsf-friends mailing list > > Fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in > > http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Fsf-friends mailing list > Fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in > http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends > > > End of Fsf-friends Digest, Vol 42, Issue 16 > ******************************************* > -- regards naveen Be Free, Speak Free, Work Free. Advocate "FREE SOFTWARE", FREE as in FREE SPEECH, not as in FREE BEER

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Richard Stallman's Talk at Hyderabad
by Sunil Mohan Adapa 23 Oct '06

23 Oct '06

Title: Software and Freedom Speaker: Richard M. Stallman Location: Tagore Auditorium, Osmania University, Hyderabad. Time: 4 p.m., 20th October, 2006 "Free software is a fundamental requirement for a democratic and free society in which we are surrounded by and dependent upon technical devices." -- Eben Moglen. Richard M. Stallman is the founder of the Free Software Foundation and the GNU project, which has contributed the most significant part of the GNU/Linux operating system. He is a scientist, a philosopher, a music-lover and musician, and a most passionate programmer. Amonst numerous notable creations and achievements, he has written the GCC compiler, the GDB debugger and the Emacs editor, and has been awarded four honorary Ph.Ds from universities around the world. Stallman argues that software users should have the freedom to "share with their neighbor" and to be able to study and make changes to the software that they use and this forms the basis for the Free Software movement. He is coming to Hyderabad to talk about the relationship between software and freedom. All individuals passionate about software and freedom, who believe that technological development is most effective when we collaborate with each other must attend this talk at 4 PM on the 20th of October to be held at Tagore Auditorium, Osmania University, Hyderabad. Links: 1) Free Software Foundation of India, Andhra Pradesh Chapter: http://www.swecha.org/ 2) Free Software Foundation of India: http://fsf.org.in -- Sunil Mohan

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RMS at WSIS
by Krishna Pagadala 22 Oct '06

22 Oct '06

I recently ran into RMS talk at WSIS in Tunis last year. It is a very good one, especially geared to developing countries. It is also a very short one, just 15 minutes long. Transcript at http://fsfe.org/en/fellows/ciaran/ciaran_s_free_software_notes/transcript_o… Video at http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/051118-WSIS.2005-Richard… I am posting this instead of Ciaran who somehow forgot our list ;) The talk is one of the best from RMS, my other favorite is Misinterpreting Copyright http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/misinterpreting-copyright.html -Krishna ===================================== Misinterpreting Copyright by Richard Stallman "Die Gedanken Sind Frei": Free Software and the Struggle for Free Thought by Eben Moglen mp3 ogg Free Knowledge blog . __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Ask Bono To Stand With Us Against DRM
by പ്രവീണ്‍‌|Praveen 20 Oct '06

20 Oct '06

Hi, Defective by Design ( http://wwwdefectivebydesign.org ) is running a campaign encouraging Bono to take a stand on DRM will send a powerful message. Its your chance to be a prt of this campaign by signing the petition. We have reached about 5000 signatures and we are looking at 10000. So pass it on to your friends as well. <quote> Dear Bono, You have dedicated a major part of your life's work to fighting for good causes, bringing pressure to bear on the powerful and political elite to effect positive change. In the same way that you have called for action from world leaders, we now call upon you to look at the facts surrounding Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), and join us in demanding an end to handcuffs on technology and culture. </quote> Read the full petition and sign http://defectivebydesign.org/petition/bonopetition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bono Regards Praveen -- "Value your freedom, or you will lose it, teaches history. `Don't bother us with politics', respond those who don't want to learn." -- Richard Stallman Me scribbles at http://www.pravi.co.nr

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Re: RMS' visit to NIT Hamirpur
by Debarshi 'Rishi' Ray 15 Oct '06

15 Oct '06

> Best of luck organising Thanks. :-) > and great job convincing your college > management to let him speak. Would have loved to visit Himachal this > time of the year, but have to hold the fort in Mumbai :-) Not much convincing was needed actually. If the Free Software Movement, and GNU Project does not convince them, then RMS' connections with MIT, Harvard, and USA surely do! :-D Cheers, Debarshi -- "India is not, as people keep calling it, an underdeveloped country, but rather a developed nation in an advanced state of decay." --Shashi Tharoor

