Events - lfymag.comlfymag.com/admin/issuepdf/Linux_Asia_Report.pdf · Events the Forum for Open Source Initiatives in India (FOSII) and its members, while the EFY Group provided the

28 MARCH 2007 | L INUX FOR YOU | www.linuxforu.com

C M Y K

Events

The past three editions ofLinuxAsia featured detaileddiscussions on the fact thatIndia is a net taker from the poolof open source software and thatthere have been no significantcontributions in this field fromthis supposed IT powerhouse.Luminaries from the world ofopen source have voiced theirconcern about this sorry fact,time and again. And this veryconcern formed the basis of thisyear’s LinuxAsia.


C M Y K

www.linuxforu.com | L INUX FOR YOU | MARCH 2007

C M Y K

29

Events

The three-day open sourceextravaganza —LinuxAsia2007—was held in NewDelhi from January 31 toFebruary 2 at the IndiaHabitat Centre. One of the

most surprising features of this year’sconference was prominent participationby Microsoft (which has traditionallybeen considered the bete-noire of theopen source movement) showcasinginteroperability between Microsoft’sproprietary platforms and open sourcesoftware.

LinuxAsia 2007 marked anothermajor shift, wherein the overall‘direction’ of the event was managed by

About developments in the OSSarena in the last year:Open source continues to grow inimportance, and it has become clearthat it is no longer a mere passionamongst a few techies but has grown tobecome a revolution, affecting a wideaudience. Microsoft participating inLinuxAsia was a good thing for opensource. I think the open source industryis big enough to accommodateMicrosoft, but I think there are certainground rules and certain fundamentalconcepts in the OSS world, and it willtake some time for Microsoft to getcomfortable with all of them. Someonewho deploys Linux has options. If youare a customer of Red Hat today andyou are not satisfied, you can shift toNovell. But that is not the case withWindows. If you are using Windows,you are dependent on Microsoft. So ifthe company is genuinely interested inopen source, it has to be serious about

offering choices.In India, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are

using OSS on a large scale and it hasdemonstrated its power. We now seeopen source promulgate beyondsoftware; we see that Wikipedia hasenough public recognition tounderstand the idea that you can havethe whole world to help you createsomething, and still come up withsomething which is high quality andtrustworthy. So open source in the year2007 continues to be proving itself asnot just a trend, but a revolution.

On a personal level, CollabNetcontinues to grow. We doubled thenumber of customers in the last year.The CollabNet-sponsored Subversionproject continues to become very wellknown, and we’ve learnt that even inlarge banks, IT organisations and smallindividual developers, they all knowabout Subversion. Many of them aremoving to Subversion not only from

“The open sourceindustry is big enoughto accommodateMicrosoft.”Brian Behlendorf, co-founder—Apache and CTO—CollabNet

Lighting the lamp: Ramesh Chopra, MD, EFY Group,

inaugurating the event

Inaugural keynote (L to R): Ramesh Chopra, MD

EFY Group, Venkatesh Hariharan, head—open

source affairs, Red Hat India, Sandeep Menon,

director—Linux business, Novell West Asia, Klaus

Knopper, creator, Knoppix


C M Y K

29


C M Y K

Events

the Forum for Open Source

Initiatives in India (FOSII) and itsmembers, while the EFY Groupprovided the initial infrastructuresupport for FOSII, including teammembers for its secretariat. FOSII is aforum formed by a group of individualsfrom the Linux/open source communityto accelerate the adoption of opensource by fostering innovation anddevelopment within the country. Seniorindustry professionals, journalists,enthusiasts, media persons and othersfrom the OS community comprise themembership of this forum. FOSII alsoannounced that, from next year, itplanned to hold a nationwide open

CVS but also from Clear Cave, PDCsand Serene.

About Linux vs proprietarysoftware:Linux and proprietary software willcontinue to co-exist for a very long timebecause there will always be economicreasons that favour one or the other.But I think that the line between thetwo rises over time. If you think of thetechnology world as a series of stacks,then there are things at the lower leveland at the higher level and it kind offorms a tide and its always going high.

About Oracle announcingsupport for Red Hat Linux:When Oracle announced its plans toredistribute Red Hat, and a part ofevery Red Hat distribution is MySQL,we now have a situation where Oracle issaying that it will redistribute andsupport MySQL. This is kind of strangebecause MySQL is in commercialcompetition with Oracle, but I think thisis not a mistake, since in the long run, itcan continue to embrace MySQL andfocus on products like OracleFinancials.

Oracle will soon realise that in orderto provide support, you actually need tobe involved in the development of theproduct. It’s not actually possible to saythat I will answer all your questions butI am not an expert since I have notwritten the code. But I think Oracle will

respond by investing in Linux andOracle Linux will eventually come todiverge from Red Hat over time. Butthey should stay compatible onimportant things—like, you should beable to write applications that areportable. I think, eventually, they willhave to staff up and that might take theprices higher. But at the same time, Ibelieve, Red Hat is smart enough tounderstand how to capitalise on this,too, because this is a tremendous boostof confidence for Red Hat software.This means Oracle believes in thequality that Red Hat creates; so even ifRed Hat costs more, people will bewilling to pay that extra fee.

About leveraging his positionas a young global leader:It has nothing to do with open sourcedevelopment and I am not trying to taketoo much advantage of that either. Butit has certainly opened doors for manyconversations with companies aboutopen source and I am using it to makepeople comfortable with the idea ofusing these technologies and software.But you know what, when you meet aCEO of some big bank, they don’t carewhether its open source or proprietary;they want the software to work.

There is another strangephenomenon happening, like in the caseof banks. There are software packageseach bank requires, and in the oldmodel they would all go get these

packages built and implement themindependently. Now they have startedto ask if they can group together andfund one offshore partner to build thisfor them, and then make the result opensource so that it becomes somethingthat everyone can benefit from. Soinstead of spending $ 2 million to writeit themselves, why not spend 200dollars and get it built. This is a greatthing.

