Dear All,

This is just a quick reminder about the NGO-in-a-box workshop to be held
in Pune from the 19th to the 24th of March. The workshop aims to train
voluntary sector organisations in the practical application of Free and
Open Source Software tools.

The deadline for receiving applications has been extended to the 9th of
February, 2007.

For details and application forms log on to http://ngoinabox.mahiti.org

Best Wishes,



Edward
--
Edward Crompton - Coordinator
NGO-in-a-box South Asia
Mahiti Infotech Pvt Ltd
314/1 Vijay Kiran Building
7th Cross Domlur Layout
Bangalore 560071
Phone: +91 80 41150580
Fax: +91 80 41150583
www.mahiti.org/ngoinabox

http://showmedo.com/

Welcome to ShowMeDo! This site is dedicated to showing demonstrative
videos produced by our community. For many subjects seeing something
done is the most effective way to learn, whether it's peering over an
expert's shoulder while they explain how to program or watching while
someone grinds beans and makes coffee. Please watch, learn and perhaps
share your knowledge back. http://showmedo.com/

Videos on:
* Python
* Java
* Linux
* Ruby
* Blender
* Graphics
* Screencasting
* Others

--
FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490 (after 1300IST please)
http://fn.goa-india.org  http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com
Community Radio in India list: http://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/cr-india

http://www.iosn.net/foss/case-studies

Case Studies

Making Legal Information Freely Available - JuriBurkina, Burkina Faso
by Christine Apikul Ч last modified 2006-09-21 04:15 PM
     The JuriBurkina project has allowed Burkina Faso to put its
jurisprudence and legislation online and improve access to legal
information for the benefit of the legal profession and the
public-at-large by making information freely available over the
Internet.

Promoting Free and Open Source Software in Africa - Meraka, South
Africa by Christine Apikul Ч last modified 2006-09-29 12:49 PM
     The Meraka Open Source Centre has embarked on a series of projects
and activities to advocate FOSS, facilitate project work on various
FOSS initiatives and help empower users and producers of FOSS with
access to courseware and certification.

Empowering Local Communities - Colnodo, Colombia by Christine Apikul Ч
last modified 2006-09-29 02:20 PM
     Colnodo is a non-profit organization in Colombia that provides a
wide range of ICT and Internet services, primarily to NGOs. The
services offered by Colnodo are targeted at organizations that make
strategic use of the Internet for development, empowering the local
communities and promoting the peace process. FOSS is used extensively
by Colnodo
.
Managing the Environment - Galсpagos, Ecuador by Christine Apikul Ч
last modified 2006-09-29 02:41 PM
     This project, which is part of the Galсpagos Environmental
Management Programme, utilizes FOSS and FOSS development tools to
develop several software applications that are run over a network
connecting the main islands.
--
FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490 (after 1300IST please)
http://fn.goa-india.org  http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com
7500+ sharable pics from Goa http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/

Feature by Fouad Riaz Bajwa

	 A subcultural revolution is evolving, taking place right here
in Lahore, the city where I live! Whenever someone who is well
connected with the beautiful history of South Asia, hears the name of
Lahore, a grand culture signified and colored by a great history
comes to their mind. Lahore has always been the peaceful cultural
capital of the country hosting beautiful Mughal gardens, historical
buildings, mosques, libraries, museums, shrines, forts, towers and
monuments dating back centuries old civilizations and empires of
great rulers.

	 The city is inhabited by the liveliest and joyful
civilization ever, Lahoris, the entertaining people who are always in
the mood for fun, games and cultural events spiced with great fiestas
and decorated with the most delicious food ever! My new experience
with this culture starts by accidentally walking into a meeting being
held by the members of something called, DANKA, while waiting for a
friend to show up for dinner.

	 My friend's arrival as being delayed by traffic jams provoked
me to socialize with the people around me at one of the most relaxing
artistic cafes, "Nai Rang", owned by Pakistan's famous architect
Nayar Ali Dada situated in the heart of Lahore metropolitan city, an
interesting experience within itself. I sat down to share my moments
with a creative group that leads South Asia's subcultural
revolution "DANKA" in Pakistan. DANKA enables one to experience being
part of an atmosphere that is something totally different and
exciting.

	 DANKA is the name they go by hosting an online electronic
culture from the region built on top of Free and Open Source
Software, if it's happening in Lahore, its right there on DANKA!
Finding out about DANKA and getting the opportunity to meet its team
of creative jolters was a profound experience in itself, although I
intend to detail in my readers on DANKA and its objectives, I want
you to join me on the DANKA ship to meet the crew for a moment. The
DANKA ship, as I now call it was founded and is steered by Pierre
Jolit, purely sophisticated French with more brains than emotions, a
business graduate from the esteemed Edhec Business School in France.

	 The captain of the DANKA ship is Dr. Andreas Daniel Matt, a
creative Austrain holding a Ph.D. in Computers and Mathematics from
the University of Innsbruck, Austria. Luckily, he landed Lahore in
his antique wagon three years ago and if it weren't for Danka to be
founded here in Lahore, he would have been across the world twice. He
really knows how to manage his wagon ship through the deep waters of
the five rivers of Pakistan!

	 The DANKA online platform was cooked up by Yasir Hussain, who
is believed to be half Islooite and half inhuman. Yasir also runs his
own entrepreneurial venture here in Lahore with the name Al Rug. The
drivers of DANKA are Jakob Steinkogler and Foaad Nizam. Jakob is the
possibly the lead role for a future DANKA fantasized Punjabi film
production since he is qualified  as aggressive in nature but
violence is prohibited at DANKA. On the other hand, even though Foaad
teaches Guitar at Lahore Chitrkar, and is found on almost every
musical evening in Lahore, he still has all the ingredients to be a
part of Pakistani cricket team.

	 DANKA's Spiritual Guide is Jakob Steiner dubbed as Sufi
Sahab, a writer, thinker, social servant and charming young dude
getting modeling offers on almost every visit to coffee cafes and
makes sure DANKA's Newsletter is deliverd to its members every
Thursday. That's not all, Sajjad Haider is the Speaker volunteer of
Danka while carrying out a professional "sarkari naukri" urdu for a
Government Job, at the Punjab Information Technology Board appearing
as the Man in Black for the night!

	 Nawab Manan Ejaz is the Steward of DANKA even though he isn't
an actual Nawab but the designer champ who designed DANKA's cool dhol
logo. The only missing chap from the meeting was an Ol Irish, Martin
Beddeleem who kept police guard on Danka, barking after every other
guy with a stick in his hand and whenever he found it suitable
gave'em a good moral beating and also controlled quality. The DANKA
team really misses this guy, I wonder.

	 Once, acquainted with the crew members, they shared the
spirit of DANKA with me. As Lahore is the cultural capital of
Pakistan, and offers a wide range of cultural activities, Andreas
said, "DANKA realized the need for Lahore to have a strong and
independent tool to organize the communication of cultural events in
order to inform the public and establish the essential link between
cultural life and public like all the major cultural cities such as
Paris, London, Berlin or Buenos Aires. DANKA is evolving a cultural
networking spirit to promote active cooperation between artists,
organizers, the public and cultural management to improve quality of
events, their communication and organization."

	 DANKA was originally developed within the frame of the
culture branch of Proloka, an Austrian based NGO for development and
culture (www.proloka.org). The name proLoka is based on two words of
the languages Latin and Sanskrit where "pro" means "for" and "loka"
equivalent to "the world" represents the overall goal of the
organization's projects, to contribute meaningful activities to this
world. ProLoka is a platform and network to exchange knowledge and
competences between people, institutions and cultures improving the
quality of life and personal development of everyone involved in its
projects. DANKA is its live example for cultural and civilization
exchange in the region!

	 "In order to understand DANKA, one has to visit its website
where everyone is invited to announce upcoming or ongoing events, the
best part, its free to post and free to share!" said Andreas. "DANKA
doesn't critic or judge the quality of the events that are registered
on its website promoting an open and inclusive culture. The objective
of DANKA is to host the widest range of cultural activity registered
on the site, and promote the website amid the Lahoris by also
offering a cultural picture data base, online forums and discussions
on culture and related issues." Furthermore publications of
directories of cultural centers, cultural and historical places,
artists, etc. are planned to be added to DANKA soon.

