................................................................ FN's Eye on FLOSS (Free/Libre and Open Source Software) 2JAN2006 ................................................................ Please forward this to FLOSS groups you know... help it grow -FN
[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] LFY, DELHI AND LINUX ASIA... SEEKING COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: LINUXForYou editor Rahul Chopra <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> reminds us of the forthcoming LinuxAsia event in Delhi. Rahul writes: This email is w.r.t. LinuxAsia, and to seek your help in building the community side to it. LinuxAsia has managed to become the biggest B2B event, where top industry players meet customers at a national level. I am tempted to try and see if we can help drive the community push further in Delhi through LinuxAsia. We have planned the following community initiatives for LinuxAsia 2006: * The Dot.Org mela where [free software and] open source projects will be provided a FREE booth space subject to registration and approval by the technical committee. * The [GNU]Linux Newbie sessions where new comers sit through a one hour session, which is presented by the [GNU]Linux/[FL]OSS community takes them through a series of presentations, which would help the newbies to understand [free software and] open source and Linux better, and the benefits associated. We need good speakers who WANT TO TAKE LINUX TO THE MASSES, and can do a good job at that. * Free LUG booths where we want more and more LUGs to be represented at Delhi to tell the world that India rocks when it comes to [GNU]Linux/[FL]OSS. MORE ABOUT LINUX ASIA: You can submit your conference proposal for LinuxAsia 2006 till January 8, 2006. Deadlines for speakers as below: * January 8, 2006: Proposal deadline * January 15, 2006: Notification of acceptance to speakers * January 22, 2006: Final presentation materials due * February 8, 2006: LinuxAsia 2006 Conference begins Submit your conference proposal at http://www.linuxasia.net/speakers LinuxAsia Conference & Expo 2006 February 8-10, 2006 | New Delhi, India http://www.linuxasia.net [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] FREE SOFTWARE AND MEDIA, OPTIONS FOR B'LORE: Anivar Aravind <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> an active member of the Free Software Foundation of India has this to write: "I got a mail from Jaromil (the creator of dyne:bolic, http://rastasoft.org/) saying that he will be in Bangalore by March/April 2006 for some programme of Mahiti. Can we plan some free software amd media workshops at that time? Any one interested? Any collaborators?" [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] FSF-INDIA DIRECTOR Dr G Nagarjuna <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> of the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education at the TIFR in Mumbai, announces that the FSF is entering 2006 with a very important task, drafting GPLv-3. GPLv-2 was released in 1991, and it is the most widely used free software license. During the course of time, the computing environments are transforming, particularly with the entrance of webservices and embedded devices. In the context of these changes, it is possible that user's freedom may not be preserved. FSF says it is "committed to protect the software freedom even under the transformed conditions in future." A draft of the GPL-v3 will be released during the First International Public GPL-v3 launch conference to be held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on January 16 and 17, 2006. Dr Nagarjuna is expected to represent FSF India. He writes: "I invite the free software community in India to actively participate in shaping the new license. If you would like to share any specific inputs let us discuss them here in the list. You may also want to send me your thoughts directly. Wishing you all a success in protecting software freedom." Visit http;//gplv3.fsf.org/ [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] CHECK THE PROJECT RESOURCE CENTRE, which is meant to be a network to discuss GNU/Linux and FLOSS projects for students. It has recently been looking at the Sarai.net offer for support for those taking up such initiatives too. https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/prc [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] NepaLinux IS OUT: It was released on December 22, 2005. NepaLinux is a Debian and Morphix based GNU/Linux distribution focused for Desktop usage in Nepali language computing. It contains applications for Desktop users like: OpenOffice.org, Nepali Gnome Desktop, Nepali input systems etc. http://www.nepalinux.org/ It is drawing some early praise too. Our Greek friend Simos Xenitellis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: "Congratulations to everyone contributed in the work! I tried out the Live CD and I must say I am really impressed with the level of integration and completeness of localisation. You use a consistent colour theme through out the LiveCD which means you went to great efforts to update the icons/backgrouns/logos/etc. Also, every single message in the menus was localised to Nepali; I had trouble to navigate on the system :) I took some screenshots in PNG format http://planet.hellug.gr/misc/nepalinux.png http://planet.hellug.gr/misc/nepalinux-ooo.png " Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya (MPP) is the principal archive of books and periodicals in the Nepali language, the mother tongue (or lingua franca) of a little over 30 million people of South Asia. It manages the largest archive in the Nepali language, and supports the use of Nepali for the social, economic and cultural advancement of all Nepali. Since January 