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LINK: Protest launched against Microsoft in Kerala...
by Frederick Noronha 27 Nov '02

27 Nov '02

------------------------------------------------------------------ COMMUNITY: PROTEST LAUNCHED AGAINST MICROSOFT IN KERALA, INDIA SCHOOLS Members of FSUG-Kochi have submitted a memorandum to the Government of Kerala, one of India's states, protesting the use of Microsoft software in India's IT@SCHOOL project. This memorandum is linked within. COMPLETE STORY: http://www.symonds.net/~fsug-kochi/mass-memo.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ This was out on linuxtodaynews

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Re: Re: [Fsf-friends] Licensing of GNU software
by Kanti Jadia 26 Nov '02

26 Nov '02

I am sorry ,am not updated for a long time. Thanks for pointing that out. I got a cross reference from savannah.gnu.org pointing to the copyright issue https://savannah.gnu.org/faq/?question=What_does_it_mean_to_become_a_GNU_pa… Deciding that a program is GNU software does not necessarily require transferring copyright to the FSF; that is a separate question. If you transfer the copyright to the FSF, the FSF will enforce the GPL for the program if someone violates it; if you keep the copyright, enforcement will be up to you. Thanks again regards Kanti Jadia On Tue, 26 Nov 2002 Baiju M wrote : > > > > > If you want your software to be part of GNU tree you have to > > transfer the copyright to FSF. > > This is required to safegaurd the original intention of >keeping > > your software free(as in freedom). > >No, its not required to transfer copyright to FSF. > >Regards, >Baiju M > > > > >_______________________________________________ >Fsf-friends mailing list >Fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in >http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-friends

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Licensing of GNU software
by Kanti Jadia 26 Nov '02

26 Nov '02

Hi all, This is in reference to the message posted by Mr.Tarun Gaur. Tarun i would like to highlight the difference between an official GNU software or normal software under GPL. If you want your software to be part of GNU tree you have to transfer the copyright to FSF. This is required to safegaurd the original intention of keeping your software free(as in freedom). Hope this helps More points are welcome Kanti

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NEWS-US: Nine-year jail term for US software "piracy" accused
by Frederick Noronha 26 Nov '02

26 Nov '02

Quite a story! Reminds one of RMS labelling such organisations as "terrorist". FN ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Nine-year jail term for U.S. software piracy accused By Vasantha Arora, Indo-Asian News Service Washington, Nov 26 (IANS) A 52-year-old Taiwanese woman has been sentenced to nine years in prison for one the largest software piracy cases in the U.S. The sentence for Lisa Chen was one of the longest prison terms in the U.S. for a case involving software theft. Chen was arrested along with three associates in November last year after county officials seized hundreds of thousands of copies of pirated software worth more than $75 million that the four were believed to have smuggled into the country from Taiwan, the district attorney for the county of Los Angeles said. Symantec, whose software was involved in the smuggling operation, later put the value of the software at $98 million, according to media and PC World.Com reports. The pirated software included copies of Microsoft's Windows XP and Office 2000 desktop software, as well as Symantec's Norton AntiVirus software, the district attorney's office said. More than 600,000 units of Symantec's software alone were seized in the raid, according to Symantec. The forgeries were apparently of high quality and came with professionally printed packaging as well as manuals and user license agreements. Chen was apprehended when she drove up to a warehouse that police were searching for evidence. Her business was located in Alhambra, part of greater Los Angeles. The car Chen was driving was filled with copies of counterfeited software, according to published reports. Chen, who listed her residence in New Jersey at the time of her arrest, was described by law enforcement officials as a "manager" in the smuggling operation, responsible for distributing the pirated software and collecting payments from customers. Chen and her associates were believed to have been importing pirated software made in Taiwan to the U.S. since 1998, the reports said. In August, Chen pleaded no contest to one count of failure to disclose the origin of a recording or product. In return for her plea, Chen was guaranteed a prison term of no more than nine years. In addition to her prison sentence, Chen will have to pay $11 million in restitution to Microsoft and Symantec. Symantec released a statement expressing satisfaction with the ruling and warning of the dangers of buying and using pirated software. "The successful prosecution of this case is a tremendous step forward by law enforcement authorities and the combined efforts of the software industry towards stopping the proliferation of illegal copying and distribution of software," Symantec said. Microsoft could not immediately be reached for comment. The software seizure was one of the largest in U.S. history. It was the result of an 18-month undercover investigation by the U.S. Customs Service and the Southern California Regional High Tech Task Force, the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. --Indo-Asian News Service

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The name is changed
by Tarun Gaur 26 Nov '02

26 Nov '02

Hi Suraj, Your advice taken and Accepted.

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Licensing of the software (Seeking Volunteers)
by Tarun Gaur 26 Nov '02

26 Nov '02

Hi Suraj, Your concerns are very good. Be rest assured we are not interested in keeping any rights with ourselves. We firmly believe in free software. For the first project that we are undertaking, we intend to keep it under GNU Lesser General Public License. The reasons are very simple and straight. We do not intend to restrict anyone from using the software for any reason. As for "Linux Internet Information Server", it is something that is widely available on other platforms. Allowing all the (linux) variants to use it with for sure further the cause of Linux. Please let me know of your opinions and we can discuss on the liscencing issue as well. Infact we can collectively decide. regards, Tarun Gaur ... _________________________________________________________________ Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

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(no subject)
by Nice Calicut 26 Nov '02

26 Nov '02

Hello, This commercial stuff is triggered by the misguiding offer of "Free" RedHat CDs, which turned out to be Rs.230/-. However this is not a free offer. NICE , Calicut offer the following Free Software Services. 1. Two Weeks course covering GNU/Linux basics, KDE, OpenOffice Rs. 200/- 2. GNU/Linux Installation (1 day) Rs. 100/- 3. Above two along with basic sysadmin, networking and Setting up Terminal Server Rs. 750/- CDs for all major distributions also Aailable ( Rs. 40/- per CD) 1. RedHat 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 8.0 2. Mandrake 9.0 3. RedHat (Pre-configured) to install from a single CD with OpenOffice and some science packages. National Institute of Computer Education Satheesh Building, Kallai Road Calicut 673 002 Ph: (off) 0495 300040 (res) 0495 355415 with regards NICE

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Seeking Volunteers
by Tarun Gaur 26 Nov '02

26 Nov '02

Hi Friends, SEEKING VOLUNTEERS! ZERO ADMINISTRATION SERVERS The ZServers project intends to create highly scalable distributed Servers that require minimum or no configurations, enabling the network administrators scale their networks with ease. The first step in this direction is: Linux Internet Information Server: To give you a head start, In stage I, we intend to create a lookalike of Internet Information Server which can manage ftp, www etc from one point. Keeping the look and feel the same is important as it can help network administrators migrate with ease. we are working on the analaysis of this product and will soon put it across. We invite developers with knowledge of Glade and shell scripts to join hands. Mail me at tarun.gaur(a)i3genesys.com with "ZServers" as the subject. Regards, Tarun Gaur _________________________________________________________________ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963

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[bytesforall_readers] About Shiksha, Narayana Murthy and Bill gates..
by FREDERICK NORONHA 25 Nov '02

25 Nov '02

Just to point out that this issue is being debated beyond Free Software/Open Source mailing lsts. Some relevant questions below... FN ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- Subject: RE: [bytesforall_readers] About Shiksha, Narayana Murthy and Bill gates.. Date: Sun, 24 Nov 2002 17:21:21 -0000 From: Murali Shanmugavelan <MuraliS(a)panoslondon.org.uk> To: "'Frederick Noronha '" <fred(a)bytesforall.org> The Project mission and its gensis: Shiksha India is a non-profit initiative, aimed at bridging the digital divide in India. This project was conceived of by the Global Leaders for Tomorrow of the World Economic Forum, incubated by the Confederation of Indian Industry. Who's who: "Shiksha India's mission is computer literacy -- a basic skill that blue collar workers like mechanics and rural citizens like farmers will find useful in their daily lives. It will substantially increase the earning capacity of mainstream India in direct and indirect ways and also help in bridging the digital divide that exists in India " said N. R. Narayana Murthy, trustee of Shiksha India (from Schoolsonline.org) Does Mr. Bill's donation to Shiksha and his choice of NGOs tell us anything? The Political economy of NGos have powerful roles in informing and shaping policies in today's informing society. Especially, when the political economy is governed by business corporations. I would like to know if there are examples as to how many ICT4D projects have implemented non-microsoft platforms to increase the flow from and towards the poor and marginalised. Pointer URLs: http://www.weforum.org/site/homepublic.nsf/Content/The+World+Economi c+Forum+ Announces+Global+Leaders+for+Tomorrow+Task+Forces http://world-links.org/english/assets/india_project.pdf Murali Shanmugavelan. Panos Institute London. -------------------------------------------------------

