Fsf-friends February 2006

fsf-friends@gnu.org.in

26 participants
31 discussions

Re: Fsf-friends Digest, Vol 34, Issue 13
by Mishi Choudhary 13 Feb '06

13 Feb '06

hi B.G thnx for the recommendation,i havent read it so far but i shall grab a copy soon.can you tell me who these coveted free software hackers in india are? i'll be delighted to know them the only one i am aware is MR ramanraj as for now.since you expressed your interest about the onference,can i request you to sparetime and attend the same,i'll forward details once things re aa lil settled and finalized Warm Regards Mishi Choudhary

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The mint with a hole goes to court
by V. Sasi Kumar 13 Feb '06

13 Feb '06

People go to absurd limits to "protect" what they call their "intellectual property", though in reality the aim is only to eliminate competition. It seems Nestle had tried to register the shape of their "mint with a hole" in the UK Patent Office! Fortunately, and perhaps due to some oversight by the attorney who drafted the application, courts rejected it when challenged. See: http://www.jenkins-ip.com/mym/autumn2004/item_14.htm -- V. Sasi Kumar <sasi.fsf(a)gmail.com> Free Software Foundation of India

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Re: [Fsf-friends] conference!
by Raj shekhar 12 Feb '06

12 Feb '06

in infinite wisdom Mishi Choudhary spoke thus on 02/10/06 19:59: > > open mindedness as in ? Lawyers are usually very conservative and slow to change their point of view. > i'll go and give a preview and beforehand briefing to all of them > although computer literacy wont be very high however this could be an > introductory conference since this community cannot be ignored > considering prof moglen and his team of lawyers working for fsf That should prove useful - however, I still suggest you plan out what topics you want to touch upon. Things which will be extremely obvious to any free software programmer will seem like heresy to others. Cheers -- _.-, raj shekhar .--' '-._ http://rajshekhar.net _/`- _ '. http://rajshekhar.net/blog '----'._`.----. \ ` \; WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE ;_\ -- God's Last Message to his Creation

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conference!
by Mishi Choudhary 12 Feb '06

12 Feb '06

hello everyone some of you might remember me from the basic questions and queries i keep shooting your way.i am a lawyer practising at thedelhi high court and supreme court of india and wish to introduce the concept of free and open software to the legal community in northern india.i am aware that most of you learned ppl are based in the southern part of the country which is also the geek hub,the northern india especially the legal community is unaware ofthe same despite the kinda conferences being organised as linux asia which wound up today only.considering the growth of free software ,the day is not far when all developers would need legal advise to avoid any hassles in their creative work.in view of the same i as a member of the delhi bar association wish to organise a conference on the same and request your contribution in terms of ideas,participation anything and everything .kindly give it a thought and consider my proposal Warm Regards Mishi Choudhary

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Re: Fsf-friends Digest, Vol 34, Issue 10
by Mishi Choudhary 11 Feb '06

11 Feb '06

hello rajshekhar yes youre absolutely right in your view about lawyers but dont forget i am a lawyer too though very new to all this but isnt prof moglen and his team already an inspiration.but yes you re right it could be boring for the free software community to hear things like whats a source code and things of the same genre.thnx a ton for this positive response and i'll be greatful if you could suggest what kinda topics we should cover apart from a basic key note address telling them about what we re talking.it will be of tremendous help.april is when i plan to hold this conference and would look forward to all of you guiding me through this with ideas ,suggestions, orders and participation ,i really think this can work out Warm Regards Mishi Choudhary

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Free Software Foundation of India announces Associate Fellowships
by Baishampayan Ghose 11 Feb '06

11 Feb '06

Hello Freedom Lovers! I am very glad to announce that the Free Software Foundation of India (FSF-I) has started offering associate fellowships to organisations and individuals. This with the primary aim of collecting funds for its operations. The money thus collected will be utilised for running expenses of the FSF-I and to achieve the objectives for which it was established. The fellowship also offers some benefits to the fellows such as FSF-I merchandise and discount on its publications. The FSF-I has obtained 80G status under the Income Tax Act under which all donations will get a 50% Income Tax exemption. We invite you to become a fellow of the FSF-I and show your support for the Free Software Movement in India and beyond. More details about the fellowships can be had from http://www.gnu.org.in/fellowship/ or you can mail us directly at fellowship AT gnu.org.in Regards, Baishampayan -- Baishampayan Ghose Free Software Foundation of India b.ghose at gnu.org.in

