- Fsf-friends - lists.fsci.in

GNU is not an ideal system... but the "best one available"
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 30 Apr '03

30 Apr '03

------------------------------------------------------------------ NEWSFACTOR: DEVELOPER'S DILEMMA: CHOOSING AN OPEN-SOURCE LICENSE "The GPL is not perfect, but it is the preferred option, says Marten Mickos, CEO of MySQL AB. 'GPL is like democracy--not perhaps an ideal system, but most definitely the best one available. We have no regrets as to choosing GPL.' COMPLETE STORY: http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21280.html More IT Management stories: http://linuxtoday.com/it_management ------------------------------------------------------------------

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Writing stored procedures for MySQL
by Biju G C 30 Apr '03

30 Apr '03

While searching web I came across these projects and thought it may be interesting. MySQL+LUA=MyLUA Is a patch to MySQL that allow users to write procedures in a scripting language called LUA Allow to write a MySQL procedure in a scripting language, without rebuild the server. http://www.fastflow.it/mylua/ PHP functions 4 MySQL Is a user defined function for MySQL that allow users to write functions in PHP. It allow users to write a MySQL function in a scripting language, without rebuild the server. http://www.fastflow.it/myphp/ DBTCP DBTCP is a proxy server for ODBC connection. Allow to make a query from a linux machine to a database in a Windows machine trough ODBC. Allow to connect all ODBC compliant databases from a Linux server from shell scripts, perl via DBD and PHP. http://www.fastflow.it/dbtcp/ Why a proxy for odbc connections ? The main reason for using dbtcp is the lack of support for a few odbc databases under Linux and the fact that you can use multiple dbtcp clients on a pay-per-odbc-connection database management system. Example: COUNT.LUA - Append a column to the result with the row number linux: $ mysql mysql Welcome to the MySQL monitor. Commands end with ; or \g. Your MySQL connection id is 2 to server version: 3.23.32-gamma-log Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the buffer mysql> select user from user procedure lua("/usr/src/mysql/sql/count.lua"); +-----------+---------+ | user.User | Counter | +-----------+---------+ | | 1 | | root | 2 | | | 3 | | root | 4 | +-----------+---------+ 4 rows in set (0.01 sec) Source -- Called when the procedure is initialized function init () ROWS.init=1 end -- Modifica un campo del risultato -- Change a field definition of the result set function set_field ( num, name, type, length ) if ( FIELDS[num] == nil ) then FIELDS[num]={} end FIELDS[num].name=name FIELDS[num].type=type FIELDS[num].length=length end -- Richiamata per cambiare le definizioni delle colonne -- Called to change the columns definition for the result set function change_columns () set_field ( FIELDS.num, "Counter", "STRING", 10 ) FIELDS.num=FIELDS.num+1 end -- Richiamata appena prima di inviare il set di risultati al client -- Called just before sending the result set to the client function end_of_records () local idx, new_tab, idx2 local i,v new_tab={} -- Crea la struttura vuota per i valori idx=0 while ( idx&ltROWS.num ) do ROWS[idx][FIELDS.num-1]=idx+1; idx=idx+1 end end __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo. http://search.yahoo.com

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fsf-friends@gnu.org.in at nntp://news.gmane.org/gmane.org.fsf.india.fsf-friends
by Biju G C 30 Apr '03

30 Apr '03

Hi all, Thanks to Tom Koelman and others at http://gmane.org fsf-friends(a)gnu.org.in is now available as a news group at server : news.gmane.org groupname : gmane.org.fsf.india.fsf-friends U can set it up in ur news reader with the above information or by clicking nntp://news.gmane.org/gmane.org.fsf.india.fsf-friends in mozilla browser/mail reader U can also view it online at http://news.gmane.org/thread.php?group=gmane.org.fsf.india.fsf-friends Arun, Thanks for ur willingness to allow fsf-friends(a)gnu.org.in at http://gmane.org Admins, If v want to hav our old mails available at http://gmane.org V hav to import old mail archives into Gmane Here is the instruction (from http://gmane.org/import.php ) Importing Archives Into Gmane Mailing list archives can be imported into Gmane. Archives to be imported can be in one of two formats: Either a tar file of a one-message-per-file directory, where the files have names that increase numerically, or a Unix mbox file. No other formats are acceptable. A Unix mbox file is preferred. If you wish to have an archive of a mailing list you administrate imported into Gmane, send a mail to Lars ( larsi+gmane(a)gnus.org ) with the URL of the mailing list archive, and which group it should be imported into. The list admin/owner should OK this before the archive is imported. If you're the list admin, please say so in the email where you request the import. If not, please get in touch with the list admin first and get an approval before you request the import. The list admin often has access to an mbox format mail archive for the list, so get the URL for the archive at the same time. For the technically inclined, here's how a mailing list archive import is done. It's not always as straightforward as it may seem. * If there are no articles already in the group, the archive is simply imported. * If there are already articles in the group, things get a bit more complicated, since Gmane tries to keep at least a loose correlation between the order of the article numbers and the sequence in which the messages were posted. 1. Let's say there's already articles 1-1000 in the group, and there's 2000 (unstored) articles in the archive. 2. Reception of new articles for the group is temporarily disabled. 3. The archive is imported into the group, ignoring any articles that have already been stored in the group. The articles from the archive get article numbers 1001-3000. 4. Articles 1-1000 are renamed to 3001-4000. 5. Using a hacked-up version of the prunehistory inn command, the storage tokens for these moved articles are altered. 6. The overview file for the group is regenerated. 7. Any articles that arrived while doing this operation are handled and injected into the group. This means that if you've read articles in the group before doing the import, they'll suddenly become unread again, since they're assigned new article numbers. This is inconvenient, but it's a one-time inconvenience. Having the articles permanently out of sequence would be a permanent inconvenience. The web interface to the articles will still respect the old article numbering, as well as the new. http://article.gmane.org/gmane.test/44 and http://article.gmane.org/gmane.test/348 both refer to the same article after one of these renumberings. Cheers Biju --- Tom Koelman <tkoelman(a)xs4all.nl> wrote: > The following message is a courtesy copy of an article > that has been posted to gmane.discuss.subscribe as well. > > bijumaillist(a)yahoo.com writes: > > > #gmane.fsf.india.fsf-friends fsf-friends(a)gnu.org.in > > An open list which invites questions, proposals, suggestions, comments to aid the > FSF-India\'s activities. > > mailman dummy > > encode=encrypt > > A subscription message for the requested mailing list has been sent. > The resulting group will be created when the first message arrives > from the mailing list. New groups that are created are announced in > gmane.announce. > > Tom > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo. http://search.yahoo.com

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Free software debate in Parliament...
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 29 Apr '03

29 Apr '03

URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=444… TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2003 [2]THE TIMES OF INDIA INDIA Oppn soft on Linux, wants no Windows TIMES NEWS NETWORK [spacer.gif] [ FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2003 11:05:12 PM ] NEW DELHI: In a sign that the cyber age has well and truly dawned inside Parliament, the Opposition on Thursday warned the government against the Microsoft monopoly over software. It urged that open source software like Linux be given preference in official procurement. The government, they said, should not insist on proprietary software while issuing tenders for computers, since open source software is available at one-tenth or even one-twentieth the cost of proprietary software like Windows. Participating in the discussion on the working of the communications and information technology ministry in the Rajya Sabha, Congress MP Prithviraj Chavan referred to competition between proprietary and open source software as a "clash of civilisations". Referring to the recent developments in Iraq, Chavan pointed out that cheap alternatives to Microsoft are available and that countries like China, France and Germany are sponsoring the development of this software. He pleaded that the "user should have a choice" of software and that the government should not restrict its procurement only to proprietary products. Replying to the debate on Friday, IT minister Arun Shourie said that the government was not thinking in terms of a rigid policy framework as the life of technology in the information technology sector is just 20 months. "It is not a good idea to have a detailed statutory framework" as this could impede growth in this sector... Policy must be technology neutral," the information technology minister said. ______________________________________________________________________

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Bioinformatics on GNU/Linux (India)... optimism from Malaysia
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 29 Apr '03

29 Apr '03

------------------------------------------------------------------ TIMES OF INDIA: TCS DEVELOPING INDIA'S FIRST BIOINFORMATICS SOFTWARE ON LINUX "IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is developing an end-to-end bioinformatics software package, 'Biosuit' on Linux platform for which 20 leading Indian institutions have provided the domain knowledge..." COMPLETE STORY: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=439… More High Performance stories: http://linuxtoday.com/high_performance ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------ UTUSAN ONLINE: MIMOS UPBEAT ON OPEN SOURCE CENTRE, SAYS COULD SAVE ASIA BILLIONS "MIMOS Bhd which recently launched the Asian Open Source Centre... is confident that the centre would produce more home-grown pool of software developers and in the process, save billions of dollars for Asia..." COMPLETE STORY: http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/content.asp?y=2003&dt=0425&pub=Utusan_Expre… More Developer stories: http://linuxtoday.com/developer ------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) | http://www.fredericknoronha.net Freelance Journalist | http://www.bytesforall.org http://goalinks.pitas.com | http://joingoanet.shorturl.com http://linuxinindia.pitas.com | http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks ------------------------------------------------------------------------- T: 0091.832.2409490 or 2409783 M: 0 9822 122436 -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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NEWS: Microsoft deflects shared-source critics
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 29 Apr '03

29 Apr '03

------------------------------------------------------------------ ZDNET UK: MICROSOFT DEFLECTS SHARED-SOURCE CRITICS "Microsoft has responded to criticisms of the new version of its shared source initiative for Windows CE, announced on Wednesday..." COMPLETE STORY: http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-996502.html More Developer stories: http://linuxtoday.com/developer ------------------------------------------------------------------

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NEWS: ToI -- Oppn soft on [GNU]Linux, wants no Windows
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 29 Apr '03

