[Fsf-friends] IT @ School Project

[Vimal Joseph]

Hello List

There are  obvious errors  in the article  about free software  in the
malayalam text book of 8th Std IT@School Project.  The errors may have
crept during the translation of the English text to Malayalam.  But it
cannot be allowed  to happen because if allowed to,  it would convey a
wrong    interpretation    about    free    software    amongst    the
students/teachers/other persons.

      The  exact malayalam  text in  mnglish 

		 Line  15  : Ennal  panam  kodukkate mikacha  software
		 aarkkum  nalkunna oru  prasthanam undu.   Athanu free
		 software  foundation.   Free software  prasthanathile
		 prashastharaya  2 peranu  richard  stallman um  Linus
		 Torvaldsum 
			
                 <English Translation> 

                 There  is a  movement  which gives  best software  to
		 anyone  without taking money,  that is  Free Software
		 Foundation.   Two famous names  in the  free software
		 foundation are Richard Stallman and Linus Torvalds.
                 
		 </English Translation>
                 
	         (Information technology 1, malayalam version, page 25)

It also didn't mention anything about freedom and sharing.       

The English version is OK. 

    The exact English text 

		 Free Software Foundation
		 ------------------------
		 
		 Many of the  software available today are proprietary
		 in  the sense  that they  are actually  owned  by the
		 manufacturing  companies.  It  is  illegal and  hence
		 punishable  by law to  copy them  or share  them with
		 others. Also, the companies do not generally disclose
		 the underlying  code or the method  of development of
		 these software. So we have to buy these software at a
		 high  cost and  also forced  to buy  the  updates the
		 companies bring out from time to time. So, there is a
		 periodic expenditure  in maintaining the  computer up
		 to  date.  "Free  Software"  is a  solution to  these
		 problems.   Such  software   developed  by  the  Free
		 Software   Foundation  can   be  copied,   shared  or
		 modified.  So, they can  be acquired  at a  low cost,
		 even free of cost sometimes. The movement was founded
		 by Richard Stallman. Another  name to note is that of
		 Linus Torvalds.

                 (Information Technology 1, English version, Page 25)
		 
The authorities at IT@School are saying that they will convert to more
free software. But  I do not think it will ever  happen.  If one looks
at the text books for 8th  Std, this becomes quite evident.  One would
doubt  whether it is  a text  book or  some advertising  supplement of
Microsoft and Intel.  Wherever there is a picture of a microprocessor,
it is an Intel Pentium chip.  The chapter on software packages shows a
logo of  Windows XP.   The chapter on  wordprocessing shows a  logo of
Microsoft Word 2000...

Should this be allowed ?  This has to be fixed.....

-- 
Vimal