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Sad news... on the Santhali front
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 21 Feb '05

21 Feb '05

These guys, young friends from West Bengal, are trying to get the tribal Santhali language working with Free Software. Below is a self-explanatory entry from http://blogs.randomink.org/ It is from "Weekend Aantel". Sayamindu from Kolkata was mentioning the Santhali project recently. [Wikipedia has this to say about Santhali, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santhali: Santali is a language in the Munda subfamily of Austro-Asiatic, related to Ho and Mundari. It is spoken by about six million people in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. Most of its speakers live in India, in the states of Jharkhand, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, Tripura, and West Bengal. It has its own alphabet, known as Ol Cemet', but literacy is very low, between 10 and 30%. Santali is spoken by the Santhals.] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Adieu Mandal Hembrom! Weekend Aantel 21/02/2005 - 17:23 Mandal Hembrom passed away at TMC, Mumbai, today in the early morning. He was under-going treatment at TMC. I don't yet have the details of the exact cause of death, but so far it is known that his condition detoriarated after he underwent Chemotheraphy and lapsed into a severe cardiac arrest. Mandal-da was the lead linguist (as also being a native speaker) in our Santhali CASTLE Project. His death is not just a great loss to our project, but a loss to all the Santhals struggling to establish their identity in a globalised world that dictates a lop-sided homogeneity at the cost of losing unique cultural traits, language and social structures. Mandal-da's illness was detected at an advanced stage. He wanted to use the time he had to complete the work on the translation of the strings. Unfortunately, he was taken away from us before that could happen! Perhaps, its a strange co-incidence that today happens to be the International Mother Language Day (21st Feb) that Mandal-da breathed his last. We need to reaffirm our commitment to the work on bridging the ICT divide. As I wrote in my "A walk across the Digital Divide" experience, its not as un-bridgable as it often sounds. Its only by ensuring the continuance of the Santhali L10N project that we can truly pay our respect to the dreams and efforts of Mandal Hembrom. END OF QUOTE On behalf of BytesForAll, let me dip our flag to all these guys trying to make computing work for for forgotten people and the poor... whose languages otherwise barely make for a 'viable market'. FN ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) Nr Convent Saligao 403511 GoaIndia Freelance Journalist P: 832-2409490 M: 9822122436 http://fn.swiki.net http://fn-floss.notlong.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where the needs of the world and your talents cross, there lies your vocation. --Aristotle

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Reply to archana regarding the blog site
by vishravars Ramasubramanian 21 Feb '05

21 Feb '05

Archana, i think you have to create an acc in that site and then start looking at the blogs. I think u can only watch the blogs with the id and passwd given. When i registered, i received a mail like.., vishravars, You may now log in to http://blogs.randomink.org/user/login using the following username and password: username: vishravars password: xxxx *Your new Blogs @ Random Ink membership also enables to you to login to other Drupal powered websites (e.g. http://www.drop.org/) without registering. Just use the following Drupal ID and password: Drupal ID: vishravars(a)blogs.randomink.org password: kLQfTEkqVd I think, that answers you question. Cheers Vishravars.R __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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Helped a Tomato Guy, Freedom
by vishravars Ramasubramanian 21 Feb '05

