Fsf-friends December 2006

fsf-friends@gnu.org.in

20 participants
27 discussions

Re: [Fsf-friends] Exaile
by Vihan Pandey 31 Dec '06

31 Dec '06

> I just happened to come across Exaile. It is a GTK+ based media player > very similar in functionality to Amarok. I could not find any RPMs for > it though there is a package for Edgy Eft. if there are no RPM's and people are demanding them, you could use alien and make one then put it up online :-) Regards, - vihan

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Asian Development Bank's intervention in Kerala
by doxa＠sancharnet.in 30 Dec '06

30 Dec '06

Aniwar's report on ADB activity in Kerala reveals something very strange about future of e-governance *software projects* in Kerala. Its shows that ADB clauses will force urban bodies to accept suggestions on software projects to be implemented here, based on the recommendations from the consultants whom ADB approves for the purpose. This evidently appears to be an attempt to subvert the declared policy of the elected government that Kerala will be transformed into a destination for Free Software. Strange are the ways in which the Secretary to LSGIs in Kerala, SM Vijayanand IAS is helping things get around. Our self-declared *champion of IT*, PV Unnikrishnan's role here needs to be suspected and followed up much more closely vis-a-vis his known links with Micro$oft. CK Raju Thrissur

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Exaile
by Debarshi Ray 30 Dec '06

30 Dec '06

http://www.exaile.org/trac I just happened to come across Exaile. It is a GTK+ based media player very similar in functionality to Amarok. I could not find any RPMs for it though there is a package for Edgy Eft. Installation from the tarball is nothing but 'make install', but one can easily run into dependency hell since there is no configure script to tell you what you need. Make sure you have: a. python-gstreamer b. notification-daemon c. notify-python d. python-sqlite2 e. python-mutagen You might need some more, but these are what I noticed. It is still not as polished as Amarok, but is surely nice if you can manage to install it. Cheers, Debarshihttp://www.exaile.org/trac I just happened to come across Exaile. It is a GTK+ based media player very similar in functionality to Amarok. I could not find any RPMs for it though there is a package for Edgy Eft. Installation from the tarball is nothing but 'make install', but one can easily run into dependency hell since there is no configure script to tell you what you need. Make sure you have: a. python-gstreamer b. notification-daemon c. notify-python d. python-sqlite2 e. python-mutagen You might need some more, but these are what I noticed. It is still not as polished as Amarok, but is surely nice if you can manage to install it. Cheers, Debarshi -- After the game the king and the pawn go into the same box. -- Italian proverb

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OpenDNS
by Debarshi Ray 30 Dec '06

30 Dec '06

http://www.opendns.com/ http://wahjava.wordpress.com/2006/11/23/opendns-for-faster-domain-name-reso… OpenDNS claims to be a safer, faster and smarter DNS service. Regards, Debarshi -- Universities are places of knowledge. The freshman each bring a little in with them, and the seniors take none away, so knowledge accumulates.

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RMS ... on Microsoft "allows licensing of Open XML document format 'for free'"
by Frederick Noronha 25 Dec '06

25 Dec '06

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Richard Stallman <rms(a)gnu.org> To: letters(a)globe.com Subject: Letter column Your article on Dec 7 said that Microsoft allows licensing of the Open XML document format "for free", and that this is similar to the situation with PDF format. However, the two situations are not similar. The normally used parts of PDF format can be freely implemented by programmers, and place no restriction on the licenses of their programs. Many free/libre software packages implement PDF. The patent license that Microsoft offers for Open XML does not demand a license fee, but it places a strict requirement on the license of any program that implements Open XML. (See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/microsoft-new-monopoly.html.) Free/libre software is not allowed to implement Open XML at all. Users should follow the State of Massachusetts' plan: keep away from the Open XML trap, and insist on such as ODF whose implementation is unrestricted. Sincerely, Richard Stallman President, Free Software Foundation Cambridge, Massachusetts 77 Mass Ave rm 32-381 Cambridge, MA 02139 617-253-8830 (but currently away thru tomorrow eve) -- FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490 (after 1300IST please) http://fn.goa-india.org http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com http://www.goa-india.org http://feeds.goa-india.org/index.php

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A New Year Gift: festival_mr and festival_hi
by priti patil 22 Dec '06

