Fsf-friends

fsf-friends@gnu.org.in

3393 discussions

Fwd: [Fsf-web] FSF-India IRC Meet Tomorrow
by Anivar Aravind 04 Oct '05

04 Oct '05

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Baishampayan Ghose <b.ghose(a)gnu.org.in> Date: Oct 4, 2005 1:58 PM Subject: [Fsf-web] FSF-India IRC Meet Tomorrow To: FSF-India Web Page Developers List <fsf-web(a)mm.gnu.org.in> Hello GNUHeads! This is to inform you all of the date and agenda of the first ever IRC meet of FSF-India web developers, admins & the working group. The date / time and the agenda is as follows -- Date - Wed Oct 5, 2005 Time - 16:30 - 19:30 Hrs. Place - #gnu-india on irc.freenode.net Agenda - o Moving to Drupal - Issues - Sharing responsibilities - Moving the content - Timeline - Integrating the fellow registration system - Integrating the Volunteer & Business DBs o Merchandise - Decide on what we are going to make - Who's going to do it - Timeline o A new private mailing list for the admins - Viability o Other project ideas The actual meet might not be 3 hours long, if we all come at the right time, we will finish within an hour or so, I have kept the time flexible so that people can drop in their own time. This is done only because this is the first meet, and it will not be the case for the next meets. Also, please make sure you all come to the meet. A consensus is necessary to get the things going. If anybody has problems, please speak up now! Have a nice day all, Regards, BG -- Baishampayan Ghose Free Software Foundation of India b.ghose at gnu.org.in _______________________________________________ Fsf-web mailing list Fsf-web(a)mm.gnu.org.in http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/fsf-web Anivar Aravind -- __ __ gnu /noo/ n. Ox like antelope; (abbr.) /gnoo/ n. (recursive acronym) Gnu's Not Unix.

1 0

Track 4: linking Free Software and non-profits
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 02 Oct '05