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W3C Patent Policy (fwd)
by Frederick Noronha 25 Nov '02

25 Nov '02

---------- Forwarded message ---------- A good news for the Free Software community if this draft is adopted by the W3C. Don't hesitate to provide your input to promote RF. adulau -- -- Alexandre Dulaunoy -- http://www.foo.be/ -- http://pgp.ael.be:11371/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x44E6CBCD "People who fight may lose.People who do not fight have already lost." Bertolt Brecht ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2002 11:03:46 -0800 From: Lawrence E. Rosen <lrosen(a)rosenlaw.com> To: license-discuss(a)opensource.org, fsb(a)crynwr.com Cc: 'Robin 'Roblimo' Miller' <robin(a)roblimo.com>, Eben Moglen <moglen(a)columbia.edu>, bruce(a)perens.com Subject: W3C Patent Policy W3C (www.w3c.org) has just released the Last Call Working Draft of its patent policy (http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/WD-patent-policy-20021114) for "Last Call" review. Some of you may remember that an earlier draft of that policy provided for the possible payment of "reasonable and non-discriminatory" (RAND) royalties in order to practice W3C specifications. That dreadful prospect is no longer in the policy. The draft policy now provides that all patents necessary to implement W3C specifications must be "royalty-free" (RF). If this draft is adopted by W3C, all specifications published by W3C can be implemented by anyone, anywhere, without payment of royalties. This is a major victory for open source. The open source community was represented on the Patent Policy Working Group by Eben Moglen, Bruce Perens and Larry Rosen. The community now needs to be heard supporting this policy so that it is not undone during the public input and W3C Advisory Council phase. Address your comments to www-patentpolicy-comment(a)w3.org. We hope that this RF policy will be adopted by other standards organizations around the world. /Larry Rosen -- license-discuss archive is at http://crynwr.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-cgi?3 _______________________________________________ Isdf mailing list Isdf(a)isoc.org http://www.isoc.org/mailman/listinfo/isdf

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Those who know... those who must pay
by Frederick Noronha 25 Nov '02

25 Nov '02

Interesting. Even if it uses Free Software and Open Source as interchangeable terms. Thanks to Soundara Rajan N.S. in Mysore for forwarding this... "If the current stylistic distinctions between open-source and commercial software persist, an open-software revolution could lead to yet another divide between haves and have-nots: those with the skills and connections to make use of free software, and those who must pay high prices for increasingly dated commercial offerings." -- Scientific American

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(no subject)
by Tarun Gaur 24 Nov '02

24 Nov '02

Dear friend Suraj, We live in a world that moves at a very fast pace. In today's world, people value quality over price in most of the situations. And yes cost of ownership does matter, but never at the price of quality. Now, we are evangalists supporting the same movement. A movement that brings people and ideas togather to create free software. It intends to realize the vision of a genius called Richard Stallman. but friend, I have some questions for you. Do Richard Stallman and GNU ask us not to praise and be aware of what is happening in the properietary world ? Are we hampered by any force to write software as good as the properietary world ? when we can accompilsh extremely tech. stuff, does it take a herculian effort to beautify it and simplify the names of the software? Should we ignore the fact that the world leaders should be keenly observed and there success researched to pick up some good things that might help us create FSF into a more formidable force ? My previous posting was to help all our friends realize that we can improve. We can innovate. We can be the best and WE CAN be FREE. We can be technical yet touch the masses. ------------------- by Mr. Suraj -------------------------------------- your question is like, "Do the masses need a hut where they live happily or do they need the latest technology laser enabled cage where they get electrocuted?" We in the Free Software world donot care if our existing software cannot do everything that proprietary guys do. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- REPLY: Friend we have to care and improve. Thats how future is driven. We dont want to be philosophers in minority. Awareness of competetion is the key to "NOT REINVENTING THE WHEEL" and "CREATING BETTER SOFTWARE" WE NEED TO OBSERVE,ACT AND IMPROVE. Now, friend suraj, you are very right when you say praising wont help. So, friends, i give you a head start. We are already working on a project that integrates the "servers" that run on Linux, into services that can be controlled from one point and that minimises the administration. I invite all my friends to come and join me in the endeavor. This is a small step towards "Scalable, Distributed Zero Administration Servers" ... We call the project as ZServers. Friends, this project is the first in line ... We in pune are working in three different teams of 10 people each on some amazing software for linux. We indend to throw all the software to FSF one by one. If any of my friends are interested to join hands ... Please mail me at: tarun.gaur(a)i3genesys.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Once Aki morito (Sony) was having a different opinion than his collegue. They had a heated disscussion. When Aki was asked about his reaction by another friend ... he said : If we agree to the same things, then one of us is redundant. We respect difference of opinion. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- leave you with this thought, Tarun Gaur >From: Suraj Kumar <suraj(a)symonds.net> >To: Tarun Gaur <gaur_tarun(a)hotmail.com> >CC: fsf-friends(a)mm.gnu.org.in, fsf-discuss(a)mm.gnu.org.in >Subject: Re: [Fsf-friends] Lets Introspect and watch competition ... >Date: 24 Nov 2002 16:51:04 +0530 > > > DO YOU THINK WE (INTELLIGENT TECHIES) CAN REACH MASSES THIS WAY ? > > DO THE MASSES NEED "FREE SOFTWARE" OR "FREE GOOD AND EASY TO USE >SOFTWARE" > > ... > >your question is like, "Do the masses need a hut where they live happily >or do they need the latest technology laser enabled cage where they get >electrocuted?" > >We in the Free Software world donot care if our existing software cannot >do everything that proprietary guys do. Agreed, there may be a good >number of bleeding edge stuff coming out from the proprietary world. All >the bleeding edge becomes _their_ property. and its not something you >can enhance. Infact there have been a lot of such "bleeding edge" stuff >that donot let us even use it for any purpose. I have heard ppl from >research labs like the ISRO say that they had to reinvent the wheel many >a times just because an available proprietary software does not let them >use it for space research. As a programmer, Proprietary software is >_definitely_ not the best thing you can have. You can't modify it to fit >your purpose (atleast without paying a hefty sum to the owner of the >software). It is only something that you can keep "praising". do you >really want to do nothing in your life better than praising something >that does not give you the freedom? > >We are here to build a better place. Information needs to be free and >that will _not_ happen when its in the hands of people who talk about >'intellectual property'. Software will be useful in all the possible >ways only when its free. And thats where we in the Free Software world >give more powerful software to the masses than what the proprietary guys >do. > >Join hands, if at all you wanted to, we can write _good_ software. You >see, the word "good" has two meanings. :) > > -Suraj >-- >+--------------------------------------------<suraj(a)symonds.net>---+ >|I became conscious of the pangs of pallor in the absence | >|of my lover, as we see darkness in the absence of light | >|(pain of pallor and sallowness - 6), Thirukkural | >+---<http://symonds.net/~suraj/>-----------------------------------+ _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

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Lets Introspect and watch competition ...
by Tarun Gaur 24 Nov '02

24 Nov '02

Hi Friends, This is my first mail to the community and be rest assured i am going to push this thing thru for a long time to come. In this first mail, i am keeping the topic of discussion very very generic. LETS INTROSPECT AND WATCH COMPETETION ... Is it mere incedental that when we talk of competition to FSF like revolution, name of Microsoft cant be avoided (we may like it or not). To give my friends an insight into microsoft future corp , i would really recommend you folks to take a look at this : http://www.research.microsoft.com/research/projects/ Now lets look at where we stand ... http://www.gnu.org/projects/projects.html We are no doubts as good as the folks at microsoft ... But we carry VERY GOOD HABITS of Naming our projects in greek and latin. and more so complicating the description of software even more. Just to add another example, look at the names of the utilities that come bundled with Red Hat/SuSe/GNU Linux versions etc. They are really good at scaring away a common user. (I have asked a lot of end users this question, and be sure they all agree). DO YOU THINK WE (INTELLIGENT TECHIES) CAN REACH MASSES THIS WAY ? DO THE MASSES NEED "FREE SOFTWARE" OR "FREE GOOD AND EASY TO USE SOFTWARE" ... _________________________________________________________________ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

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Announcing DotGNU Portable.Net 0.4.8
by Gopal V 24 Nov '02