2004, Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya undertook the Nepal component of the 30-month long PAN Localization Project (www.PANL10n.net), a multi-nation localization project being conducted in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, with the support of International Development and Research Center (IDRC), Canada. This project includes a Nepali GNU/Linux distribution 'NepaLinux' comprising of localized GNOME, OpenOffice.org, Mozilla suite, and other utilities that include Nepali Spellchecker, Thesaurus, Nepali Unicode support, etc. This distribution can be used in Nepali as well in English environment. Though NepaLinux is basically a live CD it can also be installed in the computer. The work for the installation process has been facilitated through the European Commission supported Bhasha Sanchar Project -- http://www.bhashasanchar.org -- which is led by the Open University (UK). NepaLinux is a Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS), in which the source code is open and the users have the freedom to use, study, modify according to one's needs and redistribute it. NepaLinux, being a Free/Open Source Software, does not charge for its software unlike proprietary software, which cost a lot and also do not allow the users to study, modify, or redistribute. Some of the packages included in NepaLinux are Linux Kernel 2.6.12, Gnome 2.10 Desktop Environment, OpenOffice.org 2.0, Gimp Graphics Editor, IRC Client, Gaim Messenging Tool, Development Tools (Includes C and C++), Mozilla Suite, GnomeBaker CD/DVD Burning Utility, Firewall Security, Antivirus, Rootkit and Sniffer Detection Tool, Image Viewers, Games, etc. The official website for NepaLinux is www.nepalinux.org. Other available places to look for assistance are: - Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya support forum: www.mpp.org.np/forum - NepaLinux Mailing List www.nepalinux.org/lists - NepaLinux Wiki: www.nepalinux.org/wiki - IRC for realtime queries (#nepalinux on irc.freenode.net) [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] CD OF THE GNU/LINUX KIND: Nelson Lobo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> offers a number of downloaded distros for sale, at reasonable prices. See http://linuxdvdsale.tripod.com Money raised goes to support local GNU/Linux activities in North Goa. GNU/Linux CDs offered at Rs 45 per CD plus courier charges. Order via [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] While ordering please denote the name of distro with correct release no and number of CDs wanted. Moserbaer/Equal CDs. Abilash P.Alias Puthuvamkunnathu House, Pindimana P O, Kothamangalam, Ernakulam, Kerala, Pin 686698 Phone 04852825951. [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] DP's TIPS ON IRC: Diabolic Preacher <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> from Goa has this to say: People new to using IRC should take a look at http://irchelp.org/ a tutorial can be found at http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/irctutorial.html=20 A list of Internet Relay Chat (IRC) clients can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IRC_clients IRC lets you join the official channels of most open source projects and interact with people for asking/answering queries in real time. [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] SEARCHING FOR A MEET VENUE? HOW ABOUT DOING IT ONLINE, VIA IRC? This idea has been doing the rounds on LUGs, FSUGs and GLUGs across India. It comes from Chennai-based software engineer Shakthi Kannan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> who moots having an all-India online meet via IRC. Date: Jan 1, 2006. Time 1500 hrs IST. Channel #gnu-india on irc.freenode.net Sorry about the short (no?) notice from FN's side. But just sharing this idea to be taken up in future. Shakthi says: "No agenda as such. The idea is to get to meet folks from different FSUGs/GLUGs, get to know what FSUGs/GLUGs have been and are working on, free software ideas/suggestions/plans/activities for 2006." Useful concept. It was inspired, Shakthi says, after he heard of Luggers in Mumbai discuss where the next meet be held. Contact Shakthi Kannan, MS Software Engineer, Hexaware Technologies [E]: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [M]: (91) 98407-87007 [W]: http://www.shakthimaan.com [L]: Chennai, India [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] LUG.IN: Mitul Lambani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> of Mumbai is planning to activate and improve content levels on his http://lug.in site. A site for user-groups working on GNU/Linux. And if you'd like a listing of user-groups in (and nearby) India, visit FN's http://wikiwikiweb.de/LugsList [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] FLOSS GEEK'S BLOG: Check Prakash Advani's <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> blog: http://cityblogger.com Writes Prakash, a FLOSS proponent: "I use Wordpress, I think it supports multiple domains. It is open source thats the reason why I use it." [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] IOSN STUDY: The International Open Source Network - A Case Study is available at http://www.apdip.net/news/iosncasestudy UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme runs a Centre of Excellence for Free/Libre Open Source Software (FOSS) in the Asia-Pacific region - the International Open Source Network (IOSN). As part of its myriad activities, IOSN hosts a community operated portal at http://www.iosn.net. This case study attempts to document and understand the community- and technology-related dimensions of this portal. For more information contact: Sunil Abraham and Khairil Yusof [EMAIL PROTECTED] [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] FLOSS