About future trends:I don’t think in the next five yearsMicrosoft will make much difference.They are not here to do any business.They are here to put their name in theheadlines. I don’t think that theMicrosoft-Novell deal will have muchmaterial impact, if at all.

But I think there will be moreinteresting and disruptive things likeOne Laptop Per Child and the 100 dollarlaptop that will happen at theintersection of open source. Opensource will get involved in many of thelatest technologies, like bio-informatics,and social development issues likemicro-finance, etc. I think Vista is thebest thing to have happened to the opensource world as Vista is trying to renderobsolete any hardware older than twoyears. Are we going to throw all thathardware? Even for people who areusing Windows XP, Microsoft will stopsupport in some years. So it’s going toforce people to use Linux.

Open source

enthusiasts

listen in rapture

to a talk


C M Y K


C M Y K

31

Events

source week, which would includeevents in Bangalore and Mumbai,culminating in the main LinuxAsiaconference in New Delhi.

The inaugurationThis year, the LinuxAsia conferencehighlighted the challenges faced bydeveloping economies like India, and itinvited the open source community tocome up with innovative solutions for 20critical areas that it had identified.

Setting the agenda, Sandeep Menon,convener of FOSII and director of Linuxbusiness for Novell West Asia said, “Thetransformation of the Indian economy inthe last 10 years can be directly attributedto the social empowerment brought aboutby TV and telephony in rural India.Information is a powerful agent of change,and to bridge the digital divide, we mustaddress ourselves to providing informationaccess to the masses.”

Venkatesh Hariharan, senior memberof FOSII and head of open source affairs atRed Hat India, expected that the alreadysubstantial pace of change in the OS worldwould radically step up in the near future.He hoped that India, which hastraditionally been an open knowledgesociety, would take a macro view when

discussing with developed economiestheir claims on IPR, and the need forprotection and compensation forproprietary knowledge. Elaborating onthis, he said, “Yoga and Ayurveda, whichare perhaps the largest knowledge pools,have traditionally been open source andyet they form a $30 billion industry in theUS alone. Open source is not opposed tocommercial gains; it is opposed toownership and limiting of knowledge andresources.”

The keynotesKlaus Knopper, the legendary founderof Knoppix, delivered the inaugural

keynote lecture, “The Next 100 Years,”He made five thought-provokingpredictions on the fate of humansociety, if the bias towards proprietarysystems continued. First, he said, in 10years, none of us would be able to storeany file and view even our own content;we would need to pay some serviceprovider on a pay-per-view basis.Second, he prophesised that, in 20years, no company would invest indeveloping software. His thirdprediction was that, in 30 years, theuniversal computer as we know it today(on which you can perform differentfunctions) would have died, and only

Where do you place Ubuntu inWhere do you place Ubuntu inWhere do you place Ubuntu inWhere do you place Ubuntu inWhere do you place Ubuntu incomparison to other distros?comparison to other distros?comparison to other distros?comparison to other distros?comparison to other distros?

There are hundreds of distrosavailable in the market today. Red Hatand SUSE have done a good job increating a market for open source inIndia and we are here to provide yetanother option. What I think is the bestthing about Ubuntu is that there is nodifference between our communityversion and our commercial version,and we try our best that everything justworks, making sure that the user’sexperience is pleasurable and user-friendly as much as possible. We haveput in a lot of work there and we aregetting good support from thecommunity. We want to make sure thatwe have the best driver support andout-of-the-box experience possible, and

hope to make Ubuntu the first choice fora lot of business users.

How do you see the OSS market in India?How do you see the OSS market in India?How do you see the OSS market in India?How do you see the OSS market in India?How do you see the OSS market in India?The OSS market in India is massive. I

visited Symbiosis University in Pune andthe way people feel about open source isincredible. I have talked to people here,and there are multitude of enterprises,not only medium-sized, but also verylarge-sized enterprises that are reallylooking to use Linux as a viable option,which can lower the total cost ofownership. You guys are really leadingthe way in the OSS market.

How does Ubuntu make its profits?How does Ubuntu make its profits?How does Ubuntu make its profits?How does Ubuntu make its profits?How does Ubuntu make its profits?We make money by providing

support. We offer a LiveCD that givesthe user an idea how it will feel. So

“India is leading the way in the OSS market.”Mathew Barker, Ubuntu

instead of installing it, people give it ago; if they like it, then they go aheadand install it.

What according to you is the USP ofWhat according to you is the USP ofWhat according to you is the USP ofWhat according to you is the USP ofWhat according to you is the USP ofUbumtu?Ubumtu?Ubumtu?Ubumtu?Ubumtu?

The USP of Ubuntu is that we don’tcharge a licence fee, and we are nevergoing to charge one. Worldwide, there arearound six million Ubuntu installations.We have a strong community as well, aswe are Debian-based; so we have a strongsupport behind us.

Your views on the support to LinuxYour views on the support to LinuxYour views on the support to LinuxYour views on the support to LinuxYour views on the support to Linuxfrom hardware manufacturers?from hardware manufacturers?from hardware manufacturers?from hardware manufacturers?from hardware manufacturers?

I think it is going to take a lot of workand effort to make people comfortablewith Linux. But I am glad to see howquickly open source is developing.

Expo mania!


C M Y K

31


C M Y K

Events

very simplistic specialised deviceswould be available. And 50 years fromnow, people would no longer know howto use a computer, Knopper claimed!

Other prominent speakers on thefirst day included Dr Gulshan Rai,senior director, e-commerce and cyberlaws, DoIT, ministry of IT. Dr NicholasNegroponte, well-known visionary andfounder of MIT Media Lab, participatedvia video-conference and presented histhoughts on the much talked about ‘One

Laptop Per Child’ project. M TRaghunath of Google mentioned thatthe biggest challenge before the entireIT community was how to makeInternet access ubiquitous. In India,currently, only 7 per cent of the urbanpopulation and less than 1 per cent ofthe rural population have access to theInternet. This must increase to at least75 per cent, if India is to be a trueknowledge society.