24 Nov '02

I just wanted everyone here to know about this .. we're tackling .NET in a positive way as well ... It's a frontline battle with .NET .... We've reached a position where gcc can get the whole build system up .. with that we've touched the 500,000 line mark as well ... (half a million !). Finally after months of hardwork and lots of coffee, the DotGNU Portable.Net team have finally got to building their libraries on any platform they choose to .. The so called "team" consists of lots of people , many of whom are coincidentially named "Rhys Weatherly" . The compiler is not really a compiler but more of a compiler shell ... So what we're really announcing is that our C# frontend and IL backend are working well with each other .. We're still playing around with JVM backends and planning a Parrot (of perl6 fame) backend. And maybe if you want your favourite language X to be supported , you could always write your own frontend (provided you are a CS student with a copy of the dragon book & lots of free time, like yours truly) . The runtime is such a similar flexible machinery which currently has only an IL frontend , but well we could always add more ... Now that we've got the distractions out of the way , let me tell you what's so special about this release. The C# compiler frontend is 95% of the way , written in C and very fast too . So you could say we're finally free of any dependency on ANY NON FREE TOOL . The runtime engine is also fast and can be trimmed to operate in low memory conditions (as low as 2 MB) ... Get the debian packages from ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/dotgnu-pnet/debian/ We have finally arrived as 100% free software ... we can build the entire system with just the basic GNU tools and the release tarballs ... Hoping that everyone understands why we have to keep MS honest about C# and .NET ... Just hating its guts does not help too much to further GNU ... Help us make DotGNU bigger, better and free ! It's had contributers from a number of students in India ... (eg , one IISc guy is trying to port to IA-64) ... We're currently operating with 0 funding and volunteer contributions ... please lend a hand if you can. Code contributions or packaging or testing is appreciated ... demo'ing it at the LUGs is even more appreciated !.. Gopal -- The difference between insanity and genius is measured by success

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Microsoft Office to OpenOffice.org Migration Guide
by Sayamindu Dasgupta 22 Nov '02

22 Nov '02

This one is still beta, but I found it to be quite good :) Large download, but worth it http://ooo.chbs.dk/mat/msoffice2ooo-migration-0.43cs.sxw -sdg- -- Sayamindu Dasgupta [ http://www.peacefulaction.org/sayamindu/ ] * GNU is Not Unix * .... Towards World Liberation .... http://www.gnu.org We can found no scientific discipline, nor a healthy profession on the technical mistakes of the Department of Defense and IBM. -- Edsger Dijkstra

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RE: [ilugd]: TOI editorial plugs Linux
by akr!linux-delhi.org＠linux-delhi.org 22 Nov '02

22 Nov '02

so does an op-ed piece in the financial express today :) http://financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=22247 Original Message: ----------------- From: Raju Mathur raju(a)linux-delhi.org Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2002 12:26:05 +0530 Subject: [ilugd]: TOI editorial plugs Linux Today's TOI has a editorial piece on Microsoft that mentions Linux quite favourably. <snip> -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ .

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TOI editorial plugs Linux
by Raju Mathur 22 Nov '02

22 Nov '02

['Ware -- crossposting] Today's TOI has a editorial piece on Microsoft that mentions Linux quite favourably. <excerpt> [that] could open one more front in Microsoft's ongoing war against Linux, a free, open-source operating system. Mr Gates has been dismissive of Linux, but other commentators are not so sanguine. As the Economist recently noted, "Linux has limited the progress of Windows in the server market, as governments and big firms have found it to be not only less costly but more flexible and more secure." While Mr Gates was still in India, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh announced that all of MP government's schemes would use Linux software. In Mr Singh's words, it was not a question of Microsoft versus Linux but of choosing between free software and a monopoly. </excerpt> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=28… Glad to see that Linux is being touted for openness and not just price by the mainstream press too. -- Raju -- Raju Mathur raju(a)kandalaya.org http://kandalaya.org/ It is the mind that moves

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Linux wins one in India
by Suresh Titus 22 Nov '02

22 Nov '02

Seems Madhya Pradesh isnt interested in Bill Gates "free (of cost)" software. -> http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=6320 -> http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=2… /Suresh ________________________________________________________________________ Missed your favourite TV serial last night? Try the new, Yahoo! TV. visit http://in.tv.yahoo.com

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Manorama dialogue
by V. Sasi Kumar 22 Nov '02

22 Nov '02

I believe there is a dialogue between Vijayaraghavan and Achyut Shankar in today's Malayala Manorama. I have not been able to see it. But, apparently, there are a few misleading statements. I think we should react. Sasi

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[News] Madhya Pradesh Opens Window to Linux
by Raj Singh 21 Nov '02

21 Nov '02

MP Opens Windows to Linux by ANIL SHARMA TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2002 01:42:20 AM ] BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh has shut the door on Bill Gates. The state government schemes will use Linux software. Chief minister Digvijay Singh personally conveyed this to Microsoft boss Bill Gates during an interaction last week in New Delhi. "For us it is not a question of Microsoft versus Linux. It is just a matter of choosing between a free software and a monopoly. We feel that when we are putting public information out in the open, then it should not be through a proprietary software," Mr Singh told ET. Nor is it merely a public vs private ideological battle. Germany and Latin American countries, particularly Peru and Brazil, have opted for Linux rather than proprietary software to bring down costs, which keep mounting with successive upgrades in the case of proprietary software. ...............

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Re: [ilug-cal] [Fwd: [Fsf-friends] Madhya Pradesh says no to proprietary s/w]
by Sayamindu Dasgupta 20 Nov '02

20 Nov '02

well,the story has been slashdotted, and the nerds there are busy contemplating what Mr Gate's face would have looked like when Mr Singh said NO on his face This one was posted there http://www.grub.net/crud/gates.jpg LOL :) -sdg- On Tue, 2002-11-19 at 20:29, Russell McOrmond wrote: > > He forgot the link: > > http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=2… > > > Great to hear! Looking forward to something in WB --- have you all > contacted your representatives? > > On 19 Nov 2002, Sayamindu Dasgupta wrote: > > > -----Forwarded Message----- > > > > From: Mahesh T Pai <paivakil(a)vsnl.net> > > To: Friends of FSF <fsf-friends(a)gnu.org.in> > > Subject: [Fsf-friends] Madhya Pradesh says no to proprietary s/w > > Date: 19 Nov 2002 19:01:21 +0530 > > > > Today's Economic Times carries a front page single column boxed item > > which says that the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh has personally > > conveyed to Bill Gates that his Operating systems will not be used in > > the government coz. the government is not interested in using > > restrictive software. > > -- Sayamindu Dasgupta [ http://www.peacefulaction.org/sayamindu/ ] * GNU is Not Unix * .... Towards World Liberation .... http://www.gnu.org Please go away.

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Fwd: The OSS portal project
by klak＠giasbm01.vsnl.net.in 20 Nov '02

20 Nov '02

-- Khuzaima A. Lakdawala

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a memo and the IT@School Project
by Raghavendra Bhat 20 Nov '02

20 Nov '02

Members of FSUG-Kochi have submitted a memorandum to the Government of Kerala regarding the choice of software and syllabus prescribed for the IT@School project. Link up and read the full memo at http://www.symonds.net/~fsug-kochi/mass-memo.html -- .-"".__."``". ragOO, Amateur Radio VU2RGU .-.--. _...' (/) (/) ``' Free Software for a Brave GNU World (O/ O) \-' ` -="""=. ', Computing as a Community Resource! ~`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Madhya Pradesh says no to proprietary s/w
by Mahesh T Pai 19 Nov '02

19 Nov '02

Today's Economic Times carries a front page single column boxed item which says that the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh has personally conveyed to Bill Gates that his Operating systems will not be used in the government coz. the government is not interested in using restrictive software. Mahesh T Pai.

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Linux for the Rest of Us
by Business2.com.on.behalf.of.jayveecomp＠satyam.net.in 19 Nov '02

19 Nov '02

jayveecomp(a)satyam.net.in has sent you a Business2.com article. Personal message: Hi, Attached is the link to a write-up on Linux based application and a success story of a Chain store in implementing substitute for MS Jacob To view the entire article, go to http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/0,1640,44531,FF.html Business 2.0 http://www.business2.com

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Re:
by Harish 19 Nov '02

19 Nov '02

post

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IBM says don't partition your disk!
by vsasi＠vsnl.com 19 Nov '02

19 Nov '02

Recently one of my colleagues purchased an IBM NetVista computer with 40 GB hard disk and pre-installed Windows XP. The machine came with the hard disk in a single partition. He wanted to repartition the disk and install Gnu/Linux also. Since the machine had just been delivered, he told the suppliers that he wanted the disk to be partitioned. They agreed, but the next day they called to say that partitioning the disk will result in his losing the warranty. According to them, this particular model was meant to be used as such and the purchaser has no right to change the configuration. This had not been mentioned in their quotation, and, according to them, nobody had asked for partitioning. They also said some interesting things: (a) that there was a hidden partition of 4 GB that contained the OS (b) that, if the disk was partitioned and the machine was connected to the Internet, then it would inform IBM about the change in configuration and the purchaser would lose the warranty. My colleague has decided to reject the machine if they insist on denying him the right to partition the disk. Would any of you have any information on such practices? This seems to be a serious matter that has to be taken up. V. Sasi Kumar Centre for Earth Science Studies Thiruvananthapuram