22 Dec '06

Hi all, On this upcoming special occassion of new year I am very happy to announce a new year gift on behalf of janabhaaratii team :) festival_mr (Marathi Text-To-Speech engine) and festival_hi (Hindi Text-To-Speech engine) are in their alpha state. Working crudely for both Marathi and Hindi, now under refinement process for it's next version. Will be available for testing on an eve of new year (most probably) !!! After testing, please do revert back to us since your valuable inputs can make it BETTER. Acknowledgments to Dr. Alka Irani (Chief Investigator, janabhaaratii), Sunil Mohan and Chaitanya Kamisetty (telugu l10n team), DONLab, Dept. of CS&E, IIT Madras, our team, karunakar (indlinux) and many.... Warm Regards Priti Patil janabhaaratii Language Computing Group C-DAC, Mumbai __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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The battle for wireless network drivers
by പ്രവീണ്‍‌|Praveen 22 Dec '06

22 Dec '06

The battle for wireless network drivers Written by Jem Matzan Dec 20, 2006 at 08:52 PM "BSD and Linux programmers have had a lot of success in creating drivers for new computer hardware in a timely manner, but much of their effort has been without the support of major hardware manufacturers. Intel, Marvell, Texas Instruments and Broadcom, though separate and competing entities, seem by one consent to prevent non-Microsoft operating systems from working properly with some of their most widely-used network chips." Read the full story http://www.thejemreport.com/mambo/content/view/293 It is a bit long but really worth it. The author has interviewed many of the wireless chip manufactures and gives an insight into the issues surrounding wireless card drivers for Free and Open Source Operating Systems. He suggests the main issue is the lack of communication between the developers and the manufacturers. Take this into account when you buy a new wireless network card and support the companies which provides specifications and documentation to the Free and Open Source Operating Systems developers. Cheers Praveen PS: Sorry for cross-posting -- "Value your freedom, or you will lose it, teaches history. `Don't bother us with politics', respond those who don't want to learn." -- Richard Stallman Me scribbles at http://www.pravi.co.nr

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HP-Microsoft tie-up
by doxa＠sancharnet.in 21 Dec '06

21 Dec '06

"..Seattle, December 14: Microsoft Corp and Hewlett-Packard Co have agreed to invest jointly at least USD300 million over three years and work more closely together to win over large business customers. The two companies, the world's largest makers of software and personal computers, respectively, said on Wednesday they plan to work together to develop, test, validate or ensure that products conform to standards and deploy new products, while also collaborating on sales and marketing..." Story at http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=78167 -------- Does it mean that HP printers will start misbehaving with Free Software ? CK Raju

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*Treachery* in its elements, in its finest form ...
by doxa＠sancharnet.in 21 Dec '06

21 Dec '06

1. The Bush administration in US has formulated an offensive cyber attack strategy declared through its National Security Presidential Directive 16. Details on this at http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/ 2. Major news agencies across the world carried the details. Clippings from The Hindu. "...The U.S. President, George W. Bush, has signed a secret directive ordering his administration to develop a national-level guidance for determining when and how America should launch cyber attacks against `enemy' computer networks, officials said... ...military planners imagine soldiers at computer terminals silently invading foreign networks to shut down radars, disable electrical facilities and disrupt phone services..." News from PTI at http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/02/08/stories/2003020801891400.htm 3. Against this backdrop, Kerala State Electricity Board is going ahead with its Microsoft-platform based implementation and Local Self Govt Dept in Kerala is wedded to Microsoft-based package from Information Kerala Mission. What are these middlemen upto ? Working for US security ? Masking as a recruiting agency for IT professionals ? Let's watch them a little more closely.... CK Raju, Thrissur --------------- Communication will no longer be a means for any revolution, they may the means for an colonial offensive. ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using NWebmail, BSNL's Webmail Program

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Re: Condolense
by Vihan Pandey 20 Dec '06

20 Dec '06

> Dear All > Appropriate Technology Promotion Society (ATPS) which was he main source > of > venture fund for OSS in its previous meeting has taken an administrative > decision to start an endowment in the name of Rajendran Chettan. > Every year we propose to launch a project in the Free software domain and > the students can work on this project, Are you aimed specifically at launching new projects or will you be giving students work on currently active projects as well? Also, are you looking at GNU's ``high priority" project list? Especially the one on writing free video drivers. We will evaluate the work and present > the award to the best contributor. Great initiative :-) Let me know if there is any way i can help. Regards, - vihan

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Fsf-friends December 2006