	 "Second, Danka is a networking and management effort
dedicated to assist the cultural organizers and artists in their
needs, these activities can range from event management, exchange
programmes and technical assistance to consultancy and marketing.
Danka also plans to carry out own cultural projects in the fields of
theatre, dance, music, film, poetry, recording, documentation and
conservation of art and culture. Feel free to contact the Danka Team
for any enquiry."

	 DANKA is destined to be a link between artists, cultural
events organizers and the public. The link has been created by
collecting, organizing, providing and broadcasting free information,
all under a Creative Commons licensing, first time by any cultural
group in Pakistan. By doing this, DANKA is confident that such steps
will improve cultural activity in the South Asian state both in terms
of quantity and quality. DANKA also sees the need to establish
culture as a strong value by culturally educating people and
motivating them to add, create and experience their own culture.

	 This subculture revolution is in full gear as DANKA evolves
into an online reference for cultural information and coordination
from Lahore to other cities of Pakistan, so if you are thinking about
hosting a cultural event and want to announce it to the world or want
to know "what's on" on the cultural scene in Pakistan, just log on to
DANKA and "Live Your Culture" at http://www.danka.com.pk or engage
with the DANKA community on ORKUT at
http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=9593000.

	 DANKA is also open to partnerships with cultural centres,
event organizers, distribution and marketing organizations to
participate and support the project. DANKA's partner network promotes
sharing information in the fields of music, theatre, exhibitions and
to expand the DANKA outreach to other regions.

Online Links:
----------------

DANKA. http://www.danka.com.pk

proLoka http://www.proloka.org

Al-Rug. http://www.alrug.com

Lahore Chitrkar. http://www.lahorechitrkar.com

----------------
This article is shared by Fouad Riaz Bajwa under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License.
----------------

I'm happy to announce Mozilla Firefox 2's Bangla Language Interface.
This is just a preview release for user feedback. Please visit
http://www.omiazad.net/?p=154 do download/install/give feedback on it.

We'll take feedback from our used till next 30 days and after that we'll
release the final version of you. You can also provide feedback by
replying this mail or by going to http://www.ekushey.org/?Contact/

Regards
Omi

Linux computer shrunk to size of postage stamp
http://www.hindu.com/2007/05/06/stories/2007050600241200.htm

Special Correspondent

SMALL BUT POWERFUL: LinSeed squeezes a Linux-based computing engine on
a stamp-sized piece of silicon.

Bangalore: ``Honey, I've shrunk your Linux computer!'' It's now the
size of a postage stamp.

Yet, it has all the power of a full-sized board тА" complete with 32
megabytes of memory; 16 MB of storage and the interconnects needed to
fuel any standard Linux application.

The Bangalore-based EI Labs India has just released ``LinSeed version
1,'' a single chip embedded Linux computer that original
equipment-makers can use to create a host of handy devices, including
wirelessly connected pocket computers.

It will save device-makers from having to create their own custom
chips тА" and almost halve the cost of the end product, explained
Krishna Vaidyanathan, EI Labs founder and Chief Executive. If bought
in quantity, the LinSeed will cost around $100 a piece тА" and the
company also offers an evaluation board which developers can use to
build their applications around the LinSeed chip.

In the few weeks since the product was announced by this wholly `desi'
company, the chip is being widely discussed on the Web's Open Source
technology sites тА" and a number of enquiries are known to have come
from industrial product makers who see in this an easy way to craft
small handheld controllers for plants and warehouses.

Mr. Vaidyanathan, who began his career with the (Indian) Defence R&D
Organisation in Kochi, went on to help build the research efforts of
Philips in India before co-starting this product development company
in 2004.

EI Labs is also fuelled by the efforts of R. Devanathan, who came from
R&D with the Tatas, and Nalini Ramachandran, who did postgraduate work
in geography at Queen Mary's Chennai, before she guided the company's
geographic information systems group.

(c) Copyright 2000 - 2006 The Hindu--
-----------------------------------------------------------
Shubhranshu Choudhary Freelance Journalist
Ph : + 91 98110 66749 e mail : smitashu@...
http://36garh.notlong.com http://www.cgnet.in

--
FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490 (after 1300IST)
Skype: fredericknoronha Yahoochat: fredericknoronha
http://fn.goa-india.org  http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com
Email fred at bytesforall.org Res: 784 Saligao 403511 Goa India

National ICT R & D Fund Group

Join to To help transform Pakistan's economy into a knowledge based
economy by promoting efficient, sustainable and effective ICT
initiatives through synergic development of industrial and academic
resources.

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ictrdf/join

Kochhar says, "Linux and Linux based applications are emerging as a
preference for micro-finance and non-banking financial companies in
instances like Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, a similar trend may catch
on in India."
http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/pressnews/packaged-software-sales-for-bfs\
i-seg-to-cross-305mn07/285176
--
FN: Frederick Noronha
Phone 0091-832-2409490
http://wikiwikiweb.de/MyContacts

NepaLinux 2.0 has been released on June 20, 2007.It is a continuity to the
localizaed operating system, NepaLinux, being developed by Madan Puraskar
Pustakalaya, Nepal under the PAN Localization Project, Nepal Component. More
details about NepaLinux 2.0 and the release may be obtained from the
web-site http://nepalinux.org.


And by the way, is there any way to get to the moderator and request for
the subscription to the group with posting privileges?

Regards,
Bal Krishna Bal
Researcher and Project Manager
Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya
Nepal

Hi Everyone

     As you probably know, the P@SHA Career Expo 2007 is being held
at the Pearl Continental Hotel in Lahore on June 30, 2007 from 9
a.m. to 5 pm .  The Career Expo has become a landmark Human Resource
Capacity Building event which brings together key IT & ITES
organizations and young professionals and fresh graduates.

     Since human resource capacity building is a key challenge facing
our industry, we as senior IT executives need to take proactive
action to address this issue. The P@SHA Career Expo is one way of
doing this.

     In addition to posting hundreds of jobs, we will be holding
workshop and couselling sessions as part of the event, to advise
young people regarding the breadth of the ICT sector and the
opportunities it affords for an exciting career.

     Please pass on this information to as many people as possible so
that more of them can benefit.

For more information on the P@SHA Career Expo 2007, or visit:
http://www.pasha.org.pk/careerexpo2007/index.aspx .

We look forward to your participation.

     With kind regards,
     Organizers
     P@SHA Career Expo 2007

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: and <and@...>
Date: 27-Jun-2007 15:06
Subject: [AfricaSource-L] Released: Base Edition of NGO-in-a-Box
To: asiasource-l@...
Cc: africasource2-l@...,
summersource-l@..., av@...,
asiasource2-participants@..., op@...,
africasource-l@..., av-pt@...



Tactical Tech and Women'sNet are pleased to announce the web launch of
the latest edition of NGO-in-a-box, the BaseBox.
http://base.ngoinabox.org

The BaseBox is a collection of tools for the day to day running of
small to medium sized NGOs. Produced by Tactical Tech in association
with Women'sNet, the BaseBox aims to make it easier to set up base,
find the right software and learn how to use it.

Targeted primarily at activist and advocacy organisations in
developing countries the Box contains a set of peer-reviewed Free and
Open Source Software tools, with associated guides and tutorials. The
edition can be accessed online but it's primary form is as a physical
box set of CDs, providing immediate access to all the software tools
without the need to download them. The physical box will become
available in the coming weeks.

The BaseBox aims to assist organisations make good choices about what
technology to employ by collating concrete recommendations of tried
and tested software along with documentation on how to use them. The
contents of the toolkit were selected by an editorial team made up of
leading international practitioners working in technology support for
non-profits, social justice organising and the development and
deployment of Free and Open Source Software. The team, consisting of
people from South Africa, the Philippines, Bulgaria, India, Australia
and the US, worked together to test and select the best software in
the following categories:

* Office Suites and Word Processing
* Finance and Fundraising
* Project Management and Collaboration
* Volunteer and Staff Management
* Web Browsers and Email
* Instant Messaging and Telephony
* Surveys
* Anti-virus

Aside from the BaseBox CD the edition also includes a copy of Ubuntu,
a GNU/Linux operating system, and SME Server. For more information
about these CDs please see <http://base.ngoinabox.org/?q=node/46>.