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Details
by CK Raju 18 Nov '02

18 Nov '02

Does anyone have a copy of the resolution adopted at ER&DC / Keltron at TVM few weeks ago in respect of Free Software ? We seem to have a huge task ahead after going through the opinions aired by Hon'ble Minister for Industries. By allowing a debate on the issue, there appears to be a ray of hope. CK Raju Thrissur

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Article in this week's Outlook
by Raghavendra Bhat 18 Nov '02

18 Nov '02

http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20021125&fname=Bill+Gates+%28F… This article is a big confusion, maybe a cluestick has to be applied to this journo's head. ;-) -- .-"".__."``". ragOO, Amateur Radio VU2RGU .-.--. _...' (/) (/) ``' Free Software for a Brave GNU World (O/ O) \-' ` -="""=. ', Computing as a Community Resource! ~`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Tux fights bux for India 's soul
by N S Srikanth 18 Nov '02

18 Nov '02

Please see the article on Linux journal.com http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6450 N S Srikanth

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Malayalam OS
by Mahesh T Pai 17 Nov '02

17 Nov '02

Today's New Indian Express, Kochi edn has a good write up on how the govt is brushing asie the achievements in adding Malayalam support and localisation of GNU/Linux. If only more papers could see through the smoke screen. Regards, Mahesh T Pai.

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Article on RMS and Free Software on The Telegraph
by Sayamindu Dasgupta 17 Nov '02

17 Nov '02

There is a one page long article. Thanx to Arko Provo Mukherjee for letting me know -sdg- -- Sayamindu Dasgupta [http://www.peacefulaction.org/sayamindu/] * GNU is Not Unix * .... Towards World Liberation .... http://www.gnu.org

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Sunday magazine article on RMS & the FSM :: The Mathrubhumi
by Raghavendra Bhat 16 Nov '02

16 Nov '02

An interview with RMS by the Mathrubhumi will be published in their Sunday newspaper magazine tomorrow. -- ragOO, VU2RGU :: Visit us at http://symonds.net/~fsug-kochi/ Helping to keep the Air-Waves FREE Amateur Radio Helping to keep your Software FREE the GNU Project Helping to keep the W W W FREE Debian GNU/${kernel}

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FROM GOA: Library Software (fwd)
by Frederick Noronha 16 Nov '02

16 Nov '02

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Hello Sir, I'm Shivprasad Ajgaonkar an ex-student of Goa Engineering College (computer) and this mail is in regards to the visit of Sir Richard Stallman to our College. Sir, I've coded a Library Software for GNU which I'd like to put for GPL. The Software Details and requirements are as Follows..... SEARCH TECHNIQES User can give a search for Books / Journals by various options viz. 1. Title 2. Author / Editor 3. Accession No / Journal No 4. I.S.B.N / I.S.S.N. 5. Classification No. 6. Topic. User can narrow the search by selecting the Field and Class option. In which �Field� refers to Branch and �Class� refers to Year or Standard. The search tells the Availability of the book as well. This saves time of user as well as of staff at the counter. A user can give a search by topic and he gets the book details which contains that topic. It is often found that users are never sure of their spellings especially of Indian authors like "BALGURUSWAMI" which can be spelled as "BALAGURUSWAMI" or "BALGURUSWAMI" taking this into consideration, the "SOUNDS LIKE" feature is kept so that the user doesn't face any problems while searching. By SOUNDS LIKE feature, N. D. BHATT can be spelled as N. D BHAT or PROGRAMMING IN C can be spelled as PROGRAMING IN SEA. Principle is that it should sound like the required search, spelling doesn�t matter. Imagine a situation where the user wants a book urgently but he finds that all the copies of that book are already issued to other members. On Clicking on the accession no of the book, the user gets the information about the person to whom the book with required Title and Author is issued, so that the user can contact and request for the book. DEMAND FEATURE Now, imagine a student staying far away from the college and is badly in need of a book�.. comes to college�.. the result is book not available�.. To reduce this, the feature of DEMANDS is introduced so that user can place a demand for the book sitting at home and book the copy for him and collect the same within specified date. Suppose user places a demand for a book which is not available at the counter then the user gets an AUTOMATED MAIL whenever the book is available. ADDITIONAL VITAL FEATURES User gets an account of books demanded by / issued to him and number of more book he can borrow / demand. Automated Mail Reminder is sent to the User 2 days before the date of Return and Every day after the date of Return. On every Member�s Birthday an Automated mail is sent to the member wishing him/her �HAPPY BIRTHDAY� Administrator can send mail to All Members / All Student Members / All Staff Members whenever required. E.g. Sending Greetings for Diwali, Sending invitation for monthly staff meeting. Sending mail to all members to make them aware of changed fine structure, etc. MENU AT THE COUNTER Issuing and Returning of Books can be done by scanning the barcode on the book and the Membership Card. Counter will have a menu for Issuing a book, Returning of book and Payment of Fines. No member of a Library can escape from paying Fines. Whenever the member comes to return a book, Software will indicate that this person has to pay fine and until and unless he pays the fine, the book is not returned and if book is not returned fine will go on increasing. (Amount of fine is set by the Administrator). ADMINISTARTOR RIGHTS Add / Edit / Delete Books, Members & Journals' information. Similarly he has right to Add / Edit / Delete Section & Fields Administrator has Mini Address Book wherein he can store the email Address of publisher / supplier and send him online order for books via INTERNET. The Administrator has to make an entry like Title, Author, No of Copies required, etc. and the AUTOMATED EMAIL goes to the Suppliers giving him the details of the book. Software provides a script to Generate and Print Membership Card (with Barcode and Members photograph and Librarian�s Signature) and Barcodes for Books. Librarian / Administrator has rights to enter/edit the college/school name, Librarian�s Name and E-MAIL ID, Set Standard Values viz. Fine Rate, Fine for Loss of Card, No. of Books issued to the members, No of days a member can keep the book etc. And very important Feature is Administrator gets the log of Books issued, Books Returned, Fines Paid, etc. �Librarian has to Show the account of all the books bought during the Year.� Taking this into consideration the facility is kept so that librarian gets details for the books bought between 2 specified dates. To reduce Librarian / Administrators task, two additional users viz. Member & Book are added to make entry of Members and Books respectively. MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENT: SERVER : HARDWARE : Pentium II 450MHz or above RAM 32 MB or above SOFTWARE : Linux As Operating system Apache Web Server PhP (Scripting Language) MySQL Database Server. CLIENT : HARDWARE : Pentium II 450MHz or above RAM 32 MB or above Barcode Scanner at Counter. (optional) Scanner to Scan Photographs. (optional) SOFTWARE : ANY O.S. WITH BROWSER WHY PHP ? Php is new and strong scripting language works with a web server. Strong feature of Php is, it is executed at the server and sends just the HTML output to the client thus saves the access time. Database handling thought Php is simpler. WHY MySQL ? MySQL is free if used with the Web-Server. And mainly because of Soundex function of MySQL. Search results are faster. Handles Large Data. Catch all the cricket action. Download Yahoo! Score tracker

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Fwd: Re: [gscp] Goa Syllabus for Linux
by Daryl Martyris 16 Nov '02