29 Apr '03

------------------------------------------------------------------ TIMES OF INDIA: OPPN SOFT ON LINUX, WANTS NO WINDOWS "The government, they said, should not insist on proprietary software while issuing tenders for computers, since open source software is available at one-tenth or even one-twentieth the cost of proprietary software like Windows..." COMPLETE STORY: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=444… More Infrastructure stories: http://linuxtoday.com/infrastructure ------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) | http://www.fredericknoronha.net Freelance Journalist | http://www.bytesforall.org http://goalinks.pitas.com | http://joingoanet.shorturl.com http://linuxinindia.pitas.com | http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks ------------------------------------------------------------------------- T: 0091.832.2409490 or 2409783 M: 0 9822 122436 -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Membership of the Free Software Foundation
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 28 Apr '03

28 Apr '03

THE ADVERT in the May 2003 issue of Linux Journal was interesting. It said: "Become a card carrying member of the Free Software Foundation. Your membership dues help FSF protect your freedom to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer software, fight for rights of all users of technology, and defend the GNU GPL...." But the $120 associate membership fee ($60 for students) could put it beyond the reach for many in the Third World. Could the FSF think of a special South Asian rate for potential members in this part of the globe? There's a lot of interest in your ideals here... but try not to price it beyond our reach. Thanks. FN -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) | http://www.fredericknoronha.net Freelance Journalist | http://www.bytesforall.org http://goalinks.pitas.com | http://joingoanet.shorturl.com http://linuxinindia.pitas.com | http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Graphics for FSF-India
by Kanti Jadia 27 Apr '03

27 Apr '03

Some artwork has been done for FSF-India. have a look at http://www.gnu.org.in/graphics/ We need comments and suggestions. regards Kanti ----------------------------------------- Enjoy your Freedom,use GNU/Linux. http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html -----------------------------------------

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Torvalds' comments... (on DRM)
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 27 Apr '03

27 Apr '03

--__--__-- Message: 1 From: Sudhir Gandotra <sudhir(a)netshooter.com> To: Linux India General <linux-india-general(a)lists.sourceforge.net>, Linux Users Group Delhi <ilugd(a)wpaa.org> Date: 25 Apr 2003 23:20:46 +0530 Subject: [LIG] Torvalds: "DRM is Perfectly OK with Linux" Reply-To: linux-india-general(a)lists.sourceforge.net Here is an article by Linus. (I am reproducing the full thing, hoping that no one dislikes it) ========================================================================= Torvalds: "DRM is Perfectly OK with Linux" Apr 24, 2003, 13 :00 UTC (36 Talkback[s]) (9738 reads) (Other stories by Linus Torvalds) Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 20:59:45 -0700 (PDT) From: Linus Torvalds <torvalds(a)transmeta.com> To: Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel(a)vger.kernel.org> Subject: Flame Linus to a crisp! ------------------------------- Ok, there's no way to do this gracefully, so I won't even try. I'm going to just hunker down for some really impressive extended flaming, and my asbestos underwear is firmly in place, and extremely uncomfortable. I want to make it clear that DRM is perfectly ok with Linux! There, I've said it. I'm out of the closet. So bring it on... I've had some private discussions with various people about this already, and I do realize that a lot of people want to use the kernel in some way to just make DRM go away, at least as far as Linux is concerned. Either by some policy decision or by extending the GPL to just not allow it. In some ways the discussion was very similar to some of the software patent related GPL-NG discussions from a year or so ago: "we don't like it, and we should change the license to make it not work somehow". And like the software patent issue, I also don't necessarily like DRM myself, but I still ended up feeling the same: I'm an "Oppenheimer", and I refuse to play politics with Linux, and I think you can use Linux for whatever you want to - which very much includes things I don't necessarily personally approve of. The GPL requires you to give out sources to the kernel, but it doesn't limit what you can _do_ with the kernel. On the whole, this is just another example of why rms calls me "just an engineer" and thinks I have no ideals. [ Personally, I see it as a virtue - trying to make the world a slightly better place _without_ trying to impose your moral values on other people. You do whatever the h*ll rings your bell, I'm just an engineer who wants to make the best OS possible. ] In short, it's perfectly ok to sign a kernel image - I do it myself indirectly every day through the kernel.org, as kernel.org will sign the tar-balls I upload to make sure people can at least verify that they came that way. Doing the same thing on the binary is no different: signing a binary is a perfectly fine way to show the world that you're the one behind it, and that _you_ trust it. And since I can imaging signing binaries myself, I don't feel that I can disallow anybody else doing so. Another part of the DRM discussion is the fact that signing is only the first step: _acting_ on the fact whether a binary is signed or not (by refusing to load it, for example, or by refusing to give it a secret key) is required too. But since the signature is pointless unless you _use_ it for something, and since the decision how to use the signature is clearly outside of the scope of the kernel itself (and thus not a "derived work" or anything like that), I have to convince myself that not only is it clearly ok to act on the knowledge of whather the kernel is signed or not, it's also outside of the scope of what the GPL talks about, and thus irrelevant to the license. That's the short and sweet of it. I wanted to bring this out in the open, because I know there are people who think that signed binaries are an act of "subversion" (or "perversion") of the GPL, and I wanted to make sure that people don't live under mis-apprehension that it can't be done. I think there are many quite valid reasons to sign (and verify) your kernel images, and while some of the uses of signing are odious, I don't see any sane way to distinguish between "good" signers and "bad" signers. Comments? I'd love to get some real discussion about this, but in the end I'm personally convinced that we have to allow it. Btw, one thing that is clearly _not_ allowed by the GPL is hiding private keys in the binary. You can sign the binary that is a result of the build process, but you can _not_ make a binary that is aware of certain keys without making those keys public - because those keys will obviously have been part of the kernel build itself. So don't get these two things confused - one is an external key that is applied _to_ the kernel (ok, and outside the license), and the other one is embedding a key _into_ the kernel (still ok, but the GPL requires that such a key has to be made available as "source" to the kernel). Linus ================================================================ Peace, Force & Joy! Sudhir Gandotra. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Transform lives: http://humanistmovement.org/ !!! Treat Others As You Would Have Them Treat You !!! --__--__--

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Linux founder opens door to DRM (fwd)
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 26 Apr '03

26 Apr '03

________________________________________________________________________ Message: 9 Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2003 17:15:39 -0400 From: "Dev Jurai" <dev(a)digisigns.com> Subject: Linux founder opens door to DRM Linus Torvalds, the founder of the Linux operating system, threw a curve ball to the open-source programming community Thursday. In a posting sent to a key Linux-focused e-mail list, Torvalds outlined a controversial proposal: Nothing in the basic rules for the Linux operating system should block developers from using digital rights management (DRM) technology. DRM tools are technological locks or identification measures that range from ensuring a software program is genuine to protecting a movie against unauthorized copying. http://news.com.com/2100-1016-998292.html?part=dht&tag=ntop

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About Linux and DRM
by Amol Hatwar 26 Apr '03

26 Apr '03

Caught this floating on my wires recently: http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=9160. The article is titled, 'DRM is perfectly ok with Linux'. It's about Linus Torvalds' decisions about Linux and DRM. The conculsion is sad. Suspected media slaughter! Regards, ah

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Saturday 26.4 * Don't miss today's meeting
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 26 Apr '03

26 Apr '03

Lined up for the schedule at the ILUG-Goa meeting on Free Software later today: o Milan, a demo of India's first GNOME-based Hindi solution Subhash and Animesh o Infrared via GNU/Linux... talk and demo Amit Shirodkar of GEC o Surprise talk Mario Alvares of AlienWiz o Taking GNU/Linux Forward in Goa Discussion -- open to all Venue: CSI, Panjim (Naguesh Apts, 3rd Floor, Near Navtara Hotel) Lost? Ring me on 98 22 122436 for directions Timing 4 to 6.30 pm * April 26, 2003 For Jazz fans, see you at the Mermaid Park concert later in the evening. FN -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) | http://www.fredericknoronha.net Freelance Journalist | http://www.bytesforall.org http://goalinks.pitas.com | http://joingoanet.shorturl.com http://linuxinindia.pitas.com | http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Digital Crossroad
by CK Raju 25 Apr '03

25 Apr '03

An interesting article. http://www.proposicion.org.ar/doc/encrucijada.html CK Raju -- My system date and time have gone awry.

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Linux
by sajeev 25 Apr '03

25 Apr '03

Hello, Is RedHat Linux 8 a real open source, cross platform, free software? Sajeev -- I hope you won't mind if I go offlist for some time now, you are always welcome to send a personal reply.

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LINKS: GNU/Linux quotes... from the Indian press
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 24 Apr '03

24 Apr '03

BUSINESSES are also starting to use [GNU]Linux more freely due to the tremendous savings they can make. Computers still cost Rs 25,000 or so -- and almost a similar amount goes into the software. When a business needs to buy a lot of computers, that amounts to staggering costs. -- Mala Bhargava, BusinessWorld (India) March 3, 2003 GUESS WHICH Indian company has bagged the biggest export order in the telecom sector? Midas Communications, a seven-year-old R&D company based in Chennai, focussing on rural telephony, has just picked up a $12-million (around Rs 60 crore) order from Egypt. It will install 200,000 telephone lines based on the corDect wireless in local loop (WLL) technology that it has developed in partnership with the Tenet grouup, spearheaded by IIT- Chennai professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala. -- M Anand in BusinessWorld (India) March 10, 2003. (Prof Jhunjhunwala has long focussed his attention around GNU/Linux) WITH COMPANIES such as HP, Microsoft, Red Hat, NIIT and Reliance putting serious money into it, the vernacular computing market in India looks set to bloom in 2003.... The Simputer has a GNU/Linux embedded system with local language support... Red Hat will launch a Hindi-enabled 9.1 version (Linux) in the next six months.... NCST IndiX Project will enable Hindi and other Indian languages on GNU/Linux systems. IndLinux (offers) support for Hindi on Gnome. Swathanthra Malayala Computing Project (offers) support for Malayalam on Gnome. IIT Madras (is working on) support for Tamil on GNU/Linux system. -- Report by Priya Srinivasan, spanning four pages, Business Today (India), March 16, 2003. CIRCULATED VIA -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) | http://www.fredericknoronha.net Freelance Journalist | http://www.bytesforall.org http://goalinks.pitas.com | http://joingoanet.shorturl.com http://linuxinindia.pitas.com | http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Malappuram : IT@School and Akshaya
by CK Raju 24 Apr '03