02 Oct '05

Can we share this vision in India? FN Track 4: linking Free Software and non-profits http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=1693586 GOA, India -- The Philippines is moving fast ahead in the task of building bridges between non-profits and Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). LinuxWorld Philippines 2005, held in mid-September, is the biggest and only nationwide Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) event in that country. In September 2005, APC member Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) coordinated the civil society participation in the LinuxWorld Philippines event, held at mid-month in Makati City, MetroManila. LinuxWorld Philippines is the biggest and only Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) event in the country. This three-day event aims at showcasing and discussing GNU/Linux and other free and open source solutions that the government, private sector, academe and civil society may tap for various purposes, Al Alegre and Nina Somera of FMA said. "The good news is that we have been successful in convincing -- the organizers Media G8Way, the top publisher of ICT publications here, affiliated with the IDG group, http://www.mediag8way.com/events -- to have a separate track for public interest and policy concerns. This would be aside from the usual event tracks: business applications, technical and systems, workshops," FMA organisers told APC News while updating us on the event. The Public Interest and Advocacy track consisted of sessions that tackled the policy issues around FOSS (which is also called FLOSS, or Free/Libre and Open Source Software); the use of FOSS in different sectors such as education, health, and environment; and the implications of FOSS on gender and intellectual property regimes. Similarly, it looked at FOSS-based tools which non-profits can deploy for advocacy, secure online communications; FOSS migration cases and many more. FMA's participation in Linux World is basically a follow up to its ongoing Policy, Praxis and Public Interest forum series. Framing FOSS as a development imperative, FMA organized a forum on the political and social implications on FOSS in last year's conference, then called the Philippine Open Source Conference. FMA also organized one of the first FOSS training-workshops for NGOs last November. Track 4, focussing on Public Interest and Advocacy, was organised at the Dusit Hotel Makati from September 14-16. It was aimed at the people who want to go beyond business applications or technical competency. Aiming to get the traditional GNU/Linux and FOSS crowd interested in public policy and advocacy, it also targets a potential new emerging constituency -- the nonprofit/NGO crowd, who are into GNU/Linux and FOSS for its social and political implications. Organizers extended to NGOs (non-government organizations) and government personnel a discounted rate, to encourage their full participation. Key sessions at this event looked at FOSS@PH (The State of GNU/Linux and Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) in the Philippines). It then looked at FOSS(a)GOV.PH (GNU/Linux and FOSS in government, featuring interesting cases, highlighting learnings from current initiatives, and pinpointing challenges faced by FOSS advocates in government). The aim was to look at government in different levels -- national agencies, local governments, government corporations, and the enabling institutions such as CICT/NCC Commission on ICT- National Computer Center); and e-government applications using FOSS. FOSS(a)EDU.PH was a session focussing on FOSS in education, as its name suggests. This session targetted covering different aspects of the Philippine educational ecosystem: basic public education & private education including curriculum development, teacher training; nonformal education; FOSS migration experiences within schools; use of FOSS in education and learning technologies. FOSS(a)NGO.PH, on the other hand, looked at FOSS in non-governmental organizations. It aimed at giving a report on the state of FOSS initiatives in associative organizations, feature interesting cases and experiments, highlight learnings from current initiatives, and pinpoint particular challenges faced by FOSS advocates in civil society organizations and NGOs. Civil society organizations using FOSS in different development sectors (e.g., health, environment, media, rural development, etc.) were asked to share experiences. FOSS, GNU/Linux, and Gender was another session. Groups like the APC member Womens' Hub and Isis International-Manila have drawn attention for their work on this front. Besides this, the organizers also worked to have a policy forum/dialogue which looked at policy dilemmas and development imperatives, with the participation of key ICT policymakers. "This session will pose one of the most crucial (and controversial) issues in FOSS advocacy in the Philippines. It aims to present an overview of FOSS policy initiatives undertaken in different countries, and its implications in terms of policy options for the Philippines. It will put FOSS advocates in dialogue with policy makers to explore possible recommendations. A multi-stakeholder panel (government, private sector, civil society) will be convened," organizers announced prior to the meet. There was a wealth of angles from which this issue was looked out. One can sense how deep the Philippines has ventured into the task of building bridges between non-profits and FOSS simply by looking at the issues being tackled there. Legal issues in FOSS was another focus, looking at licenses and licensing (OSI, GPL, FreeBSD); legality and enforceability of FOSS (i.e., contract law, IP Code/TTA provisions, international precedents); and some interesting cases (for example, the SCO Case). Other sessions looked at FOSS for advocacy (introducing public interest organizations to basic software tools to fulfill one of the basic functions of development organizations); secure computing using FOSS tools; and moving from open source to open content (alternatives to 'intellectual property' and the public domain). There was also a focus on the FOSS business models for small, marginal and medium enterprises; FOSS in the creative professions (writing for GNU/Linux, and GNU/Linux for writers); adopting a GNU/Linux lifestyle; nurturing and sustaining the Philippine FOSS ecosystem (understanding what needs to be done to promote FOSS in a strategic and programmatic way); and working on an action plan. LinuxWorld Philippines site Originator: --- (APCNews) Date: 10/02/2005 Location: GOA, India Contact: editor(a)apc.org Category: Free Software Source: APCNews

