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GNU/Linux New Media Awards 2005....
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 27 Nov '05

27 Nov '05

http://www.linux-magazine.com/CustomerService/Exclusive/2005_Linux_New_Medi… Linux New Media Awards 2005 Trend Setters ________________________________________________________________________ Linux New Media put together an international jury to recognize outstanding contributions to Open Source. We'll tell you who brought home the prizes when the 2005 Linux New Media awards were presented at Linux World Frankfurt. ________________________________________________________________________ Linux New Media invited an international jury of some 200 members to acclaim outstanding contributions to free software. Besides developers, authors, and industry experts, the 2005 jury also included representatives from public administration, an area in which Open Source software is steadily gaining momentum. Trend to VoIP The award categories reflect current trends. Linux is gaining ground in new fields such as Internet telephony. The free PBX application, Asterisk (http://www.asterisk.org), attracted a majority in the new "Best Voice over IP software" category, followed by Skype, http://www.skype.com, for many the first program to bring the world of Internet Protocol-based communication to the home. Groupware tools that integrate email, address management, and calendar functions are an essential part of the modern workplace. Open Source groupware solutions are ousting MS Exchange in many companies. Kolab, http://kolab.org, came up on top in the "Best Groupware server" category, followed closely by Open-Xchange, http://www.openexchange.com. Corporate environments have very specific requirements for Linux operating systems. More than half the jury agreed that Novell's Suse products offer the best Enterprise Linux solution. The classic Enterprise contender, Red Hat, attracted about one third of the votes. Although industry giant IBM has sold its PC business, it still consistently uses Linux for servers such as the OpenPower series. The jurors awarded first prize for the "Most Linux-friendly hardware vendor" to IBM. Ubuntu, the Shooting Star A retrospective of the 2004 Awards clearly shows another trend. Last year, Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntulinux.org) was a promising newcomer that took second place in the "Best Newcomer Distribution" category behind Skole Linux, which is also Debian-based. The trust the jury put in Ubuntu was not misplaced: Ubuntu, which calls itself "Linux for human beings," kept to the promised release cycles in 2005, was well-represented at community events such as Linuxtag, and built up a considerable following in the course of the year. All of this led to Ubuntu taking the category of Best Debian Derivative with 43.5 percent of the votes. A KDE variant of Ubuntu called Kubuntu came in third. 25 percent of the votes went to the popular Live distro Knoppix. Against the backdrop of the Ubuntu boom, it comes as no surprise that Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth will take home a personal trophy in acknowledgment of his entrepreneurial spirit. Mark takes the Special Award for "Outstanding Contribution to Linux and free Software," not only for his work with Ubuntu, but also for the commitment he has shown to many other Open Source projects in his home country, South Africa, as well as in other parts of the world. Mark will be sharing the "Outstanding Contribution" award with someone without whom neither Linux nor any free software would exist: "the anonymous developer." The jury was really excited by this nomination, and as a result, a Linux New Media Award for 2005 goes to everyone who contributes to free software, whether as a volunteer, a full-time employee, or a part-time contract worker: "the anonymous developer" is the true heart of the Open Source community. Table 1: Linux New Media Awards 2005 Hardware Most Linux-friendly Hardware Vendor 1. IBM 23.5 % 2. HP 16.3 % 3. AMD 11.3 % Software Best Groupware Server 1. Kolab 22.2 % 2. OpenXChange 21.5 % 3. OpenGroupware 15.3 % Best VoIP Software 1. Asterisk 42.4 % 2. Skype 18.8 % 3. Gnomemeeting 15.8 % Best Debian Derivative 1. Ubuntu 43.5 % 2. Knoppix 23.7 % 3. Kubuntu 9.6 % Best Enterprise Server Distribution 1. Novell / Suse 53.3 % 2. Red Hat 36.7 % 3. Mandriva 8.3 % Special Award Outstanding contribution to Linux / Open Source 1. Mark Shuttleworth 12.1 % 1. The anonymous developer 12.1 % 2. nosoftwarepatents.com / Florian Müller 9.6 % 3. City of Munich 8.92 %