16 Nov '02

Fred, There are a few issues here 1. We are talking about computer skills not computer aided learning. That is a seperate topic in itself. I have looked at the syllabi for a couple of other states, and they don't differ much..a spreadsheet is a spreadsheet is a spreadsheet, and a desktop is a desktop and there are just so many things to be learnt about them. How they are taught is another matter, and not part of the syllabus IMHO. 2. It you think its possible to generisize, thats great. In looking through the syllabus, I felt that it was necessary to replace windows specific terms with Linux specific terms. In short, if your fear is that your efforts will be frowned upon by the pubdits, rest easy, the board has already accepted the de facto situation where the syllabus is being taught with Linux. All that is needed is to present them with a new syllabus that is either generic or LInux specific. In the latter case schools will have the choice of following either >From: Frederick Noronha <fred(a)bytesforall.org> >Reply-To: gscp(a)yahoogroups.com >To: gscp(a)yahoogroups.com, fsf-friends(a)gnu.org.in >CC: "Nagarjuna G." <nagarjun(a)hbcse.tifr.res.in> >Subject: Re: [gscp] Goa Syllabus for Linux >Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2002 11:42:41 +0530 (IST) > >Two points: > >(i) The syllabus does not need to be "Linuxised", it just needs to be made >product-neutral and OS-neutral, and task-oriented. > >(ii) Secondly, apart from just doing the above, it also needs to be >reevaluated. Look at the crap they're being taught in schools in Goa! > >I could easily volunteer anytime. But educationists are going to turn >around and say that the syllabi was framed by people without a background >in pedagogy. > >Apparently Dr Nagarajuna of the TIFR is working on collating comparative >syllabi of different institutions (if I recall right... my 'hard-disc' >is too cluttered). We need to see what the others are doing, and perhaps >go in for a best-case practise. FN > >On Wed, 13 Nov 2002, Daryl Martyris wrote: > > > > While Kerala forges ahead on developing a Linux computer curriculum, our >very own Goa computer syllabus needs to be Linux-ized. Linux is de-facto >being used in all the 18 schools we have finished setting up with LTSP, but >we need a volunteer to go through the syllabus and replace the MS terms >with Linux ones e.g. Windows with Linux, Ms Office with abiword, Excel >with Gnumeric, so that it can be presented to the Goa Board. > > ..about 1 hour's worth work..any takers..? > > > > Syllabus attached if anyone's up for this. > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: Frederick Noronha > > To: Arun M > > Cc: gscp(a)yahoogroups.com > > Sent: Monday, November 11, 2002 10:53 PM > > Subject: [gscp] LINK: Volunteers required for textbook preperation > > > > > > This is for both English and Malayalam. FN > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > > > Section on Wordprocessing, programming, spreadsheet(partial),desktop > > (partial) done. Materials on Freesoftware needs to be made so that it > > can be added as boxes. Write up on tools like Dr Genius has to be made. > > > > More important is support service network. Arranging for training master > > trainers. Providing distro CDs. > > > > > Can you put up the syllabus also, so that we know what exactly is the > > > scope of the text book? > > > > Area & sub Area > > --------------- > > > > * Word Processing > > > > + technological terms & tools > > > > > > Curriculum Objectives > > --------------------- > > > > + To open word processor > > + To format typed text with an aesthetic sense and accuracy > > + To insert clip arts and word arts appropriately > > + To identify the situation where the templates can be used. > > + To use template as part of the day day to activity. > > + To edit and modify text and graphics so as to suit individual > > situation. > > + To insert table in a document, and format it. > > + To select the most appropriate tool for specific task. > > + To check spelling and grammar > > > > > > * Spread sheet > > > > + tools and methods > > + technological terms & tools > > + practical issues > > > > Curriculum Objectives > > --------------------- > > > > + To open Spread sheet > > + To use appropriate &n various tasks. > > + To identify most suitable method to navigate through cells > > + To apply formula in a cell and bring its relation to other cells. > > + To format cells and sheets. > > + To apply logic in accomplishing a task. > > + To aesthetically arrange a work book. > > + To use graph and charts using wizards. > > to enhance communication efficiency. > > + To easily prepare summary and & statistics. > > + To insert hyperlinks to other documents. > > > > > > * Presentation software > > > > + tools and methods > > + technological terms & tools > > + practical issues > > + As a powerful teaching and learning tool > > > > Curriculum Objectives > > --------------------- > > > > + To open presentation software > > + To use appropriate tool for various tasks. > > + To identify the most suitable method to prepare > > slides > > + To insert and format texts in slides. > > + To insert pictures in slides > > + To insert word art on slides > > + To apply colours,textures designs and pictures as background. > > + To apply background designs. > > + To use graphs and charts to enhance communication efficiency > > + To use custom animation and sound > > + To use slide transition > > + To insert sounds videos motion clips etc. in presentation > > + To insert hyper links to other slides, other presentation > > and other documentation. > > > > > > * Introduction to Graphical Desktop (GNOME ?) > > > > + tools and methods > > + technological terms & tools > > + practical issues > > > > Curriculum Objectives > > --------------------- > > > > + Logging in to the graphical desktop. > > + To navigate through the desktop > > + To create a graphical file and save it. > > + To delete, copy, move, rename and change attribute. > > + To create a directory and move its location. > > + To customize desktop. > > > > > > * Learning support applications > > > > > > Curriculum Objectives > > --------------------- > > > > + To identify the power of the mathematical > > drawing tools available in Dr. Genius > > + To enable the student to use IT tools and applications > > for effective learning and communications if various subjects > > like physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, SS etc. > > > > > > * Introduction programming. > > > > + Basic Elements > > + Syntax > > + Conditional > > + loops, functions > > + simple program > > > > > > Curriculum Objectives > > --------------------- > > > > + To understand basic elements ( variables, statements, expressions ) > > + To understand basic structure of a program (syntax) > > + Basic functions (I/O , Maths) > > + Control structure. > > + To understand iteration. > > + To understand structured programming. > > + To use programming for solving simple problems (maths) > > and to write, run and debug simple programs. > > > > * Introduction GNU/Linux > > > > + History of GNU > > + Ethical issues & free software concepts. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Fsf-edu mailing list > > Fsf-edu(a)mm.gnu.org.in > > http://mm.gnu.org.in/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fsf-edu > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > ADVERTISEMENT > > > > > > > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > gscp-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com > > > > > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963

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Swathanthra Malayalam Computing Project at Savannah
by Baiju M 16 Nov '02

16 Nov '02

http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/smc

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LINK: No Windows in West Bengal schools?
by Frederick Noronha 15 Nov '02

15 Nov '02

http://www.zdnetindia.com/news/national/stories/nsl,70367.html No Windows in West Bengal schools? Indranil Chakraborty, Kolkata, November 13, 2002 The West Bengal government is considering using open-source operating systems (OS) like Linux as an alternative to Microsoft Corp's Windows OS in its school computer literacy programme, and has approached hardware maker International Business Machines (IBM) to provide the system support.

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Re: Sibrary Software
by Frederick Noronha 15 Nov '02

15 Nov '02

Really sorry, I forgot to include Shivprasad Ajgaonkar's email id in the past mail. It is i_am_shiv(a)yahoo.co.in Tks, FN

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Free Software: What does freedom really mean... to whom?
by Frederick Noronha 15 Nov '02

15 Nov '02

>From geert(a)desk.nl Sun Nov 10 15:12:16 2002 > 'Free' Software doesn't mean the same as zero-cost software. It means > that, unlike proprietory software, it gives freedom to its users as > outlined in the GNU General Public License. That's a bit of a myth, Frederic. Free software potentially only gives freedom to those users who are capable of programming, who know how to write code and want to change the source code of a program. For non-technical users this freedom is a nice idea but meaningless. With the rise in users, coders are a diminishing group of people. Normal users may expect other 'freedoms' or values. I think it is time for the programmers community to take this in account and stop the Stallman talk of freedom, free lunch and free beer once and for all. These metaphors are not only confusing but also running out in a time when free software really becomes popular and transcends its original scene where every user by default was a programmer. It is time to take the non-technical user into account. That's the 'cultural turn' the free software movement is heading towards. Ciao, Geert --------------END OF GEERT's NOTE----------------------------------- Geert, There was another point that I was thinking of, in parallel. Free Software talks about four freedoms. Freedom 0, 1, 2 and 3. Perhaps it would make sense to include a fifth freedom: Freedom of users to get access to computing power at a price that does not exclude them simply because they don't have the resources to pay. Tell me if this is being unrealistic.... Of course we're not still misconstruing the word 'free' to mean zero-price here. But the fact that GPL'd software is copyable without unfair restrictions on sharing it with your neighbour, surely means that it mostly cannot/will not be priced at astronomical prices, as in the case of proprietorial or non-free software. This may not seem important from a programers point of view. But from a user's point of view, it is. More so in the price-sensitive countries which we live in. As a user myself (who hasn't done a line of code in my life), this issue is something that has been gaining my attention subconsciously and otherwise. It is great that the idealism of the Free Software programmers eggs them on to write world-class software, often (or in many cases) without thinking of financial returns alone. That they share the fruit of their work with others is also great. So is the fact that this helps spread the process for creation and sharing of knowledge. But where does the user fit into this whole project? On another issue, I think that the ideals of Free Software need to be extended to other fields too (including journalism, where the money has become good in recent years in countries like India but increasingly journalists are feeling choked by their inability to express themselves freely). Maybe there is still confusion in understanding the issues involved. But this debate could help. Copying this to others for a wider debate. Flames welcome. FN -- Frederick Noronha * Freelance Journalist * Goa * India 832.409490 / 409783 BYTESFORALL www.bytesforall.org * GNU-LINUX http://linuxinindia.pitas.com Email fred(a)bytesforall.org * Mobile +9822 122436 (Goa) * Saligao Goa India Writing with a difference... on what makes *the* difference

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Re: [Fsf-india] [Fsf-press] Press Release from FSF India
by CK Raju 15 Nov '02

