Fsf-friends February 2003

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LINK: Chennai meet on open access to information
by FN 06 Feb '03

06 Feb '03

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Re: Re: [Fsf-friends] [Off Topic] NEWS: [GNU]Linux-based desktops fail to excite the market
by The GNU/Linuxer 04 Feb '03

04 Feb '03

Dear Kanti, Well, may be we are not against any company or entity, you but can't really call MS *any company*. It's *the* company which is trying hardest to bog the Free Software Movement down. It has been for years intimidating small companies to include use & spread proprietary software. So in a way, we can say that MS has been leading the whole movement of proprietary software. Even though I am personally not against any company, but when it comes to MS, I think the signature was well justified especially since most Indians don't know to look outside the ``Windows'' & think about any software that's not endorsed by MS. In any case, if it hurts you or the philosophy of the FSF in any way, I am removing the signature. Regards, B.Ghose =========================================== GNU/Linux is like living in a Teepee. No Gates, no Windows, only the Apache inside. =========================================== --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now

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World Information Summit... or Sellout Summit?
by FN 04 Feb '03

04 Feb '03

This looks like an absolute sellout. In the name of ensuring information to those dying from the lack of it, the dominant powers of our times seem keen to sell more products, push their priorities on the rest of the globe, rake up non-issues and place them center-stage, and push ahead their pet peeves of the moment (e.g. fighting 'terrorism' without thinking about justice). Can someone convince me otherwise? FN PS: "Vital role for intellectual property in innovation"? What about the vital role for sharing -- whether it is of software or knowledge -- in solving this world's problems? http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/01/15/030115hnwsisos_1.html WSIS delegates fail to agree on open-source 'support' Draft was changed after objections by U.S. By [19]Martyn Williams January 15, 2003 TOKYO -- A three-day meeting that brought together Asian governments, organizations, companies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) ended Wednesday morning with the approval of a declaration that, among other things, calls for encouraging the development of open-source software. A draft of the declaration had called for open source to be "supported" but was changed after objections from the U.S. government delegation late Tuesday night. The U.S. opposition was largely perceived to be support for its domestic software companies and in particular Microsoft, said officials from other governments on the sidelines of the conference on Wednesday. After a short debate with a number of countries, including Pakistan, that wanted the original language to remain, all sides finally reached agreement and the declaration was changed to read: "Development and deployment of open-source software should be encouraged, as appropriate, as should open standards for ICT (information and communications technology) networking." The change was one of a number made during a late-night session at the end of the second day of the Asian Regional Conference. The event is one of a number of conferences being held around the world to solicit regional input for the World Summit on the Information Society, a government-leader level U.N. summit that will take place in December this year in Geneva, Switzerland, and in Tunis in 2005. At the meeting, representatives of 48 countries, 21 international organizations, 53 private sector entities and 116 NGOs discussed a number of issues related to the information society and debated over the content of the final output of the meeting, a document called the Tokyo Declaration. The declaration will go forward to a meeting in Geneva next month and bring together participants from around the world as part of the large planning process that must precede the December summit. The declaration touched on a wide range of issues related to the information society and included a call for greater information security, a balance between content owners and users in the area of intellectual property rights, and more work on the digital divide. The lack of awareness of the need for information security was recognized as a weakness for the Asia-Pacific region. The declaration touched upon the need for greater awareness of cybercrime and cyberterrorism while recognizing that equal and fair access to information technology is also important. "Special attention should be paid to the fact that ICTs can potentially be used for purposes that are inconsistent with the objectives of maintaining international stability and security, and may adversely affect the integrity of the infrastructure within states, to the detriment of their security in both civil and military fields," it said. In the area of copyright, the declaration recognized the "vital role" that intellectual property rights play in innovation in software, e-commerce and related areas, but also noted the need to strike a fair balance between such rights and the interests of users. The same two areas were identified by a Japanese government official as possible areas of which participants to WSIS in December will agree require the creation of a legal and policy framework that spans international borders. Agreement on the need to create a global legal and policy framework for the information society is one of several goals already identified for the summit. "I think the big issues that need to be tackled are intellectual property rights and information security," said Yoshio Tsukio, vice minister for policy coordination and Japan's Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT). The conference heard more pledges to bridge the digital divide and several points in the declaration focused on extending the benefits of the information society to the poor and otherwise disadvantaged. "The digital divide unfortunately is widening," said Kim Hak Su, the executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Asia-Pacific and the U.N.'s highest ranking official in Asia. "It is not only between the countries but within the countries and between generations and the able-bodied and disabled. The international community is trying to help to assist those countries who do not have a national strategy and a national political commitment is also essential. Also, the Government of Japan is offering a substantial ODA (overseas development aid) package to developing member countries," he told IDG News Service. "This digital divide will be with us for some years to come and we have to work very hard. There is no magic formula but we should work hard," he said. Kim admitted that promises to help have been made before and the problem often comes down to paying for things. "We need the private sector to do many things. Governments cannot do everything anymore." "We need more money and more discussion but Tokyo has set the direction," he said. "The direction is right and WSIS could be important because political commitment is also important." Speaking after the event, a number of NGOs that had taken part in the summit said they were broadly satisfied with the outcome but had hoped for greater commitment in a number of areas such as a social justice. They were satisfied with the inclusion of a reference to human rights in the declaration, despite some attempts to change it, they said. The groups also repeated protests over the deregistration of NGOs from Taiwan on Tuesday as the result of repeated protests by the Chinese government delegation. "There is discrimination against the principles of WSIS for a comprehensive inclusion of all stakeholders in the information society including civil society, which includes Taiwanese NGOs as well," said Chuang Chiting, the international affairs director of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights. "As Taiwan is a very powerful ICT country and it provides major input to the information society, we do hope our voices can be heard and be constructive towards a better future in the international community," she said. The representatives were allowed to stay at the meeting under the affiliation of a Japanese NGO. [23]Martyn Williams is a Tokyo correspondent for the IDG News Service, an InfoWorld affiliate. -- Frederick Noronha : http://www.bytesforall.org : When we speak of free Freelance Journalist : Goa India 403511 : software we refer to Ph 0091.832.409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price.