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SFI Demands free software in Education
by Arun M 26 Nov '05

26 Nov '05

Dear all, SFI, one of main students organisation in India passed a resolution to support free software. See below for the details. regards arun. Free Software in Education Free software has proved that it is a means of intellectual self reliance in the field of computing. With the growing pace of usage of computers and internet as a means of encyclopedia of learning resource, the need of softwares has increased at a similar pace. Free software unlike proprietary software allows the users to go through the entire source code and allows us to modify adapt and develop the software for ones requirements. This feature has allowed volunteers across the world to develop the entire operating systems into their own languages. At a time when knowledge is being commodified and concentrated into the hands a few monopolies by patenting and copyrights, free software by virtue of its licensing methods negates the copyrights with copy left licensing. SFI demands that Free Software should be used from School level to the University and research institutions, which not only protects our freedom but allows us to save huge amount of funds being paid for licenses in purchasing proprietary softwares. SFI further demands that the central government should take steps to start research institutions for the development of free software with necessary infrastructure should be started across the country.

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Query from a lawyer...
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 23 Nov '05

23 Nov '05

-------- Forwarded Message -------- From: "Mishi Choudhary" <mishi_c(a)rediffmail.com> 2005/11/21 Mon PM 08:58:30 IST Dear sir This is continuation to my earlier e-mails addressed to youy and the other members of the esteemed chapter fsf india.i appreciate and understand your preoccupation with work related to fsf and other things you are associated with.however as i wrote to you earlier ,i am a lawyer practising in the delhi high court and supreme court of india, had the privilege to meet Prof Eben Moglen during a course in american law.i had expressed my desire to be associated with fsf india and had sent in my enquiries regarding the same.i also had the advantage to meet Mr richard stallman during my visit new york.i wish to know what is fsf india currently involved in and what re the activities i can contribute to .kindly try to squeeze out some time out of your busy schedule and reply at your convenience. warm regards mishi Warm Regards Mishi Choudhary

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Openoffice rollout picks up pace in India
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 22 Nov '05

22 Nov '05

http://www.zdnetindia.com/news/software/stories/130583.html Openoffice rollout picks up pace in India Ingrid Marson, ZDNet (UK), November 18, 2005 The indian government plans to distribute CDs containing Firefox and OpenOffice in all Indian languages in an ambitious project to promote open source. Open source groups are helping the Indian government meet its target of creating open source CDs in all official Indian languages by February 2006. The open source applications included on the CDs, such as the Firefox browser and the OpenOffice.org productivity suite, have already been translated into five Indian languages Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Punjabi and Urdu. But there are still 17 languages left to be translated in just three months. The localised open source applications will also be available on PCs soon, after the Indian government struck a deal with a number of PC vendors to pre-install the software on computers sold in the country. The Indian government is trying to encourage the use of computers across the country by distributing free CDs that contain localised versions of popular open source applications. R.K.V.S. Raman, a researcher at the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, an organisation involved in the production of the CD, said on Tuesday that the success of the Tamil and Hindi language CDs has encouraged open source groups across India to get involved. "Since the launch of the Tamil and Hindi CDs, a large number of open source groups have an expressed interest in contributing to CDs," said Raman. Before the government started this initiative, many open source groups were reluctant to work with the government as they were unsure of its policy around open source, according to Raman. But the success of this initiative has roused the local open source community, who are now voluntarily carrying out large parts of the work, he said. For example, a Linux user group, known as Punlinux, worked on translating the open source applications into Punjabi, and the Telugu translation work was done in collaboration with the Free Software Foundation India, according to Raman. The Telugu CD was launched at the end of October by the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, a state in south-eastern India where Telugu is the official language. The Punjabi and Urdu CDs are ready for release and will be officially launched in December or January by the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh. The Hindi and Tamil CDs, which have been available since early summer, have already been sent out to around 400,000 people. The organisation initially planned to distribute around 3.5 million copies of each CD, but it claims that demand for the CD has been less than expected as people are often sharing the CD or downloading the software instead. "If one person gets the CD, the whole community or [company] department gets the CD," said Raman. "There are so many channels that people can it from the Internet, their friends, from magazines -- that we don't know how many people have access to it." Although the Indian government has funded this open source initiative, overall it has a neutral policy to open source, according to a recent ZDNet UK article looking at open source in the Indian government.