1 0

More details of software freedomday
by Arun M 01 Oct '05

01 Oct '05

http://ap.gnu.org.in/software_freedom_day_2005.html

1 0

Software Freedom Day and the Software Freedom Rally.
by Arun M 01 Oct '05

01 Oct '05

01-10-05 Hyderabad. Invitation Software Freedom Day and the Software Freedom Rally. The program details are : Motor Cycle Rally starting at Hyderabad Central University at 9:00 AM Technical Session on Power of GNU/Linux 9:00 AM Seminar on Free Software and India 11.00AM Venue :OU College of Engineering. Free Software Foundation of India is celebrating 'Software Freedom day' on 2nd October 2005. As part of the celebration FSF India is organising a half day seminar and exhibition at Osmania University College of Engineering,Hydrabad, Andra Pradesh. The motor Cycle Rally starts at Hyderabad Central University touches JNTU and will reach OU College of Engineering. Speakers in the Seminar : Prof. D N Reddy Principal OU College of Engg. Dr. G.Ravi Kumar Director, Geodata GSI. M.Arun Secretary FSF India. Technical Session on Power of GNU/Linux 9:00 AM Seminar on Free Software and India 11.00AM Venue :OU College of Engineering. Free Software Foundation of India is celebrating 'Software Freedom day' on 2nd October 2005. As part of the celebration FSF India is organising a half day seminar and exhibition at Osmania University College of Engineering,Hydrabad, Andra Pradesh. 2nd October is birth anniversary of one of the greatest freedom fighters of the world, Mahatma Gandhi. FSF India decided to celebrate 'Software Freedom day' on 2nd October as a tribute to Mahatma, and to remind people that fight for freedom is never over. Free Software Movement is leading freedom struggle in domain of information technology. This movement is fight for the freedom of knowledge and freedom to communicate. Right to share knowledge, and right to communicate are as important as political freedom for which Mahatma fought. Today we are carrying his fight to new frontiers. Day by day more and more people are realising the importance of software freedom. On this birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi Freedom campaigners from different sections of the society will come together to celebrate Software Freedom day and to pledge to defend freedom in computing,following path shown by freedom fighters around world. Exhibition arranged on the day will showcase commonly useful freesoftwares like GCC,Kdevelop,Blender etc. Special focus of exhibition will be how free software will help students. About FSF India The Free Software Foundation Of India is a non-profit organisation committed to advocating, promoting and propagating the use and development of swatantra software in India. Our goal is to ensure the long term adoption of free software, and aim for the day when all software will be free (swatantra). This includes educating people about software freedom and convincing them that it is the freedom that matters. We regard non-free proprietary software as a problem to be solved, not as a solution to any problem. Y.Kiran Chandra Convenor FSFIndia AP Chapter

1 0

Fwd: Bloggers Meet - Oct 8th?
by Thejesh GN 29 Sep '05

29 Sep '05

Interested please leave a msg on blogbang(a)googlegroups.com mallika: Can you put a msg on http://everymanscity.blogspot.com/ Thanks, Thej http://eventsbangalore.blogspot.com/ ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Mallika Galagali <> Date: Sep 28, 2005 9:51 AM Subject: Bloggers Meet - Oct 8th? To: blogbang(a)googlegroups.com Hi All, At the risk of starting another infinite conversational loop, am proposing 8th of October (Saturday) for the Bloggers Meet....let's finally get this baby off the ground!! Agenda, I guess, will pretty much be as with the first meet...get to know each other, table a few common activities we can carry out (eg., volunteering with Akshara, theme-based writing, etc, etc...). What say? And if we can get quorum, my suggestion that we go ahead and meet! - Taz

1 0

FFII, NoSWPats Win CNet Award for Outstanding Contribution to SW Development
by Anivar Aravind 28 Sep '05

28 Sep '05

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Seth Johnson <seth.johnson(a)realmeasures.dyndns.org> Date: Sep 28, 2005 5:45 PM Please send congratulations to FFII and Nosoftwarepatents.com for their glorious work keeping software excluded from patentability in Europe! Seth > http://www.cnetnetworks.co.uk/awards/2005_winners.html#contri_software Outstanding Contribution to Software Development Winner: NoSoftwarePatents.com & The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) NoSoftwarePatents.com and the FFII joined forces last year to campaign against the European software patent directive, which many feared would open the doors to an increasingly litigious marketplace in which small businesses would struggle to survive. In July this year, the European Parliament unexpectedly rejected the directive, a victory which can be attributed to the tireless work of this alliance.