As part of the technology track,

Knopper presented case studies todemonstrate how open source wasenabling accessibility of computers tothe physically handicapped. He gave theexample of his wife, who shops on eBay,even though she is visually impaired.Other presenters at the conferenceincluded speakers from Microsoft,Ingres Corporation, Novell, GoogleIndia, Yahoo!, CDAC and Wipro.

Delivering the keynote talk on thethird day, Knopper took the OSS

Knoppix version 5.1.0 was released inKnoppix version 5.1.0 was released inKnoppix version 5.1.0 was released inKnoppix version 5.1.0 was released inKnoppix version 5.1.0 was released inthe end of December 2006, but withinthe end of December 2006, but withinthe end of December 2006, but withinthe end of December 2006, but withinthe end of December 2006, but withina week, version 5.1.1. was released.a week, version 5.1.1. was released.a week, version 5.1.1. was released.a week, version 5.1.1. was released.a week, version 5.1.1. was released.Why was another version released soWhy was another version released soWhy was another version released soWhy was another version released soWhy was another version released sosoon?soon?soon?soon?soon?

Actually, I was out on a trip and myfriends were testing the final version of5.1.0. They said that it was ready to bereleased. The place where I was hadvery low bandwidth; so version 5.1.0was released without my seeing it.Later, I found an annoying bug in thewindow manager that nobody had

noticed, wherein the button that helpsyou in switching from one virtualdesktop to another used to disappearwhen you made the switch. Even thetool menu bar disappeared; so in a way,you were stuck in that desktop. I had tofix that bug and re-release it. There isnot much difference in the two versions,except for that bug fix and a fewupdates, like the latest version of theFirefox Web browser.

When is the next version scheduled?When is the next version scheduled?When is the next version scheduled?When is the next version scheduled?When is the next version scheduled?The next version is expected in

March during Cebit 2007, where we willbe putting more drivers so that it canrun on most computers. We will be

“ADRIANE Knoppix can be a very goodalternative to expensive machines.”Klaus Knopper, creator—Knoppix

adding some client-enhanced featuresfor cell phones, and all that will be newand exciting at that time.

So what is Klaus Knopper up to theseSo what is Klaus Knopper up to theseSo what is Klaus Knopper up to theseSo what is Klaus Knopper up to theseSo what is Klaus Knopper up to thesedays?days?days?days?days?

I am working on a book that will tellyou how to make your own LiveCD. I amalso working on ADRIANE Knoppix,which is not only for the blind but alsofor beginners who don’t know muchabout computers. It is simple to use, soyou don’t have to search forapplications; and as it is voice-based,you can use it much more easily thancomplicated operating systems, if youare not a power user. The computers forthe visually impaired are very expensiveand only those with health insurancecan use them. My idea for ADRIANEKnoppix was to provide a veryinexpensive solution for the blind,wherein you can use old computerswith Pentium 2 processors, a soundcard and speakers; and you don’t evenneed a monitor. So in a country likeIndia, ADRIANE Knoppix can be a verygood alternative to expensive machines.

It will be a good idea to combineADRIANE with the ‘one laptop perchild’ project, as it will be a veryinteresting add-on at no extra cost. Thebest thing is that it will allow those whocannot read or write to use computers.As ADRIANE is voice-based, it is veryuser friendly—it will help children learncomputers easily.

Klaus Knopper talks to the audience while his wife, Adriane, looks on


C M Y K


C M Y K

33

Events

Open source software (OSS) isincreasingly becoming popular withIndian IT managers. Some even boast ofa pure open source environment. Yet,there are many who have notexperienced the benefits of OSS. A lotof them wish to test the waters, but arenot sure how to begin that journey.

“Given my existing IT environment,how should I initiate the adoption ofOSS? What should be my first step?What would be a good ‘pilot’ strategy?What are the pitfalls to avoid? How do Ievaluate the TCO of an OSS solution,versus a proprietary one? Plus, if I addanother platform, won’t that makethings more messy? How do I ensurethat my existing investments won’t gowaste? How will I handle theinteroperability issues?” We have oftenfaced such questions from CIOs, CTOs,and even tech-savvy CEOs. Therefore,to address all such issues, CXOSummit,a special track on the second day ofLinuxAsia 2007, was held at Hotel TajMahal in New Delhi, in parallel to thetechnology track

In his keynote address at thesummit, Brian Behlendorf set the toneof discussions for the day. Behlendorfnoted that the beauty of open sourcewas the potential for “...an individualdeveloper in a country like India tobecome the next big thing and create a

Events

The CXOSummitsoftware giant to rival the best in theworld.” Examples of Wikipedia andGoogle were brought up. The subjectwent down well with the participants, asthe main conference continued todiscuss how the large pool of softwareprofessionals in India could beleveraged to improve OSS solutions anddeployment in the critical areas thataffect the common life of citizens.

On the subject of India and innovation,Dr Deepak Phatak, chair professor atKReSIT, IIT Bombay, stressed the need forproprietary vendors to work positively withthe OSS technology leaders to createtechnology that would ultimately benefitnot just industry but also bring the“...opportunities down to the last tribalchild.”

The CXOSummit also saw a livelypanel discussion chaired by Dr LouisSuarez-Potts of OpenOffice.org, where awide spectrum of vendors discussed theproductisation of OSS solutions so thatthese could be commercially brought tothe marketplace bundled with serviceand support. Users and customers whohad already experienced OSS productssought to shed light on the complexTCO calculations that were required toevaluate the benefits of OSS.


C M Y K

33

Panel: TCO—The customer’s perspective

Desktop, servers, virtualisation and interoperability

A captive audience


C M Y K

Events

South Asian countries. Apart fromrepresentatives from India, theconference featured the followingmembers from South Asian countries

For a country in which technology of allsorts—even radio and television - were nottill recently accessible, Afghanistan hasexperienced an enormous jump intechnological advancement in the last year.Currently there are many small scale ITprojects underway in various areas such aseducation, health, administration, economy,infrastructure, consultation etc. As of March2003, Afghanistan has been assigned its owndomain name, “af”. Yet it was conceded thatan integral IT concept was lacking inAfghanistan and lot more needed to bedone.