Combined, these CDs provide the necessary tools to set up base, get
started and get on with your work. If you have any questions, comments
or feedback about the BaseBox please contact us at base@...

http://base.ngoinabox.org



_______________________________________________
africasource-l mailing list
africasource-l@...
http://lists.tacticaltech.org/mailman/listinfo/africasource-l



--
FN: Frederick Noronha
http://wikiwikiweb.de/MyContacts
Phone 0091-832-2409490 Cell: 091-9822122436 or 9970157402 (after 1 pm)
A film on copyright! GOOD COPY BAD COPY:  a documentary about the
current state of copyright and culture.
http://www.goodcopybadcopy.net/

http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5065374

Taking a Srilankan disaster solution to another level, via Philippines

SYDNEY, Australia -- Geek, trainer, technophile... Bobby Soriano is
all that and more. From talks in Africa on human-rights-based
software, to demos related to blogging, links in cyberspace point to
the diverse interests of this 40-year-old Filipino ├╝bergeek.

Soriano is part of the IPD-Philippines, the Institute for Popular
Democracy, an organisation whose goal is "research for change,
education for empowerment, analysis for action, democracy as
advocacy". IPD-Philippines is one of the APC's youngest members and
Soriano's current concerns with shaping-up an open source disaster
management software reflect only a tiny but emblematic part of what
IPD does. Excerpts from an interview with APCNews.

APCNews: To begin, tell us about some of your current work with
Sahana, the free and open source software disaster management
system...

Soriano: Sahana is a project from Sri Lanka done by LankaSoft. They
created it two weeks after the (Indian Ocean killer 2004) tsunami.
Then it grew. It is now available via (the collaborative software
development management system) Sourceforge.net, and has also been the
Free Software Foundation award-recipient for the best humanitarian
software.

APCNews: So what are you guys planning to do with Sahana? What does it
currently achieve?

Soriano: The idea is that it's a disaster management software; so you
can only use it during an actual disaster. Its modules are currently
designed to be that way. Take a look at sahana.org. But, in actual
life, it would help to have a pre, during and post coverage for any
disaster.

The limitation with Sahana is that it is useful only during the actual
disaster because it has been developed in that way and to meet those
needs.

APCNews: Could you explain how it works?

Soriano: Currently, Sahana has different modules. It has a
volunteer-management module where trough the web, people can sign on
and input their name and areas of expertise.

There is also a missing person's registry. If you have a relative
missing, you can upload descriptive information with full details, and
also add a picture. People can pick up on your entry and contribute by
identifying a missing person.

There's also a relief inventory management. People can log in and
declare what they would like to help with. The camp management tool
can be used to take care of relief camps that have been set up. It
helps sharing information at the press of a few keys, on how many
families there are and what requirements need to be fulfilled.

It would also help you know whether you can manage it from the
inventory listing. Very often, during times of disaster, it happens
that most relief goes to one camp, because the others have not been
registered. It also has a geographic information system (GIS) module,
so you can put in the actual locations of different camps.

APCNews: In what directions could Sahana go?

Soriano: The Sahana version only has Google Maps application
programming interface (API). But in the newer version, you can put in
your own maps or get other versions for the maps.

Maybe one could pull out some of the modules. These could be placed in
some other sites. For instance, a volunteer management module could be
built in your own site, and kept running 24x7. Those wanting to
volunteer in the case of a disaster could register on your site. When
the disaster happens, such sites could share information with each
other, as well as the listings.

Instead of waiting for an actual disaster and then putting in
information for volunteers, you can have a campaign call for people
who want to do volunteer work. If a disaster happens, getting the
listing of potential volunteers is just an XML feed. You can identify
one Sahana site close to you and simply dump that entire effort under
one common site.

It would be faster to build up the database in times of need.

APCNews: What are the possible ideas of linking up Sahana's disaster
management strengths with those of a content management system (CMS)
such as Joomla or Drupal (tool to build easy and ready websites)?

Soriano: What we need to do is to just pull in the actual code from
Sahana to the CMS -not changing the code of Sahana. It means
integrating a Sahana module in any CMS - say, for instance, volunteer
management, relief inventory - into one's own site. It is possible.

The entire project and its impact would then grow much bigger; and you
would not even have to set up own Sahana site to make the solution
work.

We have talks with the IOSN (UNDP-backed International Open Source
Network). IOSN is looking at the possibility of setting up a Sahana
central, a pointer to different Sahana sites. You could then have a
central server, which points you to Sahana websites in different
areas, to be deployed speedily in times of disaster.


http://www.ipd.ph/

Author: --- (Frederick Noronha for APCNews)
Contact: fn at apc.org
Source: APCNews
Date: 05/22/2007
Location: SYDNEY, Australia
Category: Members

--
FN: Frederick Noronha
http://wikiwikiweb.de/MyContacts
Phone 0091-832-2409490 Cell: 091-9822122436 or 9970157402 (after 1 pm)
A film on copyright! GOOD COPY BAD COPY:  a documentary about the
current state of copyright and culture.
http://www.goodcopybadcopy.net/

A MARRIAGE BOUND NOT TO HAPPEN? FLOSS AND NGOs

By Frederick Noronha

SYDNEY, Australia: In theory, it should be the perfect fit. A
world where alternative software is suitably matched with the
needs of the alternative campaign and not-for-profit world.
Yet, in real life, NGOs (non-government organisations) and
others in the campaign network fall back on proprietorial,
"unfree" software written by influential corporations rather
than opt for Free Software.

This is all the more of a paradox since Free Software is one
of the few alternative sectors where the "alternative is
better than the real thing" in a way. Free Software is known
for its robustness, diversity and even being an ethical
choice. But it doesn't get widely used in the alternate
and campaign sector.

Question is: why?

What are the challenges when non-profits face technology?

Grant McHerron of APC.au says: "Aside from the usual
challenges (which come up when dealing) with most small
organisations, such as the lack of money, and lack of
knowledge, I think the challenge is really trying to work
with them to make sure that they know what's being done..."

He doesn't see non-profits as being "suspicious of
technology" in a place like Australia. "It's pretty up on
technology once they get the hang of it. Here they're not
worried about it," says Grant.

But there are new challenges coming in. While offering FLOSS
solutions, they found a major proprietorial software firm
offering "educational discounts" to those planning to shift
to FLOSS.

"After this, the difference in cost was negligible," he
notes.

Andrew  Lowenthal of Tactical Tech, who informally addressed
APC members about his work during the Sydney meeting, argues
that FLOSS itself has certain limitations which need to be
fixed.

Says Andrew, also known just as "And": "FLOSS is often
confusing and etremely overwheling for non-technical people.
It can be badly documented and too geeky. Sometimes it's hard
to find tools that work, or people are simply afraid. It's
also difficult to download tools because of bandwidth
issues."

But, at the same time, he points out that FLOSS also offers
some potential: it is free and legal to copy and distribute.
If 'editorial teams' select the most relevant and mature
tools, it is possible to 'build on the collective knowledge
of people using these tools'. And FLOSS users tend to be
rather free in sharing all they know!

"(Because it's FLOSS, and not encumbered by restrictive
copyrights) we can easily hand out copies of the software
programme after we teach it," explains And.

The lack of technical and support skills is one issue. Until
non-profit users can feel comfortable using FLOSS, sure they
will get the support when things go wrong, they will probably
just NOT use it. Another issue is the fact that we humans
remain creatures of habit. So what if FLOSS is more ethical?
Isn't Windows all that more easier to use, and haven't we
just been using it all this time?

But there are other less-discussed issues too.

Grant McHerron of APC.au admits that FLOSS (Free/Libre and
Open Source Software) faces a "lack of tools" on some, even
if only a few, fronts. This can be irritating.

"The big one is on the database front. There is a niche that
MSAccess fills, and I have yet to find a competitor (in the
FLOSS world). I must admit I haven't done any major research
in that area," says he.

"MS Access allows a reasonable savvy user to quickly create
basic databases, with input screens and reports. These can
then be shared between a small number of workers on the
network," says McHerron.

"So far the database with Open Office isn't (very
powerful)... you can't do relations between tables. You can't
have multiple tables. So, you either have very simple tools
or reasonably complex ones (in the FLOSS world) such as
Postgres and MySQL, at the top end, for which you need to be
a database administrator to know what you're doing. There's a
large gap in the middle. If you could fill it, that would be
really something," says McHerron.

OTHER GAPS

There are other gaps too waiting to be filled, even if these
need not be an alibi for trying out the increasingly
easier-to-use FLOSS tools.

Other tools in shortage in a FLOSS world include those
related to accounting and membership applications.