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(no subject)
by Mishi Choudhary 11 Feb '06

11 Feb '06

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Belenix... the crafted-in-Bangalore (partly) OS
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 10 Feb '06

10 Feb '06

Have you read of Belenix, which DeveloperIQ (January 2006) calls the "latest Open Source software product from India". Description: "Belenix OPenSolaris has been built with the enterprise customer in mind. Closer to FreeBSD than [GNU]Linux, it is the more advanced of the lot. The code base has evolved over decades!" S Ramdas, former editor of DeveloperIQ (whom some of us met at FOSS.in 2005) met with some members of the Belenix team to chat on the project and associated technologies. He spoke to lead developer Moinak Gosh, Sriram Popuri and Venkata Kishore... all of whom work with Sun Microsystems. -- ------------------------------------------------------------- | India Linux Users' Group, Goa | | Join the friendly user group | | Mail list http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ilug-goa/join | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | http://groups.yahoo.com/group/teach-yourself-linux | | http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ilug-goa-announce | | http://www.iosn.net/country/india/organizations/ilug-goa/ | ------------------------------------------------------------- , , / \ .-. * SOFTWARE ((__-^^-,-^^-__)) (. .) * FREEDOM `-_---' `---_-' / V \ * SHARING `--|o` 'o|--' // \\ \ ` / /( )\ KNOWLEDGE IS POWER ): :( '.^^_^^.' SHARE IT EQUITABLY :o_o: \_/ \_/ "-"

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Metting today 5.30 to discuss Dollar One Encyclopedia
by प्रव ीण् ए (Praveen A) 09 Feb '06

09 Feb '06

Hi, We will have a quick discussion on details of the wikipedia on CD effort ( http://www.techmag.biz/dollar_one_encyclopedia ) today 6.30 pm at Coffee World, 17th Main Road, Koramangala (Near Canara Bank junction). Looking forward to meeting you Cheers Praveen A PS: The discussion happened on the FOSS EDU mailing list can be accessed at http://lists.wikicities.com/pipermail/fci-l/2006-February/000073.html The discussion thread : http://lists.wikicities.com/pipermail/fci-l/2006-February/thread.html -- "GNU is the system, and Linux is the kernel." A proud GNU user http://www.gnu.org Me scribbles at http://www.pravi.co.nr

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[Free/Libre and] Open-Source Approach Works to Find Stem Cell Fabrications
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 08 Feb '06