24 Apr '03

School teachers and a handful of elected representatives of Malappuram district have requested a demonstration of Free Software, to be weighed against possible use at IT@School and Akshaya programmes of the district. Resident volunteers of the district, who would like to contribute to the theme (most likely in May) should make their presence felt. CK Raju

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[Announce] Sagar 0.5.0
by Sayamindu Dasgupta 24 Apr '03

24 Apr '03

Hello, I am pleased to announce the latest member of the Free Bangla Fonts Project collection - Sagar (The Sea). Sagar is a Free OpenType font containing covering the entire Unicode range for Bengali, and covering most of the commonly used juktakkhars (conjuncts). Sagar has been developed using the glyphs donated by Mr Omi Azad from Bangladesh. We have also used a "templating system" to create the convert the font quickly and efficiently into an OTF. (More details can be found at our mailing lists archive at http://mail.nongnu.org/archive/html/freebangfont-devel/2003-03/threads.html) Sagar can be downloaded from http://savannah.nongnu.org/files/?group=freebangfont (However, please note that the font is not yet usable in M$ Windows (tm) - I am yet to find out why). -Enjoy the release- -regards- Sayamindu PS: The work on the conversion has been done entirely on Free Software (three cheers for pfaedit !!) PS again: Many thanks to Deepayan Sarcar for working on the template system - that really made life a lot easier ;-) -- Sayamindu Dasgupta [ http://www.peacefulaction.org/sayamindu/ ] ========================================= Speak out on social and cultural issues at PeacefulAction.Org http://www.peacefulaction.org *****************************************

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[CALL FOR PAPERS]Pista '03
by Raj Shekhar 24 Apr '03

24 Apr '03

CALL FOR PAPERS International Conference on Socio Political Informatics and Cybernetics: Pista '03 July 31, August 1-2, 2003 - Orlando, Florida, USA Jointly with The International Conference On Computer, Communication And Control Technologies: CCCT '03 http://www.confinf.org/Pista03 Pista '03 Organizing Committee invites authors to submit their original and unpublished works, innovations, ideas based on analogical thinking, problems that require solutions, position papers, case studies, etc., in the fields of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). ICT researchers are invited to present their research results. Practitioners and consultants are invited to present case study papers and innovative solutions. Corporations are invited to present political information systems and software based solutions. Public servers are invited to present case studies, information systems developed for specific purpose, and innovative ideas and designs. Political and social scientists are invited to present research or position papers on the impact and the future possibilities of ICT in Societal systems and political processes. Politician and political consultants are invited to present problems that might be solved by means of ICT, or solutions that might be improved by different approaches and design in ICT. All are invited to organize panel or invited sessions. Panel sessions with panelists coming from both: ICT researcher/practitioners and political consultants or politicians are highly encouraged. Submitted papers must describe work not previously published. They must not be submitted concurrently to another conference with refereed proceedings. Pista '03 Organizing Committee invites authors to submit their original and unpublished works, innovations, ideas based on analogical thinking, problems that require solutions, position papers, case studies, etc., in the fields of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). ICT researchers are invited to present their research results. Practitioners and consultants are invited to present case study papers and innovative solutions. Corporations are invited to present political information systems and software based solutions. Public servers are invited to present case studies, information systems developed for specific purpose, and innovative ideas and designs. Political and social scientists are invited to present research or position papers on the impact and the future possibilities of ICT in Societal systems and political processes. Politician and political consultants are invited to present problems that might be solved by means of ICT, or solutions that might be improved by different approaches and design in ICT. All are invited to organize panel or invited sessions. Panel sessions with panelists coming from both: ICT researcher/practitioners and political consultants or politicians are highly encouraged. Submitted papers must describe work not previously published. They must not be submitted concurrently to another conference with refereed proceedings. You can find complete information about the conference in our web page http://www.confinf.org/Pista03 * Pista '03 ORGANIZATION General Chair: Prof.: Jose Vicente Carrasquero Organizing Committee Chair: Prof: Frederik Welsch Organized by the IIIS: The International Institute of Informatics and Systemics * CONFERENCE AREAS AND TOPICS -- Raj Shekhar http://geocities.com/lunatech3007/

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Ready to Rock: Kernel 2.6 [LINUX JOURNAL * May 2003]
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 24 Apr '03

24 Apr '03

CAN [GNU]LINUX do for music what it did for server applications? Ask Dave Phillips. His linux-sound.org website is a resource for everything from hard-disk recorders to music notation editors. This issue offers a preview of the 2.6 kernel and the audio excellence of Linux.... ////////[SOFTWARE]///////////////////////////////////////// o Football manager http://www.autismuk.freeserve.co.uk Graphics are crude; but the game is a lot of fun. o Magic notebook: http://www.joanthanscorner.com/etc/magic_notebook Keep notes using a web interface. o Server status: http://www.the-den.org/status Keep an eye on servers. Needs X, but clean, fast, simple. o Pebrot: http://pebrot.sourceforge.net Python version of MSN Messengers, runs without X. o GNU Pilot Logbook Pro ftp.stampede.org/skibum/gplbp/bplbp.tar.gz Professional logbook for pilots will all entries you need. o Hardware Lister http://ezix.sourceforge.net/software/lshw.html IRQ, module used and more for cards and hardware. ////////[NEWS]///////////////////////////////////////// o Ericsson releases source code for its Telecom Inter-Process Communication under the GNU GPL. o Japan to spend $8.3 million on open-source development for Linux development for consumer electronic goods. Also $416,000 to switch Japanese government computers over to free software. ////////[TECH]///////////////////////////////////////// o Introducing Plone, a simple content management solution that allows all readers to read publicly available content, and those given permissions to publish their content to the general public. o Writing stackable filestystems: Now you can add a feature to your favourite filesystem without rewriting it. o Battles inside the computer o Using Firewall Builder, Part I: use one easy GUI to build and deploy policies for all your firewalls and servers. o TECH TIP: A simple script to search a collection of RPM packages for a specific file... o Advanced memory allocation o INTRODUCING THE 2.6 KERNEL: scheduler and audio improvements are only two of the features you'll notice when the 2.5 development series becomes 2.6. Other important features include O(1) scheduler / preemptive kernel / latency improvements / redesigned block layer / improved VM subsystem / improved threading support / new sound layer. o Starting with the 2.5 series, it's simpler and faster to customize your kernel or add a driver. o Kernel mode Linux: Now you don't have to write a module to run a program in kernel space. Run any program there with this patch. o Reiser4, Part II: Designing trees that cache well. o SOUND SOFTWARE to turn your GNU/Linux box into a synthesizer studio: GPL amSynth Great analog synth emulation Proprietary Elara Proprietary UltramasterJuno6 GPL Bristol GPL LegaSynth Emulates DX7 and some chips GPL ALSA Modular GPL SpiralSynth Modular GPL MSS GPL AUBE Proprietary RTSynth Proprietary JSyn Varied synthesis methods, excel sound GPL ZynAddSubFX GPL Cumulus Unique real-time granular synthesis GPL gAlan Interesting 'module processing' env GPL jMax LADSPA support planned BSD-ish Pd Rich syntehsis, OpenGL, VST/LADSPA,JACK GPL Freebirth Bass synth, sample sequencer Proprietary UltramasterRS101 Like Freebirth but more GPL iisusynth GPL RX/Saturno o Learning regular expressions. For precision of text manipulation and description, it's hard to beat the power of regexps. o DOING GOOD AND PREVENTING BAD: If you didn't know about Linux Journal publisher Phil Hughes and his background in a nuke plant and as a anti-nuclear protester, Costa Rica's renewable source-produced energy, and the link between such issues... check this out! ////////[ADVTS]///////////////////////////////////////// "Become a card carrying member of the Free Software Foundation. Your membership dues help FSF protect your freedom to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer software, fight for rights of all users of technology, and defend the GNU GPL...." -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) | http://www.fredericknoronha.net Freelance Journalist | http://www.bytesforall.org http://goalinks.pitas.com | http://joingoanet.shorturl.com http://linuxinindia.pitas.com | http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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SITEWATCH: New GLUG from down south (Trichy)
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 24 Apr '03

24 Apr '03

URL : http://glugt.linuxisle.com tux GNU/Linux User Group - Trichy GNU * Main Menu * [1]GLUG Home [2]Projects [3]Downloads [4]GNU/Linux Links [5]Meetings [6]Mailing Lists [7]Credits * GNU/Linux Docs * [8]GNU/Linux Workshop [9]Tips/HOWTOS * Reminder * GLUG-T Meeting Date: 20th April, Sunday Time: 9:30 to 12:30pm Venue: Accel IT Academy Thillainagar [10]* Help Needed * LCD Projector Domain Name & Web Space Meeting Place Welcome to GNU/Linux User Group - Trichy The GLUG-T is based at Trichy, a small city at the heart of Tamil Nadu, a state in India. The user group aims to promote free software in its spirit. We meet every 3rd Sunday on a decided place. (Check out our [11]meetings page for the next meeting's venue.) In our meetings we discuss both technical and philosophical issues related to free software. We welcome everybody interested in free software and the GNU/Linux OS to join our user group. Joining the GLUG-T: You can join us by subscribing to our mailing list glug_t(a)freelists.org and attending our meetings. To subscribe to the mailing list send a mail to [12]glug_t-request(a)freelists.org with 'subscribe' as subject. Contacting Us: .In case the information you are looking for is not in this website you can mail to [13]glug_t(a)linuxmail.org. * Cookie * * Poll * Which is your favourite Desktop Environment? (_) Gnome (_) KDE (_) Text Mode (_) Others [14][ Results ] Vote Powered By * GNU/Linux * EMACS * pHp * GIMP * Apache *

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IRCTC to run Oralacle business suite on GNU/Linux
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 24 Apr '03