Iran was in the process of setting up aNational Data Centre fully based on FOSStechnologies. The physical structure wascompleted and so was the software plan.Khansari reported that some proprietarysolutions like CISCO routers might be used.There were a lot of portals that used theLAMP stack both in Government as well asIndustry from where cost savings werereported. Iran, to date, has lacked alegislation or approved plan for FOSS andtowards this a FOSS Policy was beingframed which would soon be sent for theapproval of the President and theParliament.

In Pakistan, a Federal Data Centre wasbeing set up to connect various ministriesand make data available to everyone. Theserver side would be completely FOSSbased and the Ministries would be

The IOSN summit

� Mohammad Khansari, director, National FOSS Project, Iran� Sufyan Kakhakel, project manager, OSRC, Pakistan� Mohamad Babar Haq, server specialist, OSRC, Pakistan� Omar Mansoor Ansari, executive director, ACSA, Afghanistan� Touba Alam, council member, ACSA, Afghanistan� Subarna Shakya, executive director, NITC, Nepal� Pema Geyleg, project co-coordinator, Dzongkha Localisation Project, DIT, Bhutan� Chamindra De Silva, acting executive director, LSF, Sri Lanka� S Basu, scientist and group co-ordinator, FOSS Initiatives Cell, DIT, India� M R Rajagopalan, director, IOSN South Asia Node, India� Suchitra Pyarelal, technical director, E-Governance Standards, NIC, India� Shampa C, HOD, Computer Science Department, NSJT, India� S Srinivasan, project scientist, NRCFOSS, India� Dhanesh K K, IOSN South Asia Team, India� Tushar Abraham Mathew, IOSN South Asia Team, India

movement to a new level, and that too,with a touch of ‘Gandhigiri’. He said, “Ifyou are going to buy any hardware andit doesn’t support open source, tell thevendor so and return the product. Thatway, vendor companies would get themessage if enough people do that, andthey would stop manufacturing whatdoesn’t sell.” Anthony Wasserman ofCarnegie Mellon University West,another key speaker at LinuxAsia 2007,presented experiences of best practicesfrom around the world, and reportedthat most organisations have developedtheir IT policies and practices to reflectthe use of commercial, closed sourcesoftware packages. He felt that thesepolicies ought to be updated to alloworganisations to take advantage of both

commercial and community-based opensource software.

Make geography historyLinuxAsia 2007 concluded withspeakers from different segments of theopen source world, including industry,government and the developercommunity highlighting the 20 keychallenges that threshold economieslike India face. Commercial or businessinterests of vendors are not necessarilyin conflict with the concept of ‘societalbenefit’ as espoused by the OSSproponents. This formed the theme ofthe overall deliberations at the varioussessions at the convention.

The analysis was summed up in apresentation from

PricewaterhouseCoopers, theknowledge partners of the event. CdrDeepak Uppal (retd), principalconsultant at PWC said, “Overall, wehave identified 20 challenge areas forICT, which open source technologiescan address. But what is moreimportant is to challenge the OSScommunity to produce solutions thatcan help bridge the gaps in physicalinfrastructure.” He wanted to know ifthose regions that have not managed tobetter their physical infrastructure, likeLadakh or the North-East, could bebrought on par with the highlyurbanised regions, using ICT solutions.In other words, he said, “Can we seeOSS solutions making geography,history?”

International Open Source Network(IOSN) South Asia conducted its firstevent for the year 2006-2007 on thesidelines of LinuxAsia 2007 at the IndiaHabitat Centre in New Delhi. Titled The

Round Table Discussion of South AsianCountries, the focus of the conferencewas on e-governance and educationusing FOSS tools and technologies andit saw active participation from most

Events


C M Y K

35

Events

connected by optical fibers. Already about11,000 computers had been deployed forthis purpose. It was decided to useOpenOffice as the office suite and theGovernment had made huge savings dueto this. The Open Source ResearchCentre (OSRC) set up by the PakistanSoftware Export Board is tasked withpromoting FOSS in Pakistan and has beencredited with a number of initiatives.

Bhutan had received funding underthe PAN Localisation Project aboutthree years back and that was when theDzongkha Localisation Project wasstarted. Today it has materialized andseen numerous deployments. In Phase Iof the project, 2 persons from each ofthe 20 Dzongkhas(equivalent todistricts) were to be trained in usingFOSS. Phase II is intended to coverMinistries, Local Governments,Educational Institutions and others.“Training the Trainers” is the strategythat is to be used.

Nepal’s National InformationTechnology Centre is tasked to provide E-Governance solutions and has beenprovided expertise by the Republic ofSouth Korea in this regard. The AsianDevelopment Bank has also funded amassive $30 million initiative to providetraining and assistance in IT. In thisinitiative, training is to be provided todifferent sectors on a priority basis. As ofnow, schools are not included in thisinitiative but are being seriouslyconsidered.

Chamindra De Silva from Sri Lanka

made it clear that in his country, thechoice of the platform was left to theend user. But the Government was pro-Open Standards. It had also set up anumber of Nana Salas or InternetKiosks to provide IT services to thepeople. It was also actively engaged inproviding micro-credit to entrepreneursfor the same. The Lanka SoftwareFoundation, a non-profit foundation,was set up to encourage FOSScontributions from Sri Lanka and hasensured that the FOSS world does notjudge the country by its size.

India has formulated a Rs 23,000Crore National E-Governance Plan(NEGP) to provide better services to itscitizens. An initiative of the Departmentof Information Technology (DIT),Ministry of Communication andInformation Technology (MCIT),Govt ofIndia, the first phase is set to execute27 mission mode projects. But ofserious concern was the lack ofstandardisation. Some other issues thatneeded to be addressed wereinteroperability, localising E-Govapplications in the 22 official languages,expanding networks and infrastructure,quality, documentation and legalenablements. The DIT had also set upthe National Resource Centre for Free/Open Source Software (NRCFOSS) as ajoint effort of the Centre forDevelopment of Advanced Computing(CDAC) and the AU-KBC ResearchCentre of Anna University. The formerfocuses more on R & D and

productisation while the latter on HRD.CDAC has come out with an Indianversion of GNU/Linux christened BOSSwhich presently supports Hindi andTamil. BOSS is already being deployedat the DIT and is expected to be takenup at both the Central and State levels.The AU-KBC Chapter has beeninstrumental in introducing FOSS I andII as electives in the Anna Universitycurriculum which will apply to around250 Engineering colleges under its fold.The entire course material is availablefor download at http://www.nrcfoss.org.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=91.This move is expected to provide thevaluable manpower required to sustaina FOSS ecosystem. They have alsoconducted regular Teacher TrainingProgrammes. TTP-1, TTP-2 and TTP-3have so far covered 89, 66 and 52teachers respectively.

