On Thursday 11 August 2005 14:36, Dinesh Joshi wrote:
*snip*
hundred meters, whereas optic fibres are known to be efficient over distances of 100s of kilometers. :)
WITH a coherent source of light....Thats the keyword.
Not just that, the source has to be monochromatic (actinic) and high intensity for a fibre. Whereas for getting a natural light effect you must have spatial complex light source (non coherent, multiwavelength, scattered). Which is why no matter how you illuminate a place with artificial light, your eyes are able to easily know it's not natural.
rgds jtd
Not just that, the source has to be monochromatic (actinic) and high intensity for a fibre. Whereas for getting a natural light effect you must have spatial complex light source (non coherent, multiwavelength, scattered). Which is why no matter how you illuminate a place with artificial light, your eyes are able to easily know it's not natural.
Did I mention polarization? :P
Regards, Dinesh
I read this today in express computer that the Maharashtra govt has signed an MOU with M$ to spread computer literacy in the state. All this after the president has openly endorsed FLOSS and recommended it in all future govt projects.
Maybe we r not spreading enough awareness, besides rampant piracy aint helping either. For people windows is free in any case and this makes it harder to make them see the light.
Also the "it gets the job done" attitude is very common. Also people use open source and free software synonymously. Even the people who r pushing for linux adoption r always using points like virus free, no spyware etc, no one is pointing out the benifit of free software.
One suggession, maybe targetting college festivals like malhar and mood i will be a good idea and we can try and explain what free software is all about.
i think i've rambled enough ... besides i'm too sleepy to write anymore I-)
Anand.
On Fri, Aug 12, 2005 at 02:00:50AM +0530, Anand M R wrote:
Also the "it gets the job done" attitude is very common. Also people use open source and free software synonymously. Even the people who r pushing for linux adoption r always using points like virus free, no spyware etc, no one is pointing out the benifit of free software.
No one is interested in nebulous "benefits" of free software. Many people aren't even interested in "virus-free" and "spyware-free".
One suggession, maybe targetting college festivals like malhar and mood i will be a good idea and we can try and explain what free software is all about.
"What, yaar, just have fun!" is a typical attitude you will find there.
On Thu, Aug 11, 2005 at 06:50:33PM -0400, Satya wrote:
No one is interested in nebulous "benefits" of free software. Many people aren't even interested in "virus-free" and "spyware-free".
Now this is good: http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=56158
Morning Anand,
Most decisions taken by beaureaucrats at the higher position in the govnmt are without a perspective on FLOSS. Just like if we asked you to deal with the same issue you would pretty much biased towards making choices on the FLOSS front.
What drives such MOU's anand dear is not what is more economical for the coffers of the motherland but rather what the government gets in return for working along with MS. The carrots usually MS dangles are for the Government to route the large deals for its office/applns needs to it. Besides anand dear, amoung the FLOSS companies in India everyone wants to make a profit too just like MS. And the Software from Novell-SuSE or RedHat isnt any more cheaper. Try purchasing a box of RHEL WS and lemme know the best deal you will get from RedHat India.
So just cause MS software is inferrior and we choose to use alternatives we have no right to enforce our decision on others. I am not trying to make a case for MS or for not purchasing RH. My point is that companies like MS have far more $$$ to throw about and bait the ministers/beaureaucrats than most of the other teeny-meeny FLOSS companies. And this is what it takes to buy a deal of this size.
Why talk about the governments faulty decisions to spend its rupaiya on Crappy commercial S/W. What about the total lack of infrastructure around the country and the basic denial of essential commodities to every human being within our borders. Lets first address the more important issues at hand. Arguing about the governments adoption of FLOSS is not going to take us anywhere. There are far more important issues to tackle. And if we want to sway such deal the FLOSS way we have to have a much more long term strategy at working along with the Government through NGO's in setting its long term-short term goals and helping deliver them.
All of the above is easier said than done. That brings to mind...a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Trevor
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On Friday 12 Aug 2005 12:09 pm, Trevor Warren wrote:
All of the above is easier said than done. That brings to mind...a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
what is the one step you propose?
So just cause MS software is inferrior and we choose to use alternatives we have no right to enforce our decision on others. I am not trying to make a case for MS or for not purchasing RH. My point is that companies like MS have far more $$$ to throw about and bait the ministers/beaureaucrats than most of the other teeny-meeny FLOSS companies. And this is what it takes to buy a deal of this size.
Dear Trevor
The point i'm making is with regards to the license. It not the price or the crappy software (disputable). Also its not true that MS software is always inferior but the fact is that the licence is too restrictive. People r not aware as to what the GPL means, neither do they read the EULA that they agree to when they install any propritory product. Everyone wants to make money, no doubt and they should, how else will the economy progress?
Trevor Warren wrote:
My point is that companies like MS have far more $$$ to throw about and bait the ministers/beaureaucrats than most of the other teeny-meeny FLOSS companies. And this is what it takes to buy a deal of this size.
There is an important point that we are missing in this discussion. It is not only about which system is the best or free or secure but what the common computer user population learns as computer literacy. Right from school to adult computer literacy classes, everyone is taught the windows file system, settings and windows based programs from the simple internet explorer, outlook express, word/excel/powerpoint to higher level ones like autocad, dreamweaver, photoshop, corel draw, visual basic, 3d max etc.
This mass of computer literate users cannot be expected to jump on to linux based programs and file systems they are not familiar with. Multimedia is still a weak area in linux. (lets not get too deep into this) The main shift according to my limited knowledge is from M$ based browsers, emailers, office suites and servers to their linux based siblings.
Linux is like a well where we have to come to it an fill our own buckets and walk back with them. This well water is pure and healthy. M$ is like a 24 hour water connection. Sometimes the water may not be clean expecially after an epidemic infection. Still people prefer to use purifiers and filters and other precautions along with their tap water instead of going all the way to the well. Unless linux starts its own 24 hour water supply, many people will still avoid going to the well.
The big hit will come from future M$ OSes that will incorporate the security features of linux and the visual appeal and ease of use of its own. Thats a danger area for linux.
Regards,
Rony.
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Sometime on Fri, Aug 12, 2005 at 02:00:50AM +0530, Anand M R said:
I read this today in express computer that the Maharashtra govt has signed an MOU with M$ to spread computer literacy in the state. All this after the president has openly endorsed FLOSS and recommended it in all future govt projects.
In the last government, when Arun Shourie was the IT minister, he made it clear that he does not differentiate between the two software development practices, FreeSoftware and Proprietary, and each should get equal chances to grow.
Anurag
I read this today in express computer that the Maharashtra govt has signed an MOU with M$ to spread computer literacy in the state.
Does anyone know what they (Microsoft) did to make this happen?
That would help us determine what we may be able to do to reverse this.
Rishi
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Anurag -
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Trevor Warren