24 Apr '03

Oracle to provide tech services to Indian Railways' arm >From Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Apr 23 (IANS) Oracle India, the local arm of the global technology giant Oracle Corp, Wednesday said it would provide tech services to automate and streamline all processes of an Indian Railways subsidiary. Oracle will use its E-Business Suite to streamline business processes and information flow across the nationwide operation of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC). IRCTC is a public sector company set up and wholly owned by the ministry of railways. It functions as an extended arm of Indian Railways to upgrade and manage the catering and hospitality services at railway stations and on trains. IRCTC's mandate also includes promoting domestic and international tourism through development of budget hotels, special tour packages, information and commercial publicity and global reservation systems. "The Oracle E-Business Suite on Linux gives us the power to control and run our nationwide operations in a cost-effective manner," said S.K. Kaushik, director (finance) of IRCTC. Amitabh Pandey, group general manager (IT services) of IRCTC, said: "We are on the verge of a major expansion. We needed an efficient and robust system, which is also scalable. The Oracle E-Business Suite will meet all our requirements." Shekhar Dasgupta, managing director of Oracle India, said: "We are delighted to contribute to the e-readiness of IRCTC and help them meet their goals of improving operational efficiencies and reducing costs. "It is particularly exciting that IRCTC will run the Oracle E-Business Suite on Linux as this will enable IRCTC to realise additional cost savings and benefit from greater efficiency." --Indo-Asian News Service

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Open source revolution :-) the way to go.
by vishal 23 Apr '03

23 Apr '03

Yes u are right, its fully open sourced tool, I use this all the time and replying u using evolution as my mail client and using all open source tools for development. No microsoft or even SUN So good luck. Vishal. -- vishal <vishal(a)tusc.com.au> --- This message (and any associated files) is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential, subject to copyright or constitutes a trade secret. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copying or distribution of this message, or files associated with this message, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Messages sent to and from us may be monitored. Internet communications cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. Therefore, we do not accept responsibility for any errors or omissions that are present in this message, or any attachment, that have arisen as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required, please request a hard-copy version. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company.

1 0

LVS/AS
by sameer 22 Apr '03

22 Apr '03

hi friends, I wanted to emulate a Linux cluster for some database application. For that i went to redhat.com, they have this software with the name "Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS" costing hefty 1.5 k$. Does anyone know if any such HA/AS or LVS is available for free download? Regards. sameer.

1 0

Imagine you are putting water pumps in villages of Africa... (fwd)
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 20 Apr '03

20 Apr '03

http://danny.oz.au/free-software/advocacy/appropriate.html [1]Danny Yee >> [2]Free Software Advocacy Free Software as Appropriate Technology Imagine you are putting water pumps into a village in Africa. You have a choice between two products: Product A vs Product B _________________________________________________________________ Designed by a worldwide community development process open to anyone. Sold and supported by thousands of companies, large and small. [vs] Produced and sold by a single vendor, a large multinational with a long history of unethical business practices. Control maintained by aggressive use of intellectual property law. _________________________________________________________________ Comes with complete schematics and a set of tools for making custom modifications. If you can't do this yourself, there are hundreds of different organisations and companies worldwide who offer customisation as a service. [vs] Is a sealed unit. Not only is access to its internal workings difficult, but international and national laws have been used to make it illegal to even look inside the casing, let alone modify the contents. _________________________________________________________________ Uses standard pipe fittings; designed to connect with equipment from all suppliers. [vs] Uses proprietary and poorly documented pipe fittings - often deliberately designed to prevent connection with equipment from other suppliers. _________________________________________________________________ There are no additional licensing costs on top of the cost of the equipment. [vs] As well as buying the product itself, you have to licence the right to use it. The licence fee increases with the amount of water you pump. _________________________________________________________________ A growing number of add-ons are available. [vs] A wider range of add-ons are available. _________________________________________________________________ Has maybe 1% of the consumer mass-market, but is used by perhaps 30% of specialists in the field. [vs] Has more than 90% of the consumer mass-market. _________________________________________________________________ Has a highly configurable control system. [vs] Has a simple standard set of controls which are easier to learn. _________________________________________________________________ Is highly resource-efficient; works with older power sources. [vs] Requires a large, modern power source. _________________________________________________________________ Often runs for years without any problems. [vs] Is notoriously prone to malfunction. It is clear that Product A has to be the choice in this situation, under any criteria for appropriate technology (or ethical purchasing). But this is an analogy - the actual comparison is, of course, between GNU/Linux and Microsoft Windows.

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Reprinting GFDL'd books in India
by The GNU/Linuxer 19 Apr '03

19 Apr '03

Hello Friends, I was thinking about reprinting GFDL'd books like the ``Emacs Manual'' by RMS, ``Free as in Freedom'' by Sam Williams etc. in India. Could we at FSF-India do something about it? We can arrange for discounted paper, etc. from some Govt./Private organisations etc. for that. I think that'd be of great help to us users and also those who want to learn [GNU]Linux especially since there are no [or very less for that matter] good and cheap books available in India. What do you think ? Bhaskar Ghose --------------------------------- Microsoft is not the answer. Microsoft is the question. No[or GNU/Linux] is the answer. --------------------------------- --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.

1 0

TCP/IP book
by Suraj Kumar 16 Apr '03

16 Apr '03

dear all, Demo@Schools, Chennai is glad to announce the release of its first book, a GNU/Linux TCP/IP networking tutorial written by Mr.M.K.Saravanan. The book is released under the GNU Free Documentation License. http://savannah.nongnu.org/download/demo-schools/gnu-linux-nw-tutorial-0.3.… coming soon... more books from Demo@Schools... :) -Suraj -- +--------------------------------------------<suraj(a)symonds.net>---+ | When my beloved was bound in affection, I had no occasion | | to know that the eve could be paining in separation | | (distress of the evening - 6), Thirukkural | +---<http://symonds.net/~suraj/>-----------------------------------+

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Re: [Fsf-friends] Malappuram : IT@School and Akshaya
by CK Raju 15 Apr '03

15 Apr '03

Sorry for that error, the number is 0494 2680977 On Friday 14 March 2003 05:32 pm, M.Balakrishna Pillai wrote: > CK Raju wrote: > >The teacher is PP Ramachandran 0494 2680997. > >CK Raju > > Dear Mr Raju, > I seems the number is worng. Error may be in the STD CODE. > Kindly advise the correct one. > > M.Balakrishna Pillai

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Re: [Fsf-friends] And now the Kerala Electricity Board goes Microsoft
by Raj Shekhar 15 Apr '03

15 Apr '03

Suraj Kumar > We definitely have to act against this. What are we going to do? Instead of crying soar on this list, we can write articles/letters to various newspapers. The articles will have to be backed up with considerable proof/charts & tables that will be hard to ignore. And we will have to get them into mainstream press. Can you imagine a Director in some ministry reading Slashdot or newsforge. The points that we can point out in favor of Free Software - We are free to make changes and hence customize it to our needs. We can also audit the software for security flaws and errors. - Less cost - Generates employment (as the software needs maintainance, training and modifaction) - the money of the state/country remains inside the countryy and does not go to foriegen countries I would also like to respond to a quote from CkRaju (in a different post). He said that ` Someone advised me the other day, that spending time in learning to live with such a condition, would be a much better option, than attempting to challenge or change the views of the 'bureaucracy'. ' Imagine if RMS had said that. Sometimes it just takes one man to make a stand. -- Raj Shekhar http://geocities.com/lunatech/

7 11

FSUGS and other ideas
by Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay 15 Apr '03

15 Apr '03

hi members of the list, of late there has been a thread that started off with discussion(s) on the semantic correctness of *intellectual capital* and then veered towards the role to be played by FSF especially FSF-India. Arkoprovo, Nagarjuna G and a few others have already laid down some ideas. i feel that i too should have my say. Over the past 18 months, some hectic development and r&d activity on the GNU/Linux front has ensured that the media glare is fully on this movement. day after day we are bombarded with media stories on this issue. as a subscriber to various GNU/Linux related mailing lists, a pattern seems to be emerging, in as much as my limited understanding of it goes. the (G)LUGs across the country are more into the implementation and execution aspect of the movement. while this is good and desired, what however is not so desirable is that the conceptual aspect of the movement is getting diluted. as all (G)LUG coordinators will admit, most of the new members (i mean the newbies and not the old hands who are subscribing) are keen on getting onto the bandwagon enticed by the technical aspect/side of the GNU/linux implementations. meeting themes at these (G)LUGs generally do not touch upon the theosophy (if it can be termed as such) of the movement. it is my firmly held belief that besides the obvious merit of the movement over proprietary or non-free software, the beauty lies in the philosophy it espouses. the idea of a common shared pool of knowledge from which societal benefit could occur. one of the major characteristics of the post 17th century societies has been the unbridled enthusiasm for science as a vehicle for enabling common good. ICT must be seen as an enabler and as a driving force. currently we are faced with a crisis of shrinking spaces to voice our thoughts and our ideas. our fears and our hopes. technology, which was supposed to provide such fora has been subverted (sometimes brazenly) so as to curb such sharing of knowledge. In such a scenario, i think that FSF has a larger role to play. (G)LUGs being inward looking in a technological sort of way, the onus is upon FSUGs to form and spearhead the philosophical bulwark of the movement. FSUGs should, i believe, work in tandem with (G)LUGs to propagate, promote, nurture and further the reach of the Free Software Movement. i have often heard that such synergy and symbiotic relationship is untenable "that is against the basic tenets of both groups" - but is it ? willing or unwilling to name the OS as GNU/linux has long been the subject of mighty flames on different lists, but in the end it does boil down to personal choice. the freedom to choose is one of the most abused and most revoked freedoms in these times. in the mails between Raj Mathur (RM) and RMS, the latter stated beautifully - 'what you want the OS to be called is your choice and your liking, but you'd be doing us wrong if you do not give us credit' [or words to that effect, my mail archive is backed up and so i have to rely on memory]. that is what FSUGs must build on. an active and sustained campaign to create an upswing of public awareness. hold meetings and seminars relevant to the locus of the FSF idea and revolving around the central theme of FSF philosophy. lobbying for space and collecting, collating and presenting an knowledge base towards the benefit of all. greater good for the greatest number is never an unattainable goal, one only has to try that much harder. officially writing to (G)LUGs might just pose some amount of problems though. as far as i know, a majority of them are not registered as societies/bodies/bodies corporate [my home www.ilug-cal.org is not ] and thus the legal formality of a location arises. in that event, having region-based/state based FSUGs that act in sync with FSF-india's policies and aims as well as form a nodal point of contact towards developmental activities is most desirable. in west bengal, fsf-westbengal has been conceived with that singular aim in mind. strengthening the reach and sensitivity of FSF-india while providing a rich resource base of developers, activists and enthusiasts. tathagata banerjee (tathagatabanerjee(a)softhome.net) has taken the on the responsibilty of being the coordinator of such a group (fsf-westbengal(a)yahoogroups.com) and as RMS, NG and others will be aware (he is, i believe in mail communication with them) he plans to develop the group into a strong platform for Free Software Advocacy under the aegis of FSF-India thanks for your patience in going through this mail, with today being the bengali new year, i can only hope and pray that the coming year be one of success and achievements for us all warm regards sankarshan ----------------------- http://www.ilug-cal.org - A Brave Gnu world http://www.asiaosc.org - Open Source & Free Software ----------------------- --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.471 / Virus Database: 269 - Release Date: 4/10/03