1 0

Google Earth Exposes the Indian Military
by Shekhar Krishnan 28 Sep '05

28 Sep '05

Dear All: :: apologies for cross-posting :: This has caused quite an uproar in Mumbai, and the consequences will be interesting to follow. To read more about open geo-data and free mapping initiatives in India, see the Mumbai Free Map ( http://www.crit.org.in/projects/gis | http://freemap.crit.org.in | http://www.freemap.in ). Please also visit and sign the open geo-data manifesto hosted by the Open Knowledge Foundation ( http://okfn.org/geo/manifesto.php ) and visit Mapping Hacks ( http://www.mappinghacks.com ). Best, Shekhar _____ Google Earth exposes IAF bases CHARLES ASSISI TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2005 12:16:08 AM ] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1243460.cms MUMBAI: Legally, you aren’t supposed to come within arm’s length of India’s military bases. Whether it is the naval dockyards in Mumbai or the air force bases in New Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad, they continue to be strictly out of bounds for unauthorised personnel. But technology, unerringly, finds ways to subvert the law. A little over two weeks ago, Google released fresh satellite images of New Delhi, south Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad as part of its new initiative, Google Earth ( http://earth.google.com ). These images, available to anybody with access to the Net, provide users with images of earth from space. Punch New Delhi and the software first zooms in on Rashtrapati Bhavan. After having taken a look at its lawns, take in a detailed perspective of Parliament building. Maybe, fly over the Prime Minister’s residence. And if that doesn’t satiates the voyeur in you, move over to Palam Airport where IAF planes are based. The level of detail even reveals the camouflage used to mask hangars. Pictures of Mumbai reveal with numbing clarity the docks where INS Viraat is berthed. Users can zoom close enough to take a reasonably good look at the deck of India’s lone aircraft carrier. Browse around and you can stroll past piers where warships of all kinds and submarines are docked. Pan across to take a long look at what lies beyond the fortified gates of Navy Nagar where access is normally controlled by gun-wielding guards. And if that isn’t enough, there are shots of a carrier under construction, which sources speculate, could be the top secret advanced technology vessel (ATV). It’s much the same thing with Bangalore. The air force base at Yelahanka with the jets and helicopters parked are available for all to view. And if it’s the HAL factory you’re interested in, zoom right in. -- ______ Shekhar Krishnan 9, Supriya, 2nd Floor 709, Parsee Colony Road no.4 Dadar, Mumbai 400014 India http://www.crit.org.in/members/shekhar http://web.mit.edu/~shekhar/www

