2007/6/8, Mahesh M maheshmukundan@gmail.com:
I agreee with Sandeeps' view... Unless anything like a commercial institution come up locally, we wont be noticed. Govt works are completly strict. Its not a user group tat they would try to contact but an organisation tat is wel established.
We don't have anything against it -- How many times we have to repeat it?
Is anything tat we do ever consulted with them? We never do any communication of this sort with them, then how can we expect them to communicate?
It has been like this before. You wake up from your dream and look back -- catch up with the two years that passed and see what changes have happened. There was no commercial entity behind the success of IT@SCHOOL project, it was the teachers and Free Software community that made it work. And there was communication and consultation. Now you want some commercial entity to walk in and get all the fruits of labor without even consulting those who toiled in the ground?
Why is there a problem with the distro at all? If we cant provide sevices as an organisation (like RH, services that are well defined), then atleast we must not critisise them. We have to just make sure that they dont become a monopoly as such. Let it not be that their word is the final as far as desicions are concerned. Thats all.
What is the problem with Debian? It is working for 3 years -- and there is a lot of hard work that went into it. Free Software is also about giving credit to the work. We made IT@School a success without the support of a commercial organisation like Red Hat and you are telling us we can't? We aren't talking theory here, it is proof of concept plus running code. Go and see the schools which run Free Software and talk to the students who understand what is Software Freedom. We have a right to be concerned to know what is wrong with the IT@School setup, why is such a change brought after a secretive deal.
I'm giving up here, there is no point in repeating things over if people continue claiming my rabbit has 3 ears.
If people don't want to jump out from the wells they have digged we can't help.
The following quote from a live experience might help you get a feel of how Free Software aware are the students. You might even wonder how can it be possible without "a commercial player like Red Hat" and people to call when printer doesn't work.
"Hiran asked them to explain the difference between Windows and GNU/Linux and pat came the reply - GNU/Linux is free software! But then, Windows too is "free software", isn't it, I intervened. The kids were quick to point out that with Windows, you don't have certain `freedoms', like the freedom to copy! Another kid jumped up and asked Hiran to explain the meaning of a `kernel'. Hiran did his best to clarify things. We realized that we were *not* talking to clueless `software engineers' from Bangalore but to a bunch of really smart kids!"
http://pramode-ce.livejournal.com/60542.html
Also the MoU must be made public. I agree with Praveen in that part.
Thanks for the support.
Cheers Praveen