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NEWS: [GNU]Linux-based desktops fail to excite the market
by FN 03 Feb '03

03 Feb '03

Is this report accurate? If so, what would be the way out? FN ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Linux-Based Desktops Fail to Excite the Market By Swapna Khanna Delhi, January 31, 2003 LG's Linux-based 'My PC' hasn't been getting very encouraging results from the the metro market. But ditto has been the case with other vendors who launched Linux-based PCs. Manikandan, deputy general manager, LG Electronics India said, "We have not been getting very encouraging response for our Linux-based 'My PC' in the metros, whereas the response has been a little better in the upcountry market. "One reason could be because the upcountry market is more open to new things," he explained. "The second reason is obviously, the low awareness of Linux, and users' comfort level with other operating systems". According to Kapil wadhwa, who is the director of Champion Computers, "We have been using Windows since the last 10-12 years. So how can you expect somebody to simply start using Linux overnight when it has no visibility at all?" "In India, acceptability for Linux is still to come about and it will take some time before the end user is comfortable with it," he said. Wadhwa said that it is only after educational institutes begin teaching Linux, that users will begin feeling comfortable with it. "However, our technical staff tries to handle basic Linux queries from customers. But more has to be done to create some kind of visibility," he said. Meanwhile, Esys Distribution, the company which launched the ePC kit, is planning to conduct training programs to educate end users. G S Paul, CEO, Esys Distribution said, "Our channel partners will help us. They will supply us a list of buyers of Linux-based ePCs and we plan to organize a training program for them". "A person is habituated to using a particular operating system. But if you show them value for using Linux, they will definitely buy it," said Paul. "I believe some government sectors are beginning to train their employees in Linux. Also, a few educational institutions have begun to impart Linux knowledge. It will take some time before it gains some visibility and helps us push our Linux-based PCs in the market," said Manoj Kumar of Champion Computers. _______________________________________________ s-asia-it mailing list s-asia-it(a)lists.apnic.net http://mailman.apnic.net/mailman/listinfo/s-asia-it

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Fwd: <nettime> anti-piracy goons considered harmful
by FN 03 Feb '03