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Re: RMS' visit to NIT Hamirpur
by Vihan Pandey 14 Oct '06

14 Oct '06

Hi Debarshi, <snip> > Dr. Richard Matthew Stallman (http://stallman.org/) will be giving a > public lecture in National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, Himachal > Pradesh on the 25th of October, 2006. The proposed topic for the talk > is "Free Software, Free Society". This would take place immediately > after Dr. Stallman is done with his talk in the Air Jaldi Summit > (http://summit.airjaldi.com) in Dharamsala. > > There is no entry fee for attending the lecture. Everyone is invited. > Anybody willing or able to make the trip are encouraged to drop in. Best of luck organising, and great job convincing your college management to let him speak. Would have loved to visit Himachal this time of the year, but have to hold the fort in Mumbai :-) Great Job again ! Regards, - vihan

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Re: [Fsf-friends] Need help (sorry for cross posting)
by Ajay Pal Singh Atwal 14 Oct '06

14 Oct '06

Maybe someone more knowledgeable can tell you more about it, but tivo is one example of such a device. Maybe you can read this as well http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1915643,00.asp ----- Krishna Pagadala <krishnaact(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > Hi All, > The following is an excerpt from the recent GPLv3 Conference in > Bangalore. > > "The simplest case it, I buy a thin client, lets say, and it's got > firmware on an IDE flash, I cannot take it out and put it in another > commodity hardware because they lock it down. And they don't do > simple things like, the kernel only has drivers for your hardware. > They TPM it, they put in a two dollar TPM chip on the board and they > lock down Free Software to their particular hardware." > http://fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3/bangalore-rms-transcript#freedom-and-th… > > Does anybody know more about this? Does anybody know the person who > asked this question? Can people please find out and let me know? > > Thanks > Krishna > > > > ===================================== > Misinterpreting Copyright by Richard Stallman > "Die Gedanken Sind Frei": Free Software and the Struggle for Free > Thought by Eben Moglen mp3 ogg > Free Knowledge blog > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > .. > > --------------------------------- > Get your own web address for just $1.99/1st yr. We'll help. Yahoo! > Small Business. > _______________________________________________ > Fsf-friends mailing list > Fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in > http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends -- Sincerely Ajay Pal Singh Atwal Dept of CSE & IT BBSBEC, Fatehgarh Sahib Punjab, INDIA -------------------------------- http://www.bbsbec.ac.in http://www.ajaypal.com -------------------------------- ajaypal[at]bbsbec.org, ajaypal[at]acm.org

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RMS' visit to NIT Hamirpur
by Debarshi 'Rishi' Ray 13 Oct '06

13 Oct '06

Dr. Richard Matthew Stallman (http://stallman.org/) will be giving a public lecture in National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh on the 25th of October, 2006. The proposed topic for the talk is "Free Software, Free Society". This would take place immediately after Dr. Stallman is done with his talk in the Air Jaldi Summit (http://summit.airjaldi.com) in Dharamsala. There is no entry fee for attending the lecture. Everyone is invited. Anybody willing or able to make the trip are encouraged to drop in. RSVP: debarshi.ray(a)gmail.com arjunbs(a)nitham.ac.in Cheers, Debarshi -- Microsoft does have a Y2K problem... it's called GNU/Linux!

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Need help (sorry for cross posting)
by Krishna Pagadala 12 Oct '06

12 Oct '06

Hi All, The following is an excerpt from the recent GPLv3 Conference in Bangalore. "The simplest case it, I buy a thin client, lets say, and it's got firmware on an IDE flash, I cannot take it out and put it in another commodity hardware because they lock it down. And they don't do simple things like, the kernel only has drivers for your hardware. They TPM it, they put in a two dollar TPM chip on the board and they lock down Free Software to their particular hardware." http://fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3/bangalore-rms-transcript#freedom-and-th… Does anybody know more about this? Does anybody know the person who asked this question? Can people please find out and let me know? Thanks Krishna ===================================== Misinterpreting Copyright by Richard Stallman "Die Gedanken Sind Frei": Free Software and the Struggle for Free Thought by Eben Moglen mp3 ogg Free Knowledge blog . --------------------------------- Get your own web address for just $1.99/1st yr. We'll help. Yahoo! Small Business.