"These need a lot of logic, and the understanding of relevant
business rules. These are classic database applications, that
would in the past have been developed with Access or DOTNet
or things like that. And accessed thru workstations,
connected through a central database server," explains
McHerron.

Until now this has been a block to move across over to a
GNU/Linux-based system. Because we still have to run our
database system, and that requires Windows.

But soon this could cease to be a problem.

"Over the next 2-5 years, I see this block disappearing
completely. More and more systems use a database server and a
web-based frontend. Now you just need a browser. Suddenly
more and more companies need a powerful database sysem rather
than just an access system, are installing dedicated systems
to act as a database server and a webapplication server,"
explains McHerron.

You are now also getting centralised hosting, the ASP
(application service providers) model.

Says he: "Suddenly with these, you've got MySQL or Postgres
as your database, Apache as your webserver, PHP for your
logic, and who cares what the client is doing!"

At the moment, a lot of development is still being done in
DotNET, where you still need a Windows environment to run
ActiveX and things like that (other embedded objects). But
it's becoming much more generic," explains McHerron (39).

WITHIN APC ASIA

But within the network of APC members in Asia, there are some
strong feelings about the need to promote FLOSS.

Bobby Soriano's IPD in the Philippines is campaining
"internally" for that group to migrate to FLOSS. Bobby is
himself actively involved with FLOSS advocacy. Says he: "We
have a 20-computer FLOSS training facility. Organisations get
a time slot to use these facilities, to learn."

Says Ahmed of VOICE, APC's newish member in Dhaka,
Bangladesh: "We get convinced about the need for FLOSS. The
quiestion is how to do it, and how to be acquainted.
Technically, we lack the knowledge."

Australia-based APC-member C20 did a survey on attitudes of
non-profit organisations towards FLOSS. This is currently
under processing. They also did work on FLOSS in higher
education for UNESCO in Paris.

BytesForAll's Readers list
[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers] has been
active in promoting FLOSS ideas and campaigns. Its members
have also played a role in networking GNU/Linux user-groups
across South Asia (there are 130+ in India itself). Besides,
the BytesForAll network has been actively trying to build
FLOSS bridges of friendship across the conflict-prone region
of South Asia.

One suggestion that came up was to promote the 'transfer of
knowledge' by making available technology magazines from the
North to readers in the South.

At APC's Asia-Pacific members' meet held in the coastal
Australian city of Sydney recently, some felt it was
important for APC's concerned members to focuss on the
challenges that block the wider implementation of FLOSS,and
also look close as to what APC as a group would manage.

From the Phillipines, FMA (the Foundation for Media
Alternatives) is offering individual trainings and sessions
with NGOs. They have finished working on a 'FLOSS and
education' paper. Recently, they also entered the world of
'websining' (linking FLOSS and creative workers). FMA's Al
Alegre says this is something "beyond our normal comfort
zone". This group also is part of Bukas, an "open platform"
made up of 17 likeminded organisatinos, to promote the ideals
of Free Software and Open Source.

From South Korea, Jinbonet's PatchA says: "We've been using
FLOSS in several activites. Number 1 among these is for our
hosting server operation, webmail, and blogs. Also, we have a
project to provide internet tool for setting up websitew.  We
have held a workshop on how to use FLOSS, (the popular
browser) Firefox and (email client) Thunderbird. In Korea
people familiar with (proprietorial software's) Microsoft
platform. FLOSS is a small community, but growing."

LOCALISATION TOO

Kong 'Da' Sidaroth of the Open Institute at Phnom Penh in
Cambodia says: "The FLOSS localisation project (in Cambodia)
started because of the idea that there is no computer
application available in Khmer. So students, government or
officials wanting to use a computer, have to first learn
English."

Sidaroth herself graduated in Computer Science and
Engineering in 2002, and has worked with non-profits. She
attended the Asia Source 2 camp held earlier in 2007 in
Indonesia. Source camps are an attempt at promoting links
between FLOSS and non-profit organisations.

Sidaroth works on a network for e-learning of knowledge
sharing to train institutions and conduct research on the
state of e-learning in Cambodia.

"(In the Cambodian localisation-of-software campaign) we
translated applications that people already use -- email,
internet, office. These software can also be used on a
(properietorial) Microsoft platform. But they are all Open
Source. People have started to shift to FLOSS (after tools in
local langauge came out there)," says she.

In Cambodia, they've also developed training material, and
provided training to trainers. Says Sidaroth: "We also work
on a FLOSS project in collaboration with the government. We
want the government to adopt FLOSS because of the economic
situation in the country."

MEMBERS INVOLVED

Chat Ramilo points out that some APC members and individuals
have been involved in FLOSS projects in the Asia-Pacific
region, such as the Asia Source Camps, and mapping of
contributors to FLOSS.

With the 'regionalising' of the IOSN (International Open
Source Network), whose agenda is to promote FLOSS in the
Asia-Pacific region, non-profit groups hope to work even more
actively with the SouthEastAsia+3 regional nodes set up in
the area.

In Pakistan, the OSRC (Open Source Resource Centre) has
launched an NGO (non-government organisation) toolkit,
according to Shahzad of BytesForAll.

Says Chat Ramilo: "Some (APC members) are beginning to look
at FLOSS and are interested. Others are plugged into networks
doing work into FOSS already. This time (the Asia Source 2
camp) had 40% women participation. We did quite a lot of work
in recommending as many women as we could."

APC member in the Philippines FMA has argued in another
context: "Because of its open and free nature, the use and
adoption of FOSS in the Philippines can have profound
benefits whether used in the public or private sector. In a
landmark research done by the European Commission, it was
found that adoption and use of FOSS can result in significant
political, economic and social benefits."

FMA believes that "by adopting policies that support or
advocate greater and more extensive use of F[L]OSS", the
Philippines can reap the benefits of: lower ICT costs;
interoperability of systems; vendor independence; better
security; decrease software piracy in the country;
development of a local ICT industry; increased competition;
reduced imports and conservation of foreign exchange; and
guaranteed access to information and knowledge.

As FMA puts it, the advantages of FLOSS can no longer be
seriously doubted. (ENDS)
--
Frederick Noronha  Journalist http://fn.goa-india.org
E: fred@... or fredericknoronha@...
P: +91-832-2409490 M: +91-9970157402
Yahoo: fredericknoronha Skype: fredericknoronha GTalk: fredericknoronha
784, Sonarbhat, Near Lourdes Convent, Saligao 403511 Goa India

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IER20070730024044&Page=R&Title=Keral\
a&Topic=0

Students develop new GNU installer
Monday July 30 2007 13:02 IST

KOZHIKODE: The final-year Information Technology students at
Kuttippuram MES College of Engineering have developed a new installer
for GNU operating system. The GNU is the operating system envisaged by
Free Software Foundation and is composed entirely of free software.

The new installer 'LX installer' was developed based on a microkernel
architecture. The 15-member group, comprising four girls and 11 boys,
had taken nearly an year to develop the new installer.

"The installer was developed as part of their one-year academic
project," said Prof. C K Raju, head, department of IT, MES College.

The new series was developed on the background that the preceding
K-series installer which was developed and maintained by Philip
Charles in New Zealand was very difficult to handle even for a
professional.

"The idea of developing sophisticated installer emerged during the
frequent dialogues we had with Philip Charles," said Raju. The new
installer has all features which will meet the requirements of
education and research activities. With the development of new
installer, resources of more than one machine can be shared including
the memory and micro process computing resources. It also enhances the
system's efficiency and it can be installed very easily.

"The developed installer LX series of advanced Debian GNU Hurd is
available in the CD format. It makes the installation task much simple
and easy to boot," said Raju. The students were assisted by two
lecturers P Badarudeen and A.Ragesh of the IT department, besides the
guidance by Philip Charles.

--
Frederick Noronha  Journalist http://fn.goa-india.org
E: fred@... or fredericknoronha@...
P: +91-832-2409490 M: +91-9970157402
Yahoo: fredericknoronha Skype: fredericknoronha GTalk: fredericknoronha
784, Sonarbhat, Near Lourdes Convent, Saligao 403511 Goa India

FLOSS PROFILE: Prem Kumar <a.premkumar at gmail.com
Praj├▒a : Cognizant FLOSS Corps
Courtesy: FSUG-Bangalore

A. Prem Kumar is an assistant manager with Cognizant at
Bangalore. He writes: "Been in Cognizant for the past 7 years
now. I have been involved with FLOSS since 1998, when I did
my first Linux installation :) I maintain a blog on FLOSS in
Cognizant's internal blog to spread its awareness and have
been successful in getting many people interested in it. Some
of my posts there have been sanitised andput in my external
blog. [1]

"I have started a new group (so far unofficial) in Cognizant
which endeavours to help in the upliftment of the rural and
urban poor of India by giving them a digital edge achieved by
implementing and teaching FLOSS based solutions in academic
institutions and self help communities."

