Just a brief note... from ILUG-Goa.

If you wish to invite your friends over to encounter Free/Libre and Open Source Software, this weekend's meet is as good as any you would get.

We already have a couple of issues on the agenda:

Prof Anil Seth wrote: "I have been experimenting with LTSP - adding local applications and would be happy to discuss what I have been trying."

What's that?

Quote from Wikipedia:

Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP) is an add-on package for Linux that allows many people to simultaneously use the same computer. Applications run on the server with a terminal known as a thin client handling input and output. These thin clients are also known as X Terminals. Generally, they are low-powered and lack a hard disk.

This technology is becoming popular in schools as it allows pupils access to computers without purchasing expensive desktop machines. Some examples of a distributions using LTSP are K12LTSP, Skolelinux and Deworks.

The founder and project lead for LTSP is Jim McQuillan. Endquote.

[See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTSP and http://www.ltsp.org ]

Vidyadhar Gadgil roped in his Vipassana friend and long-time ILUG-Goa member Shankar of the National Institute of Oceanography to talk about LaTex, TeX and Lyx.

LATEX is a document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. It offers programmable desktop publishing features and extensive facilities for automating most aspects of typesetting and desktop publishing, including numbering and cross-referencing, tables and figures, page layout, bibliographies, and much more. LaTeX was originally written in 1984 by Leslie Lamport and has become the dominant method for using TeX —few people write in plain TeX anymore. The current version is LaTeX2ε. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX

LyX is a document processor following the "what you see is what you mean" paradigm (WYSIWYM), as opposed to the WYSIWYG ideas used by word processors. This means that the user only has to care about the structure and content of the text, while the formatting is done by LATEX, an advanced typesetting system. LyX is designed for authors who want professional output with a minimum of effort and without becoming specialists in typesetting. The job of typesetting is done mostly by the computer, following a predefined set of rules called a style, and not by the author. Specific knowledge of the LATEX document processing system is not necessary but may improve editing with LyX significantly for specialist purposes.

Although LyX is popular among technical authors and scientists, for its advanced mathematical modes (e.g.), it is increasingly also been used by social scientists and others for its excellent Bibtex integration and document managing features. It can handle documents ranging from books, notes, theses to articles in refereed journals. Recent versions of the software support right-to-left languages like Hebrew and Arabic. A separate release for Chinese, Japanese and Korean language support is also available.

The LyX document processor is available for various operating systems like several Unix platforms including Mac OS X, OS/2, Windows/Cygwin and Linux. A Windows port that does not need Cygwin/X is in advanced stages. LyX is an open source software that can be redistribute and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyx

Do come... pass the word around. There's a lot of info-sharing which you could gain from... FN

======================================================================= PS: St Xavier's College, Mapusa (Goa) launches The Xavier's Open Source Cell on July 23, 2005 at a program from 10.30 am to 11.45 am. =======================================================================