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Re: Virtual Classrooms build using open-source/free software
by Roshan 12 Oct '06

12 Oct '06

> Folks, > > Have any of you experimented (or know of any > academic institute that did) with virtual classroom > implementation using open-source and/or free > softwares? I hadn't done a virtual classroom implementation, but a demonstration of using Ubuntu Linux LIVE CD, though it failed with a DLP projector, and had to do it on a LCD projector. YCMOU school of technology, has introduced streaming-video based lectures as one of its teaching techniques. Perhaps, they could use Free software for the same. -- http://360.yahoo.com/sriram4420 __________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Answers: Share what you know. Learn something new http://in.answers.yahoo.com/

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Virtual Classrooms build using open-source/free software
by sandeep Kumar 11 Oct '06

11 Oct '06

Folks, Have any of you experimented (or know of any academic institute that did) with virtual classroom implementation using open-source and/or free softwares? How far tools like gnome-meeting, vnc, skype kind of solutions can be integrated to provide intra (department and university) and inter university virtual classrooms - intra-department on 100Mbps LAN, intra-university on optical fibre network and inter-university on dedicated lines (2Mbps leased/ 512Kbps or 256 Kbps broadband). Other than at university/department end, internet connectivity may not be that good. Professor at home or visiting lecturer (visiting remotely ;) ) might just have 128-256 Kbps broadband internet connectivity. Sandeep ---------------------------------------------------- Want to know more about me? Check out http://www.geocities.com/shimple0 -- ______________________________________________ IndiaInfo Mail - the free e-mail service with a difference! www.indiainfo.com Check out our value-added Premium features, such as an extra 20MB for mail storage, POP3, e-mail forwarding, and ads-free mailboxes!

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Comrades open windows to [GNU]linux
by Frederick Noronha 10 Oct '06