15 Nov '02

That was an excellent artwork, timed perfectly to match the rhetoric. FSF should be smart enough now, to eliminate and nip out in the bud, 'mock representations' of Free Software, when it comes up for discussion at Government level, to avoid recurrance of 'comic history' and further confusion. Well done and cheers. CK Raju

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swatantra billing software?
by klak＠giasbm01.vsnl.net.in 15 Nov '02

15 Nov '02

-- Khuzaima A. Lakdawala

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NEWS: Gates threatening spirit of freedom -- free software guru
by Frederick Noronha 14 Nov '02

14 Nov '02

Gates threatening spirit of freedom: free software guru >From Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Nov 12 (IANS) Microsoft chairman Bill Gates threatens the spirit of freedom, the founder of the free software movement said here even as the world's richest man began a tour of India. Richard Stallman said in the Indian capital Monday evening that Microsoft and Gates -- who arrived here on a four-day visit the same day -- were perpetuating systems that threaten the freedom of computer users. Stallman was in the city to release his book "No Sir, No Monopoly! Free Software - A Perspective". Published by Prajashakti publishers, the book was released by B.K. Kcayla, convenor of the national working group on patent laws. Stallman, who has emerged as a symbol against everything that Bill Gates has stood for, is also the founder of the GNU software project out of which has emerged the Linux operating system -- available free or in low-cost software packages. Clad informally, Stallman seemed every inch the man he is reputed to be. After walking to the podium sans his shoes, Stallman said: "This is a struggle for freedom and independence. Non-free software, like the ones sold by Microsoft, divides people. "It is like not being allowed to share your favourite cooking recipes with your friends. One cannot exchange recipes, one cannot change the cooking nor does one know anything about the ingredients - that is the world of non-free software, developed by Microsoft. "It doesn't allow any software to be shared and one has to pay for running these programmes. In India, it would cost an enormous amount and a big drain on resources. "Non-free software violates the spirit of goodwill that is so important for human society and civilization. It is akin to the exploitative colonial system. "When Bill Gates donates computer systems to schools, it is like gifting cigarettes. It is initially free but when you get hooked you have to pay for it. Non-free software programmes are like that. It will be available free of cost but for a couple of years only." Gates is pledging a large donation to health projects in India through his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Said Stallman: "Gates is donating a small fraction of what he has squeezed out of computer users." "What India should do is to resist against non-free software collectively. The good effects of globalisation can come about only through the use of non-free software," Stallman argued. In India, Linux is used by less than 10 percent of the country's personal computers and server computers. India has an estimated half-million individual software developers. There are an estimated four million PCs in use in India among the nation's billion people. --Indo-Asian News Service

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RE: Writing a text book for Free Software
by Andrea Goetzke 14 Nov '02

14 Nov '02

Dear Frederick, dear Baiju, this is an assignment that could definitely be posted as an online volunteering assignment into our website. A colleague of mine recently recruited online volunteer advisors on Linux questions for our ICT volunteer programme (UNITeS). Those online volunteers answered Linux related questions of the ICT volunteers that were placed into projects via UNITeS, and that are linked up via an online community. She had mentioned that she got some highly qualified people involved into this assignment. - In order to post your assignment into our website, and recruit online volunteers from all over the world, you need to create a NetAid account first. You do this here: http://www.netaid.org/membership/join.pt. - After that you need to register your organization, i.e. "Create a Group". You find the registration forms either in your personal page (My NetAid, that you get after creating your account) in the right column ("Create a Group"), or here: http://www.netaid.org/groups/create_group_instructions.pt?ctx=member_home (you can only access this link after creating your account). - Please indicate in your registration that you are registering because you would like to post an online volunteering assignment. This triggers an alert to us, so that we can review your registration. If everything is ok, we publish your assignment the next day. - I encourage you to read all the material about Online Volunteering that we offer in our website: http://www.netaid.org/ov/index_html, especially the section for online volunteer host organizations http://www.netaid.org/ov/hosts/index_html, and the FAQ http://www.netaid.org/ov/faqs/index_html. Please don't hesitate to contact me for any questions, concerns, suggestions etc. Best regards, Andrea Goetzke -----Original Message----- From: Frederick Noronha [mailto:fred@bytesforall.org] Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2002 8:20 PM To: baiju(a)sdf.lonestar.org; fsf-friends(a)gnu.org.in Cc: Andrea Goetzke Subject: Writing a text book for Free Software o Baiju M <baiju(a)sdf.lonestar.org> reports from the South Indian state of Kerala (November 2002, email): "We have required volunteers for textbook preperation in Kerala (9th standard). Please see: http://mm.gnu.org.in/pipermail/fsf-edu/2002-November/000091.html Its very urgent, please come forward to volunteer." - - - - - - - - Baiju, I wonder if this could be a possible activity for NetAid, run by the UN volunteers. What do you feel Andrea? It's possible that someone out there has good GNU/Linux skills, the creativity and the time? A worthy cause indeed. FN -- Frederick Noronha * Freelance Journalist * Goa * India 832.409490 / 409783 BYTESFORALL www.bytesforall.org * GNU-LINUX http://linuxinindia.pitas.com Email fred(a)bytesforall.org * Mobile +9822 122436 (Goa) * Saligao Goa India Writing with a difference ... on what makes *the * difference >From Andrea.Goetzke(a)unvolunteers.org Thu Nov 14 00:45:54 2002 > Dear Frederick, > nice to meet you. > I think the tasks you are looking for volunteers for can be performed well > by online volunteers, i.e. volunteers who engage in the task from anywhere > in the world, through the Internet. > Online volunteers can do research for you on Indian language solutions for > computing, and maybe you also find an expert who can advise you on how to > implement/programme Indian language solutions. > Also, online volunteers are perfectly suited to research GNU/Linux groups > and to reach out to them, and tell them about your group, build links, > maybe build and moderate online discussions etc. > > You can find online volunteers by publishing your needs in the Online > Volunteering section of the NetAid website (http://www.netaid.org/ov). > All published assignments can be found via a search engine. The number of > people looking for volunteering assignments exceeds the number of > organizations looking for volunteers, so the probability that you findgood > candidates quickly is quite high. > We don't pre-select applications,but the applications are emaileddirectly > to you, i.e. the organization that posted an assignment. > > In order to publish your online volunteering assignments in the NetAid > site, you need to: > - First register with NetAid (in the "Join" section). > - As a registered member you have your personal "My NetAid" page. Fromhere > you can register the organization that you would like to publish > assignments for. You need to post assignments on behalf of an officially > registered non-profit organization. You register your organization via > "Create A Group" from your "My NetAid" page. > - As a registered, and vetted (this just takes 1-2 days) organization you > can go ahead and publish your online volunteering assignment in the site. > > If you would like a volunteer to get involved with you on-site, there are > possibilities as well. But how I understand your question, I think "online > volunteering" is the first option to try. Let me know if you are more > interested in the on-site alternative. > > Please also let me know if you have more questions. To get a good sense of > what Online Volunteering means in practice, and to read good examples, I > suggest you browse our site: http://www.netaid.org/ov. > > Greetings from Bonn, > > Andrea > > -----Original Message----- > From: Frederick Noronha [mailto:fred@bytesforall.org] > Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2002 8:05 PM > To: andrea.goetzke(a)unvolunteers.org > Subject: From India > > Hi Andrea Goetzke, > > Could you find volunteers who could (i) help us take further plans to find > Indian language solutions for computing (ii) help build links between > GNU/Linux groups in India and abroad? ...

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Is this true?
by Frederick Noronha 14 Nov '02

14 Nov '02

From: "Roberto Verzola" <rverzola(a)gn.apc.org> There is already an internationally-recognized mechanism for bringing down prices of proprietary software (in fact, all items protected by IPR). Any government with the political will can use compulsory licensing to permit third parties to copy and distribute Microsoft products while compelling that third party to pay royalties to Microsoft, at rates set by the government. WTO has weakened compulsory licensing, but it is still there; it just needs a stronger political will from governments. Roberto Verzola Philippines

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Re: [gscp] Goa Syllabus for Linux
by Frederick Noronha 14 Nov '02