03 Feb '03

---------- Forwarded Message ---------- Subject: <nettime> anti-piracy goons considered harmful Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 21:02:50 -0600 From: Bruce Sterling <bruces(a)well.com> To: nettime-l(a)bbs.thing.net Simson Garfinkel, ladies and gentlemen. You've gotta love the guy. http://www.simson.net/ Will you become a moth-eaten desaparecido in a torturer's secret police dungeon because you foolishly used Microsoft products? Well, yeah, that sounds pretty likely... bruces http://www.workspot.com/faq/ The Net Effect by Simson Garfinkel February 2003 For human rights groups, commercial software could be fatal. You have a moral obligation to use free software. At least, that's the message that Patrick Ball is trying to get out. Ball is deputy director of the Science and Human Rights Program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He's best known for his analysis of the Kosovo refugee movements during NATO's bombing campaign in 1999. Now Ball is on another kind of mission: he's telling the world's 10,000 human-rights groups to stop using pirated copies of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office and trying to persuade them to use free software instead. The best-known examples of free software are the GNU/Linux-based operating system and OpenOfficean application suite that includes a decent word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation package. You can legally make as many copies of these programs as you want. Moreover, because this software is distributed with its source code, any programmer can examine the code, fix bugs, and tinker with the software's features. Unlike some other advocates of free software, Ball is not fundamentally opposed to Microsoft or other commercial-software makers. But he worries that too many people put themselves in jeopardy by illegally copying programs from these companies. Ball is especially concerned about overseas human-rights organizations, but his argument is universal. Illegal software copies are particularly common in poor countries. The rate is highest in Vietnam, where the Business Software Alliance estimates 94 percent of all software used in 2001 was illicitly copied. But bootlegging is common in disadvantaged parts of the United States too. In Mississippi, 49 percent of the software now in use runs afoul of copyright laws. Such copying poses a special risk to human rights organizations: U.S. companies and the U.S. government are working hard to make this practice a go-to-jail offense worldwide, as it is in the United States. Although the world frowns on countries that lock up their citizens for crimes of conscience, it's easy to imagine that some repressive third-world regime could invoke antipiracy laws as grounds for shutting down a meddlesome human-rights organization. And if U.S. or other Western governments object, the regime might logically respond, "You are always telling us we should be more aggressive in the protection of intellectual property. And now when we are, you criticize us.g Would Amnesty International mount a letter-writing campaign to get a human rights activist out of jail if she had been arrested for pirating Microsoft Word? Probably not, says Ball. Amnesty International, the world's richest human-rights group, buys properly licensed copies of Microsoft Office for its computers. But when rich organizations use expensive, proprietary software, they implicitly encourage the poorer organizations with whom they work and share documents to do the same. And that requires either violating the law or using scarce resources to buy legitimate software. This is a compelling reason to push for the widespread adoption of free software. The pervasive use of Microsoft Office, combined with a staunch antipiracy program, amounts to economic colonialism. There is another reason for human rights organizations to eschew Windows: verifiability. Whenever death squads make threats against a villager who speaks with rights workers, those workers have a moral responsibility to be sure their computers are secured with the best technology available. Lives depend on it. There is no way to verify the security of Windows: the software is secret. Indeed, Microsoft's latest license agreements give the company the right to go into computers without their owners' permission (or knowledge) to load software and retrieve "technicalg information at Microsoft's sole discretion. A hostile government could probably exploit these vulnerabilities, reaching through the Internet to break into a rights worker's computer, never even setting foot in that person's office. The only way a human rights organization (or anybody else) can be sure there are no back doors into its software is to have an expert remove all parts of the program that allow remote access. Clearly, this verification would require access to the source code. In practice, the need for verification rules out not only Windows but also any other closed-source system, including those on Macintoshes and on Palm handheld devices. Even two years ago, it wasn't practical for nongeeks to run Linux and the rest of the free-software melange. (Articles in computer magazines that claimed otherwise were prematurely enthusiastic.) But today, thanks to Red Hat Software and OpenOffice, free software is a viable alternative. The current version of Red Hat Linux runs on a wide range of hardware, automatically loads OpenOffice, and provides a usable and visually attractive desktop. There's another reason for my becoming more bullish about free software. A few months ago, a system administrator in a Central American human-rights office e-mailed Ball that the office had stopped running its pirated copy of Microsoft Exchange and had switched its e-mail system to Red Hat Linux. The reason: it was nearly impossible to run Exchange without expensive books and training courses. Free software, by contrast, comes with free documentation. And monetary freedom translates into political freedom by eliminating at least one way oppressive governments can thwart these groups' good works. Simson Garfinkel writes on information technology and its impact. He is the author of Database Nation (O'Reilly, 2000). # 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: majordomo(a)bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime(a)bbs.thing.net ------------------------------------------------------- -- Frederick Noronha : http://www.bytesforall.org : When we speak of free Freelance Journalist : Goa India 403511 : software we refer to Ph 0091.832.409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price.