10 Oct '06

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=142832 Comrades open windows to linux As Kerala logs Microsoft out of its schools, Linux world is buzzing with excitement over opportunities in the Left-ruled states M SARITA VARMA, INDRANIL CHAKRABORTY & PRAGATI VERMA Posted online: Monday, October 09, 2006 at 0000 hours IST Linux or open source seems to thrive wherever Left governments rule. And as Kerala schools log Microsoft out and boot open source systems, Linux world is buzzing with excitement over possibilities in the communist-ruled states. Though West Bengal and Tripura have to go whole hog to adopt a free software model, ideological closeness is more than evident. Kerala, most insiders' feel, is turning out to be Richard Stallman's happiest hunting ground. His personal vibes with Velikakathu Sankaran Achuthanandan, even from VS's pre-chief minister era, are in play. It's a picture watching the duo cozying together in a similar attire — Stallman in a crumbled white T-shirt and VS in homely sleeveless white banian. Secretly, people do wonder what Class VII drop-out Marxist patriarch chitchats with whiz-kid of the Red Hat business-model. However, those who attended a Stallman seminar on FOSS, could clearly see that Linux and Left are on the same wavelength. 'Keep that door open,' Stallman shouted jovially to the crowd flocking in and out of the seminar hall during a tea-break. "But not the windows," added 84-year old chief minister in matching spirits. CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Sitaram Yechury seems to be open source' best friend in West Bengal. He doesn't stop at citing Kerala's example to the state governments but prescribes it to the central government too. "The government should be forced to use free software and GNU-Linux based operating systems in the delivery of information for public use so that costs are kept low," he maintains. For the West Bengal government, it has always been a balancing act between the demands of large global corporations and the possibility of a more sustainable and cheaper alternative route to implement the e-governance programme in the last six years. Microsoft clearly can't be expected to take it lying down. "Every third Linux server being sold today is shipped to high performance computing segment and we had a gap in our product portfolio there. We have just launched a product for that space now,'' says Microsoft director (competitive strategy), Radhesh Balasubramaniam. Linux, according to him, is not eating into their marketshare but is replacing Unix. He has a point. Microsoft's marketshare has remained almost the same since last quarter at about 68% on the server side (open source's mainstay) compared to 70% two years ago. Linux, however, has grown to corner over 20% of the market from 11% two years back and its market is estimated to grow 21 % annually, according to IDC. Linux case is believed to be growing stronger in places like West Bengal as Microsoft is shying away from setting up a development centre in the state. The state information technology minister, Debesh Das is playing it safe. "State government is not against any particular company or individual. We don't like to oppose any business group." However, the state government has failed to develop a holistic policy in the areas of egovernance and implementation of free software or GNU/Linux has been limited to the discussion table. Subir Roy, the state informatics officer, said: "In the last five years, we haven't had any notable e-governance implementation based on free software or open source. One of the reasons is that most of the development work is vendor driven. Free software is not a popular IT system for most of the global vendors. The other important reason, according to Roy, is the lack of network in the state. "The free software with GNU/Linux operating system is best suited in a web-based environment. Due to the lack of state-wide area network, web based applications can't be used. Lack of IT infrastructure is one of the reasons the state's e-governance could not have free software implementation. Debesh Das paints a contrasting picture on open source' future in the state. "The state government would consider using open source software as the default exploitation route for the West Bengal funded software infrastructure in e-governance," he says. Das is not ready to believe that the state is not serious about free software. "One of the reasons for our low rate of adoption of GNU/Linux operating system in the public sphere is the lack of awareness on the benefits of free software." Insiders attribute it to ideological comradeship between Marxism or socialist ideology and free software movement. Stallman, however, shrugs away saying, 'Communist' is a label for anybody who questions the unfairness in the existing business models. "I am not against the idea of private business as long as it respects human rights and freedom." Why are then left leaders going gaga over free software? For many, the Left's love for free software is more to do with the basic copyright or the patent issue. "The Left thinks that existing copyright laws are against the creation of a more equitable distribution and so the alternative is Copyleft," says, West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT) vice chancellor, Ashoke Thakur. The Copyleft, as opposed to Copyright, originated in the GNU project and is the basic philosophical tenets in the formation of the free software movement. Copyleft is a form of licence whereby any user of the sofware under this has the freedom to use, copy, share, change and distribute the changed version. Curiously enough, market pushed Linux in Kerala much before the Marx-might came to play. This is because most PC vendors prefer margins from 'FOSS' (free open software systems), as they are free of copyright violation fuss. In response to the public mood, the Congress-led UDF Government lavished its e-governance initiatives with FOSS options, wherever possible, with some hand-holding from NIC ( National Informatics Centre). But the momentum came from the market. The die was cast on October 2005, when Microsoft came out with a sting operation in Thiruvananthapuram on anti-piracy crackdown "humiliating" a couple of PC sellers. "Dealers always prefer to do straight business and when it is FOSS systems, there are no ethical dilemmas," says State computer dealers association president, PK Harikrishnan. Right or wrong, it boils down to a question of seeing software as a market. Make some discreet queries, and you will find as much as 95% of multimedia PC buyers expect freebies of atleast two basic slices of Microsoft software, costing Rs 4200 to Rs 20,000 ( Windows 98 to MS office XP). Well aware of this, Microsoft is working overtime to make its products more affordable with initiatives like Windows Starter Edition. Efforts to make inroads into the academic community are equally evident. "We recognise that affordability is a stumbling block in certain sections of the society. We are seriously looking at new technology and business models to address this gap,'' says Radhesh Balasubramaniam. Most dealers find it hard to preach honesty to customers. The anti-Microsoft mood swung to a crusading level when LDF Government swore to power four months ago. Kerala is now in a bid to become Asia's first FOSS (free and open software) destination, taking the recently evolved model of a province in Spain. "Stallman's recent visit had an electrifying effect," says MA Baby, State Education Minister, who lost no time to chart out a schedule to migrate computers of 12,500 high schools in Kerala to FOSS in three years. And he is not alone. Unions of coconut toddy tappers, who 20 years ago went on an orgy of smashing down computers, are now in the flush of realisation that the brave new world of computers is not all about Bill Gates. In fact, the State Toddy Workers' Welfare Board is on the forefront of offices who have switched over to Linux. Some state departments like public works have shifted their server OS to Linux. Applications like file tracker and project monitoring software have said goodbye to Microsoft. Naturally PC venders are smelling more Linux in the G2B pie. This week, Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishat (KSSP), CPI (M)'s science and youth outfit, is setting up a Linux helpdesk (read aggressive FOSS marketing wing). And if you believe KSSP activist N Sudhir, "Open Sources systems are not anti-profit. They just have a different and more ethical business model. We are out to explode the Microsoft-propagated myth that free software systems does not make money." -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha http://fn.goa-india.org 9822122436 +91-832-240-9490 http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/