21 Feb '05

Hi Everybody. This is my first mail to FSF-Friends ml. I am trying to nerrate an incident which took place today morning when i was travelling to my college by my motorcycle. Situation: It was a double road, with a partition in the centre. It was early morning and the weather was really cold. I could see many young students waiting on the road side for their school buses to come and some were waiting for the city corporation bus. All the vehicles were just flying in a hurry. ----------- x ------------ When i was riding, i suddenly saw a old man with a bicycle on the middle of the road struggling with lots of tomatos (it seems he had bought some tomatoes from the market early morning and taking them to his retail shop located somewhere in the city). The problem was, he had 2 huge baskets on both sides of his bicycle and hence could he could not get off from the cycle easily(and he was also a short guy). There were lots of tomatos on the ground, spread. And thank god there was not much damage (to the tomatoes). By seeing the poor man struggling to get those tomatoes, i just parked my motorcycle on the side of the road and i took tomatoes in my hands and helped to get them to the baskets. Roughly it was about 150-200 tomatoes. When i started picking them, one more guy who came that way started picking and helping. The problem was, it was a really busy road, and vehicles were just flying. I thought i should also direct the traffic so that the other person can continue picking the tomatoes. I did exactly that, and the whole mess got cleared in just 8 to 10 minutes. The tomato guy thanked me and the other person *whole-heartedly*. Then i started my journey to the college. Moral of My Blog: ------------------ I would like to associate the incident with the Free Software movement or the idea of free s/w. The first thing is, the tomato guy is now way connected with me (ofcourse he is not my boss or i am not a boss to him) and i'v never seen him before, in simple words, a stranger. But what made me to help him???? The following could be the reasons..... 1. The tomato guy was an obstacle to the traffic and i thought of helping the traffic to get cleared 2. I am really a soft hearted and could not see the preson struggling on the middle of the road, hence i helped. 3. It's my duty to help the one who is struggling... 4. or just thought of helping... thats all etc...... Well, in all the above said, one word stood still like concrete, that is *helping*. Ok. What do i get, by doing so? My Answer :- Peace of mind.... and self-satisfaction.. or what ever one may call this as As we see the above lines, there is no word like Money or Rupee or Cost or Price or dollar or ...... Can this be associated with free s/w?? My Answer: Yes. How ? Ans: It is not that you should help your neighbour alone... but you (and we) can also help strangers...I hope Free Software does exactly that... Why am i making a blog like this ?? Ans. That again sharing my thoughts and hence *Freedom* to share thoughts..... :) PS: There were many people on the road side waiting for bus to come. But no one can blame them for not helping the poor guy. B'cause, they will be under trouble if they miss their bus. Cheeeers Vishravars.R __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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Norms for software patents to be finalised
by Mahesh T. Pai 20 Feb '05

20 Feb '05

Apologies if this has been noticed on this list. ----- Forwarded message from Ram <prabhuram ( at ) gmail.com> ----- > Norms for software patents to be finalised > > Business Standard > > > The government will finalise detailed guidelines for patent examiners > over the next one month specifying the conditions under which > software, polymers and other chemicals can be patented. > > "There is a general notion that software can be patented. That is not > true. You cannot patent software. However software embedded in > hardware can be patented. All such issues are sought to be clarified > through these working guidelines for the patent examiners which will > be put up on the web once they have been finalised," an official told > Business Standard. > > Officials said that the first draft had been prepared and was being > discussed by the ministry officials with legal experts and industry > representatives. The guidelines would be finalised in the next one > month. > > The government has already hired 175 patent examiners to deal with the > load of patent applications. The modernisation of patent offices is > underway and the new patent office in the capital will be inaugrated > next month. > > Along with patent, work on the other areas of intellectual property > like Geographical indicators (GI) is also picking up pace. The > government has granted GI on six products including chanderi sarees > and Darjeeling tea and is considering proposal to grant GI on 30 other > items, officials said. > > Earlier today Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said that the > new modernised product patent regime will help attract more foreign > direct investment and make India a new destination for contract > manufacturing and contract research. > > "The modernised patent law is expected to provide a secure and > conducive environment to investments. India could be new destination > for contract manufacturing and contract research since India has cost > and capabilities advantages," Nath said in his address to the National > Seminar on Promotion, Protection and Enforcement of Intellectual > Property Rights organised by his ministry in association with the > World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and Ficci. > > The minister, whose speech was read out in his absence, said that the > government had undertaken an ambitious programme to modernise the > intellectual property rights administrative infrastructure with a view > to making the system efficient, IT-enabled and more user-friendly > _______________________________________________ > commons-law mailing list > commons-law ( at ) sarai.net > https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/commons-law ----- End forwarded message ----- -- Mahesh T. Pai <<>> http://paivakil.port5.com Buy Free Software -- It gives you freedom!