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Need URLs of useful Free Software to download
by FN 02 Feb '03

02 Feb '03

My friends have fat pipes to the Internet. They have offered to download useful distros / collections of Free Software. My own plan is to encourag the building up of 'CD Repositories' in Indian cities and towns, that can then help to efficiently share such CDs among those who don't have speedy connections to the Internet. What I badly need from you is: a set of URLs from where my friends could download the distros / software collections. Do send in a brief, one-para description of what the site contains, why it is a good distro, etc. We are also looking out specifically for educational software, Free Software for kids, tools for professionals (e.g. doctors, scientists), Free Software for the Windows platform (to convince those more reluctant to shift over), and also user-friendly distros. Thank you very much in advance. Let's make Free Software into what it really should be -- an effective mechanism for the transfer of knowledge to the Third World! Your help is needed... FN -- Frederick Noronha : http://www.bytesforall.org : When we speak of free Freelance Journalist : Goa India 403511 : software we refer to Ph 0091.832.409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price.

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Republishing GNU/FDL books in India...
by FN 02 Feb '03

02 Feb '03

Was wondering if such a book could be republished in a low-cost edition in India. FN ------------------------------ From: John Mark Walker <johnmark(a)nostarch.com> Subject: Linux Journal Press Releases "Linux In the Workplace" Under GNU FDL Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 08:30:35 CST LINUX JOURNAL PRESS RELEASES "LINUX IN THE WORKPLACE" UNDER GNU FDL Latest in a series of openly published books from No Starch Press imprint New York - January 23, 2003 - Linux Journal Press, an imprint of No Starch Press in partnership with Linux Journal, has announced that "Linux in the Workplace" will be released under the GNU Free Documentation License (FDL). The book's contents will be linked from www.nostarch.com and www.linuxjournal.com beginning on February 15, 2003, the fourth anniversary of Windows Refund Day. This marks the third release from No Starch Press in an open format and the second under a free license. No Starch Press also published "The Linux Cookbook", by Michael Stutz, in 2001 under the Design Science License (DSL) and "Programming Linux Games", by John R. Hall, in a freely available format in 2002. Written by the Linux Journal staff, "Linux in the Workplace" focuses on Linux desktop tools and how to use them in an office environment. Don Marti, editor-in-chief of Linux Journal, emphasizes the free software focus of "Linux in the Workplace" when he explains, "The free software desktop is infinitely customizable, and gives companies and users the ability to add any functionality. A license as free as the software is necessary to keep the information up-to-date and accurate." This most recent release under the GNU FDL underscores the wealth of content now available under an open license. Bill Pollock, No Starch Press publisher, explains, "GNU Press published free books before anyone, and there are a handful of publishers who will risk the time and effort to openly publish a book. We are willing to take that risk because the benefits of a larger audience outweigh the potential loss of readers that choose not to buy the book." Bradley Kuhn, Executive Director of the Free Software Foundation, is pleased to see publishers that appreciate the commercial benefits of free publishing. "Free publishing is a perfect fit for the technical book market. We designed the GNU FDL specifically to address commercial concerns that publishers may have with free publishing." The decision to release "Linux in the Workplace" under the GNU FDL was an easy one. Phil Hughes, the publisher of Linux Journal, notes, "As publishers of documentation rather than software, publishing under the FDL is a logical way for us to maximize our contribution to the Open Source movememt." Michael Stutz, the architect of the DSL, was enthused to write for a publisher willing to consider an open license. "When I was writing The Linux Cookbook, releasing a book with a 'copyleft' license was unheard of; few publishers would consider it and even fewer had attempted it." John R. Hall released his book online after the initial publication, with positive results. "Everyone benefits from open publishing," says Hall. "Authors enjoy wider audiences, publishers realize more sales from free advertising, and readers get the high-quality electronic books they deserve." According to Pollock, the decision is up to the author. "We prefer that authors choose their own license when publishing with us, recognizing that not all authors are comfortable with an open license. As long as there are authors who want their works published openly, and as long as the books sell, then we see no reason to stop." ADDITIONAL RESOURCES See all Linux Journal Press titles, including "Linux in the Workplace", at the Linux World Conference and Expo, booth #128. For information about the GNU Free Documentation License, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/licenses.html#FDL. For information on the Design Science License, see http://www.dsl.org/. ABOUT NO STARCH PRESS Since 1994, No Starch Press has published unique and sometimes fringe books on computing topics, with a focus on Open Source, security, hacking, web development, programming, gaming, and alternative operating systems. Our titles have personality, our authors are passionate, and our goal is to make computing fun and accessible for everyone. ABOUT LINUX JOURNAL PRESS Linux Journal Press publishes books on cutting-edge Open Source topics that help to advance the acceptance and usability of Open Source software. An imprint of No Starch Press (www.nostarch.com), Linux Journal Press titles are developed in partnership with Linux Journal (www.ssc.com and www.linuxjournal.com). CONTACT John Mark Walker No Starch Press, Marketing Manager johnmark(a)nostarch.com 415.863.9900 ########################################################################## # Send submissions for comp.os.linux.announce to: cola(a)stump.algebra.com # # PLEASE remember a short description of the software and the LOCATION. # # This group is archived at http://stump.algebra.com/~cola/ # ########################################################################## -- Frederick Noronha : http://www.bytesforall.org : When we speak of free Freelance Journalist : Goa India 403511 : software we refer to Ph 0091.832.409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price.