FOR GOVERNMENTS... SINGAPORE TOO: More and more countries are embracing the collaborative model of open source on a national level to fend off caged IT models. The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore=E2=80=99s (IDA) Technology Group has positioned Linux as a medium term technology bet, which means one to three years to mass adoption. http://computerworld.com.sg/ShowPage.aspx?pagetype=3D2&articleid=3D3215&p= ubid=3D3&issueid=3D78 [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] AN EXPAT-HINDU PRIEST-DEBIAN GEEK'S VIEW: Jaldhar H. Vyas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> who has the unusual combination of Hindu priest and Debian geek, is based in the US, and part of La Salle Debain - http://www.braincells.com/debian/ A great guy to meet with, this 34-year-old was in Bangalore recently. On going back, Vyas reported that one of the problems GNU/Linux users in countries like India face is low bandwidth. Therefore, he argued, a distribution on CD or DVD is preferred over large network installations or updates. He has found a sponsor and is looking for a 1-DVD version of the Debian system. He wrote to FN'sEyeOnGNULinux: "This is for distribution with the Linux For You Magazine. So 1 DVD is a must. However if you want to also distribute DVDs I encourage you wholeheartedly. My ultimate goal is that no one interested in Debian should be prevented from trying it due to a lack of access." [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] GNU/LINUX FOR KIDS: If anyone is interested in GNU/Linux for children, Liz Probert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> has done an excellent piece on it: http://www.fraw.org.uk/pubs/cltcpb/cltc_pb-02.html Also see some FLOSS-in-education links at http://del.icio.us/fredericknoronh [Specially FLOSSinEducation] http://tasty.pablotron.org/bookmarks.php/fredericknoronha [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] GIS AND OPEN OFFICE IN MARATHI: Jitendra Shah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> announced via the [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list that http://203.199.16.202 contains a few GIS applications and a few web-based database application=3D s using FLOSS. Also, incudes tenders of Maharashtra Government for rate-contracts where OpenOffice.org with Marathi (Gargi) fonts as compulsory on either platforms (proprietory or opensource). The Maharashtra government buys an estimated 5000 PCs machines annually. [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] LIST FOR INDIC COMPUTING USERS: See this https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/indic-computing-user [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] FLOSS, IN THE REAL WORLD, A QUERY FROM INDIA: M Sasikumar, NCST <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> asks: "Do any of you know of any organisation in India actually using [Free/Libre and] Open Source Software in practice? We are trying to gather information on actual use of this nature -- this is useful to build confidence in potential users. Usage can include desktops/laptops running Linux and other [Free/Libre and] Open Source software, applications running on [GNU]Linux, applications which are built using OSS, using OSS applications (Koha, Compere, etc)?" M Sasikumar is at the KBCS/ETU Division of CDAC Mumbai (formerly NCST). [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] G KARUNAKAR IS keen to map the FLOSS movement in India at the URL below. See Karunakar's work at http://www.indlinux.org and his blog at http://cartoonsoft.com/blog http://linux-bangalore.org/2005/wiki/index.php/Community_Issues#Mapping_t= he_FOSS_movement_in_India [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] FREE SOFTWARE, AS A SOCIAL MOVEMENT: An interesting interview with RMS (Richard M Stallman) on Free Software as a social movement: http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=3D13&ItemID=3D9350 Also slashdoted at http://slashdot.org/articles/05/12/20/0356217.shtml?tid=3D117&tid=3D185 Thanks to Anivar Aravind <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> for this link. [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] CONVERGENCE OF MOVEMENTS TO FIGHT IPRs ON INFORMATION: GRAIN has recently been taking an interest in what we have been calling "convergence": the ways in which people are resisting the push for monopoly rights over information in different sectors. In this time of unprecendented centralisation of power and control, resistance is building on many fronts. We couldn't help wondering if our various struggles might be more effective if we found some common ground. http://www.grain.org/convergence/ [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] GIS FOR EVERYONE: Raj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> recently came up with a proposal for the project 'GIS for everyone'. He says this is "about implementing GIS application/tool, making it user-friendly, and to make it appealing to users visually and functionally based on feedback from implementation." [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] LINUXCHIX, a network for women in Free/Libre and Open Source Software. Check out the mailing list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Indianlc/ [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] KERNEL JANITORS IS A PROJECT to help persons wanting to be kernel hackers, to get their feet wet, while doing something useful for the community. URL: http://janitor.kernelnewbies.org/ (Thanks Ringo and Bharathi Subramanian) [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] ONE DAY ONE COMMAND is a useful service put out by Bharathi Subramanian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. If you'd like him to post this direct to your user-group's mailing list, contact Bharathi.