1 0

Re: Bangalore Consultation
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 14 Apr '03

14 Apr '03

Free Software is going to be the subject of a consultation being organised by UNDP. Please get in touch with shruti.gupta(a)undp.org with your suggestions. Thanks! FN On Mon, 14 Apr 2003, Shruti Gupta wrote: > Dear all, > > The report of the Bangalore Consultation on ICTs for Development (11-12 > March 2003) is ready and up on our website. > > You can access it at the UNDP website > <http://www.undp.org.in/events/ict-bglr/> > > The website also hosts speakers' presentations. So all of those who > have not sent us their presentations in the soft format, please do so > now! > > Work is now on for the second consultation. We are looking at the > themes of 'Open Source and Free Software' and the 'Role of the Media in > Promoting ICTs for Development'. Please feel free to send us your ideas > and comments for the same. > > We look forward to hearing from you, and seeing you all soon for the > next event! > > Best regards, > > > > > Shruti Gupta > Junior co-ordinator > Project on ICTs for Development > > -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) | http://www.fredericknoronha.net Freelance Journalist | http://www.bytesforall.org http://goalinks.pitas.com | http://joingoanet.shorturl.com http://linuxinindia.pitas.com | http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks -------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 0

SITEWATCH: glugt.linuxisle.com (Trichy)
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 14 Apr '03

14 Apr '03

URL : http://glugt.linuxisle.com tux GNU/Linux User Group - Trichy GNU * Main Menu * [1]GLUG Home [2]Projects [3]Downloads [4]GNU/Linux Links [5]Meetings [6]Mailing Lists [7]Credits * GNU/Linux Docs * [8]GNU/Linux Workshop [9]Tips/HOWTOS * Reminder * GLUG-T Meeting Date: 20th April, Sunday Time: 9:30 to 12:30pm Venue: Accel IT Academy Thillainagar [10]* Help Needed * LCD Projector Domain Name & Web Space Meeting Place Welcome to GNU/Linux User Group - Trichy The GLUG-T is based at Trichy, a small city at the heart of Tamil Nadu, a state in India. The user group aims to promote free software in its spirit. We meet every 3rd Sunday on a decided place. (Check out our [11]meetings page for the next meeting's venue.) In our meetings we discuss both technical and philosophical issues related to free software. We welcome everybody interested in free software and the GNU/Linux OS to join our user group. Joining the GLUG-T: You can join us by subscribing to our mailing list glug_t(a)freelists.org and attending our meetings. To subscribe to the mailing list send a mail to [12]glug_t-request(a)freelists.org with 'subscribe' as subject. Contacting Us: .In case the information you are looking for is not in this website you can mail to [13]glug_t(a)linuxmail.org. * Cookie * * Poll * Which is your favourite Desktop Environment? (_) Gnome (_) KDE (_) Text Mode (_) Others [14][ Results ] Vote Powered By * GNU/Linux * EMACS * pHp * GIMP * Apache * Site Maintained by [15]Web Admin glugt_webadmin(a)linuxmail.org

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Re: [fsug-kochi-discuss] Fwd:[Re: [Fsf-friends] Re: Forming FSUGs in the country]
by Raghavendra Bhat 13 Apr '03

13 Apr '03

Dileep posts : >> We are the 1st FSUG in India Sure, we are. The 1st FSUG in India which has a majority of GNUheads. The GNU angle is more important to us. >>--Forwarded message from "Nagarjuna G." <nagarjun(a)hbcse.tifr.res.in> -- >> >>>>>Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 09:39:28 +0530 >>>>>From: "Nagarjuna G." <nagarjun(a)hbcse.tifr.res.in> >>>>>Subject: Re: [Fsf-friends] Re: Forming FSUGs in the country >>>>>To: Arko Provo Mukherjee <arkoprovo(a)peacefulaction.org> >>>>>> We are not going against GLUG if we form FSUG. We can go hand >>>>>> in hand with them. If it is FSF, it should be FSUG. I have seen RMS insist that if possible, the Group be named as a GNU/Linux User Group instead of calling it as a Free Software User Group. That way, the idea of freedom in computing can be conveyed much easily. >>>>> pass a resolution in one of their meetings and announces on >>>>> their web page Existing `Linux' User Groups should move away and rename themselves as GNU/Linux User Groups and resolve in their meetings to refuse to support `non-free' software. This need be reflected in their Web Pages too. >>>>> Such groups will not encourage the promotion of non-free >>>>> software under any free operating system, while promoting the >>>>> use of free software anywhere. The Group should stress the importance of the GNU Project first. Such groups should discuss the ethical aspects of Free Software and the finer nuances of `what free really means to a computer user ?'. Licensing issues should be discussed as well. They may even discuss how free software can help businesses and stress that free GNU software was born mainly for preserving user freedoms rather than to help businesses..... -- ragOO, VU2RGU :: Visit us at http://symonds.net/~fsug-kochi/ Helping to keep the Air-Waves FREE Amateur GNU Radio Helping to keep your Software FREE the GNU Project Helping to keep the W W W FREE Debian GNU/${kernel}

3 2

LFY April issue
by Arun M 13 Apr '03

13 Apr '03

Hi, It is very sad that LFY doesnt get a clue of what Free Software all about. See the article on 'IDE Tools for Linux'(April issue), it talks of 6 IDE tools, only 2 of them are Free Software or even `open' source. LFY ignored even the IDE from India, Anjuta. Now looking into CD. It comes with 5 OSs and two of them clearly proprietary. CD says that all of them are Freeware no clear distinction. Hope that LFY will correct the situation and clear distinction will be made about Free and Proprietary softwares in GNU/Linux. Confusing between Free and non-Free is worser than supporting proprietary. software. Arun. -- "Freedom received through the efforts of others, however benevolent, cannot be retained when such efforts are withdrawn." -- Mahatma Gandhi

1 0

Re: [Fsf-friends] Re: Forming FSUGs in the country
by Arko Provo Mukherjee 13 Apr '03

13 Apr '03

On Sun, 2003-04-13 at 09:46, Nagarjuna G. wrote: > > Yes, why dont you draft the letter and after corrections if any > FSF-India will send the letters to the groups. > > Nagarjuna My Board Exams are going on. But I shall definitely try to find out some time to do it. In the mean time, it is also important to select cities and groups. Regards Arko

1 0

Forming FSUGs in the country
by Arko Provo Mukherjee 13 Apr '03

13 Apr '03

Hello guys, Well, we all know that there are ilugs/iglugs throughout the country. We can start FSUGS(Free Software User Group) in the main cities and invite people to join. They can run parallelly along with the ILUGS/IGLUGS. Many people in the ILUGS don't believe in Free Software philosophy. Thus establishing FSUG in different cities will help us to create user groups supporting free software including GNU/Linux, BSD etc. The coordinators of the mailing lists will be people from FSF=INDIA. That way we can set policies. I think this will also help in strengthening FSF-INDIA and also in spreading FREEDOM MATTERS. We can give URLS to them, like www.fsf.org.in/fsug/cal etc. This will enable us to create country wide user groups under our control. I know that we already have a few FSUGs in the country, like in Chennai. We can invite them to join us. Waiting for comments and suggestions. Regards Arko

7 17

a post from Pune list
by Kanti Jadia 12 Apr '03

12 Apr '03

On Sunday 13 April 2003 01:06, zoyd wrote: >I'm sorry for not being attentive. I read through this thread >but >couldn't understand why the fonts that Ravi has made can't be >released >under the GPL? > >And how much would the fonts cost for them to be released in the >GPL. Thing is since it is open type font, it involves scripting, which is like programming. So it is rather a piece of program than artwork. And I can perfectly understand his hesitation to release it under GPL. Shridhar ---------------------------------- http://plug.org.in/pipermail/plug-mail/2003-April/007638.html ---------------------------------- Can somebody comment on this. regards Kanti ----------------------------------------- Enjoy your Freedom,use GNU/Linux. http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html ----------------------------------------- _______________________________________________________________________ Odomos - the only mosquito protection outside 4 walls - Click here to know more! http://r.rediff.com/r?http://clients.rediff.com/odomos/Odomos.htm&&odomos&&…

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Re: ? Is the GPL completely misunderstood?
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 12 Apr '03