They are the Praj├▒a : Cognizant FLOSS Corps. [2]

He writes:

      Prajna stands for wisdom, intelligence which we try to
      impart and also comes closest to the translation of
      Cognizant. I plan to use swan as a mascot. Swan is
      closest to Hamsa, Saraswati's vahan & represents wisdom
      & knowledge too :)

      It is still in its infancy (only two days old) and not
      much has been setup, except for securing the help of
      some people who have promised help in their personal
      capacities. I am sending across a mind map on my plans
      for this group and solicit your feedback and
      suggestions.

      The idea for starting such a group got seeded in my mind
      while I was researching for a blog post of mine called
      "Satyagrah for Swatantra Software in India"[3]. The blog
      has also been posted in Cognizant's internal blogs
      (ch1blogs, short for Channel One Blogs) where I maintain
      a blog called FLOSS Bites. I was very much impressed &
      driven by the recent efforts of ilug-cal to implement
      LTSP in rural schools and teaching the MLAs (I have
      mentioned it in my post too).

      My idea got watered further during my various
      discussions on these internal blogs wrt Charity in
      Hinduism and Cognizant's Corporate Social Responsibility.

      My driving force to start this group is my belief that
      the greatest charity we can do in this day & age is to
      give somebody a job or teach a job, so that they are
      self sufficient as well as strive to provide employment
      to others too. And this self sufficiency is what will
      provide actual freedom to all our poor. No wonder then
      that I choose only Swatantra software (FLOSS).

      Also, I will not consider using proprietary solutions
      even if given away for free. This might seem extremist
      but that's my belief. Teaching people proprietary
      solutions for free is a sure fire way to get the people
      hooked onto a solution which they will not be able to
      afford once they get addicted. This is pretty much like
      getting people addicted to drugs for free and then
      making them pay heavily.

      You can also join in the conversations I am having in
      Orkut with the youngsters from college. [4]

      I would like to ask for whatever help you all can
      provide us, monetary or with knowledge or with contacts
      or in any other way you think it will be helpful for us.
      And finally, seeking all your blessings and well wishes
      too.

--
[1] http://scorpfromhell.blogspot.com/
[2] http://scorpfromhell.blogspot.com/2007/08/praja-cognizant-floss-corps.html
[3]
http://scorpfromhell.blogspot.com/2007/07/satyagrah-for-swatantra-software-in.ht\
ml
[4] http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=55950&tid=2548591294461293376

--
- Prem

   I spent a minute looking at my own code by accident.
   I was thinking "What the hell is this guy doing?"
   ----------------------------------------------------
   Prem Kumar Aparanji
   M: 00919845226618
   [Bangalore, KA, INDIA]

   http://scorpfromhell.blogspot.com

POSTING VIA: FSUG-Bangalore mailing list
FSUG-Bangalore@...
http://mm.gnu.org.in/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fsug-bangalore

--
Frederick Noronha  Journalist http://fn.goa-india.org
E: fred@... or fredericknoronha@...
P: +91-832-2409490 M: +91-9970157402
Yahoo: fredericknoronha Skype: fredericknoronha GTalk: fredericknoronha
784, Sonarbhat, Near Lourdes Convent, Saligao 403511 Goa India

Pranam All,
First I would like to introduce my self, I am Tripti Singh, Research
Scholar and my research is about Indian Digital Art, I am pursuing
my research under supervision of Dr. Bhawani Shankar Sharma former
Head Visual Art, Banasthali Vidyapith.

I am writing you this mail for collecting information for my
Research. I would like to arrange your contribution in this medium
for my research. I came to know you have contributed a lot in new
medium. Therefore I request you kindly help me in collecting the
information and recourses. I will be happy if you contribute me your
information and knowledge about Indian digital art events and works,
so that I can conclude it and complete given the assignment.

Please let me know if I can send you small questionnaire and after
questionnaire I would like to make a small video documentary about
your work and information.

I request you kindly let me know about how and when I could get the
information about the topic.
Thanking you.

Please contect me.

Tripti Singh

Forwarded for information by Fouad Bajwa

-----Original Message-----
From: Qaisar Ijaz
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 8:02 PM
To: general@...
Subject: First Pakistani LinuxDistribution Released

Well folks, it's that time to announce the first public release of Black
Route, mature enough for first release candidate. supporting the 2.6 kernel
series exclusively and fine-tuned the system to get the most out of it.
Linux kernel 2.6.20.11 with NDIS wrapper 1.44, madWiFi, truecrypt, kqemu,
contain more then 10 implementations of FUSE, read/write mode is default for
NTFS partitions and improved hardware detection system. BlackRoute is
multipurpose GNU/Linux distribution for advance users, texttools lovers,
network, security specialist and system administrators. It can be use for
rescue, distributed computing, security and forensics analysis or desktop.

URL: http://blackroute.org
Download: http://blackroute.org/pub/blackroute-0.1.iso
_______________________________________________
General mailing list

Fouad, congratulations! What news on Urdu Localisation front?

cheers
ravikant




рдмреБрдзрд╡рд╛рд░ 29 рдЕрдЧрд╕реНрдд 2007 03:32 рдХреЛ, Fouad Riaz Bajwa рдиреЗ
рд▓рд┐рдЦрд╛ рдерд╛:
> Forwarded for information by Fouad Bajwa
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Qaisar Ijaz
> Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 8:02 PM
> To: general@...
> Subject: First Pakistani LinuxDistribution Released
>
> Well folks, it's that time to announce the first public release of Black
> Route, mature enough for first release candidate. supporting the 2.6 kernel
> series exclusively and fine-tuned the system to get the most out of it.
> Linux kernel 2.6.20.11 with NDIS wrapper 1.44, madWiFi, truecrypt, kqemu,
> contain more then 10 implementations of FUSE, read/write mode is default
> for NTFS partitions and improved hardware detection system. BlackRoute is
> multipurpose GNU/Linux distribution for advance users, texttools lovers,
> network, security specialist and system administrators. It can be use for
> rescue, distributed computing, security and forensics analysis or desktop.
>
> URL: http://blackroute.org
> Download: http://blackroute.org/pub/blackroute-0.1.iso
> _______________________________________________
> General mailing list

Congratulations Foud.
Regards,
Bal Krishna
--- Ravikant <ravikant@...> wrote:

> Fouad, congratulations! What news on Urdu
> Localisation front?
>
> cheers
> ravikant
>
>
>
>
> рдмреБрдзрд╡рд╛рд░ 29 рдЕрдЧрд╕реНрдд 2007 03:32
> рдХреЛ, Fouad Riaz Bajwa рдиреЗ рд▓рд┐рдЦрд╛ рдерд╛:
> > Forwarded for information by Fouad Bajwa
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Qaisar Ijaz
> > Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 8:02 PM
> > To: general@...
> > Subject: First Pakistani LinuxDistribution
> Released
> >
> > Well folks, it's that time to announce the first
> public release of Black
> > Route, mature enough for first release candidate.
> supporting the 2.6 kernel
> > series exclusively and fine-tuned the system to
> get the most out of it.
> > Linux kernel 2.6.20.11 with NDIS wrapper 1.44,
> madWiFi, truecrypt, kqemu,
> > contain more then 10 implementations of FUSE,
> read/write mode is default
> > for NTFS partitions and improved hardware
> detection system. BlackRoute is
> > multipurpose GNU/Linux distribution for advance
> users, texttools lovers,
> > network, security specialist and system
> administrators. It can be use for
> > rescue, distributed computing, security and
> forensics analysis or desktop.
> >
> > URL: http://blackroute.org
> > Download:
> http://blackroute.org/pub/blackroute-0.1.iso
> > _______________________________________________
> > General mailing list
>


"Perseverance is the hinge of all virtues"



________________________________________________________________________________\
____
Need a vacation? Get great deals
to amazing places on Yahoo! Travel.
http://travel.yahoo.com/

APDIP e-Note 19

Telecentre Technology
The application of free and open source software

http://www.apdip.net/news/apdipenote19

The affordability of FOSS and its openness to modification and localization
is contributing to the sustainability of telecentres, and more broadly, to
empowered communities and poverty reduction. This APDIP e-Note explores the
benefits of using FOSS applications in telecentres with case studies from
Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Egypt and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Telecentre models are successful when the focus, starting from the early
planning stage, is on its sustainability. Two critical factors affecting the
sustainable operations of any telecentre are: (i) its information and
communications technology (ICT) infrastructure; and (ii) the choice of
hardware and software.