On the education side, the countriesfound the model followed by NRCFOSSinteresting and noted that includingFOSS as a formal curriculum inengineering colleges would providedividends. Everyone also agreed thatpromoting localised E- learning toolswas also necessary to reach out.

The Round Table Discussionconcluded with everyone agreeing to keepin touch through mailing lists and IRC.

Courtesy: Tushar AbrahamCourtesy: Tushar AbrahamCourtesy: Tushar AbrahamCourtesy: Tushar AbrahamCourtesy: Tushar Abraham

Mathew, IOSN South Asia Node andMathew, IOSN South Asia Node andMathew, IOSN South Asia Node andMathew, IOSN South Asia Node andMathew, IOSN South Asia Node and

NRCFOSS, Chennai, IndiaNRCFOSS, Chennai, IndiaNRCFOSS, Chennai, IndiaNRCFOSS, Chennai, IndiaNRCFOSS, Chennai, India

The twenty challenges identifiedwere in areas related to technology,standards and regulation, financemanagement, infrastructure and usage.Among the challenges were theinteroperability of devices andnetworks, building devices that arerobust and designed for ruralconditions, managing change andobsolescence of technologies, securityissues, aligning government regulationswith new technologies and standardsfor multi-lingual storage of content.Other hurdles to be crossed were thelack of realistic financial models forproject management, low geographicpenetration, low penetrationdemographically, power supply, cost ofICT, high bandwidth and transmission

costs, exclusion of segments of thepopulation, lack of education and skills,user acceptance and ‘cost for use’.

Subversion workshopCollabNet held a workshop onsubversion on the third day ofLinuxAsia 2007. The workshop wasopen to all participants attendingLinuxAsia, and addressed the basics onsubversion and its approach towardsversion control. This was followed by ademonstration on how to use thesubversion client with focus onupdation, merging and conflictresolution. Other topics of theworkshop included setting up a SVNrepository, advanced client usage,branching, tagging, switching to a

branch and file properties.The workshop was concluded with a

discussion on subversion best practices.

A free operating system for theblind: ADRIANE KnoppixKlaus Knopper and his wife, Adriane, areworking on an operating system for theblind—ADRIANE Knoppix—andcompared to other solutions available,this one is absolutely free! ADRIANE isan acronym as well. It stands for AudioDesktop Reference Implementation andNetworking Environment. It is targeted atthe visually impaired, who have no or veryfew computer skills, and may have hadbad encounters with graphic-focusedcomputer interfaces that had a badlydesigned graphical screen reader audio

Events


C M Y K

Events

adapter. It could also be helpful for thosewith normal vision, but with lessercomputer or educational skills, whoprefer an uncomplicated textual userinterface with a step-by-step menuinterface.

It was my first meeting with thecouple—Klaus and Adriane Knopper—at LinuxAsia 2007. I had already metKnopper, the creator of Knoppix, andwas very touched by his passion fordeveloping Knoppix. This time, he wasaccompanied by Adriane Knopper, whois visually handicapped and helpsKnopper in developing a Linux distrofor the blind.

Knopper spoke extensively about theevolution of this lifeline for the visuallyimpaired. “We hadn’t planned to developADRIANE Knoppix; it just came out of aneed. In Germany, owing to healthinsurance, you get PCs for visuallyimpaired people. They are Windows-based and very expensive machines. Mywife also had one but she rarely used it.One scary incident led to thedevelopment of ADRIANE Knoppix. Youhave to keep these PCs turned on all thetime so that you get to know if you

receive an urgent mail. One night,Adrianne woke up scared. She had hearda voice and feared that the house hadbeen broken into by burglars. I checked; itwas the voice commands from herWindows machine informing her aboutthe latest updates. After that experience,she never used that machine, eventhough I had changed the settings. Thisled me to think about developing aversion of Knoppix that could not onlymeet her requirements but also becustomised accordingly, and henceADRIANE Knoppix was created. Adrianeis not a developer. She provides me thepoint of view of a user. And I workaccordingly. She is my driving force.”

Owing to the simplicity ADRIANEKnoppix offers, many observers felt thatthe solution ought to be used to spreadcomputer literacy in countries likeIndia. Some analysts also felt that dueto its lower cost and ease of use, itcould be bundled with the ambitious‘One Laptop Per Child’ project.

We had no idea of how Linuxworked for the visually impaired, butlater in the evening, Klaus and Adrianegave a live demonstration of ADRIANE

you are facing now?you are facing now?you are facing now?you are facing now?you are facing now?In Pakistan, one of our primary

problems is localisation, that is, Linux inUrdu. As compared to India, where aconsiderable population can useEnglish, Pakistan does not enjoy thesame conditions. Therefore, this is ourfirst challenge.

What helped promotion of Linux inWhat helped promotion of Linux inWhat helped promotion of Linux inWhat helped promotion of Linux inWhat helped promotion of Linux inPakistan?Pakistan?Pakistan?Pakistan?Pakistan?

Pirated CDs were a big hindrance tothe widespread adoption of Linux andopen source. But when Microsoft andBSA started raiding those using pirated

“Microsoft helped OSSgrow in Pakistan.”Sufyan Kakakhel, open source ERP specialist, PakistanSoftware Export Board (G) Limited, ministry of InformationTechnology, government of Pakistan.