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Hi
by Bhaskar Chowdhury 09 Oct '06

09 Oct '06

-- _______________________________________________ Get your free email from http://www.linuxmail.org Powered by Outblaze

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Gnumeric is better than Excel
by Sasi Kumar 06 Oct '06

06 Oct '06

"Persons who desire to use a spreadsheet package to perform statistical analyses are advised to use Gnumeric rather than Excel." says a report. Here is the report: The open source spreadsheet package "Gnumeric" was such a good clone of Microsoft Excel that it even had errors in its statistical functions similar to those in Excel's statistical functions. When apprised of the errors in v1.0.4, the developers of Gnumeric indicated that they would try to fix the errors. Indeed, Gnumeric v1.1.2, has largely fixed its flaws, while Microsoft has not fixed its errors through many successive versions. Persons who desire to use a spreadsheet package to perform statistical analyses are advised to use Gnumeric rather than Excel. See: http://www.csdassn.org/reportdetail.cfm?ID=508 -- V. Sasi Kumar Free Software Foundation of India Please see: http://swatantryam.blogspot.com/

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Oct 8, 2006 is the last date for registering as a speaker at FOSS.in
by Frederick Noronha 05 Oct '06

05 Oct '06

http://foss.in/2006/info/Main_Page Welcome to the FOSS.IN/2006 Site! November 24-26, 2006 National Science Symposium Centre, IISc, Bangalore, India Speaker and Talks Registration open till October 8th Register now! FOSS.IN is one of the world's largest and most focussed FOSS events, held annually in India. Over the years, it has attracted thousands of participants, and the speaker roster reads like a "Who is Who" of FOSS contributors from across the world. -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha http://fn.goa-india.org 9822122436 +91-832-240-9490 http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/

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Re: [Fsf-kerala] if u really want to earn money in less time and without spending money then read this messege carefully
by Dileep M. Kumar 04 Oct '06

04 Oct '06

On 10/3/06, mayank raj <mayank_raj001(a)yahoo.co.in> wrote: > > if u really want to earn money in less time and without spending money > then read this messege carefully > > list admin, please boot this person from all our lists. -- eMail: dileep.kumarayil (at) gmail.com www: http://www.symonds.net/~dileep/ blog: http://www.kumarayil.blogspot.com "Value your freedom, or you will lose it, teaches history. `Don't bother us with politics', respond those who don't want to learn." -- Richard Stallman

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'India's Patents Act must extend to software'
by Frederick Noronha 03 Oct '06