Of course, the sustainability of the telecentre is also dependent on many
other equally important factors including service delivery, staff
responsiveness and community acceptance, especially of new technologies.
This APDIP e-Note, however, will focus on the technological aspects.

The choice of hardware and software should not be based on what others are
using, but rather on what is needed and appropriate to the telecentre and
the community it serves in the long run. Recent findings from various
experiences, some of which are mentioned in this APDIP e-Note, show that
free and open source software (FOSS) applications combined with low-cost
hardware have emerged as an intelligent solution for sustainable
telecentres.
This APDIP e-Note explores the benefits of using FOSS applications in
telecentres with case studies from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Brazil,
Egypt and Sub-Saharan Africa. The affordability of FOSS and its openness to
modification and localization is contributing to the sustainability of
telecentres, and more broadly, to empowered communities and poverty
reduction.

APDIP e-Notes are brief snapshots that present analyses of specific issues
related to ICTs for sustainable human development in the Asia- Pacific
region. This online series introduces readers to the who, what, where, why
and how of a wide range of current issues related to ICTs such as Internet
governance, ICTs and poverty reduction, e- governance, free and open source
software, and many others.

Download APDIP e-Note 19 from http://www.apdip.net/apdipenote/19.pdf

Download APDIP e-Note 15 - Telecentre sustainability: Financing ICTs for the
poor http://www.apdip.net/news/enotetelecentre

Download APDIP e-Note 14 - Telecentre 2.0: Beyond piloting telecentres
http://www.apdip.net/news/enotetelecentre

Download APDIP e-Note 7 - Open Technologies: Catalyst for transformation
http://www.apdip.net/news/apdipenote7

All APDIP e-Notes are available at http://www.apdip.net/apdipenote/

All APDIP e-Resources are available at http://www.apdip.net/elibrary/

FYI by Fouad Bajwa

A guide to open licensing

By: http://www.opendefinition.org/guide

Please note
This guide has been produced by individuals who are not lawyers. Nothing in
this page should be considered as legal advice.

Contents

1. A guide to open licensing
    . What is an open license?
    . Why use an open license?
    . How can I apply an open license?
    . Further information

What is an open license?
A license is a document that specifies what can and cannot be done with a
work (whether sound, text, image or multimedia). It grants permissions and
states restrictions. Broadly speaking, an open license is one which grants
permission to access, re-use and redistribute a work with few or no
restrictions. (A full set of conditions which must be met in order for a
license to be open is available in the Open Knowledge Definition 1.0.
http://www.opendefinition.org/1.0)

For example, a piece of writing on a website made available under an open
license would be free for anyone to:

- print out and share,
- publish on another website or in print,
- make alterations or additions,
- incorporate, in part or in whole, into another piece of writing,
- use as the basis for a work in another medium - such as an audio recording
or a film, and do many other things ... Openly licensed works are hence free
to be shared, improved and built upon!

The exact permissions granted depend on the full text of the open license
that is applied. Different projects may require slightly different sets of
permissions, or restrictions - and there are a range of different licenses
available to cater to these different purposes. Some open licenses stipulate
that the work may be freely re-used or re-distributed as long as the
original author is appropriately credited. Some licenses state that any
derivative works - or works that incorporate all or parts of the original
work - are made available under the same license as the original work.

For a list of the most common open licenses, see the Open Knowledge Licenses
page. http://www.opendefinition.org/licenses

Why use an open license?
Works that are published without an explicit license are usually subject to
the copyright laws of the jurisdiction they are published in by default.
These laws typically give several exclusive rights to the copyright holder -
including the right to produce copies, and to produce derivative works.
These rights prohibit unauthorised re-distribution and re-use by third
parties - and can remain in effect until the date of death of the author
plus 70 years. While the protections offered by copyright laws are
appropriate in many circumstances, there are also circumstances in which
these protections may be unnecessarily restrictive.

Open licenses enable creators to allow more freedom in what others can do
with their works. Benefits of this freedom include:

. allowing others to circulate the work freely - potentially giving it a
greater circulation than if a single group or individual retained an
exclusive right to distribute;
. not forcing users to apply for permission every time they wish to
circulate a copy of the work in question - which can be a time consuming
affair, especially if the work has many authors;
. encouraging others to continuously improve and add value to a work;
. encouraging others to create new works based on or derived from the
original work - e.g. translations, adaptations, or works with a different
scope or focus.

How can I apply an open license?
Applying an open license to a work can be very straightforward. The
procedure may slightly vary depending on which license is selected, but
should be more or less as follows:

. Get permission from all copyright holders to openly license the work.
. Decide which open license best suits your purposes.
. Display a notice somewhere prominent on your work stating that your work
is made available under the open license you have chosen. Include a copy of,
or a link to, the full text of your chosen license in your work.

More detailed instructions on how to apply specific licenses are available
on the licenses page. http://www.opendefinition.org/licenses


Further information
For further information about open licensing for data, see our Guide to Open
Data Licensing. http://www.okfn.org/wiki/OpenDataLicensing

For further information about specific open licenses, please see their
respective websites. These are listed on the Open Knowledge licenses page.
http://www.opendefinition.org/licenses

The following is a list of articles and posts about open licenses and open
licensing:

A Guide to Open Content Licenses, Lawrence Liang, December 2004. This is an
excellent listing, summary and analysis of current open content licenses.
http://pzwart.wdka.hro.nl/mdr/research/lliang/open_content_guide/

Learning the lesson: open content licensing, Glyn Moody, August 2006. A good
history of open content licenses. http://lwn.net/Articles/181374/

Definition of Free Cultural Works licenses page. A grid comparing
permissions and restrictions of different open licenses.
http://freedomdefined.org/Licenses

The Wikimedia Commons - Choosing a license page gives a good breakdown of
common license conditions.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Choosing_a_license

Dear Friends,

This is a call for participants for NGO-in-a-box, a series of
workshops aimed at addressing the needs of voluntary sector
organisations by providing tailored Free and Open Source Software and
training. The workshops are organised by Mahiti.org, Bangalore with
the support of Hivos, Netherlands and Tactical Technology Collective,
Netherlands.  Please visit http://ngoinabox.mahiti.org for more details.

The workshops will be held across India over the coming two years. The
first one was held in  Maharastra and the second one in Karnataka,
India. The third one will be held in Orissa. The last one in 2007 is
planned in Himachal Pradesh. Dates and details of these events will be
notified on the website.

DATES
NGO-in-a-box, Orissa is a 5 day long workshop, to be held from 29th
October to 2 November, 2007. Participants are required to attend the
entire event, which means arriving at the venue on or before  29
October and leaving on or after 2 November. The venue will be
finalised shortly and communicated to successful applicants.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND
This is an event for experienced professionals actively working in
advocacy NGOs, educational organisations, NGO resource centres,
community centres and information dissemination organisations in
Western India. Applicants will be chosen to represent organisations
addressing a broad cross section of issues. These will include
education, environment, health, economic development and rights.

Demonstrating that you have worked in one or more of the above areas
will make your application stronger.

The workshop will cover the following broad thematic areas:

Topic 1 - Base Free and Open Source Applications: What to consider
when migrating to open source, installation of a Linux operating
system, commonly used Office and Internet packages.

Topic 2 Ц Open Publishing: Desktop publishing, image editing, web
publishing and collaboration, content management.

Topic 3 Ц Audio Visual: Audio-Video editing and distribution, CD
burning and ripping, media capture, audio visual playing tools.

Topic 4 -  Security: Internet security, passwords, data storage and
backup, communication and encryption.

All participants should be proficient desktop users of computers and
have some past experience of using technology in the voluntary sector.
They should have an existing awareness of the concept of Free and Open
Source Software.

