[Fsf-friends] Free Software to the masses

Hello All, If we are not taking counter measures, the so called IT will be the biggest burden on our foreign exchange spendings. It is a fact that our large loans from foreign agencies does not reach the public, it was for selected few. We bought arms, high tech items and stuff like that. Even when something can be made here we imported it, yes somebody was getting the commission and fighting elections with that money. This is the way India has been 'progressing' . IT is now added to the list. Note the enthusiasm of almost all the govt. agencies for computerization. Among the people involved in it , some are eagerly waiting for big purchases to be done and some are not aware of cost effective solutions. The question is How to avoid wasting public money to the MNCs in the name of IT? A grassroot level movement to educate the public about this issue is a must. I have some suggetions. It require time, energy and money. 1. Conduct something similar to the "Sastrakaja Jatha" organized by KSSP some years back. Cover the entire Kerala, talking about Software Freedom, the dangers of MNC exploitation using proprietary software and demonstrating the capabilities of GNU/Linux. Is anybody willing to consider such a thing. If it is May-june, count me. 2. Free/subsidised GNU/Linux trainng centres. One option is to setup our own facilities but an easier option is to have tieup with the existing institutes. We decide the syllabus, help setting up the software and provide some subsidy for each student. regards ajith