hi, arkoprovo makes some valid points about the presence and footprint of the GNU/Linux movement in the country. But i think we better take a good look at what is happening in reality. instead taking the platform as a viable, stable, economically beneficial and socially altruistic alternative to proprietary/closed source software, state governments are actually using this as a bait to drive/hammer down prices of you-know-what software. this does not serve the movement nor the purpose of the activism. on a truly national level, opinion must be created alongwith awareness about the stability and the viability of the system. for more on what is happening, i suggest the mar'03 issue of the [most unfortunately named] LinuxForYou. Frederick Noronha in one part of his column [nice one FN btw !!] outlines the malaise that is slowly creeping through. *free as in speech and not as in beer* might have been a rallying cry towards critical mass, but *freedom matters* should be the wardrums that roll. freedom matters and ideas matter. throughout history, man has risen against all odds, braved mighty challenges, driven by the sheer will and desire to be free. if such strong is the quest for freedom then i see no reason why we will not have people contributing. the only hitch is that in all FSF cause espousals we see the same faces. this is good as it reinforces belief and faith in the system. but we need to see new faces, new ideas, new projects and more importantly national awareness of such events. we need to synergise and form symbiotic relationships with related efforts and grow in unison. regards sankarshan
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