EXPENSES AND SUBSIDIES
For selected participants travel expenses by rail or bus to Pune will
be reimbursed and local travel from the train / bus station to the
venue will be arranged. Meals and accommodation during the workshop
will be provided by the organisers.

BACKGROUND
NGO-in-a-box is a collection of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)
tools selected for use by voluntary sector organisations. The project
is an initiative of Tactical Technology Collective, Netherlands. The
tools are distributed in downloadable form and as a physical box set
of CDs. Several needs oriented editions of NGO-in-a-box aim to provide
organisations with software relevant to their requirements.
NGO-in-a-box is designed to increase the accessibility of FOSS to
non-profit groups in developing and transition countries.

The project seeks to firstly increase awareness of FOSS among NGOs in
the region, then develop and increase the capacity of key/influential
individuals and NGOs in FOSS usage, and finally increase the FOSS user
community. The project also seeks to establish a network of NGOs that
use FOSS at various levels to exchange skills, experiences and support
each other.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Organisations are requested to nominate 2 candidates each - one male
and one female. Nominated candidates can apply by sending their
responses to the to the questions at the end of this form on or before
5th October, 2007. Applications can be posted in plain text format to
ngoinabox@....
Application forms are also available on the Mahiti.org website:
http://ngoinabox.mahiti.org

As the workshop is restricted to a limited number, participants will
be chosen on the basis of past work, area of expertise and potential
to spread ideas to other NGOs. Selected applicants will be intimated
before 12th October, 2007.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR ORGNAISATION
Please answer all the following questions. Responses do not need to be
long, but please provide us with enough information to understand the
main objectives of your organisation and have an overview of its
structure and IT usage. We also need to understand the skills and
interests of the nominees. Tell us why you want to attend the workshop
and how you can contribute to the free software movement.

1. Location (town/city where your organisation is based):

2. Aims of your organisation and the year it was established:

3. Types of activities and projects you are engaged in (please give
examples):

4. How many people work in your organisation (part time or full time):


Full Time
Part Time
Women


Men



5. Do you belong to an association, umbrella group or network
(informal or formal)? If so give a short description?

6. Outline your organisations main activities in which IT is used?

7. What other activities would you like to use IT for?

8. With whom would you most like to improve your communications? (e.g.
youth in-country, women in-country, diaspora, other organisations
in-country similar to your own, etc.)

QUESTIONS ABOUT NOMINEES

This section of the questionnaire is repeated twice per organisation
-  once for a male and once for a female nominee:

MALE NOMINEE
9. Basic personal information:
a. Name:
b. Gender:
c. Date of Birth:
d. Nationality:
f. Organisation:
g. E-mail address:
h. Telephone and emergency contact number(s):
i. Anything else we should know about you (allergies, diet, medical
condition, special needs):

10. What kinds of areas / projects and initiatives have you worked on?

11. Current professional affiliation (organisation you work for,
mission of the organisation, its focus areas, position you have in the
organisation, etc.)?

12. Why are you interested in attending this workshop? What do you
hope to learn?

13. Have you been involved with any technology projects? If so please
briefly explain them.

14. Do you have any skills that you feel are relevant to this workshop
and that you could share with participants?

FEMALE NOMINEE
15. Basic personal information:
a. Name:
b. Gender:
c. Date of Birth:
d. Nationality:
f.  Organisation:
g. E-mail address:
h. Telephone and emergency contact number(s):
i. Anything else we should know about you (allergies, diet, medical
condition, special needs):

16. What kinds of areas / projects and initiatives have you worked on?

17. Current professional affiliation (organisation you work for,
mission of the organisation, its focus areas, position you have in the
organisation, etc.)?

18. Why are you interested in attending this workshop? What do you
hope to learn?

19. Have you been involved with any technology projects? If so please
briefly explain them.

20. Do you have any skills that you feel are relevant to this workshop
and that you could share with participants?

LINUX MAGAZINE November 2007 www.linux-magazine.com

Articles include:

* Web Wizardy Intro: New web tools appear every day; this month we
round up some of the more promising web technologies.

* Apache Suexec: We'll show you how to run web scripts more securely
with Apache's Suexec module

* WS-Addressing: Save valuable programming time with this new standard
for asynchornous reponse to web messages

* Helma: We'll show you how you can harness the prowers of JavaScript
for your own website with the Helma application server.

* The Perlbal load-balancing, proxy-serving web server will help you
squeeze more traffic from your hardware resources.

* Microformats: This simple semantic web technology reveals meaning
and context in web data. We'll show you how to configure Firefox for
microformats.

REVIEWS:

* Reviews of Learning Ruby and 'Linux Appliance Design: A Hands-On
Guide to Building Linux Appliances'.

* KDE 4.0: KDE contributor Daniel Molkentin explains the many
innovations and enhancements introduced in the newest KDE.

KNOW-HOW:

* nUbuntu Security Tools: Look for breaches with this Ubuntu-based
security testing distro.

* Xnee: Xnee is a collection of tools that record and play back mouse
and keyboard actions.

* AskKlaus! This month Klaus takes a close look at sharing printers
and choosing a Linux media player.

SYSADMIN

* Charly's Column: Charly keeps the brutes at bay with Fail2ban.

* OpenSSI: Run ordinary applicationns in high performance clusters
with OpenSSI framework.

PROGRAMMING

* Perl: Daily Tip: The Perlmeister serves a daily dose of knowledge by email.

And more.. in the LINUXUSER and COMMUNITY sections. FN

THANKS TO Marek for making this issue available here!
--
Frederick Noronha http://fn.goa-india.org Ph 0091-832-2409490
List of Indian e-lists http://wikiwikiweb.de/MailingListsInIndia

Free and Open Source Software in our Language and in our independence
  by Munir Hasan
This article is a short description of the impact of Open Source
software in Bangla Language and in our independence. The article gives
a vivid description how the movement "Need Bangla in Computer" became
the movement of "Bangla Computer". The article also explained the need
for Open Contents for our mass people.
Published: Mar 02, 2007
http://bdosn.org/news_snaps/Open%20Source%20Software_%20In%20our%20language%20an\
d%20in%20Freedom.pdf
--
Frederick Noronha http://fn.goa-india.org Ph 0091-832-2409490
List of Indian e-lists http://wikiwikiweb.de/MailingListsInIndia

Forwarded for information from: The InkMedia mobile computer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InkMedia

The InkMedia mobile computer (Ink MC) by Ink-Media Inc. (www.ink-media.com)
Canada, is a low cost mobile computer running Linux/FOSS costing under
US$300 manufactured for the developing and developed world to reduce the
digital divide. InkMedia have a different technology and approach to market
than the other low cost computer initiatives. It was developed after
experience in India showed how the traditional PC fared badly with respect
to overheating, hard drive failures and virus infections, all of which added
to the total cost of ownership. The Ink MC is ROM based and so has no hard
disk or moving parts. It draws power more like a mobile phone and can run on
a 12V car battery or solar power solution. As an individual productivity
tool it is designed to bring inclusive access to technology to the following
social and economic sectors of society:

- Home Users
- Public Sector
- Schools and Academia
- Nonprofits and Civil Society
- Healthcare
- Small and Medium Enterprise
- Creative Commons Community

Project Background
InkMedia's mission, is to produce portable, powerful and people driven
products to bridge the digital divide. Its main activities involve producing
a highly innovative low cost ROM based laptop computer to tackle the digital
divide. InkMedia's research and prototyping began well before the concept of
other low-cost laptop projects like One Laptop Per Child and Classmate PC
were introduced. The InkMedia is already commissioned by OLDES, an EU
co-funded project under the IST Programme costing 3.65 million euro (under
6th FWP Sixth Framework Programme) with a funding of 2.5 million euro. [1]

The Inventor
Gerry Morgan [2]is the inventor of InkMedia. He has an extensive background
in education, world development issues, and software and hardware
development. His innovations have won the Software Publishers Association
Award of Excellence three times. Gerry has successfully brought to market
over 40 commercial products, mostly in the education and ICT sectors. He has
held a variety of positions including founder and CEO of Morgan Media, CIO
of Education-on-Line, and President of Mercurial Innovations International.