Please provide us with a briefPlease provide us with a briefPlease provide us with a briefPlease provide us with a briefPlease provide us with a briefoverview of OSS in Pakistan.overview of OSS in Pakistan.overview of OSS in Pakistan.overview of OSS in Pakistan.overview of OSS in Pakistan.

When we began our efforts inPakistan in 2002, the situation was suchthat we had to tell even educatedpeople what open source was all about.Even IT professionals had not heardabout open source. There were civilengineers who thought that computersworked only with Windows. But now,the situation has changed, and oureffort is to make people aware about thebenefits of OSS.

What are the primary problems thatWhat are the primary problems thatWhat are the primary problems thatWhat are the primary problems thatWhat are the primary problems that

In an attempt to promote openIn an attempt to promote openIn an attempt to promote openIn an attempt to promote openIn an attempt to promote opensource on a continuing basis,source on a continuing basis,source on a continuing basis,source on a continuing basis,source on a continuing basis,LINUX For YouLINUX For YouLINUX For YouLINUX For YouLINUX For You magazine magazine magazine magazine magazinerecently formed the FOSIIrecently formed the FOSIIrecently formed the FOSIIrecently formed the FOSIIrecently formed the FOSII(pronounced foss-eye), a forum of(pronounced foss-eye), a forum of(pronounced foss-eye), a forum of(pronounced foss-eye), a forum of(pronounced foss-eye), a forum oflike-minded individuals,like-minded individuals,like-minded individuals,like-minded individuals,like-minded individuals,predominantly from India, who arepredominantly from India, who arepredominantly from India, who arepredominantly from India, who arepredominantly from India, who aredeeply interested in drivingdeeply interested in drivingdeeply interested in drivingdeeply interested in drivingdeeply interested in drivinginnovation in and the adoption ofinnovation in and the adoption ofinnovation in and the adoption ofinnovation in and the adoption ofinnovation in and the adoption ofOSS in India. The forum worksOSS in India. The forum worksOSS in India. The forum worksOSS in India. The forum worksOSS in India. The forum worksquite like a mailing list, where itsquite like a mailing list, where itsquite like a mailing list, where itsquite like a mailing list, where itsquite like a mailing list, where its

Forum forOpenSourceInitiativesin India(FOSII)

versions of Windows, some majorindustries were put under the scannerand were fined in millions; hence, thesepeople decided not to use Windows andinstead use open source. So indirectly,the raids helped OSS.

So now people are moving towards opensource and we are getting queries not onlyfrom government departments but also from


C M Y K


C M Y K

37

Events

other businesses—even NGOs. Thesesectors are very interested in open source,as it can help them cut costs.

Senior decision-makers and officialsof the ministry are quite committed toOSS and this is one of the reasons thatwe have strong support for open source.In the entire South Asia region,Pakistan is the only country that has adedicated government centre for opensource. There was one centre foundedin India by IBM, but that is not agovernment establishment. We areworking on this under a federalgovernment sitting in Islamabad, andapproaching everyone who wants asolution in open source.

We saved 35 million rupees throughOSS. This money can be used fordevelopment and the betterment ofsociety, and this makes us feel reallygood that we are directly helping thecountry. This economic value is veryimportant for countries like us. Our percapita income is $700 per annum. If wethink of providing ICT to each of thecitizens, given the cost of proprietary

software, this dream is far from beingpractical. Therefore, we cannot useproprietary software.

We want open source to be includedin the curriculum. I want to take stepsthat can have long-term effects. InPakistan, we have a higher educationcommission. We need to contact themand convince them to achieve this. If wecan have French as an elective subject,then why not open source.

We have also come out with a kit totrain students or organisations wantingto migrate from proprietary systems toopen source. The best thing with thiskit is that it is divided in differentvolumes that focus on different areas.

Your views on LinuxAsia?Your views on LinuxAsia?Your views on LinuxAsia?Your views on LinuxAsia?Your views on LinuxAsia?This was an excellent experience. I

heard of LinuxAsia during its secondyear. I propose that this event should goout to other regions as well. It should gobeyond India. It is a very good platformnot only to meet people who areworking on similar projects but also tolearn from their experiences.

members discuss issues andmembers discuss issues andmembers discuss issues andmembers discuss issues andmembers discuss issues anddecide on future actions, in linedecide on future actions, in linedecide on future actions, in linedecide on future actions, in linedecide on future actions, in linewith the goals of the forum.with the goals of the forum.with the goals of the forum.with the goals of the forum.with the goals of the forum.

FOSII members belong toFOSII members belong toFOSII members belong toFOSII members belong toFOSII members belong tovarious facets of the Linux/OSSvarious facets of the Linux/OSSvarious facets of the Linux/OSSvarious facets of the Linux/OSSvarious facets of the Linux/OSS(Open Source Software) eco-(Open Source Software) eco-(Open Source Software) eco-(Open Source Software) eco-(Open Source Software) eco-system, including the industry,system, including the industry,system, including the industry,system, including the industry,system, including the industry,academia, government, and theacademia, government, and theacademia, government, and theacademia, government, and theacademia, government, and thecommunity. FOSII not only bringscommunity. FOSII not only bringscommunity. FOSII not only bringscommunity. FOSII not only bringscommunity. FOSII not only bringssuch diverse personalitiessuch diverse personalitiessuch diverse personalitiessuch diverse personalitiessuch diverse personalitiestogether, but also facilitatestogether, but also facilitatestogether, but also facilitatestogether, but also facilitatestogether, but also facilitatesmembers pursuing differentmembers pursuing differentmembers pursuing differentmembers pursuing differentmembers pursuing differentagendas under the umbrella inagendas under the umbrella inagendas under the umbrella inagendas under the umbrella inagendas under the umbrella inline with their specialisation,line with their specialisation,line with their specialisation,line with their specialisation,line with their specialisation,through the creation of sub-through the creation of sub-through the creation of sub-through the creation of sub-through the creation of sub-groups. These sub-groups thengroups. These sub-groups thengroups. These sub-groups thengroups. These sub-groups thengroups. These sub-groups thentake up different causes amongsttake up different causes amongsttake up different causes amongsttake up different causes amongsttake up different causes amongstthemselves, and drive initiatives.themselves, and drive initiatives.themselves, and drive initiatives.themselves, and drive initiatives.themselves, and drive initiatives.

