[Fsf-friends] This weekend's ILUG-Goa meet 23072005 * Goa Science Centre 1500-1700

[Frederick Noronha (FN)]

Just a brief note... from ILUG-Goa.

If you wish to invite your friends over to encounter Free/Libre and Open
Source Software, this weekend's meet is as good as any you would get.

We already have a couple of issues on the agenda:

Prof Anil Seth wrote: "I have been experimenting with LTSP - adding
local applications and would be happy to discuss what I have been
trying."

What's that?

Quote from Wikipedia:

Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP) is an add-on package for Linux that
allows many people to simultaneously use the same computer. Applications
run on the server with a terminal known as a thin client handling input
and output. These thin clients are also known as X Terminals. Generally,
they are low-powered and lack a hard disk.

This technology is becoming popular in schools as it allows pupils
access to computers without purchasing expensive desktop machines. Some
examples of a distributions using LTSP are K12LTSP, Skolelinux and
Deworks.

The founder and project lead for LTSP is Jim McQuillan. Endquote.

[See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTSP and http://www.ltsp.org ]

Vidyadhar Gadgil roped in his Vipassana friend and long-time ILUG-Goa
member Shankar of the National Institute of Oceanography to talk about
LaTex, TeX and Lyx.

LATEX is a document preparation system for the TeX typesetting
program. It offers programmable desktop publishing features and
extensive facilities for automating most aspects of typesetting and
desktop publishing, including numbering and cross-referencing, tables
and figures, page layout, bibliographies, and much more. LaTeX was
originally written in 1984 by Leslie Lamport and has become the dominant
method for using TeX —few people write in plain TeX anymore. The current
version is LaTeX2ε. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX

LyX is a document processor following the "what you see is what you
mean" paradigm (WYSIWYM), as opposed to the WYSIWYG ideas used by word
processors. This means that the user only has to care about the
structure and content of the text, while the formatting is done by
LATEX, an advanced typesetting system. LyX is designed for authors who
want professional output with a minimum of effort and without becoming
specialists in typesetting. The job of typesetting is done mostly by the
computer, following a predefined set of rules called a style, and not by
the author. Specific knowledge of the LATEX document processing system
is not necessary but may improve editing with LyX significantly for
specialist purposes.

Although LyX is popular among technical authors and scientists, for its
advanced mathematical modes (e.g.), it is increasingly also been used by
social scientists and others for its excellent Bibtex integration and
document managing features. It can handle documents ranging from books,
notes, theses to articles in refereed journals. Recent versions of the
software support right-to-left languages like Hebrew and Arabic. A
separate release for Chinese, Japanese and Korean language support is
also available.

The LyX document processor is available for various operating systems
like several Unix platforms including Mac OS X, OS/2, Windows/Cygwin and
Linux. A Windows port that does not need Cygwin/X is in advanced stages.
LyX is an open source software that can be redistribute and/or modify it
under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
Free Software Foundation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyx

Do come... pass the word around. There's a lot of info-sharing which you
could gain from... FN

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PS: St Xavier's College, Mapusa (Goa) launches The Xavier's Open Source
Cell on July 23, 2005 at a program from 10.30 am to 11.45 am.
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