[FSUG-Bangalore] More Detail report on Hindu

[Anivar Aravind]

The report is more in an Open source line than Free software way i feel. 
  It show the neeed of Educate journalists about the need of using the 
term Free Software/Swathanathra software

Anivar

Anivar Aravind wrote:
> Detail report is here.
> 
> http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/16/stories/2008041660721100.htm
>  Computer professionals hold candlelight vigil against proprietary software
> 
> Deepa Kurup
> 
> Organised to give a human face to a subject often discussed in blogs and 
> on websites
> 
> To oppose those who say that knowledge is for those who can buy it
> 
> Protest by individuals was an attempt to cut through the digital divide
> 
> Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
> 
> Novel protest: Software professionals hold a candlelight vigil at Town 
> Hall in Bangalore on Tuesday, in protest against the use of proprietary 
> software. —
> 
> BANGALORE: What does a software professional, an artisan, a scrap 
> dealer, a college student and a teacher — gathered in front of the Town 
> Hall with candles in their hand — have in common?
> 
> In a city where protests have become as common as the issues that drive 
> them, this one comes as a breath of fresh air because of the nature in 
> which it was organised.
> Group
> 
> A group of individuals, comprising mostly software engineers and others, 
> who oppose the use of proprietary software, got together for a 
> candlelight vigil to raise awareness and give a human face to what has 
> largely been a protest in blogs and on websites.
> 
> R. Vijay Kumar is a scrap dealer who is not educated and does not use 
> the computer.
> 
> However, a community Computing Centre called C3, started by software 
> professionals in their slum, uses Free Software GNU Linux.
> 
> “Our children study there and when we got to know about the spirit 
> behind this, we realised that this is about equal access and quashing 
> those who say that knowledge is for those who can buy it,” he explains 
> about the reason for the protest being organised.
> 
> Do they understand the nitty-gritty of the matter and how it will affect 
> people? Perhaps not.
> 
> But they know that the protest is trying to cut through the digital divide.
> 
> “There is very little awareness even among professionals about licensing 
> and the implication of proprietary Software,” says Reshinesh, a software 
> engineer at CISCO, who calls himself an Open Source evangelist.
> 
> Holding placards which demand Document Freedom and ask for a national 
> policy on this issue, the protesters label the recent document standard 
> called OOXML — which was adopted by the International Standardisation 
> Organisation on April 2 — a “banana standard.”
> Software
> 
> Besides software professionals who confessed to working in companies 
> such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro, which endorse 
> proprietary standards by virtue of their vote at the International 
> Organisation for Standardization, said that they believed in Open Source 
> Software. “Such a policy is critical to India. Especially in 
> e-governance, why should people have to buy any particular software in 
> order to access public records?” asks Praveen A., a software engineer, 
> volunteering with various Free Software projects.
> 
> These professionals have been taking their message to technical 
> institutions and colleges, and several students from colleges such as 
> B.M.S College of Engineering and R.V. College of Engineering.
> 
> “For students it is very important because it promotes innovation.
> 
> “You can find the code and contact people who created it through mailing 
> lists and Internet Relay Chat,” is the comment from Santosh G. Vattam, 
> who is a student from B.M.S.
>