In 2002, Gerry took some time away from his other projects to develop the
next line of products, which is what InkMedia has become. He is equally
comfortable in the software and hardware worlds and characterizes himself as
a toolmaker. Gerry was awarded the Marshall McLuhan Distinguished Teacher
Award as well as the National Northern Telecom Award. He has taught at the
university level, as a lecturer and sat as an advisor to Royal Roads
University MBA program, during its formation. As a businessman, Gerry was
nominated as Victoria's Business Person of the Year and was featured on the
cover of the nationally distributed magazine, Report on Business.

Specs
Available from InkMedia Website [3]

- Freescale i.MX31 Processor
- Supports 1024 X 768 True Color Video Output(with internal LCD disabled)
- (RGB and LCD) Plus mpeg 2 hardware decoder
- 4 USB 2.0 ports, 1 USB 1.1 port (for keyboard)
- 2 SD slots
- 256 MB Ram
- 1 GB NAND Flash, containing read only file system (compressed)
- 128 MB Flash stick / mp3 player (external)
- 1 Stereo minipin audio out, stereo minipin line in, stereo minipin mic in
- 1 RGB out for VGA monitor
- 10/100 Ethernet jack, USB Wi-Fi
- 802.11 b/g WiFi
- 110-220 Volt input power supply, will accept 12V car battery input and
solar power chargers
- 5-8 Hours of battery life
- 8.6" Diagonal SVGA display (4:3)
- Supporting 800 x 600 True Color

Key Features
The Ink MC is a Mobile Computer which radically reduces the Total Cost of
Ownership from initial cost, to software licensing and maintenance. The
InkMedia design ensures that the typical points of failure are removed as:

- There is no hard disk to fail, slow down or pick up viruses.
- It has no moving parts to overheat and there is only a usb connection
between the keyboard and the computer, which is located behind the screen.
- The keyboard can be detached leaving the computer as a screen reader.
- Users save files to a usb stick/MP3 player, network or web server.
- This helps schools who currently struggle to recover work from a hard disk
when the laptop fails.
- Ink MC is designed as a personal productivity device but it can just as
easily be used as a public computer for example in clusters for flexible use
across a school.
- It does over 90% of what most people need on a day to day basis through
its Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), which includes Open Office.
- There is no training overhead as it is simple to use and users are not
expected to carry out running repairs."

EU OLDES Project
OLDES [4] is an EU co-funded project under the IST Programme that will offer
new technological solutions to improve the quality of life of older people,
through the development of a very low cost and easy to use entertainment and
health care platform, designed to ease the life of the elderly in their
homes. As the number of elderly people is increasing significantly and
rapidly in all EU countries, creating substantial problems in terms of
resources needed for assisting them. OLDES aims to plan and develop a
technological, cheap and easy to use platform for tele-assistance and
tele-company, thanks to the joint work of 11 EU partners. These partners
include:

Project co-ordinator - Ente per le Nuove Tecnologie], l'Energia e l'Ambiente
(ENEA)
Cup 2000 SPA (IT)
Alma Mater Studiorum - Universitр di Bologna (IT)
The University of Newcastle Upon Tyne (UK)
Centre d'Excellence en Technologies de l'Information
Ceske Vysoke Uceni Technicke v Praze (CZ)
Ink Media Inc (Canada)
Agentscape AG (Germany)
Bologna Municipality (IT)
Azienda Unita Sanitaria Locale di Bologna (IT)
Univerzita Karlova v Praze (CZ)
The OLDES platform will be tested during 2 pilot projects, one developed in
Bologna on a sample of 100 elderly people (10 of them affected by cardio
disease) and one developed in Prague on diabetics.

Bologna pilot project: work in progress
Prague pilot project (download *.doc file, 24 kb)

[edit] Distribution Model
The InkMedia business and distribution model is based upon providing
distribution through local channel business partners whom they see as key to
supporting sustainable development. They want the local partner to add value
in ways that are appropriate to their local communities, for example through
providing content or training services and thereby offering employment
opportunities. This is a for-profit approach but is augmented by the Gerry
Morgan Foundation, a charitable foundation. Currently manufacturing is based
in Beijing but InkMedia are seeking opportunities to expand the
manufacturing and/or assembly bases to other regions.


[edit] Gerry Morgan Foundation, Canada
Named after InkMedia's Founder and Managing Director, Gerry Morgan, the
foundation seeks to receive contribution/portion of income from laptop sales
by Ink Media Inc. and re-invest that contributed amount in the form of ICT
Aid Programmes and free-of-cost laptops distributed to least developed
countries, civil society, healthcare organizations and educational
institutions that cannot otherwise afford to buy the laptops due to
unavoidable circumstances. Therefore, Gerry Morgan Foundation is dedicated
to serve as the Social Sector and Civil Society distribution hand for
contributions from the Corporate Social Responsibility wing of Ink Media
Inc.


[edit] Participating Countries
InkMedia has setup/is setting up distribution channels in the following
countries and regions to create local business and employment opportunities:

Canada
European Union
Middle East
Africa
Northern Arabia
South Asia
South East Asia
Asia-Pacific
Similar projects
Infodev World Bank provides a detailed quick guide to low cost computing
devices and initiatives for the developing world including InkMedia.

[edit] References
1 http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?ACTION=D&CALLER=PROJ_IST&RCN=80510
2 http://www.ink-media.com/Ink-About.html
3 http://www.ink-media.com/Ink-Specs.html
4 http://www.oldes.eu

Article at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InkMedia

VII World Congress of Computer Law / VII Congreso Mundial de Derecho
Informatico
Importance: High

Note: Please distribute this information and apologies cross-posting

VII World Congress of Computer Law / VII Congreso Mundial de Derecho
Informatico
When: 3-7 December 2007
Where: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Steering Committee: University of Puerto Rico / Puerto Rico Bar
Association / Inter American University of Puerto Rico / Alfa-Redi
Website: http://www.alfa-redi.com/viicongress/

About Congress:

The Puerto Rico Bar Association, the School Of Law of University of
Puerto Rico, the  Inter American University of Puerto Rico and
Alfa-Redi, cordially invite you to the VII World Congress on Cyber
Law to be held from December 3 to December 7 in the city of San Juan,
Puerto Rico.  The VII World Congress on Cyber Law is a continuation
of the worldwide congresses held in the cities of Quito (Ecuador),
Madrid (Spain), Havana (Cuba), Cusco (Peru), Santo Domingo (Dominican
Republic) y Edinburgh (United Kingdom).

These congresses have been the starting point of new proposals, the
development of laws adopted in several countries, and laws that were
welcomed as guidelines by different decision-making public and
private organizations involved in the area of new technologies and
the development of the information society. These international
events are directed towards academic, regional and international
stakeholders, government employees, and individuals representing
organizations from the Civil Society involved in the processes
related to Policies and Regulatory Framework of the Information
Society at a regional and international level.

These spaces of dialogue are evoked to promote encounter, discussion
and proposal developing in diverse topics of the Information Society,
as can be shown in the different Web pages of past Congresses.

The subjects raised for this congress are:

1. Privacy and Personal Data Protection
2. E-Governance
3. Information and Communication Technologies in the Information
Society
4. E-Commerce and Cyber-banking
5. Virtual Worlds
6. Copyrights and Intellectual Property
7. E-gaming

Given the global, international and transforming nature of the
thematic relationship among policies and the regulatory framework of
the information society, we consider of utmost importance the
participation of international experts to provide a perspective to
the participants of the event who will be able to make comparisons
with their own experience, emphasizing on the harmonization processes
that have been promoted by diverse international organizations.

This Congress will include workshops which will be imparted by
international organizations interested in delivering lectures on
specific subjects.  These workshops will have a duration of one to
two hours, being held during the first two days of the Congress,
concerning issues such as Privacy and eGovernment, FTAs and
Information Society, Licensing models of contents, Playing games in
the net and  E-commerce, realities and perspectives.  If your
organization is interested in delivering a lecture on any of the
above mentioned subjects, please contact us.

More Information:
Website: http://www.alfa-redi.com/viicongress/

Dear all:

I'm working on a write-up on Free/Libre and Open Source Software in
Schools   and would be grateful if you could point me to useful links
about such ventures, where it has been used successfully or otherwise.

A draft paper (work-in-progress) of what I've put together so far can be read at
http://www.divshare.com/download/2205748-36f

Your suggestions, comments and critique is welcome.

Thanks in advance for any help you could offer. FN
--
Frederick Noronha http://fn.goa-india.org Ph 0091-832-2409490
List of Indian e-lists http://wikiwikiweb.de/MailingListsInIndia