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[Fwd: [BOAI] More than 20% growth in Eprints Archives]
by V. Sasi Kumar 21 Nov '05

21 Nov '05

Free software dominates the Open Access Institutional Rpository software scene. With apologies for cross posting -------- Forwarded Message -------- From: Stevan Harnad <harnad(a)ecs.soton.ac.uk> Reply-To: BOAI Forum <boai-forum(a)ecs.soton.ac.uk> To: jisc-development(a)JISCMAIL.AC.UK Subject: [BOAI] More than 20% growth in Eprints Archives Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2005 17:06:21 +0000 (GMT) ** Apologies for Cross Posting ** ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2005 10:43:44 -0500 From: Timothy Miles-Board <tmb AT ecs soton ac uk> Reply-To: American Scientist Open Access Forum <AMERICAN-SCIENTIST-OPEN-ACCESS-FORUM(a)LISTSERVER.SIGMAXI.ORG> 20% GROWTH IN EPRINTS ARCHIVES The free GNU Eprints.org software is the first Open Access Institutional Rpository software, and the most widely used worldwide. The number of EPrints-based archives now stands at 195, an increase of 22% from the 160 in existence 2 months ago. A list of the new sites is provided at the end of this email. http://archives.eprints.org/eprints.php?action=browse#version Eprints is continuously upgraded in accordance with the expressed needs of the worldwide EPrints user community - the longest-standing usership of any archive software - as well as the evolving needs of the even larger global Open Access community. Recent features include: - RSS feeds of latest research outputs from individuals, groups and institutions - HTTPS support - Default metadata set designed by librarians - Custom search forms - Maximises Open Access (OAI is enabled by default and automatically configured) and is designed to support Google searching - Generate HTML bibliography fragments for including up-to-date publication lists on web pages and portals - Easy mechanisms for research reporting Upcoming features: - Output plugins (BibTex, XML etc.) - Customisable submission workflow - Support for Research Assessment processes http://irra.eprints.org/ Core features: - Stand alone, out of the box - Host multiple archives on one physical server - Designed by researchers (who understand the tasks, OA needs and motivations of researchers) - Email alerts - Scripting API - Comprehensive customisation - Multi-language support Download EPrints for free from http://www.eprints.org/software/ LAUNCH OF EPRINTS SERVICES In order to help sustain the continued growth of EPrints in the future, a new initiative, EPrints Services, has been launched. http://www.eprints.org/services/ EPrints Services offers: * Training for librarians, managers and technical personnel (next event: 18th-20th January 2006) http://www.eprints.org/services/training/ * Advice on OA and IR policy matters The institutional policy created by the EPrints team is recommended by the UK Select Committee, Berlin 3, and Research Councils UK. * Hosting and maintenance * Technical Support * Customisation and bespoke development ALL revenue generated by EPrints Services is being used to fund the continued development of EPrints as a free resource for all. Timothy Miles-Board EPrints