12 Apr '03

SUCH views only further the ideology of proprietorial software, while confusing the subject and furthering the man-works-for-money-alone idea. It also flies in the face of thousands of excellent programmers chosing the GPL as their licence of choice. Perhaps someone needs to be countering this. FN > --__--__-- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 23:07:00 -0800 (PST) > From: Sukrit D <sd_root(a)yahoo.com> > To: little_league(a)yahoogroups.com > Cc: Kanhaiya Dalmia <dalmiag(a)vsnl.net>, > Chennai ILUG <ilugc(a)aero.iitm.ernet.in> > Subject: [Ilugc] Is the GPL completely misunderstood? > > Is the GPL completely misunderstood? > > What is the GPL? > > The GPL, GNU General Public License, is a license > boilerplate that the FSF, Free Software Foundation, > has put forward to be adopted by software developers > that are creating software. The GPL has some > fundamental flaws that may actually make one wonder if > people using the GPL license really understand the > license. > > First, one must understand that the ideals behind the > GPL are that software should be 'free', meaning that > you should be able to buy it, modify it, redistribute > it, support it, etc. Many people, myself included, > didn't really understand the license agreement and it > is obvious that the FSF must get dozens of questions > like that because they hide behind a boilerplate link > to a page on their site. > > Therein lies one major hurdle. Another problem is that > many people are under the impression that if it is > GPL, the software should carry no cost. The FSF says > that nothing could be further from the truth, however, > the GPL ingeniously assures this because of its > distribution clause. The first person to buy an > application is generously allowed to distribute the > code and the source, removing any financial incentive > from original software author. > > Even the FSF has no idea how to build a business > around software that is released GPL. I posed that > question, and their response was fuzzy and vague. It > was suggested that I run a different division to fund > the software development division. As a business > owner, why run a division that is a cost center if it > isn't needed. > > With that in mind, lets consider a few scenarios > dealing with GPL software. The FSF clearly states that > someone can charge whatever amount they want for > software and the source code. So, you take a contract > with a company to develop software, do the right thing > and release it GPL. You sell it to your client for > $500, thinking, I spent dozens of hours writing this, > I'll put a reasonable cost on there so that I can > resell hundreds of them. > > Fair enough. > > But, what happens if I, as a client, buy your software > along with the source and decide, hey, this is good > stuff, let me sell it for $100 and flood the market. > What happens to your income? It is gone. Someone else > is making the money off your product -- your efforts. > Even better, I can decide to distribute the software > at no cost. And what you have to show for it is a > license that allows your clients to do precisely that. > Freedom. > > Lets analyze the flip side. Lets say that you decide > to write the software and charge the client for every > minute of your work. The client ends up with a > software product that cost them $40000. Now, you > decide that you want to resell that software. What > price do you put on it knowing that your next client > could decide to distribute it? If you cut the price > too much, the client that paid you to do the > development won't rehire you since you have given his > competitor the tools to compete more easily. Companies > generally dislike funding software development for > their competitors. > > How about an idea you have that will revolutionize the > world. Don't release that under GPL, there is no > intellectual property protection. Have some secret way > of doing something that is better than the way it is > currently being done? Might as well just get rid of > your competitive edge because the GPL will strip you > of any rights you might have to that. > > See, the GPL in its Marxist form is a fine thought, > but what does it really do? > > The GPL creates hundreds of software products that are > mimic's of their commercial counterpart, many of which > are poor imitations. Yes, I know, the market is new > and there are years of existing software development > to catch up with. But, most of these software > developers have a job and do this as a hobby or are > paid by a company to write software released under the > GPL. But what have we done? We've turned over > development to armchair developers. This isn't to say > that there aren't good software projects developed > under GPL, but they are in the minority. > > Without singling out any application, there is a > software package that makes it truly evident that the > programmers have no concept what the finished product > is supposed to do or what the program they are > mimicing actually does. It appears as if they have > gotten together to develop a product to mimic a > Microsoft product, pushed all of the buttons to see > what the results are, and tried to imitate the > actions. Push a button and see no visible result? Who > knows how that button is supposed to work. We'll leave > it in, but there's no code behind it. There is a lot > of software that mimic's Microsoft, and yet, time > after time, these are the same people that complain > about Microsoft and what they do wrong. Then, to top > it off, since they released it GPL, they ask for > donations. Wait? Can't Freedom have a price? > > These authors don't know that they can charge money > for their software and still release it GPL. Of > course, after the first client, it will get > redistributed at some nominal cost or free. Imagine, > the first person that needs a program will buy it and > then post it on the net for people to get without > cost. Almost no different than the Commercial software > market as it exists today. Ok, chalk up one licensed > user that paid for the software. Authors ask for > donations or have service contracts. Some applications > are decidedly cryptic just so you have to buy the > service contract or installation help. Why? Because > the author needs to make some money for their efforts > and have a financial reward that justifies the > continued development of the project. > > Most of the people writing GPL software probably have > never read the license. How can you expect them to? > Everyone is told to slap the boilerplate agreement at > the top because 'GPL good, other license bad,' but how > many people that use the license have actually read > it? > > The GPL has created a dearth of poorly conceived, > poorly maintained, poorly written software. There are > also quite a few good GPL applications. Suffice it to > say, that most of the applications that are good and > are GPL usually have corporate roots. I surmise that > most of the companies releasing software under the GPL > are not releasing their code under the GPL for the > right reasons. > > The people that slam Microsoft for all that it is are > the same ones mimicing Microsoft's applications. > Certain applications are designed specifically to look > like Microsoft, which is the sincerest form of > flattery. Yet, people slam Microsoft because they > don't innovate. Well, look at most of the GPL software > that mimic's what is out there already? Where is the > innovation in that? That's what I thought. > > I don't have a problem with the GPL -- it just doesn't > happen to be my license of choice. I evaluated the > licenses and felt that the GPL didn't protect me or my > clients well enough. Most of the code my company > produces is released under an Open Source license. > Open Source I don't mind. Draconian terms and > conditions that sacrifice my rights as an author, or > my clients rights, or make it easy for people to avoid > compensating me for my efforts is where I have a > problem. > > <Sarcasm> > Unlike most GPL software authors, I am not > independently wealthy. I don't have a trust fund > handing me money every month. I don't have a rich > family writing a check to keep me locked away in a > basement churning out code. I don't have a fellowship > with an educational institution or sponsorship from a > big corporation so that I jet around the world > espousing the ideals, writing and releasing code under > the GPL. > </Sarcasm> > > If you develop software that allows someone to make > millions of dollars from your efforts, why should you > not be entitled to some of that money? What if you > write the next killer ap, distribute it, someone else > finds a VC, gets capital, goes public, gets rich -- > all on your idea? Notoriety is fine, but your bank > doesn't accept that when you are paying your mortgage. > > > In short, I don't believe the GPL serves the software > development community in the best possible manner. By > virtue, it eliminates financial motivation from those > writing software and drives those development costs on > existing industry. You may volunteer your time, but > your employer ultimately finances your ability to have > the time to write that code. Who really carries the > true development cost of the software? > > If you want the dream of Linux on the desktop to take > off more quickly, take the time to explain how a > company developing GPL software can protect itself and > earn money to pay its programmers and support staff. > If you work for a company writing GPL software, take > some time to think where your salary ultimately comes > from. Help develop a business plan to allow companies > to develop software and release the products under an > Open Source license that ensures the viability of the > company. If you want > > Next time you write an application, give some thought > to your licensing. A good place to start reading the > different licenses is Open Source.Org. > > --Chris > > http://daviesinc.com/gpl.rxml > > __________________________________________________ > -- Frederick Noronha : http://www.fredericknoronha.net : When we speak of free Freelance Journalist : http://www.bytesforall.org : software we refer to Ph 0091.832.2409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price.

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Re: [Fsf-friends] Forming FSUGs in the country
by Imran William Smith 12 Apr '03

12 Apr '03

Regardless of the merits of FSUGs vs LUGs, in case anyone is interested to find their nearest group, there is a list here: http://www.asiaosc.org/enwiki/page/India.html Feel free to edit the page if you wish, it's a wiki. Imran -- Asian Open Source Centre | It's most certainly GNU/Linux, www.AsiaOSC.org | not Linux. Read more at | http://www.gnu.org

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Status of OpenOffice (hindi is planned)
by Kanti Jadia 12 Apr '03

12 Apr '03

OpenOffice.org 1.1Beta Features 2003-03-25 To download OpenOffice.org 1.1 Beta and for more information about the release please visit the download center. General * The splash screen now has a progress bar. * PDF export. * Ability to mail a document as PDF. * DocBook XML import/export. * Support for mobile device formats (AportisDoc (Palm),Pocket Word and Pocket Excel). * Support for exporting as a flat XML file. * XHTML export. * OpenOffice.org ActiveX Control (Windows only). * Additional property pages for OpenOffice.org file types in Windows Explorer. * Accessibility support. * Improved configurability of dialogs and toolbars. * Configurable font for HTML and BASIC source code. * Improved online help (F1). * Autodetection of newly installed languages for spellchecker, thesaurus and hyphenator. * Support for copy/paste of bitmap graphics on Unix. * A new java-native-uno bridge with up to 10 times better performance. * Improved URL autocompletion in hyperlink dialog. * The context menu now contains 'Open Hyperlink' if opened on a URL. * Locking of user installations against accesses from multiple machines with shared directories. * Command line tools and an API for importing configuration data into the backend. * Document windows are now always created in a cascade to avoid new window completely overlapping the old one. * Support for registering add-ons and accessing add-ons via an auto-generated menu. * New FTP file access component. * The registration dialog will now display instead of addressbook data source selection on first run. * Accessibility support for Windows * Support for recovering slightly damaged OpenOffice.org files. * Detection of a misconfigured Java installation. * New ppd file for generic postscript printing with type42 font support. * Support for configuring font rendering via environment variables. Internationalization * support for Complex Text Layout (CTL) and vertical writing languages such as Thai, Hindi, Arabic and Hebrew. * Support for various 8-bit Arabic and Hebrew text encodings / code pages. * Support for the KOI8_U encoding. * New CTL options tab in language options dialog. * Rescue mode support for BiDi/CTL with X11 fonts. * Sequence Input Checking (SIC) for languages like Thai and Hindi. * Initial glyph fallback support. Writer * Enhanced footnote support. * Improved hyperlink support for TOCs. * Improved keyboard handling in toolboxes. * Plain text files will now be imported using a non-proportional font. Draw/Impress * Alternative language support for spell check on text drawing object. * SWF (Flash) export. Spreadsheet: * Import and export of areas in charts in Excel files that are formatted with bitmaps, textures or hatchings. * The sum button inserts a sum function or a subtotal function, depending on context. Database: * Table control via keyboard navigation in table designer. * Added ability to switch off brackets for bibliography fields. * New database type in data source administration dialog - MySQL. * Ability to add labels to field names in the report wizard. * A data source can now use any character set known to OpenOffice.org. * UI support for user installed database drivers. ----------------------------------------- Enjoy your Freedom,use GNU/Linux. http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html ----------------------------------------- _______________________________________________________________________ Odomos - the only mosquito protection outside 4 walls - Click here to know more! http://r.rediff.com/r?http://clients.rediff.com/odomos/Odomos.htm&&odomos&&…

