[FSF India] WB Govt ties up with MSFT

Arun fsf-india@gnu.org.in
Mon, 6 Aug 2001 14:04:52 +0530


> The best way to promote FS is through a constructive approach. Pointing 
> out failures of non-FS to deliver and how we are being taken for a ride 
> is not going to take us far. We must highlight FS successes, educate the 
> yougsters, the decision makers, etc.


True.

> Decision makers often have little time and work under all kinds of 
> pressures. They often need experts to advice and this they dont get. 
> Instead of projecting Fredom, Democracy, etc. , we have to educate on 
> what is in the national and society's interests. If it sounds too much 

    Freedom and Democracy are two major interests of our nation.

 
> We can evolve some healWe have to remember that being in this world, 
> free and 'not-free' will continue to exist - as humans there will always 

    Fight for freedom never ends. 


<snip>
> iv) Proporietory solutions that guarantee freedom from undesirable 
> cookies and with known input and output formats. so that these systems 
> can be expanded by intergration with other systems.
> v) Proprietory solutions with unknown input / output formats and 
> guarantee of freedom from user unknown cookies.
> vi) Proprietory software with unknown cookies should have the lowest 
> priority in the category.
</snip>

    Is it ever possible to make sure that Proprietory solutions doesnt
have 'undesirable cookies' ? Especially if the solution comes from US.
(Which has got a very 'clean' history of putting malicious components
 in what they export.)
 
> guidelines. We also msut oppose (as the Europeans are doing) software 
> patents. It is a minefield not unlike the issues under bioiversity and 
> traditional herbal medicine practices. we must develop a national 
> consensus and against software patents. 

Yes, we must. And consensus against NDA in educational institutions.


> I am opening an Authoring Web site at iiitmk.ac.in
> 
> We shall start posing a number issues concerning specific learning 
> modules. Experts may send us contents that we shall titch together as 
> courses.
> 
> Send me any amount of problems, solutions, mini-projects (for students 
> practice) in FS that I can use for classrooms and freely distribute to 
> others. Let us give a FS learning platform for colleges to use. In 
> particular I am looking for the following courses.

    It is an excellent idea and there are few other initiatives like
this. They may also join. www.andamooka.org is one of them.


> 1. Data Structures and Algorithms.
> 2. Programming Languages - with examples from C, C++ and Java. (Big US 
> Schools use Scheme as the base languages as best suited for teaching. 
> Java may be as good. Give your opinion).

    I prefer Scheme/Guile and Python. Python is excellent learning tool.

> 3. Operating Systems - with text as Applied Operating Systems by 
> Silbetschatz, et al - and prefer GNU/Linux and C as the learning support.
> 4. Web Technologies - over Apache, Sun Java, Mozilla, etc.
> 5. RDBMS, ODBC based applications, OODB - what FS?

    PostgresSQL and MySQL


> We also need to prepare a School Learning Platforms over FS. Need to 
> define some role for IT in school. Not of the kind it is today.

    Yes it is an important area of work.    

> Can any one help? The developed courses will be available a Free Courseware.

(Under GNU FDL ?)

> Unless we begin teaching young impressionable age group the technology 
> using, we shall not have the stamina to do the long-distance. 

    True.