1 0

NISG NeGP initiative at a cost of Rs.14,000 CRORES
by Ramanraj K 28 Sep '05

28 Sep '05

National Institute for Smart Government (NISG) is driving the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) and estimated to cost Rs. 14,000 Crores. Governance has evolved by trial and error over a very long period of time, much the way free software evolves these days. Governance was thought best to be divided into legislative, executive and judiciary. eGovernance could avoid the many prejudices a human executive suffers, and the old divisions have to be redefined. Compare: developer : user :: legislator : citizen A BDFL manages the developer:user gap pretty much, and the right to fork satisfies the disgruntled in the unlimited virtual world. The legislator:citizen relationship is constrained severlely by limited resources, and there could be no right to fork. It is for this reason, the Constitutional machinery elaborately defines how citizens govern themselves by electing legislators. The existing Constitutional machinery assumes paper as the medium through which the laws will be executed. Writ of certiorari traditionally meant "calling for the (physical) records" - now, if a judge could "visit" the files through an electronic medium, the scope, nature and methods of the writ stands vastly modified. Each and every constitutional device, control and measure has to be modified to suit the new medium of execution. Traditionally, constitutions are classified as written and unwritten, and today we have to create a new classification electronic and non-electronic. The constitutional machinery has to be totally rebuilt from scratch to suit the new medium. eGovernance actually calls for serious debates on constitutional reform before spending a single rupee on any eGovernance program. Sprinkling "IBM", "Linux", "Open Source", "Open Standards" and other catch words here and there over the project are mere incidental things that do not go to the core issues of governance. Does the GOI expect IBM to give the framework for eGovernance? Is Indian legislative history (1600 - 1950) repeating itself ? E-Courts has been added to their planning boards as an after thought, and clearly shows poor planning. Burning 14K Crores (in two years ?) over NeGP, that too controlled by NASSCOM sounds very stupid, to say the least. They are looking for consultants (apply at your own risk ;) and I hope they don't get too smart ;) Bullock carts fitted with electric motors won't move efficiently - NiSG is only doing this and this is not my imagination: their advt calling for consultants has the wheel of a bullock cart with an e in the centre :) There are other strange issues there too: :: forwarded message :: -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [eGovINDIA] The Share-holding pattern of NISG as obtained from NISG website (MOA) Date: Thu, 22 Sep 2005 06:13:45 -0700 (PDT) From: eGov INDIA <egovindia(a)yahoo.com> Reply-To: eGovINDIA(a)yahoogroups.com To: eGov INDIA <egovindia(a)yahoogroups.com> NISG is a controlled company - You all can look at it. Who are all involved in it ON behalf of President of INDIA the following GOI departments are partners. 1. Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India, 2. Department of Information Technology, Government of India 3. Mr. R. Chandrashekar, Officer on Special Duty (NISG), Current Joint Secretary eGovernance of GOI. Who makes most of the decisions now. He is from GOAP cadre and was in GOAP before coming as JS of GOI. NASSCOM is facilitating this. They are SILENT partners. Which holds 52 % This is for name sake. The Share-holding pattern of NISG as obtained from NISG website (MOA) is as under: http://www.nisg.org/corpinfo.htm 1. Ajay Kumar Agarwal, S/o Shri Krishna Murari Lal Agarwal, Secretary, For and on behalf of President of India, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Government of India, North Block, New Delhi – 110 001 160 Equity Shares of Rs.100/- each (One Hundred and Sixty only) Total Amount : Rs 16000 2. Rajeeva Ratna Shah, S/o Shri Janardhan Das Shah, Secretary For and on behalf of President of India, Department of Information Technology, Government of India Electronic Niketan, 6 CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 110 003 160 Equity Shares of Rs.100/- each (One Hundred and Sixty only) Total Amount : Rs 16000 3. Kiran Karnik, S/o Shri Sharadchandra Karnik, President For and On behalf of National Association of Software and Services Companies, International Youth Centre, Teen Murti Marg, Chanikya Puri, New Delhi – 110 021 520 Equity Shares of Rs. 100/- each (Five Hundred and Twenty Only) Total Amount: Rs 52000 4 Rentala Chandrashekhar, S/o Shri Rentala Ramachandra Rao, Officer on Special Duty (NISG) For and On behalf of President of India Government of India, 4007, Electronics Niketan, 6, CGO Complex, Lodi Road, New Delhi – 110 003 160 Equity Shares of Rs.100/- each (One Hundred and Sixty only) Total Amount : 16000 Ministry of Personnel : 16000 Ministry of IT : 16000 Ministry of IT: 16000 NASSCOM : 52000 GOI share value 48000 NASSCOM share value 52000 Current Shareholder pattern 48 % and 52 % For just Rs52000 one can hold majority stake in NISG which is going to decide GOI investment of Crores of rupees ? Is it PPP ? NISG has to be AUDITED by CAG CVC need to look into NISG activities ! ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back! http://us.click.yahoo.com/VpgUKB/pzNLAA/cUmLAA/tSwplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eGovINDIA/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: eGovINDIA-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

2 1

where do the software get installed..?
by Amachu 28 Sep '05

28 Sep '05

say we r installing a software xxxxx.rpm ... where will it go and instal? (Like in Windows we have c:\Program files ????) How to find the location of installation? Can we choose it on our own? -- Regards, Amachu Mobile: 91 98417 72001

4 3

Re: [Fsf-friends] Public knowledge politics
by doxa＠sancharnet.in 27 Sep '05

27 Sep '05

Dear Sasi, Today's Hindu carries a *story* by Anand Parthasarathy. AP seems to be spreading a message that "vulnerability of Free Software" is easily derived through the reported instances of "vulnerability of Firefox.exe". Its a shame that people holding such responsible positions, still carry out such propaganda. CK Raju, Thrissur ----------------- http://ernakulam.sancharnet.in/doxa

5 4

Jump to page:

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

Fsf-friends