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Blogs for FLOSS enthusiasts...
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 20 Feb '05

20 Feb '05

Sayamindu Dasgupta of Kolkata recently told me that they run a blogging service for FLOSS enthusiasts in India at http://blogs.randomink.org/ If you have a point to make regarding the world of FLOSS (Free/Libre and Open Source Software) and would like to do so via a blog, go and claim space of your own there. It's free! FN

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Becoming a Debian developer
by Praveen A 19 Feb '05

19 Feb '05

Hi all, I came across this interesting article about becoming a Debian GNU/Linux developer. [I got this from Debian Livejournal Community http://www.livejournal.com/community/debian ] ______________________________________________________________________ Yet, despite the obstacles, for many, becoming a developer is the ultimate goal. Asked their motivations, candidates start by talking about a wish to contribute and to assume greater responsibility. When pressed, though, many add that they also desire the status of the position. The status lies not just the cool factor of having a Debian email address -- although several privately admit, half-jokingly, to lusting after one -- but a belief that only developers are taken seriously within the Debian project. Those who want to advocate policy change or to become a Debian officer often feel that becoming a developer is a necessary first step. One way or the other, most would probably agree with Matthew Palmer, one of more than 50 Application Managers who help to process candidates, that being a Debian developer is a "mark of honour." Read full story http://distrocenter.linux.com/article.pl?sid=05/02/02/2312203 Regards Praveen A -- "There is no system but GNU, and Linux is one of its kernels." A proud GNU user http://www.gnu.org http://www.edathanattukara.com My Weblog at http://www.livejournal.com/users/pravi Visit me at http://www.pravi.tk Rediscover the web ! Get firefox at http://www.getfirefox.com Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments See http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html

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Project Resource Centre...
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 19 Feb '05

19 Feb '05

------------------------------------------------------------------------ PRC: THE 'EXCHANGE' FOR IDEAS ON FREE SOFTWARE PROJECTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Young minds are like potters clay... they mould the way mentors work on them. Are you a student searching for some interesting projets in GNU/Linux? Are you an expert who would like to share your skills with youngsters looking for ideas? If yes, then please give a serious thought to joining the Project Resource Centre network. PRC's operations are currently focussed around its mailing list. (To join visit http://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/prc ) The PRC was set up by Trevor Warren <trevor.w(a)media.mit.edu> of Mumbai, India. It is open to anyone in any part of the globe, though we would like to primarily focus on initiatives within India. We specially welcome mentors from anywhere in the globe, who would like to share their knowledge with promising youngsters from here. Any member of PRC is welcome to post to the list. Subject to: o Please keep all posts on-topic and related to the intentions for which this initiative was set up (helping youngsters take on socially relevant, challenging and useful projects). o Post messages that would be of wider interest to the entire group. If you message is meant just for 3-4 persons, it could be taken offline. o Mentors are specially requested to post those messages that would (i) point to wider spheres in which a lot of work needs to be done (ii) post general hints that could give students the starting push This list works on the principles of Free/Libre and Open Source Software. Everyone is welcome to join, in the capacity you think best. All work is volunteer-based. Thank you for your support. Below is a brief explanation of the concept, from Trevor Warren: "Having been with the Free Software Community for such a long time there a lot i like about it and a lot I would like to see done about... The Project Resource Centre is a non-profit organisation that has been an effort kickstarted by the GNU/Linux users group of Mumbai... The people affialiated with us are those who can take time out to guide students on their way towards taking on and performing GNU/Linux based projects frm the stage of conception to delivery." We would like to appreciate the work of Himanshu Shukla (www.thefreespeech.org) for being instrumental in sparking off the course towards setting up the PRC. Dr G Nagarjuna has been an inspiring force. We have got enthusiastic support from Sarai.Net in Delhi, which hosts our lists and is also working on a micro-grants to support Free Software initiatives among students. Also thanks to Dinesh Shah, Shankar Ramachandran, and the many others who have helped this concept along the way. [Please include the names of others here.] Says Trevor: "From my vision i want to get the PRC to be a platform where in mentors-students democratically take up projects nd work together towards delivering on GNU/Linux and other Free Software projects that they might hav in mind." CopyLeft 2003, Frederick Noronha for the GNU/PRC mailing list. |------|____________________________________|------| ( >- / Scaling FreeSoftware & OpenSource \ -< ) /~\ / In the Enterprise \ /~\ | \) \ | www.fsf.org | www.opensource.org | / (/ | |_|_ \____________________________________/ _|_|