14 Nov '02

Two points: (i) The syllabus does not need to be "Linuxised", it just needs to be made product-neutral and OS-neutral, and task-oriented. (ii) Secondly, apart from just doing the above, it also needs to be reevaluated. Look at the crap they're being taught in schools in Goa! I could easily volunteer anytime. But educationists are going to turn around and say that the syllabi was framed by people without a background in pedagogy. Apparently Dr Nagarajuna of the TIFR is working on collating comparative syllabi of different institutions (if I recall right... my 'hard-disc' is too cluttered). We need to see what the others are doing, and perhaps go in for a best-case practise. FN On Wed, 13 Nov 2002, Daryl Martyris wrote: > While Kerala forges ahead on developing a Linux computer curriculum, our very own Goa computer syllabus needs to be Linux-ized. Linux is de-facto being used in all the 18 schools we have finished setting up with LTSP, but we need a volunteer to go through the syllabus and replace the MS terms with Linux ones e.g. Windows with Linux, Ms Office with abiword, Excel with Gnumeric, so that it can be presented to the Goa Board. > ..about 1 hour's worth work..any takers..? > > Syllabus attached if anyone's up for this. > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Frederick Noronha > To: Arun M > Cc: gscp(a)yahoogroups.com > Sent: Monday, November 11, 2002 10:53 PM > Subject: [gscp] LINK: Volunteers required for textbook preperation > > > This is for both English and Malayalam. FN > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > Section on Wordprocessing, programming, spreadsheet(partial),desktop > (partial) done. Materials on Freesoftware needs to be made so that it > can be added as boxes. Write up on tools like Dr Genius has to be made. > > More important is support service network. Arranging for training master > trainers. Providing distro CDs. > > > Can you put up the syllabus also, so that we know what exactly is the > > scope of the text book? > > Area & sub Area > --------------- > > * Word Processing > > + technological terms & tools > > > Curriculum Objectives > --------------------- > > + To open word processor > + To format typed text with an aesthetic sense and accuracy > + To insert clip arts and word arts appropriately > + To identify the situation where the templates can be used. > + To use template as part of the day day to activity. > + To edit and modify text and graphics so as to suit individual > situation. > + To insert table in a document, and format it. > + To select the most appropriate tool for specific task. > + To check spelling and grammar > > > * Spread sheet > > + tools and methods > + technological terms & tools > + practical issues > > Curriculum Objectives > --------------------- > > + To open Spread sheet > + To use appropriate &n various tasks. > + To identify most suitable method to navigate through cells > + To apply formula in a cell and bring its relation to other cells. > + To format cells and sheets. > + To apply logic in accomplishing a task. > + To aesthetically arrange a work book. > + To use graph and charts using wizards. > to enhance communication efficiency. > + To easily prepare summary and & statistics. > + To insert hyperlinks to other documents. > > > * Presentation software > > + tools and methods > + technological terms & tools > + practical issues > + As a powerful teaching and learning tool > > Curriculum Objectives > --------------------- > > + To open presentation software > + To use appropriate tool for various tasks. > + To identify the most suitable method to prepare > slides > + To insert and format texts in slides. > + To insert pictures in slides > + To insert word art on slides > + To apply colours,textures designs and pictures as background. > + To apply background designs. > + To use graphs and charts to enhance communication efficiency > + To use custom animation and sound > + To use slide transition > + To insert sounds videos motion clips etc. in presentation > + To insert hyper links to other slides, other presentation > and other documentation. > > > * Introduction to Graphical Desktop (GNOME ?) > > + tools and methods > + technological terms & tools > + practical issues > > Curriculum Objectives > --------------------- > > + Logging in to the graphical desktop. > + To navigate through the desktop > + To create a graphical file and save it. > + To delete, copy, move, rename and change attribute. > + To create a directory and move its location. > + To customize desktop. > > > * Learning support applications > > > Curriculum Objectives > --------------------- > > + To identify the power of the mathematical > drawing tools available in Dr. Genius > + To enable the student to use IT tools and applications > for effective learning and communications if various subjects > like physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, SS etc. > > > * Introduction programming. > > + Basic Elements > + Syntax > + Conditional > + loops, functions > + simple program > > > Curriculum Objectives > --------------------- > > + To understand basic elements ( variables, statements, expressions ) > + To understand basic structure of a program (syntax) > + Basic functions (I/O , Maths) > + Control structure. > + To understand iteration. > + To understand structured programming. > + To use programming for solving simple problems (maths) > and to write, run and debug simple programs. > > * Introduction GNU/Linux > > + History of GNU > + Ethical issues & free software concepts. > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Fsf-edu mailing list > Fsf-edu(a)mm.gnu.org.in > http://mm.gnu.org.in/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fsf-edu > > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > ADVERTISEMENT > > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > gscp-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > >

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NEWS: Gates says philanthropy not related to Microsoft
by Frederick Noronha 14 Nov '02

14 Nov '02

Gates says philanthropy not related to Microsoft (LEADS) By Mohammed Shafeeq, Indo-Asian News Service Hyderabad, Nov 14 (IANS) Visiting IT czar Bill Gates has said his philanthropic activities are in no way connected to the operations of his company Microsoft. "The (Bill and Melinda Gates) Foundation is something for which myself and my wife personally provided resources. It is completely independent," Gates said at a brief interaction with the media here Thursday morning. He was answering a question on whether his philanthropic activities were aimed at restoring the sheen that Microsoft lost due to anti-trust proceedings against it. "Microsoft has enabled us to do this but there is no connection between the activities of the foundation and the software activity," said Gates shortly after launching the second phase of a children's vaccine programme funded by the foundation in Andhra Pradesh. "It was our commitment 10 years ago that whatever wealth we earn we will give back to the society," said the world's richest man. Gates, who arrived here Wednesday night on a daylong visit, revealed that the urgency of health issues forced him to start the foundation early. "This what something I wanted to do in my 60s, but the urgency of health issues made me start this activity at a younger age," said 46-year-old Gates. He said the foundation has committed at least $1.2 billion worldwide to support the prevention and control of infectious diseases by either strengthening existing immunisation programmes or by developing new vaccines. --Indo-Asian News Service

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Link to... Association of Progressive Communicators
by Frederick Noronha 14 Nov '02

14 Nov '02

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Hi Frederick and everyone This is the first time I've heard the expression FLOSS :) FOSS yes, but FLOSS no, and it's quite good! Free/Open source software is really important to APC. Infact our own content managent system - the APC ActionApps http://www.apc.org/actionapps/ - which was devised to help civil society groups pool their content online and create shared portal websites - was launched under the GNU GPL last year. We see FOSS as a real and tangible way for moving towards attaining the right to communicate for all. In our "Internet Rights charter" one of the points is specifically on FOSS: Theme 4: The licensing and control of Intellectual property 4.1 Proprietary solutions and intellectual property: Policy and regulation that govern public access and dissemination of public information need to discourage the use of proprietary software and systems. Governments that make use of proprietary systems to disseminate information or for educational purposes, encourage others to purchase legal licenses or violate intellectual property regulations. This discourages local innovation and learning and enriches privately owned corporations, usually based in the North. APC calls for the use of open source and free software solutions. Working with open source options is empowering, it builds skills, is more sustainable, and it encourages innovation at the local level. Many APC members have been real advocates for free software and also open content since they started working online in the mid 1980s for some. Now I'd say our most avid advocates are based in Colombia and Ecuador. Others such as members in Brazil and Argentina tend to be more pragmatic than political in their use and advocacy of FOSS. As one of the technical directors said recently: "we will be happy to support and disseminate [the software as long as it is ] free to copy, redistribute, change, and run." Let me know what it is that you need for your study and I'll see what I come up with. I'd also suggest that you take a look at the back issues of APCNews, the latest of which Frederick attached. http://www.apc.org/english/news/apcnews All the best Karen Karen Higgs, APC Communications Manager Tel: +598 - 2 - 400 6460 (GMT -3) APC: http://www.apc.org ______________________________________________________ APCNews: Civil society's monthly e-bulletin on strategic uses of the Internet to promote social justice and equality. From the APC, an international online community or peace, human rights, development and the environment since 1990. To receive the news direct, write to: webeditor(a)apc.org or visit: http://www.apc.org/english/news ______________________________________________________ APCNoticias: Un bolet�n electr�nico dirigido a la sociedad civil, enfocado en el uso de Internet para promover la justicia e igualdad social realizado por APC. Para recibir las noticias directamente, escribe a: webeditor(a)apc.org o visite: http://www.apc.org/espanol/news

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Gates gives $100m to fight HIV, $421m to fight Linux (fwd)
by Ajit Ranade 14 Nov '02

14 Nov '02

FROM THE REGISTER By Thomas C Greene in Washington Posted: 13/11/2002 at 04:22 GMT We do hate to rain on a high-profile corporate love-fest, but we have to point out that in addition to the much trumpeted $100 million Billg has donated to India's fight against HIV, he's funding the Microsoft jihad against Linux to the far more impressive tune of $421 million. Billg's personal $100 million goes to health initiatives over ten years, while $421 million of Microsoft's money goes, over a mere three years, to support MS-friendly development and 'educational' initiatives. And being a monster MS shareholder himself, a 'Big Win' in India will enrich him personally, perhaps well in excess of the $100 million he's donating to the AIDS problem. Makes you wonder who the real beneficiary of charity is here. Oh, and let's not forget the five, count 'em, five, vanity puff-pieces appearing in the New York Times this week glorifying Billg's generosity, one of which he wrote himself. That's worth quite a lot too, in PR brownie points for both him and his company. It's far better than free advertising; it actually looks like news and therefore has immensely more persuasive value. Interestingly, the NYT neglected to mention the gargantuan MS marketing tie-in and obvious bribe against, and obstacle to, Linux adoption in India. Certainly they've been falling all over Gates in their eagerness to give him ink, so we're at a terrible loss to explain why they could find no place, among those thousands of words, to plug in a brief mention of the $421 million in anti-Linux ammo he's delivering. Readers see greene-eyed monster Now for some reader feedback. Admittedly, criticizing a man who's giving a vast sum of money to needy people has its pitfalls, though since Biblical days the hypocrisy of rich men conspicuously giving away what they can't use has been a constant, exemplary theme, often treated with acidic and sarcastic language. Nevertheless our notoriously sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued readers have detected both bitterness and envy in my recent article criticizing Billg's pledge of $100 million to fight the spread of HIV in India, and the media blitz which the New York Times so graciously provided him.