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SITEWATCH: ILUG-Margao... promoting GNU/Linux in South Goa
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 10 Apr '03

10 Apr '03

URL : http://www.ilug-margao.org/html [1]Welcome to India GNU/Linux Users Group--GOA-Margao [2]signup | login ______________ search Topics [All Topics......] [3]Home [4]Photo Gallery [5]Contributions [6]Register! [7]CD Library [8]Feedback Menu � [9]Home � [10]Contributions � [11]Meetings � [12]Members List � [13]Private_Messages � [14]Projects � [15]Surveys � [16]Tutorials � [17]Web Links � [18]Your Account Chat Chat room for the GNU/Linux enthusiasts Nick Name: ____________________ Enter Chat Who's Online Members options: [19]Login [20]Logout [21]Lost password? _________________________________________________________________ [registered2.gif] Registered members [space.gif] Today 1 Yesterda y 0 Overall 66 Latest biker _________________________________________________________________ Become a member? You are Anonymous user. You can register for free by clicking [22]here LinuxWeelyNews �[23]Open Source study by the Swedish Agency for Public Management �[24]PS/PDF file handling vulnerability �[25]LWN.net Weekly Edition for April 10, 2003 �[26]ACLU loses digital copyright battle (News.com) �[27]Open-source battle rages in Oregon (News.com) �[28]This week's Tcl-URL �[29]MySQL 4.1.0 released �[30]Security alert roundup �[31]This week's Python-URL �[32]A Linux open source best practices guide: Applications (ZDNet) [33]read more... About Us Welcome! The Margao GNU/Linux User Group [MGLUG] is a non-profit organization. Margao GLUG's primary aim is to bring together GNU/Linux Users, enthusiasts and professionals so as to discuss and share various issues/ideas pertaining to GNU/Linux. We are a focused group of enthusiasts who want to promote the idea of GNU/Linux and encourage the use of [34]Free Software. Most of the MGLUG members are actively involved in the [35]Goa Schools Computer Project [GSCP]. Newbies who are planning to migrate to GNU/Linux need not worry as we will gladly provide you with a framework and try our best to answer all your queries. For more info, go through the meetings section. Enjoy your stay! Please read the [36]disclaimer before continuing. CD Library! [37]announcements The much awaited CD library is now in place. [38]Click here for a listing of the current GNU/Linux software available for sharing. For those of you ordering personal copies, we will try and process the order within 48hrs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by [39]Andrew Suares on Wednesday, February 19 @ 04:27:03 EST Minutes of the meeting held on Saturday 15th '03 [41]meetings_minutes by Frederick Noronha THIS REPORT has to be very brief, because I was myself late for the meeting in Margao last Saturday. Sanil T. was busy doing a demo and talking about Elx Linux (the distro from Hyderabad) when one intruded. Amey Hegde, one of the newest members to find this sometimes-infighting-prone and sometimes-very-helpful network of GNU/Linux enthusiasts. Apparently he works @ Controlnet, not far from ArvindC, but was not aware of this group till recently. How do we build more awareness about those who would like to be our members but just don't know what we do? note: Click on Readmore to read the whole story ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by [42]Andrew Suares on Wednesday, February 19 @ 03:38:10 EST (8 reads) GNU/Linux Frequently Asked Questions [45]gnu_related by Richard Stallman When people see that we use and recommend the name GNU/Linux for a system that many others call just "Linux", they ask many questions. Here are common questions, and our answers. * Why do you call it GNU/Linux and not Linux? * Why is this issue important? * How did it come about that most people call the system "Linux"? * What is the difference between an operating ystem and a kernel? * The problem with "GNU/Linux" is that it is too long. How about recommending a shorter name? * Should the GNU/[name] convention be applied to all programs that are GPL'ed? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by [46]Andrew Suares on Friday, December 27 @ 06:48:54 EST (13 reads) ([47]Read More... | 37174 bytes more | [48]Read More... | Score: 0) Tutorials Has just been uploaded [49]announcements Tutorials which will help Newbies shift to Linux.....Dual Boot with Windows, Some Myths about linux..... Bash scripting and much much more...Just click on Tutorials ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by [50]arvind clemente on Monday, December 02 @ 05:01:06 EST (10 reads) Contribution by our GLUG Members added [52]announcements You can now have tremendous help in configuring / compiling different packages under GNU/LINUX. You dont have to expirement.... just follow the already documented ccontributions..... Its just a click away...For details Just Click Contributions in our Main Home Page ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by [53]arvind clemente on Friday, November 22 @ 00:10:03 EST (16 reads) Private Messaging [56]announcements Due to popular demand, the private messaging feature has been added! To use it, you have to be registered. After logging in, click on the members list, select the member name and click 'Send Private Message' You will be automatically notified of incoming PM's. To login automatically during subsequent visits, enable the cookies option for this site. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ Posted by [57]andrew suares on Wednesday, November 20 @ 11:36:41 EST (6 reads) ILUG-Margao is back! [60]announcements ILUG-Margao is back! We have shifted over to a web portal system. It was getting a bit difficult to manage and add new content. After some unexpected issues with PHP-Nuke and a lot of customising, the site is up and running. Everything seems to be running fine. However, if you come across any any bugs/404 errors, please inform us. Key Highlights:- Added Contributions, Projects & Tutorials sections No more cross browser compatibility issues! Pages are displayed using w3c standards. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by [61]Andrew Suares on Monday, November 18 @ 07:35:15 EST (24 reads) Survey Which is your favourite distro? (_) RedHat (_) Mandrake (_) Debian (_) SUSE (_) Gentoo (_) Others Don't have an account yet? You can [98]create one. As registered user you have some advantages like theme manager, comments configuration and post comments with your name. [sidebox-bottom.gif] Website maintained and updated by: Arvind Clemente & Andrew Suares

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a post which ......
by Kanti Jadia 10 Apr '03

10 Apr '03

This was posted by http://slashdot.org/~fliplap. --------------------------------------------------------------------- The problem is, everyone on slashdot would rather just complain on slashdot instead of actually writing thier representative a well worded letter. I was actually thinking about this the other day. What about a slashdot sponsered letter writing compaign that gave people a tangible reward for writing a good letter to thier congress(wo)man. They could have everyone write an email about what really matter to them, any topic, preferably a technological one as thats what scores points around here. Then have them mail them to thier representative and CC a copy to contest(a)slashdot.org as well as post it as a comment. Say, 10 highest rated letters win a free subscription (however many page views that is). The cost would be negligable, but the impact of tons of well worded emails coming from intellegent people would have an amazing impact. So, editors, what do YOU think? --btw, the letters should be worded better than this post. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Further to add my two cents Answers sought How to act in a democracy? Whom to put your views so that they are heard? Get organized in an informal or formal way to protest? regards Kanti ----------------------------------------- Enjoy your Freedom,use GNU/Linux. http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html ----------------------------------------- _______________________________________________________________________ Odomos - the only mosquito protection outside 4 walls - Click here to know more! http://r.rediff.com/r?http://clients.rediff.com/odomos/Odomos.htm&&odomos&&…

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Arun Shourie, on FLOSS v.s proprietory
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 08 Apr '03

08 Apr '03

---------- Forwarded message ---------- URL : http://www.linuxworld.com/2003/0401.indiaopensource.html India IT minister: No government edict on open source IT official says Indian government will not back open source to the exclusion of proprietary software April 1, 2003 Summary The government is a key buyer of information technology in India, and backers of open-source software were hoping that the Indian government would throw its weight behind open source. By John Ribiero, IDG News Service BANGALORE (IDG News Service) -- The Indian government will not back open-source software to the exclusion of proprietary software, according to Arun Shourie, India's minister for information technology and communications. The government is a key buyer of information technology in the country, and backers of open-source software were hoping that the Indian government would throw its weight behind open source. "In India we always like to think in terms of either-or. The formula we want to adopt instead is 'and also,' and encourage all kinds of software development in the country," Shourie told reporters shortly after the formal launch in Bangalore on Tuesday of the PARAM Padma supercomputer, designed by the government-run Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in Pune [see "[30]India agency offers build-to-order supercomputer" Dec. 17, 2002]. "If there is an important security software that we need urgently, for example, we are more likely to buy it, than spend time deciding whether we should develop it in India in open source," Shourie added. Earlier in his address to the staff of C-DAC, Shourie said that in cases involving national security, it was wiser for government research agencies and laboratories to develop software in-house. However, Shourie clarified later that the decision to import software, or develop the software entirely in-house in open source or on any other platform, would be taken at the level of the specific government agency on a case-by-case basis. "Do not expect a general decision from government on this," Shourie added. Shourie's statement is the first categorical statement by a senior Indian government official in the debate about whether to adopt open-source or proprietary software. The controversy was sparked in November last year during a visit to India by Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates. During his visit to Delhi, Gates announced that his company planned to invest US$400 million in India over the next three years in a number of areas, including computer literacy and localization of its software products. Gates's announcement was seen by analysts as an attempt to pre-empt the Indian government from making a formal decision to adopt open-source software. Gates announced that in addition to contributing software to schools, Microsoft will also assist in training about 80,000 school teachers and 3.5 million students in government-run schools in India. "This 'gift' is no act of generosity," said Richard Stallman, president of the Boston-based Free Software Foundation. Stallman was also in India in November to drum up support for free software, but found that media and government attention had shifted to Gates's high-profile visit. "Giving Microsoft software to school children is like giving them cigarettes -- it is a way to get them hooked, so that once they grow up, they will be a captive market for Microsoft." Microsoft has tried to win over the Indian government to its Government Source Licensing Program (GSLP), but there have been no takers yet in the government, according to informed sources. The GSLP was designed to give government agencies access to Windows source code to develop applications for their own internal use. Last month, Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems Inc. in Santa Clara, California, also made a pitch to woo Indian universities and researchers by announcing $300 million in free software and training to promote key Sun technologies in India, such as Java and Sun ONE (Open Net Environment). Though the Indian government will not take sides, some government agencies and laboratories are already using open-source software. The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) in Delhi is assessing the feasibility of using Linux for e-governance projects in India, according to Kiran Karnik, the association's president. "Linux can play an important role in spreading e-governance in India since there would be a need to develop low-cost local language applications," said Karnik. "It can also help in accelerating IT education in schools which today cannot afford high software costs." However, before Linux can be widely deployed, the services and support infrastructure around this platform will have to be developed in the country, according to Karnik. John Ribiero is a Bangalore correspondent for the IDG News Service, a LinuxWorld.com affiliate.