Services University of Southampton, UK http://www.eprints.org/services/ ASSC publications (other) http://eprints.assc.caltech.edu/ Caltech Archives Finding Aids Online (institutional) http://findingaids.library.caltech.edu/ Caltech CODA Binary Large Objects and Supplements (institutional) http://caltechblob.library.caltech.edu/ D-Drive Document Server (institutional) http://locutus.cs.dal.ca:8088/ Dryden Technical Reports Server (institutional) http://dtrs.dfrc.nasa.gov/ e-archive - part of elearning tools (other) http://inca03.rz.fh-offenburg.de/ eBooks der ULB Darmstadt (other) http://ebooks.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/ Engineering and Science Online (institutional) http://calteches.library.caltech.edu/ ePrints@ADE (subject) http://ardb4.ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/ Epsilon Test and Demo Archive (demonstration) http://test-epsilon.slu.se/ Examensarbeten Högskolan Kristianstad (theses) http://eprints.bibl.hkr.se/ HTP Prints - Welcome to the History & Theory of Psychology Eprint Archive (institutional) http://eprints.yorku.ca/ ICTP Open Access Archive (subject) http://eprints.ictp.it/ Iowa Publications Online (other) http://publications.iowa.gov/ ISU Electrical and Computer Engineering Archives (institutional) http://archives.ece.iastate.edu/ Lancaster E-Prints (institutional) http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/ Marine & Ocean Sciences ePrints @ Plymouth (subject) http://sabella.mba.ac.uk/ Mathematics in Industry (subject) http://www.maths-in-industry.org/ MuLF Eprints: Berlin Centre for Multimedia in Education and Research (other) http://prints.mulf.tu-berlin.de/ National University of Singapore Library (institutional) http://etd.nus.edu.sg/ Sidewalk Repository (other) http://sipubs.dlib.vt.edu:9090/ Swedish Institute of Computer Science Publications Database (institutional) http://eprints.sics.se/ The Atlantic Canada Portal E-Print Repository (subject) http://atlanticportal.hil.unb.ca:8000/ TrustSoft Publications (other) http://trustsoft.uni-oldenburg.de:19080/ University of Birmingham: ePapers (institutional) http://www.epapers.bham.ac.uk/ University of Birmingham: eTheses (theses) http://www.etheses.bham.ac.uk/ University of Pittsburgh Minority Health Archive (institutional) http://minority-health.pitt.edu/ University of Pittsburgh: Clinical Aphasiology (institutional) http://aphasiology.pitt.edu/ University of Portsmouth Eprints Archive (institutional) http://eprints.libr.port.ac.uk/ University of Sheffield: Department of Computer Science Archive (institutional) http://publications.dcs.shef.ac.uk/ University of Strathclyde (institutional) http://strathprints.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/ Verkehrsmodelle (other) http://modelle.clearingstelle-verkehr.de/ Virginia Tech Digital Library Research Laboratory Publications (institutional) http://pubs.dlib.vt.edu:9090/ Weburb Brief (other) http://papers.weburb.org/ http://brief.weburb.dk/ -- V. Sasi Kumar Atmospheric Sciences Division Centre for Earth Science Studies PB No. 7250, Thuruvikkal PO Thiruvananthapuram 695031, India -- V. Sasi Kumar <sasi.fsf(a)gmail.com> Free Software Foundation of India