03 Oct '06

T H E H I N D U Online edition of India's National Newspaper Thursday, Sep 14, 2006 ePaper `India's Patents Act must extend to software' Special Correspondent To become ICT superpower, India will have to recognise patenting NEW DELHI: Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer, Microsoft Corporation, on Wednesday voiced concern over the fact that India's Patents Act still did not extend to intellectual property (IP) protection of software and underlined the need for addressing this issue urgently. (India protects software only under its copyright law). Addressing an interactive meeting on the `Role of IPR in the Knowledge Economy' organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Mr. Mundie pointed out that although India had made a lot of progress in enforcing IPR, it had still to bear in mind that for becoming an ICT (information and communication technology) superpower it would have to recognise patenting as a standalone enterprise. This was a key component for moving India forward from a manufacturing-services-led economy to an innovation-led economy, he said. "No field of scientific and engineering endeavour can progress without the advancement of IT where software is the centrepiece,'' Mr. Mundie said, and added that in the U.S., 30-40 per cent gains in productivity in the Eighties were attributable to innovations. ICT, he said, was at the heart of productivity increases in labour and capital, lowering of transaction cost, innovation and further growth in ICT to fuel economic growth. R. A. Mashelkar, Director General, of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), while giving a snapshot of the current state of play in the IP sphere, noted that while some of the advanced countries had benefited from strong IP laws, in a country like India which had to look at the concerns of both top end and the bottom end of the population, the issue of balance in the IP regime became important. Piracy in India, Dr. Mashelkar said, was a serious issue and it was here that penalties had to be swift, sure and severe. A high-level committee had made recommendations in this regard and the issue is at an advanced stage of consideration of the government. PTI reports: Pre-paid computer cards Microsoft on Wednesday said it would introduce pre-paid cards in India that would enable customers to access the company's genuine software without paying any fee upfront, a move apparently aimed at curbing piracy of its software. -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha http://fn.goa-india.org 9822122436 +91-832-240-9490 http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/

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Re: Linus Torvalds -just for fun
by Roshan 03 Oct '06

03 Oct '06

Kush wrote: > Also the student in western system of education > decides what they want > to really study whereas we in India are asked to > cram any and everything > to give us so called "more rounded" knowledge > --ultimately the course is > so vast that we just get superficial knowledge of > everything and hardly > learn much. Not necessarily. I don't know from which university you are, but I would comment based on Mumbai University. The course contents is decided by the Academic Council of Mumbai University. For students, the aim is not to cram everything and anything, but to study and understand the concepts and theory. There are mistakes, but the aim of courses (specially of Computer Science and Information Technology) aim to give you a fundamental knowledge about each subject you learn. The fault lies in the examination pattern that allows rote learners marks. However, again, it is expected that the student learns and reproduces concepts in a systematic way that serves as a criteria for alloting marks. > Most private engg colleges have low > standards and students > just try to pass by hook or crook. Programming > exercises are copied and > there is no system of competitive learning by > sharing and open > discussion. I think we should have our elective > known to us in 2nd year > and study should be according to that elective. It is on the student's side, to ensure, that he/she is honest in his/her work. It is the responsibility of the teacher to spend some additional time discussing topics of relevance. Some foundation has to be built up before building something. Electives, afaik, are allowed when that is done. > There is another difference when I compare with > Indian > colleges/universities --methods of teaching. Linus > had information about > textbooks/recommended reading books much much before > his course started > and therefore was able to prepare in advance whereas > in our college days > we used to wait for the teacher to tell us which > books to buy after the > term started or was half way thru. We used to save > on books by borrowing > from the library (generally badly stocked) or get > earlier editions /hand > me downs. Atleast for graduate and post-graduate studies in Mumbai University, the syllabus is available (unless out of stock) before the course begins. (assuming a regular course, not one that is introduced). Perhaps, the seniors, themseleves should maintain a copy of the same. The syllabus is exhaustive enough to provide details on the author's of the books,the reference books and the topics covered for a particular subject. Along with this, the practicals, the tutorials / assignments and the lecture schedule is all provided. (Again, atleast for Computer Science and Information Technology) For engineering colleges, there are enough restrictions by the AICTE, and even so, there is a document called "Mandatory Disclosure" that discloses a lot of details necessary to know about the college in terms of academics and resources. > Kush, Please don't get me wrong. I do not intend to refute anything. The point is I feel, there is a communication gap that might have resulted into thoughts expressed by you. __________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Answers: Share what you know. Learn something new http://in.answers.yahoo.com/

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Re: [Fsf-friends] Linus Torvalds -just for fun
by NS Srikanth 03 Oct '06

03 Oct '06

Message: 2 Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 15:31:57 +0530 From: "Roshan Mathews" <rmathews(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Fsf-friends] Linus Torvalds -just for fun To: "Principal Support List of FSF-India" <fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in> Message-ID: <1c4dc2780610020301q6826b6a8ua92d27977337b3f5(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed In Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" (available online at http://www.virtualschool.edu/mon/Quality/PirsigZen/), Hi This link does not work. It says no page to display. Is the link correct? I am very much interested. Can you gove the correct link please? NS Srikanth