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GNU/Linux or Linux
by Kanti Jadia 08 Apr '03

08 Apr '03

GNU/Linux GNU/Hurd GNU/unknown ----------------------------------------- Enjoy your Freedom,use GNU/Linux. http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html ----------------------------------------- _______________________________________________________________________ Odomos - the only mosquito protection outside 4 walls - Click here to know more! http://r.rediff.com/r?http://clients.rediff.com/odomos/Odomos.htm&&odomos&&…

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NEWS: Indlinux.org announced launch of Hindi interface for computers
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 08 Apr '03

08 Apr '03

------------------------------------------------------------------ INDLINUX.ORG ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF HINDI INTERFACE FOR COMPUTERS IndLinux.org's Milan software enables Hindi users to use computers in their own language, a major leap forward in bringing the benefits of information technology to Indian masses COMPLETE STORY: http://linuxpr.com/releases/5732.html ------------------------------------------------------------------

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Microsoft is not a US monopoly - IT Minister Kerala.
by Arun M 07 Apr '03

07 Apr '03

Kerala IT Minister said Malappuram district that Boycotts should not hurt the `IT development' of the state. Sorry no more info. arun.

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GPL and 'intellectual property'
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 07 Apr '03

07 Apr '03

AFAIK, the GPL is not aimed at protecting so-called 'intellectual property'. What it *does* try to do is to make software accessible to whoever needs it, regardless of how rich or poor they may be. If our model is to build up ourselves into a Bill Gates, then this is perhaps problematic. But if our concern is to make software accessible to the vast majority of a country like, say, India, this is indeed something very innovative. It is also a powerful tool to ensure that knowledge remains -- as it has long been, for most part -- in the public domain. The GPL also recognises that much of what we call knowledge is based on prior-knowledge of others. If we block the cycle of innovation by concepts like 'intellectual property', the entire humanity will be poorer off. Incidentally, my friend in Finland, Niranjan Rajani, has done a study which indicates that terms which we take so much for granted today (like 'intellectual property') was first used just in 1968, with the formation of the 'World Intellectual Property Organisation' or WIPO. Apart from a few individuals, do the bulk of the people of this planet have anything to gain from such concepts? This is just my view and understanding. Copying it to others from FSF-India, who could also give their perspective on the issue. FN > ________________________________________________________________________ > ________________________________________________________________________ > > Message: 3 > Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2003 05:51:18 +0200 > From: Satuluri Venkata Rahul <srahul(a)vanenburg.com> > Subject: Doubts on the GNU Public Licensing > > Hi, > > I have a question about the GNU PL. How does the GNU PL protect > intellectual property rights? > > I am aware that the question is open ended. It potentially invites > numerous discussions on aspects like patenting, documentation et al. Please > help me (and possibly more newbie colleagues of this grp) develop a > comprehensive view about the issues involved. > > Regards > Venkata Rahul -- Frederick Noronha : http://www.fredericknoronha.net : When we speak of free Freelance Journalist : http://www.bytesforall.org : software we refer to Ph 0091.832.2409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price.

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LINK Parliamentary question...
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 06 Apr '03

06 Apr '03

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA * Minitry of Communications and Information Technology (Department of Information Technology) Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No 2330 To be answered on 13-0302993 Setting up of research institutions 2330 Shri Eduardo Faleiro Will the Minister of Communications & Informatin Technology be pleased to state: (a) whether Government have any plans to set up research institutions to further skills in free/open source software; (b) Government funded institutions already utilising free/open source software in a significant manner; and (c) whether the STate government would be, in any way, encouraged to go in for FS/OSS solutions specially while spreading Information Technology at the educational level? ANSWER (a), (b) and (c): Department of Information is conceiving of "Linux India Initiative" which will be targeted to take a set of steps including further of skills in free software/open source software. Other steps that will be included as part of same would, inter alia, include setting up of resource centres. Various Government funded institutions such as R&D labs, academia, Government departments, as also those in industry, are already utilizing free software/open source software in a significant manner. Examples of Government-funded institutions utilizing free software/open source software are BARC and IIT, Mumbai. The "Linux India Initiative" mentioned above would also include encouragement of FS/OSS solutions at the educational level. Already, lot of educational institutions, especially engineering institutions use FS/open source software extensively. Linux India initiative is also intended to address this aspect. -- Frederick Noronha : http://www.fredericknoronha.net : When we speak of free Freelance Journalist : http://www.bytesforall.org : software we refer to Ph 0091.832.2409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price.

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Simputer FAQ (thanks to Edward Cherlin)
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 05 Apr '03

05 Apr '03

_______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Message: 3 Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2003 12:54:15 -0800 From: Edward Cherlin <cherlin(a)pacbell.net> Subject: Simputer FAQ This is a draft FAQ for the Simputer, meant for anybody to e-mail to their friends who inquire what the Simputer is, and for new members of this list. Further questions and answers welcome. Simputer FAQ 1. What is the Simputer? 2. What features make Simputers suited to use by poor people? 3. What are Simputers for? 4. Where can I get a Simputer? 5. What software runs on Simputers? 6. Where can I find out more about the Simputer? 1. What is the Simputer? Although the Simputer (Simple, Inexpensive, Multilingual Computer) looks a lot like a PDA, it was designed primarily for use by poor people to provide access to health, education, information, and other services. As a Linux handheld with unequalled connectivity at an unheard-of low price, the Simputer turns out to be a platform well-suited to Free Software, commercial applications, and embedded systems of many kinds. The basic model starts at US$206.00. The Simputer has the following connections built in. Infrared (IrDA) SmartCard reader/writer USB master USB slave Sound I/O 56K modem Serial port Compact Flash connector External power Simputers can be connected to anything supported by infrared, USB, or Compact Flash interfaces, a serial port, or a modem. This includes wired and wireless LANs, the Internet, data acquisition systems, GPS, Flash storage devices, hard drives, CD-ROM and DVD drives, mouse, keyboard, external monitor, wired and IrDA printers, and most other computer peripherals and communications systems. 2. What features make Simputers suited to use by poor people? The Simputer is designed with multilingual capability, including Text-to-Speech conversion for several languages of India. Voice recognition will be added later, and voice capabilities will be expanded to other languages. A very large pool of no-cost software can be put on the Simputer. Simputers can be shared using inexpensive SmartCards for private storage. This reduces the cost per person greatly. Simputers use 2 AA batteries for power, or an external transformer. Lithium ion AA batteries can be recharged using solar or human power in areas where there is no electric supply. 3. What is the Simputer for? Applications of the Simputer are in development in many areas. Applications directed especially at the needs of the poor include health, education, government services, microbanking, access to information, and general communication. Other applications include inventory management, agriculture, scientific and government data acquisition, financial services, construction, and many more. 4. Where can I get a Simputer? Simputer development systems are currently available. This includes a monochrome Simputer, a color Simputer, and the Simputer SDK on CD-ROM, all for US$1500.00. The Simputer SDK includes all of the tools needed to compile applications for the Simputer on any supported Linux system, or on Windows. Simputers are not in retail distribution. Some potential development partners are in discussions with Encore Technologies, the principal manufacturer, about retail versions. FCC approval is being sought in the U.S., and similar efforts are under way for other markets. 5. What software runs on Simputers? The Simputer comes with standard Unix utilities, a hardware "control panel" set of utilities, and the following applications and demonstrations. E-mail Notepad Address book (seven languages) Calculator Web browser File browser Unix terminal running sh shell command interpreter MP3 music player Image file viewer IrDA printing utility Banking demo Billing demo Land survey demo Meter reader demo SmartCard reader/writer demo Text-to-Speech demo There are thousands of Unix/Linux applications that will run on Simputers. Many have been compiled for the StrongARM processor in the Simputer, and are available for download. Others can be cross-compiled from source code on any system running the Simputer SDK, and then downloaded to the Simputer. A Java system and several APL systems are being ported to the Simputer. Programming languages currently available for Simputer development include C, C++, Perl, Python, and LISP. There are Integrated Development Environments supporting all of these languages together with GUI development tools and numerous libraries. 6. Where can I find out more about the Simputer? The Simputer Trust (originators of the design) http://www.simputer.org Encore Technologies (manufacturer) http://www.simputerland.com Picopeta (manufacturer) http://www.picopeta.com The Showcase section of simputerland.com lists a number of applications and tools in development, and a number of partner companies working on Simputer development. -- Edward Cherlin Generalist & activist--Linux, languages, literacy and more "A knot! Oh, do let me help to undo it!" --Alice in Wonderland ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ -- Frederick Noronha : http://www.fredericknoronha.net : When we speak of free Freelance Journalist : http://www.bytesforall.org : software we refer to Ph 0091.832.2409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price.

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Re: Budding GNU/Linux User Group
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 05 Apr '03

05 Apr '03

Thanks very much Vijay. Could you please add me to the mailing list? Let us know how we can help... If you would like us to share CDs with you, please send us a list of what you already have. The condition is that you must then share these freely with others in your area. Deal? FN On Sat, 5 Apr 2003, Vijay Kumar B. wrote: > Dear Sir, > we here at Trichy(TN), have started a new GNU/Linux User Group. We would like to > announce it through you newsletter. Our website is http://glugt.linuxisle.org. > Our mailing list is glug_t(a)freelists.org. > > Yours Sincerely, > Vijay Kumar. > Coordinator, > GNU/Linux User Group, Trichy > > > Non-free* software sucks. - RMS > * 'free' as in > freedom. > > --------------------------------------------- > This message was sent from RECTMAIL. > http://www.rect.edu/ or http://rangoli.rect.ernet.in/ > > -- Frederick Noronha : http://www.fredericknoronha.net : When we speak of free Freelance Journalist : http://www.bytesforall.org : software we refer to Ph 0091.832.2409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price.

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