08 Feb '06

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/tech/200602/kt2006020616301311780.htm Linux, Hwang Woo-suk and Lies Open-Source Approach Works to Find Stem Cell Fabrications By Kim Tae-gyu Staff Reporter Shown above is a captured picture of the Web site of the Biological Research Information Center. The site played a pivotal role in finding out stem cell paper fabrications by cloning scientist Hwang Woo-suk. Linux, the open-source software, seems to have nothing to do with South Korea’s disgraced cloning scientist Hwang Woo-suk, at least at a glance. Yet, a professor points out the fall of Hwang’s once-hailed saga on cloned stem cells does relate to the spirit of Linux -- to improve something using the teamwork of anonymous people. "Look at the process of how Hwang’s purported medical exploits on stem cells proved to be lies. Then you can taste the spirit of Linux," Prof. Min Kyung-bae at Kyung Hee Cyber University said. "Just as glitches in Linux continue to be fixed by developers from across the world because its underlying sources are open, Korea’s young scientists collaborated to discredit Hwang," he said. Indeed, a group of young scientists who casually visited the Web site of the state-backed Biological Research Information Center (BRIC), at bric.postech.ac.kr, played a pivotal role in detecting Hwang’s fakes. A woman fidgets in her bag before getting off the subway without clearing poop of her pet. After this photo was revealed through the Internet last year, she became the target of nationwide criticism. When the public was leaning toward allowing Hwang to prove the veracity of his team’s stem cell research last December, they changed the tide by pinpointing how Hwang doctored data. Their findings prompted Seoul National University (SNU), where Hwang worked, to get to the bottom of "Hwanggate," and SNU finally concluded most of Hwang’s purported exploits were hoaxes. Likewise, Linux, a free and open-source software first developed by Finnish university student Linus Torvals, is the result of numerous people’s efforts. Unlike such disclosed-source operating systems as Microsoft Windows, the source codes of Linux are available to the public and anyone can freely use, modify and redistribute it. Programmers upgrade Linux seamlessly to improve it. Such worldwide collaboration empowers Linux, which now poses a genuine threat to the thus-far dominant Microsoft Windows. "Both cases amply demonstrate that collective intelligence always scores a victory over monopolistic players, such as Microsoft or Hwang," Min said. "That might not be true in the short run. But over the long haul, I firmly believe the power of conscious folks overwhelms power ruled by a handful of secrecy-obsessed inner circle members," he said. Linux-Like Culture & Fall of Stem Cell Myth In Feb. 2004, Hwang dramatically lionized himself by announcing he and his crew had cloned human embryos and extracted stem cells from them in an article in the U.S.-based journal Science. He strengthened his reputation last May with a highly touted follow-up paper, which was also printed by Science, on tailor-made stem cells. The 53-year-old claimed that his team had established a total of 11 stem cells of somatic cells of as many patients suffering from incurable diseases or inabilities. The customized stem cells were expected to open the door to so-called "cell therapy." The cells, when transplanted, are supposed to retain an ability to become any type of cell in the human body. The off-the-rack cells especially draw attention because they were believed not to trigger immune responses in transplantation since they were cloned from patients themselves. However, the Hwang’s star fell as abruptly as it rose: the SNU professor was found to have fabricated data for the papers. Linux Penguin An investigative panel at SNU concluded that Hwang’s team never created cloned embryonic stem cells, and a police investigation is now underway. A local TV network, MBC, initially raised suspicions on the veracity of Hwang’s works late last year but the allegation was on the verge of being discarded due to controversies over the broadcaster’s inappropriate way of collecting data regarding Hwang. MBC was revealed to have threatened some of Hwang's underlings and that drew the ire of many Korean citizens, who lashed out at the TV station and asked them to stop investigating the legitimacy of the stem cell papers. At the time, the BRIC site surfaced and anonymous writers voluntarily subjected the photos documented in Hwang’s Science papers to microscopic scrutiny. A pair of frequenters at the site posted a message saying the Science pictures seemed to be fabricated, and others confirmed the suspicion by showing how the they were cooked. Their allegations were backed with material evidence and gained a broad-based acknowledgement. SNU finally launched probes into the case to eventually uncovered the fakes. "A number of Korea’s no-name scientists did what even keen-eyed referees at the illustrious Science journal could not do during the review process. It amply demonstrates the powers of collaboration and Korea’s Linux-type Internet culture," Min said. Negative Aspect of Korean Internet Culture Although Koreans could detect Hwang’s misconduct through the collective intelligence coupled with its unique Internet culture, some observers say this could be problematic. "Korea's boisterous Internet culture can end up as cyber terrorism at any time because the country’s awareness of ethics falls short of its technical reputation," Prof. Lee Su-jin at Kookmin University said. "Let me take an example. See the so-called dog excrement girl who became the target of an Internet witch-hunt due to a really minor reason," she said. Last year, a woman got off a subway car without cleaning up her pet's poop. Then her photograph was posted on the Web, and netizens relentlessly attacked the girl, turning the event into a kind of nation-wide cyber lynching. She might not be able to lead a normal life afterwards since some netizens revealed her name, age and school, usually under the veil of anonymity. The incident, which showed that ordinary citizens as well as public figures can fall victim to cyber attacks, raised alarm flags for many people who have experienced attacks and groundless criticism on the Internet. "The case reveals the flip side of Korea’s Internet culture. Sometimes it works in the right direction but sometimes it does not. We need to be aware of it," Prof. Lee at Kookmin said. Prof. Min at Kyung Hee concurs. "Our Internet culture is kind of a double-edged sword. It can help Korean society to be transparent and scandal-free as shown by the Hwanggate, but it can trigger scandal itself or spawn innocent victims," Min said.

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Fsf-friends February 2006