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Please visit this article...
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 21 Nov '05

21 Nov '05

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8675 -- ---------------------------------------------------------- Frederick 'FN' Noronha | http://fn-at-google.notlong.com Saligao, Goa, India | fred(a)bytesforall.org Independent Journalist | +91(832)2409490 Cell 9822122436 ----------------------------------------------------------

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No limits to lesson plans
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 20 Nov '05

20 Nov '05

http://education.guardian.co.uk/elearning/story/0,,1642278,00.html No limits to lesson plans Learning activity management systems (lams) - an open source software system for making and sharing digital lesson plans among teachers around the world - has launched its own website. The lesson plans are designed to be used by students working in groups. Professor James Dalziel, a leading e-learning innovator in Australia, who created the Lams system, predicts a big future for Lams in the UK, saying it allows teachers not only to use online resources but to have "the freedom to change these resources to suit your local context, and to share the changed versions back with the community". He says Lams has been extremely popular with UK teachers, who are using it to find teachers overseas with whom they can create joint online classes. One month after launch in September this year, the site contained discussion forums, resources and guides from 375 members in 45 countries. www.lamscommunity.org

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CDs and comics offer digital aid
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 19 Nov '05

19 Nov '05

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4450060.stm CDs and comics offer digital aid By Jo Twist BBC News technology reporter in Tunis Girl looking at comic A gang of characters explain technology and what it can be used Jostling on the sidelines of this week's UN net summit in Tunis were dozens of projects that provide people in developing countries with much-needed hardware to get digital. After a while in the haze and crowded floor of the summit's ICT4All expo space, they start to blur into a colourful mass of e-learning, e-government and e-others. Most of the grassroots projects rely on open-source software as a cheap, if not free, and adaptable resource. Open software is seen as a crucial building block in the creation of a digital society in which everyone, anywhere, can share the knowledge, tools and opportunities that technologies can offer. Knowledge is seen as the font of power and ultimately prosperity in its wider sense. Two very simple and relatively low-tech projects, which focus on the distribution and use of open-source stood out at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Comic turn One was SchoolNet Namibia, a non-profit group which provides net services, computers, and training to schools in Namibia. It has had great success in supplying and training people on open-source software. But they found was that after the trainer they provided for two months left the schools, the computers in the labs remained largely untouched, especially by the teachers themselves. "It is no use giving computers away to schools if no one is going to use them," Ebben Haotuikulipi from SchoolNet Namibia explained to the BBC News website. So in April, they came up with the paper-based HaiTI comic, which means Listen Up in the local language, Oshaiwambo. "It is printed every Tuesday in the local youth newspaper, so it goes across the country. What is in the comic is also all online," said Ms Haotuikulipi. The colourful gang of characters explain technology and what it can be used for through stories, just like a conventional comic adventure. When they talk about e-mail or downloading, for example, information panels near the speech bubbles offer an explanation and web addresses for readers to follow. The characters are based on actual SchoolNet staff members and the comic has been such a hit that they are becoming minor celebrities. And word is spreading. "We've started receiving calls from parents now asking questions about where to save documents they get from the net and so on, so the questions coming into our helpline are now about how to use the computers," said Ms Haotuikulipi, which is a sign of real success as far as SchoolNet is concerned. They have also started to receive a lot more e-mails from all over the country since its launch. The group has also noticed that the teachers, 75% of whom are women, have been inspired too with a large proportion of helpline calls and e-mails coming from them. "Women and technology have never really got on. So we did want to get more women into technology too," said Ms Haotuikulipi. "The response has been really good." Even though it is a young project, it has been recognised by the World Summit Youth Award for bringing technologies closer to people. Toast and source A second eye-catching project is equally simple and is proving to be a big hit, this time in South Africa. Freedom toaster The Freedom Toaster has a touch screen interface The large bright orange vending machine-shaped object looks rather like an internet access kiosk. Then it spits out a CD from one of its four trays. In fact, it is not linked to the internet at all, and it does not offer you a drink either. The Freedom Toaster, a project run by the Shuttleworth Foundation, is a "bandwidth substitute". It requires no infrastructure, just an electricity supply. It borrows its name from the open-source community's word for creating or burning a CD, known as "toasting". Through a simple touch screen interface, it gives the digitally dispossessed in South Africa access to open-source software with free licences for those who might have a computer but no net access. "Users come with their own CD, and it will tell you all the information you need about the different software, and asks users what version of software they want and how many CDs they want," explained Jason Hudson from the Shuttleworth Foundation. There are now 30 machines installed in schools, libraries, science centres and retail outlets, and the response has been huge in the year it has been in action. "It's been amazing," says Mr Hudson. "It has taken us by surprise. It started off as an interactive desktop display, but then it just took off." All the programs available are stored on its hard drive and eventually the hope is it would be connected to the net, but that is just not possible yet. Tonnes of information The entire unit costs about 17,000 Rand (£1,500), the bulk of which is taken up by the cost of the cabinet itself. Inside, it is basically a computer. The Foundation admits that although the Toaster does not address the issue of getting computers into impoverished areas, it does provide a way of plugging into the wealth of information the net offers. In true open-source spirit, the blueprints of how to build a Freedom Toaster are being made available in Freedom Toaster CookBook, which will be available from March 2006. Jimmy Wales, founder of the collaborative, open, online Wikipedia encyclopaedia, said the Toaster is exactly the kind of distribution channel that a resource such as Wikipedia could use. "The ability to go and download a CD and have tonnes of information on it is really important," he told the BBC News website. -- ------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick 'FN' Noronha | http://fn-at-google.notlong.com Goa, India | fred(a)bytesforall.org Co-Founder, BytesForAll | +91(832)2409490 Cell 9822122436 -------------------------------------------------------------