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FLOSS-APP-ASIA...
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 18 Feb '05

18 Feb '05

http://source.bellanet.org/mailman/listinfo/floss-app-asia 'Floss-app-asia' online discussion forum has been launched to study the efficacies of Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for development and fulfillment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) charted out by the UN. The forum is part of the UNDP's applied research and policy initiative on the usage of ICT for eradication of poverty project undertaken by the i4donline group. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) Nr Convent Saligao 403511 GoaIndia Freelance Journalist P: 832-2409490 M: 9822122436 http://fn.swiki.net http://fn-floss.notlong.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where the needs of the world and your talents cross, there lies your vocation. --Aristotle

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INDIA: Computer programme patenting may brake IT boom
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 18 Feb '05

18 Feb '05

http://infotech.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1023943.cms Computer programme patenting may brake IT boom TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2005 06:17:58 PM] NEW DELHI: Imagine a scenario where a music composer is prevented from being inspired by another musician. He has to start from scratch and give an entirely new definition to music. Unimaginable, isn't it? Now replace 'music' with 'software' and this is what the Indian government is seeking to do. Or so some critics argue. The amendments to the Indian Patent Act introduced by a recent Ordinance will allow all computer programmes to be patented. The Indian Patent Act, as modified in 2002, had made "a mathematical method or a business method or a computer programme per se or algorithms" non-patentable. However, the recent amendment changes this phrase defining what cannot be patented to "a computer programme per se other than its technical application to industry or a combination with hardware, a mathematical or business method or algorithms." Since any commercial software has some industry application and these applications are technical in nature, it opens virtually all software to patenting, say the critics of the move. As a booming software nation, can India afford to take such a step without harming interests of the industry? These were concerns expressed at a press conference organised by the Delhi Science Forum on Tuesday. The US and Japan, they said, are two countries that have provided for patent protection in software, which has adversely impacted smaller developers. European Parliament has been forced to defer software patenting in the wake of widespread opposition to such a move. A patent in the case of software grants monopoly control over not just the 'expression' of a function or idea in computer code, which could be covered by copyright, but over the very idea itself. Thus, software would be covered by both copyright and patents, perhaps the only instance of a product being underpinned by both. Richard Stallman, co-developer of the GNU-Linux operating system and proponent of free software says, "Since software patents cover software ideas, it makes them a dangerous obstacle to all software development." An example is Amazon's singleclick agreement. Amazon.com was granted a patent on a system that remembers customer credit card data from visit to visit, so that customers could, on all visits after their first, simply order products and then click once to buy them using a stored credit card number. After two rounds of litigation, this patent was upheld and Amazon was able to prevent its chief competitor, barnesandnoble.com, from using a similar system. The main argument against software patenting is that it will kill innovations, by leaving small firms or software developers liable for patent infringements. "That's like saying, be the greatest genius in history or don't even try", said Stallman. Small developers will always be fighting with their backs to the wall as they would not have the financial muscle to compete with dominant players in the market. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) Nr Convent Saligao 403511 GoaIndia Freelance Journalist P: 832-2409490 M: 9822122436 http://fn.swiki.net http://fn-floss.notlong.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where the needs of the world and your talents cross, there lies your vocation. --Aristotle

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What is Resty? http://www.resty.org/
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 18 Feb '05

18 Feb '05

What is Resty? (A made-in-Mumbai solution from Mitul Limbani) Resty is a Web Application Framework distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License by Enterux. Please check out the documentation to find out more about Resty. FORWARDED VIA: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) Nr Convent Saligao 403511 GoaIndia Freelance Journalist P: 832-2409490 M: 9822122436 http://fn.swiki.net http://fn-floss.notlong.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where the needs of the world and your talents cross, there lies your vocation. --Aristotle

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