=20 Specimen posts: http://www.livejournal.com/community/ilugc/ A great way of keeping your mailing-list active, and also sharing information on the nuts and bolts of FLOSS technologies. [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] HACKING THE HURD, INDIAN TECHIES GO FOR IT: Praveen A <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> recently announced a GNU/Hurd BoF.=20 It's for you, if you are a GNU/Hurd user/developer or simply want to know more about GNU/Hurd. It was organised by India GNU/Hurd User Group (I-Hug), #i-hug at irc.freenode.org and i-hug.sarovar.org on December 20. If you missed the event, get in touch with Praveen offline. [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] FSF FRIENDS IN DELHI: A new mailing list announced by Arun M <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> who says, "In order to bring together friends of FSF India in Delhi, we are creating a new mailing list. If you are from Delhi or interested in FSF India activities in Delhi join our new mailing list. http://mm.gnu.org.in/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fsf-delhi [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] ONE COMMENT ON FLOSS AND EDUCATION: "Most distributions contain simple games. But only a few contain programs that are really good for use with young kids (see the following section). SuSE Linux has probably the widest selection of games and educational software. Mandrake is also fairly good, closely followed by Debian. But Red Hat tends to be the worst of all the major distributions as it concentrates on being a more technical Linux system rather than a user-friendly desktop system. Of all the distributions I've tried." A friend from Redhat replies: "We are aware of this and are working on alternatives. We are also working on trimming down the OS so that it can run on older hardware." [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] UBUNTU IN ASIA: The Ubuntu team is planning to have business tour around Asia next year. If they visit your country and if you are interested in it with some extra time/energy, feel free to contact them. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/AsiaBusinessTour [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] INDIAN CONTRIBUTION to the world of FLOSS: Check these URLs http://www.fsf.org.in/free-software-directory/dir.html http://bangalore.gnu.org.in/?IndianFreeSoftwareProjects Writes prominent hacker Anand Babu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -- see his -- blog at http://ab.freeshell.org comments: "My main motivation to compile this list is to bring together potential free software hackers from India and recognize their work. We should also make sure that this directory is contributed back to mainstream DIRECTORY.FSF.ORG". [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] PONDICHERRY LUG IS active again. Check http://groups.yahoo.com/group/p_lug/ [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] PUBLIC-INTEREST LITIGATION AGAINST BANGALORE ONE: A PIL against the Bangalore One project's alleged irregularities has been admitted by the Karnataka High Court, according to a post from the eGov INDIA <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> mailing list. This Dec 17, 2005 post said what had been challenged was "the legality of prescribing Microsoft technology which is proprietary and costed when [Free/Libre and] Open Source Software was available free. The MoU entered into between the Government of Karnataka and Microsoft had been challenged in the Writ Petition." See also: http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/dec142005/state18431120051213.as= p [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] FREE SOFTWARE ON THE SCREEN: V. Sasi Kumar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> explains how bridges are being built between FLOSS and film-makers: "On December 15, we did a short demonstration of Free Software related to media at the International Film Festival of Kerala. We showed Blender, Audacity, Kino, Adore, etc., although we could not really demonstrate all features of the applications since we did not have anyone who was experienced in using them. However, Blender and Adore attracted some attention and a few professionals talked to us after the demo. I understand that a couple of other people collected our contact details from the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy (organisers of the Festival) later. We had put up a few posters at the major venue (Kairali-Sree theatre complex) earlier. IFFK is considered as one of the top ten Film Festivals in the world, and we are happy that we could get an entry there. We hope to plan and conduct similar demonstrations in the coming years. A report on the demo with a couple of photographs will be put up on our web page soon." [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] BOOK IN BENGALI: Dipankar Das has been at this book for a long time now aiming to provide a holistic idea of GNU-Linux in Bengali. Some dated information is here: http://www.geocities.com/sankarshan76/glt-mad/index.htm [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] Copyleft verbatim copying, with credits is both allowed and encouraged. We invite you to ILUG-Goa, the friendly GNU/Linux user group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ilug-goa/join JOIN THE GNU/Linux in India network, for useful information, at http://www.freelists.org/list/linuxinindia [</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>]o[</>] # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: [EMAIL PROTECTED] and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net