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Writing a text book for Free Software
by Frederick Noronha 13 Nov '02

13 Nov '02

o Baiju M <baiju(a)sdf.lonestar.org> reports from the South Indian state of Kerala (November 2002, email): "We have required volunteers for textbook preperation in Kerala (9th standard). Please see: http://mm.gnu.org.in/pipermail/fsf-edu/2002-November/000091.html Its very urgent, please come forward to volunteer." - - - - - - - - Baiju, I wonder if this could be a possible activity for NetAid, run by the UN volunteers. What do you feel Andrea? It's possible that someone out there has good GNU/Linux skills, the creativity and the time? A worthy cause indeed. FN -- Frederick Noronha * Freelance Journalist * Goa * India 832.409490 / 409783 BYTESFORALL www.bytesforall.org * GNU-LINUX http://linuxinindia.pitas.com Email fred(a)bytesforall.org * Mobile +9822 122436 (Goa) * Saligao Goa India Writing with a difference ... on what makes *the * difference >From Andrea.Goetzke(a)unvolunteers.org Thu Nov 14 00:45:54 2002 > Dear Frederick, > nice to meet you. > I think the tasks you are looking for volunteers for can be performed well > by online volunteers, i.e. volunteers who engage in the task from anywhere > in the world, through the Internet. > Online volunteers can do research for you on Indian language solutions for > computing, and maybe you also find an expert who can advise you on how to > implement/programme Indian language solutions. > Also, online volunteers are perfectly suited to research GNU/Linux groups > and to reach out to them, and tell them about your group, build links, > maybe build and moderate online discussions etc. > > You can find online volunteers by publishing your needs in the Online > Volunteering section of the NetAid website (http://www.netaid.org/ov). > All published assignments can be found via a search engine. The number of > people looking for volunteering assignments exceeds the number of > organizations looking for volunteers, so the probability that you findgood > candidates quickly is quite high. > We don't pre-select applications,but the applications are emaileddirectly > to you, i.e. the organization that posted an assignment. > > In order to publish your online volunteering assignments in the NetAid > site, you need to: > - First register with NetAid (in the "Join" section). > - As a registered member you have your personal "My NetAid" page. Fromhere > you can register the organization that you would like to publish > assignments for. You need to post assignments on behalf of an officially > registered non-profit organization. You register your organization via > "Create A Group" from your "My NetAid" page. > - As a registered, and vetted (this just takes 1-2 days) organization you > can go ahead and publish your online volunteering assignment in the site. > > If you would like a volunteer to get involved with you on-site, there are > possibilities as well. But how I understand your question, I think "online > volunteering" is the first option to try. Let me know if you are more > interested in the on-site alternative. > > Please also let me know if you have more questions. To get a good sense of > what Online Volunteering means in practice, and to read good examples, I > suggest you browse our site: http://www.netaid.org/ov. > > Greetings from Bonn, > > Andrea > > -----Original Message----- > From: Frederick Noronha [mailto:fred@bytesforall.org] > Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2002 8:05 PM > To: andrea.goetzke(a)unvolunteers.org > Subject: From India > > Hi Andrea Goetzke, > > Could you find volunteers who could (i) help us take further plans to find > Indian language solutions for computing (ii) help build links between > GNU/Linux groups in India and abroad? ...

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LINK: Don't Bill the Gates
by Frederick Noronha 12 Nov '02

12 Nov '02

From: "Mahesh Murthy" <mahesh(a)passionfund.com> To: <india-gii(a)lists.cpsr.org> Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 09:44:49 +0530 Subject: [india-gii] Sneak Preview of Business Today Column on Gates' visit Since we are on the topic, and at least some of us seem to be thinking alike, here is the column that should appear in Business Today next Monday: ----- Don't Bill the Gates. Let's take the billionaire's healthcare handouts, and turn down the software handcuffs. By the time this article comes out, the world's richest man would have been here and gone. From what I hear around me, our state governments are in a tizzy, competing to outdo each other to dazzle the gent. All in a hope to get some of his cash into their state. Nothing wrong with any of this. But let's look a little closer at why the Chief Software Architect is taking 4 days out of that hyper-valuable time to hobnob with our CMs and CEOs. He's not really here because we need his money. He's here because he needs ours. Think about it - Microsoft has seen off legal challenges to its Windows monopoly. But never before has it seen such a strong marketplace challenge - in the form of the open source operating system called Linux. Linux is all the things a developing economy like India needs - open, well-documented, stable, secure, accepted worldwide - and, best of all, virtually free. Governments around the world, from Peru to the United Kingdom have begun insisting on open source to power their national initiatives. India is not far behind - Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka were among the first to direct atleast some of their IT buyers to first look at open source for solutions, and only later, at proprietary systems like Microsoft before placing orders. This worries the famously paranoid Redmonders. Small wonder that the CMs of these very states are on Bill's list of people to schmooze on this trip. "Hey buddy, I'll come and throw a few scraps your way from my private jet - but, pal, you gotta buy Microsoft." Governments and their directives are not Bill's only worries. India isn't that large a market for software - we barely account for 1% of Microsoft's sales. But the fact is that we are home to 10% of the world's software developers - and Billy boy just doesn't want Coder Coomaraswamy to go over to the Linux side of the development fence. Corporations around the world want lower cost, more supportable and stable solutions. And the nightmare of India becoming one of the world's strong Linux-based development centers has ensured that our Ambanis, Tatas and Narayanamurthy's get treatment on par with our Chief Ministers. The message again: "Stay with Microsoft and we can beat off those Open-source Outlaws and bring the world back to a place where a monopolist can still make a decent living." The trip is done and over with now - and hopefully some of the glamour and space-cadet glow would have faded from those who wanted to be photographed with His Billness. Time for a reality check. For buyers, it's time to consider how the very nature of software is changing. From a point where the internet offered the ultimate open, extensible infrastructure we now have offerings like Microsoft's Palladium which, in the supposed name of security, takes the free, open nature of TCP/IP: the platform under the internet, and adds proprietary bits that will ensure that Microsoft controls and gets paid virtually every time you go out of the gate onto the net. You will also see new Microsoft licensing models that force you to pay subscriptions from now till forever for whatever you use. You don't have to accept it if you don't want to. There are alternatives. Further, you will hear standard Microsoft FUD, as they call it themselves (rumours that add to Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) that Linux is more expensive than Windows to implement. This is Redmond's new global anti-Linux positioning - once they realized their earlier "Linux is un-American and un-capitalistic" line actually ended up making it more popular. Don't take anybody's word for it. Do your own study, arrive at your own conclusions. More FUD is expected that Linux is insecure - but this coming from notoriously bug-infested Microsoft is like Saddam suddenly evangelizing humane democracy. If you're a developer, keep an equally open mind. There are advantages to being part of the Microsoft camp, especially if you want framed photographs you can show your grandchildren - or your customers live under a rock and will buy MS, no questions asked. For others, there is a global market for Linux-based solutions that is rapidly developing. You will have to re-adjust your thinking. And as far as the Bill and Melinda Foundation to eradicate AIDS? A wonderful effort by all means. The NGOs among you should strive to seek connections and funding. And having to write up your reports in Word or Excel is a small price to pay. --------------------- From: "Mahesh Murthy" <mahesh(a)passionfund.com> To: <india-gii(a)lists.cpsr.org> Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 23:59:55 +0530 Subject: [india-gii] Reposting column on BillG's visit A few of you have asked for permission to repost this column. Please feel free to do so at will, <with attributions to Business Today and hopefully, me;)> Also there's a rabid discussion on /. about the general topic: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/11/11/185237&mode=nested&tid=109 Mahesh mahesh(a)passionfund.com

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