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Richard Stallman on video conf mode in IIT Bombay..
by FN 01 Feb '03

01 Feb '03

Wonder if Prof Easaw sent this thru to FSF India too? FN On Sat, 1 Feb 2003, George Easaw wrote: > > Tomorrow Sunday 9 am to 10.30 am,2 feb, 2003, RMS will be on video > conferencing mode from Boston US for a talk cum discussion on copyrights > and other related issues in the Lecture theatre in IIT Bombay. > > This is part of the ongoing TECHFEST 03 in IIT Bombay.. > > With kind regards, > George Easaw -- Frederick Noronha : http://www.bytesforall.org : When we speak of free Freelance Journalist : Goa India 403511 : software we refer to Ph 0091.832.409490 : Cell 0 9822 122436 : freedom, not price.

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Re: [FSF-WG] Does this sound like a good idea?
by V. Sasi Kumar 01 Feb '03

01 Feb '03

On Thu, 2003-01-30 at 22:30, Arun M wrote: > > > The suggestion was: > > > - to create and publish a CD full of *Free Software for Windows*, > > > - add appropriate articles, advocacy materials, books, documents etc > > > - make that CD available as ISO > > > - and to get a limited number of CDs printed and distributed/sold in > > > India, > > > - use the proceeds for whatever FSF India deems useful > > > How will this project be different from other efforts like GNUWin, FSF's > Free Software for windows, OpenCD etc ? > > (I see that making CDs and distributing is a good amount of work). > I think it may be a good idea to collect the kind of applications, like OpenOffice, Gnumeric, The Gimp, Sketch, Scribus, Lyx and so on, that most people use and that can run under Windows, put them together with a good installation interface where the user can select the applications he wants, and put a lot of our messages onto the screen as the installer runs. The CD could contain other stuff that the user can read, if he is so inclined. Maybe this would involve quite a bit of work, but may be worth the while.

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NEWS: Greenpeace Southeast Asia moves to Free Software
by FN 01 Feb '03

01 Feb '03

------------------------------------------------------------------ LINUX JOURNAL: GREENPEACE SOUTHEAST ASIA MOVES TO FREE SOFTWARE "Non-government organisations (NGO) talk about freedom. Now, they are experiencing it in at least in one sphere of their activism--software. That's the message emerging from the global network Greenpeace, which recently shifted to free software in Southeas Asia..." COMPLETE STORY: http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6598 ------------------------------------------------------------------

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Fsf-friends February 2003