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Re: Fsf-friends Digest, Vol 41, Issue 26
by Vihan Pandey 03 Oct '06

03 Oct '06

> 4 I hope the FLOSS cell can give/get some donations of even outdated (by > a few years) technical books to the schools' FLOSS cell. A library of > books is very very helpful. Plus they need to have motivational books > such as Rebel code, Just for fun by linus torvalds, cathedral and the > bazaar, etc etc just to understand the opensource culture/history. Hi Githin, A great place to start up with books would be the offcial GNU doucumentation which you can get here : http://www.gnu.org/manual/manual.html http://www.gnu.org/doc/other-free-books.html A good edition would also be Free Software Free Society by RMS and Free as in Freedom by Sam Williams. These are all available freely online, printed copies for all may not be very easily obtained in India, but you could start with the ebooks. In fact you could have a community of like minded people who could pool some money together and get what you want printed and bound. What better way to start a FOSS cell :-) Regards, - vihan

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Linus Torvalds -just for fun
by kush 02 Oct '06

02 Oct '06

Hi all, I recently read "just for fun" by Linus and another writer. Came to know that he started playing/tinkering with calculators/computers of those days when he was around 10 or 11. Also he could write system software (assemblers, device drivers,linkers, loaders, disassemblers, etc) much before he started the linux project. So he was in a unique position to actually do this contribution for humanity because he had been honing his skills for a long time without even planning for it consciously. His getting hands on the Andrew Tanenbaum OS book (700 plus page book and studying it extremely thoroughly in 2 or 3 months) also was one of the points in his history which led him to develop this linux OS. Surely somebody (some mentor/teacher/classmate etc) would have guided him to this book or it happenned by chance. It is mentioned that he studied it so thoroughly that it became second nature to him-- he used to sleep with it. Also the student in western system of education decides what they want to really study whereas we in India are asked to cram any and everything to give us so called "more rounded" knowledge --ultimately the course is so vast that we just get superficial knowledge of everything and hardly learn much. Most private engg colleges have low standards and students just try to pass by hook or crook. Programming exercises are copied and there is no system of competitive learning by sharing and open discussion. I think we should have our elective known to us in 2nd year and study should be according to that elective. For Torvalds, his elective subject became system software programming --specially Operating system development even before he started his course. He learned other subjects (such as tcp/ip etc etc) related to the main project with the passing of time from other hackers as well. I think once he rewrote the kernel as well since something was implemented badly earlier. (his high standards --make the best software possible) There is another difference when I compare with Indian colleges/universities --methods of teaching. Linus had information about textbooks/recommended reading books much much before his course started and therefore was able to prepare in advance whereas in our college days we used to wait for the teacher to tell us which books to buy after the term started or was half way thru. We used to save on books by borrowing from the library (generally badly stocked) or get earlier editions /hand me downs. The information on how a programmer can do a great job by reading or learning about the thought processes of such unusual people and geniuses as the mathematician Gauss etc was also very interesting. (story of teacher asking a class to calculate the sum of numbers from 1 to 100) It shows that Linus was already by that time far ahead in his problem solving skills as he was somehow reading above and beyond his school/college course --biographies and stories of famed geniuses always help. His insight into how a question is framed which ultimately leads to a better solution is also something worth understanding. His sister Sara actually made him improve his english because of the sibling rivalry, playful competition, fighting between the children etc etc and also because he had to understand the manuals etc which were written in english for all his machines from abroad. When one compares him with Richard Stallman who also has great strengths, the only reason one sees him more successful in influencing something is because he is always in a continuous learning mode (even in non technical areas as the other writer has written) and also because he somehow understands the concept of not getting attached to one's possessions/ideas/beliefs too rigidly because everything is relative. I hope I can read some book/biography on Stallman too --please let me know if you know of any. Thanks, Kush

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by mayank raj 02 Oct '06

02 Oct '06

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