The key benefits that FOSIIThe key benefits that FOSIIThe key benefits that FOSIIThe key benefits that FOSIIThe key benefits that FOSIIoffers its members include:offers its members include:offers its members include:offers its members include:offers its members include:� A neutral platform to pursue aA neutral platform to pursue aA neutral platform to pursue aA neutral platform to pursue aA neutral platform to pursue a

common agenda by combiningcommon agenda by combiningcommon agenda by combiningcommon agenda by combiningcommon agenda by combiningand sharing resources.and sharing resources.and sharing resources.and sharing resources.and sharing resources.

� A common platform to interactA common platform to interactA common platform to interactA common platform to interactA common platform to interactwith like-minded individualswith like-minded individualswith like-minded individualswith like-minded individualswith like-minded individualsand organisations.and organisations.and organisations.and organisations.and organisations.

� A platform where conflictingA platform where conflictingA platform where conflictingA platform where conflictingA platform where conflictingstances can be resolved throughstances can be resolved throughstances can be resolved throughstances can be resolved throughstances can be resolved throughopen-minded discussion.open-minded discussion.open-minded discussion.open-minded discussion.open-minded discussion.

Knoppix during a session ‘Linux For theBlind’ at LinuxAsia 2007. Known for hisswift moves on stage and dramaticpresentations, Knopper once againcaptivated the audience; nobody moveda muscle until the demo was over.During the presentation, Adrianeshowed how the blind could usecomputers with as much ease as others.

Once the demo was over, the couplewas surrounded by the visually impairedpresent at the venue, requesting for a

chance to let them get a ‘feel’ of thedevice.

A few NGOs present also felt thatbodies like the UNESCO and UNICEFought to take on projects to help thevisually impaired around the globe,using ADRIANE Knoppix.

ADRIANE Knoppix is customised tohelp people navigate Web pages, checke-mail, attach mobile devices, and readand reply to SMS, chat, read e-books,and purchase things on eBay.

Currently, ADRIANE uses the SBL(SuSE-Blind-Linux screenreader andmore from Marco Skambraks with a fewextensions by Klaus Knopper), andfestival as phoneme generator, plustransitional mbrola as a speech enginefor the German voice.

ADRIANE reads out everything thatan ordinary person can see on themonitor. Adriane said that the blindhave the capacity to see the world intheir own hues and colours, andADRIANE Knoppix creates thatcolourful environment for them.

According to Knopper, one coulduse ADRIANE on an old computer(even with a P2 processor) for free,thus lowering the cost significantly.Although no release date for ADRIANEKnoppix has been announced, Knoppersaid that the Live CD for it would beavailable soon.

The roundupRounding up the convention, SandeepMenon, convener of FOSII said, “TheLinuxAsia initiative has been gainingstrength from year to year. This year, itbrings into focus the ground that Linux

Subversion workshop


C M Y K

37


C M Y K

Events

The Penguin Party

has gained in all segments. Wehad speakers and delegates fromthe US, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,Singapore, UK, Germany,Sweden, China, and many otherplaces. They included suchillustrious leaders as open sourceluminary and co-founder ofApache - Brian Behlendorf, DrLouis Suarez-Potts ofOpenOffice.org, and KlausKnopper, creator of the livedistribution Knoppix. Thegathering included persons fromgovernment, industry andacademia. There were students,industry leaders, and civilservants—all brought togetherby a shared passion for theadvancement of India. Thegathering was trulyrepresentative of the nature ofthe open source communityaround the world.”

By: Atul Goel, Nilesh Kakade,By: Atul Goel, Nilesh Kakade,By: Atul Goel, Nilesh Kakade,By: Atul Goel, Nilesh Kakade,By: Atul Goel, Nilesh Kakade,

LFY Bureau and SwapnilLFY Bureau and SwapnilLFY Bureau and SwapnilLFY Bureau and SwapnilLFY Bureau and Swapnil

Bhartiya, EFY News NetworkBhartiya, EFY News NetworkBhartiya, EFY News NetworkBhartiya, EFY News NetworkBhartiya, EFY News Network

An evening to remember

Open source leaders are now realising the power of this movement and are workingOpen source leaders are now realising the power of this movement and are workingOpen source leaders are now realising the power of this movement and are workingOpen source leaders are now realising the power of this movement and are workingOpen source leaders are now realising the power of this movement and are workingon the lines of ‘Gandhigiri’. Klaus Knopper’s call to consumers not to buy hardwareon the lines of ‘Gandhigiri’. Klaus Knopper’s call to consumers not to buy hardwareon the lines of ‘Gandhigiri’. Klaus Knopper’s call to consumers not to buy hardwareon the lines of ‘Gandhigiri’. Klaus Knopper’s call to consumers not to buy hardwareon the lines of ‘Gandhigiri’. Klaus Knopper’s call to consumers not to buy hardwarethat didn’t support OSS seems to have wider implications. While talking to somethat didn’t support OSS seems to have wider implications. While talking to somethat didn’t support OSS seems to have wider implications. While talking to somethat didn’t support OSS seems to have wider implications. While talking to somethat didn’t support OSS seems to have wider implications. While talking to someleaders of the OSS movement, it became apparent that they plan to apply the OSSleaders of the OSS movement, it became apparent that they plan to apply the OSSleaders of the OSS movement, it became apparent that they plan to apply the OSSleaders of the OSS movement, it became apparent that they plan to apply the OSSleaders of the OSS movement, it became apparent that they plan to apply the OSSphilosophy to the plight of farmers too. They want to touch upon topics likephilosophy to the plight of farmers too. They want to touch upon topics likephilosophy to the plight of farmers too. They want to touch upon topics likephilosophy to the plight of farmers too. They want to touch upon topics likephilosophy to the plight of farmers too. They want to touch upon topics likegenetically modified (GM) seeds, asserting that the advent of GM seeds is makinggenetically modified (GM) seeds, asserting that the advent of GM seeds is makinggenetically modified (GM) seeds, asserting that the advent of GM seeds is makinggenetically modified (GM) seeds, asserting that the advent of GM seeds is makinggenetically modified (GM) seeds, asserting that the advent of GM seeds is makingthe experiences that farmers have gained over centuries, useless. This is so becausethe experiences that farmers have gained over centuries, useless. This is so becausethe experiences that farmers have gained over centuries, useless. This is so becausethe experiences that farmers have gained over centuries, useless. This is so becausethe experiences that farmers have gained over centuries, useless. This is so becauseGM seeds have changed the way farmers used to grow crops.GM seeds have changed the way farmers used to grow crops.GM seeds have changed the way farmers used to grow crops.GM seeds have changed the way farmers used to grow crops.GM seeds have changed the way farmers used to grow crops.