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Fwd: [hipatia] fsf india, kerala meeting
by Arun M 19 Nov '05

19 Nov '05

Subject: [hipatia] fsf india, kerala meeting http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8675

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Comic book from Namibia offers more than funny plots
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 18 Nov '05

18 Nov '05

http://www.germany-at-wsis.info/?p=99 Comic book from Namibia offers more than funny plots Comic book from Namibia offers more than funny Plots By Kittipong Thavevong, The Nation, Bangkok (Thailand) (17/11, 20:00) An award-winning project by a non-profit group aims to entice students and teachers into the digital world. It’s been a common problem all over the developing world. While young students find the computer alluring, their teachers (many of whom are not very familiar with information technology) are not so keen in getting into the computer lab. A non-profit organisation in the southern African country of Namibia comes up with an innovative approach to the problem. SchoolNet Namibia is taking a bold new step to entice teachers and students into the digital world. It produces and distributes a comic book that spreads the word about the ways that computers and the Internet can transform the lives of students and teachers. Listen up! The English-language full-colour comic is called "Hai Ti!", which means "listen up!" in the local language and also sounds a lot like IT. Two volumes of the comic book have been produced. The first edition of "Hai Ti!" was included in the April 26th edition of The Namibian Youth Paper. Page-by-page inserts of Volume 2 will be distributed in newspaper on a regular basis for the remainder of 2005, and subsequent volumes will be published for the next few years, according to the project’s website (http://www.schoolnet.na/). The online version of both current volumes of the comic book is available at http://www.schoolnet.na/haiti/index.html. Award-winning project The award-winning project is also introduced to participants and visitors of the World Summit on Information Society being held in Tunis, the capital city of Tunisia. In a parallel event held during the summit, SchoolNet Namibia was third-place winner in the Community Engagement Category for the 2005 World Summit Youth Award. SchoolNet Namibia, which provides Internet service, hardware and training to Namibia’s schools, teams up with software development company Direq International and comic-media production house Strika Entertainment. The project is funded by the Swedish government. A more effective approach "Our numerous letters, manuals and trainers have not been very effective in bringing teachers into the computer lab. So we decided to build a character-based drama around the SchoolNet team and teachers and learners at a remote rural school in Namibia," said executive director Joris Komen. He said the comic book aims to teach the reader the skills to cut, copy and paste, and use office tools such as word processors and spreadsheets, as well as the Internet, regardless of the software platform (free/open or proprietary). Technically-savvy young staff of SchoolNet drew from their own experiences to craft the comic book’s narrative, which is designed to address teachers’ fears of exploring the digital world. Starting from basics With a great storyline, "Hai Ti!" teaches computer basics like how to use "shortcut" keys to copy and paste texts instead of working the way through the programme’s menu with the mouse. The comic tells how to get connected to the Internet and how to use a "search engine" (a website that allows users to search for information they look for), in addition to addressing more difficult issues around Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), such as Free and Open Source Software. Brief notes on comic panes offer explanations on technical terms, such as "blog" and "copyleft" (copyright-free material), and provide helpful information for the reader, including where they can find particular software on the Internet.

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