Even the latest book by Michael Crichton, Even the latest book by Michael Crichton, Even the latest book by Michael Crichton, Even the latest book by Michael Crichton, Even the latest book by Michael Crichton, NextNextNextNextNext, touches upon the topics of, touches upon the topics of, touches upon the topics of, touches upon the topics of, touches upon the topics ofpatents. The author has pointed out the dangers and conditional slavery people willpatents. The author has pointed out the dangers and conditional slavery people willpatents. The author has pointed out the dangers and conditional slavery people willpatents. The author has pointed out the dangers and conditional slavery people willpatents. The author has pointed out the dangers and conditional slavery people willface due to patent laws. In the book, there is an instance where he says thatface due to patent laws. In the book, there is an instance where he says thatface due to patent laws. In the book, there is an instance where he says thatface due to patent laws. In the book, there is an instance where he says thatface due to patent laws. In the book, there is an instance where he says thataccording to current laws, people will have more right to their image taken by aaccording to current laws, people will have more right to their image taken by aaccording to current laws, people will have more right to their image taken by aaccording to current laws, people will have more right to their image taken by aaccording to current laws, people will have more right to their image taken by acamera than to their own cells. In India, the first case of a punishment for thecamera than to their own cells. In India, the first case of a punishment for thecamera than to their own cells. In India, the first case of a punishment for thecamera than to their own cells. In India, the first case of a punishment for thecamera than to their own cells. In India, the first case of a punishment for theunauthorised use of information occurred thousands of years ago in theunauthorised use of information occurred thousands of years ago in theunauthorised use of information occurred thousands of years ago in theunauthorised use of information occurred thousands of years ago in theunauthorised use of information occurred thousands of years ago in theMahabharata! Dronacharya asked his student, Eklayva, to cut off his right thumbMahabharata! Dronacharya asked his student, Eklayva, to cut off his right thumbMahabharata! Dronacharya asked his student, Eklayva, to cut off his right thumbMahabharata! Dronacharya asked his student, Eklayva, to cut off his right thumbMahabharata! Dronacharya asked his student, Eklayva, to cut off his right thumbwhich he used to shoot arrows—an art he had supposedly learnt from Dronacharyawhich he used to shoot arrows—an art he had supposedly learnt from Dronacharyawhich he used to shoot arrows—an art he had supposedly learnt from Dronacharyawhich he used to shoot arrows—an art he had supposedly learnt from Dronacharyawhich he used to shoot arrows—an art he had supposedly learnt from Dronacharyawithout the latter’s permission.without the latter’s permission.without the latter’s permission.without the latter’s permission.without the latter’s permission.

That’s exactly what proprietary companies do when you try to copy your legalThat’s exactly what proprietary companies do when you try to copy your legalThat’s exactly what proprietary companies do when you try to copy your legalThat’s exactly what proprietary companies do when you try to copy your legalThat’s exactly what proprietary companies do when you try to copy your legalCD of games that has developed some scratches on it. But, now people areCD of games that has developed some scratches on it. But, now people areCD of games that has developed some scratches on it. But, now people areCD of games that has developed some scratches on it. But, now people areCD of games that has developed some scratches on it. But, now people areconcerned about the ill effects of patents and a momentum is building up against it.concerned about the ill effects of patents and a momentum is building up against it.concerned about the ill effects of patents and a momentum is building up against it.concerned about the ill effects of patents and a momentum is building up against it.concerned about the ill effects of patents and a momentum is building up against it.The fight that Stallman started at the software level is becoming a major revolution.The fight that Stallman started at the software level is becoming a major revolution.The fight that Stallman started at the software level is becoming a major revolution.The fight that Stallman started at the software level is becoming a major revolution.The fight that Stallman started at the software level is becoming a major revolution.

And, as Gandhi said, “I do not want to stay in a house with all its windows andAnd, as Gandhi said, “I do not want to stay in a house with all its windows andAnd, as Gandhi said, “I do not want to stay in a house with all its windows andAnd, as Gandhi said, “I do not want to stay in a house with all its windows andAnd, as Gandhi said, “I do not want to stay in a house with all its windows anddoors shut. I want a house with all its windows and doors open where the culturaldoors shut. I want a house with all its windows and doors open where the culturaldoors shut. I want a house with all its windows and doors open where the culturaldoors shut. I want a house with all its windows and doors open where the culturaldoors shut. I want a house with all its windows and doors open where the culturalbreezes of all lands and nations blow through my house. But I refuse to be blown offbreezes of all lands and nations blow through my house. But I refuse to be blown offbreezes of all lands and nations blow through my house. But I refuse to be blown offbreezes of all lands and nations blow through my house. But I refuse to be blown offbreezes of all lands and nations blow through my house. But I refuse to be blown offmy feet by any.”my feet by any.”my feet by any.”my feet by any.”my feet by any.”

The open source movement is doing just the same.The open source movement is doing just the same.The open source movement is doing just the same.The open source movement is doing just the same.The open source movement is doing just the same.

‘Gandhigiri’ in open source

Events

Documents

Events - lfymag.comlfymag.com/admin/issuepdf/Linux_Asia_Report.pdf · Events the Forum for Open Source Initiatives in India (FOSII) and its members, while the EFY Group provided the