| Frederick [FN] Noronha * àààààààà àààààààà on Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:38:34 +0200 (CEST) |
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| <nettime> BYTESFORALL [May 2007] Software 'piracy' ... poverty and copyrights... other updates from South Asia |
BYTESFORALL * MAY 2007 * SUMMARY * * * SOFTWARE PIRACY IN INDIA DROPS BY ONE PERCENT: STUDY. And Patrice Riemens informs that a most interesting article in yesterday's Financial Times Digital Business supplement details the stunning costs, direct and indirect, that are associated with the 'management' of software licenses for business and other professional organisations. It's called "The hidden cost of being too cautious" and is by Alan Cane Published: May 30, 2007. Source Patrice Riemens patrice@xs4all.nl * * * GOOGLE OFFERS HELP to Mysore University (Karnataka) to digitize 8,00,000 books. The Mysore University library has around 100,000 manuscripts that are written both on paper as well as palm leaves. These would include India's first political treatise, the 'Arthashastra' written in the 4th century BC by Kautilya. The idea behind digitising for free is to get free links to these materials once the necessary patenting is complete. Google will also provide expertise, software, and manpower for the digitization work. Whereas, Mysore University is training some of its select Physics students to help in the digitization process. http://www.techshout.com/internet/2007/21/google-to-digitize-800000-books-at-mysore-university-in-india/ http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/10340 * * * LET'S MAKE POVERTY A 'COPYRIGHT FREE ZONE'! Nalaka Gunawardene argues that we all know the power of moving images. Used strategically, moving images can move people to change lifestyles, attitudes and behaviour. Indeed, the right kind of information -- whether about microcredit, contraception, home gardening or immunisation -- can vastly improve the quality of life, and even save lives that are needlessly lost. Says Nalaka: "Broadcasters need to let go of development related TV content after initial broadcasts. They must also allow educational and civil society users greater access to vast visual archives, gathered from all over the world. In this context, I would like to repeat a proposal I first made last year, which I have since presented at the UN Headquarters and other forums. It's simple: Let us make poverty a 'copyrights free zone'." http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/10338 * * * TELECENTRE.ORG BLOG, some highlights: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/10336 * * * CHEAPER LAPTOPS FOR CHILDREN: A programme to provide millions of low-cost laptops to students in poor countries is set to start production in September even as commercial competitors prepare to offer even cheaper models. The idea from Nicholas Negroponte, a co-founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Laboratory, who proposed the project at the World Economic Forum in Davos two years ago, has moved closer to fruition. Negroponte sees the computers, to be sold in bulk to governments of certain countries, as a linchpin of education and development. The non-profit organization he formed -- One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) -- attracted support of leading businesses and institutions and will start production later this year, Michail Bletsas, chief connectivity officer at OLPC, said. The laptop is being made by the Chinese firm Quanta: the goal is for Quanta to manufacture 40,000 laptops a month beginning in September, then step up production to 400,000 per month by the end of the year. "OLPC would like to manufacture at least three million units in the first round of production," he said. But OLPC could not say which countries were planning to order the laptops, spokeswoman Jackie Lustig said. Volume shipments to developing nations were planned for later this year, she said. "OLPC is in talks with Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Nigeria, Thailand, Pakistan, Russia, Rwanda and many other countries -- but nothing definite just yet," she said. http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1099381 http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/10332 * * * * SOFTWARE, FROM A BANGLADESHI HACKER: "These are some of my hacks that you might find useful. I wrote them in my own time (weekends, after work and in my vacation), my employer has nothing to do with them. All the software are available with source for free. If you have any questions or suggestions please email me at muquit@muquit.com If you find the software useful, please let me know as well. Share and enjoy!" http://www.muquit.com/muquit/software/software.html * * * CELLPHONE CALL FROM EVEREST: British climber Rod Baber on Monday became the first man to use a cellphone for making a call from Mount Everest. He used the GSM technology. Earlier, satellite phones had been used to make calls from the Everest summit, but this is for the first time that a call has been made using the 3G technology. The call was made possible with the help of a cell tower installed by China Telecom in Rongbuk, about 12 miles from the mountain peak. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/10321 * * * FOR MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPERS: The Institute for the Future is holding a roundtable of developers or programmers working on mobile applications or services in Delhi. If you know anyone working in this sphere, please ask them to get in touch with Steve Cisler, Center for Science Technology and Society, Santa Clara University http://scu.edu/sts/ <sacisler AT yahoo.com> * * * STOCKHOLM CHALLENGE: Earl Mardle in Sydney meanwhile calls on mobile developers from anywhere to take part in the Stockholm Challenge. "We are very aware that mobile is vital to many areas of development and the more interesting and innovative programmes we can contact, the better," says he. You can find out more about the Challenge here or register and take part here or contact earl.mardle@stockholmchallenge.se Earl Mardle is with KeyNet Consultancy/ Using Information Technology in the Real World at 29 River St Earlwood Sydney NSW 2206 Australia. * * * TELECENTRES IN THE MADRASA: The school based telecenter project of RI SOL has launched internet-enabled telecenters in two Bangladeshi madrasas (Islamic religious schools), in Khulna and Dhaka. See Khulna Alia Madrasa Advocates for an Inclusive Information Society on World Information Society Day Link to the news story and photos of the celebration: http://www.connect-bangladesh.org/content/view/418/101/ Source: Nazrul Islam <nazrul07@gmail.com> * * * Search Engine for Malayalam: http://www.guruji.com/ml/ Source: Ridhi D'Cruz, independent journalist, web designer, photographer, ICT4D enthusiast and BytesForAll volunteer. * * * IM GOES TO OFFICE: Instant Messaging (IM) usually involves a programme that allows you to talk to your contacts (friends, acquaintances, colleagues) in real time. Most of us enjoy chatting via IM, because it gives us the luxury of putting our point across to someone in a quick and casual Web environment. And it doesn't matter if the person you're talking to happens to be in another city or in the cubicle next to yours. In recent times, IMing has evolved from being a guilty workplace pleasure to a practice condoned, if not supported, by company managements. Why? Because using IMing to stay in touch with colleagues, vendors or customers is the quickest way to gets things done, even faster than emails! http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/10312 * * * e-CHOUPALS: NETWORKING RURAL INDIA: Ranabir Majumdar writes that the agricultural system has also traditionally been unfair to primary producers. Farmers have only an approximate idea of price trends and have to accept the price offered to them at auctions on the day that they bring their grain to the mandi. As a result, traders are well positioned to exploit both farmers and buyers through practices that sustain system-wide inefficiencies. One of India's foremost private sector companies, which has a diversified presence in tobacco, hotels, paperboards, specialty papers, packaging, agri-business, branded apparel, packaged foods and other fast moving consumer goods, initiated e-choupal in 2000. The effort placed computers with Internet access in rural farming villages. The e-choupals serve as both a social gathering place for exchange of information (choupal means 'gathering place' in Hindi) and an e-commerce hub. http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/web2.0story.asp?id=ARTEN20070012289# * * * FREE SOFTWARE PORTAL on the Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Free_software * * * PEER-TO-PEER, ONLINE: Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004@gmail.com> of that amazing resource called the http://p2pfoundation.net in Bangkok -- he also has an amazing set of bookmarks at http://del.icio.us/mbauwens -- has an interesting set of books are listed here at: http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Category:Books Some of interest: http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Wireless_Networking_in_the_Developing_World http://www.p2pfoundation.net/African_Digital_Commons http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Building_Sustainable_Communities http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Gaian_Democracies http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Human_Scale http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Video_for_Change http://www.p2pfoundation.net/You_Can_Hear_Me_Now This one is important for inspiring policy reforms: http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Democratizing_Innovation * * * SOUTH AFRICA LAUGHS AT PATENT THREATS: South African open source developers and companies do not seem particularly concerned by the recent threats made by Microsoft. 'A storm in an American teacup,' is how Obsidian Systems' CTO Anton De Wet described it. http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1527&s=news * * * Podbharti.com, PODCASTS FROM INDIA: Here is good news for Hindi web community. Indo-Asian News Service reports from New Delhi that a new website pdobharti.com has come up with Hindi podcasting service, which will provide rich coverage of news and views on Indic blogging concerning India, tools and technology, current affairs and entertainment. Maharashtra based blogger duo Debashish Chakrabarty and Shashi Singh have launched the website www.podbharti.com. It is India's first pure Hindi podcast and targets towards Hindi speaking users in India as well as abroad. Growing number of India centric podcasts like IndiaTech (http://www.podtech.net/indiatech) and advent of community events like Podworks (http://www.podworks.in) are testimony to the growing prowess. But there is handful of quality Indian podcasters around and they are all in English. http://in.movies.yahoo.com/070516/43/6fv5l.html * * * CHECK OUT these too: the Hindi portal Lokmanch (http://www.Lokmanch.com) and Hindi blog magazine Nirantar (http://www.Nirantar.org). * * * SOME INTERESTING ICTforDEVELOPMENT BOOKS: Code: Collaborative Ownership and the Digital Commons Download the book free: http://pdf.codev2.cc/Lessig-Codev2.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code:_Collaborative_Ownership_and_the_Digital_Commons Mobile Communication and Society: A Global Perspective http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Communication_and_Society:_A_Global_Perspective Challenging The Chip http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenging_The_Chip Coding Cultures (Francesca da Rimini, ed). You can download this book free. http://www.dlux.org.au/codingcultures/handbook.html Free As In Education: a 2003 Finnish study on Free Software/Open Source in the "developing" world. By Niranjan Rajani et al. Download from OneWorld Finland special section of FLOSS: http://fi.oneworld.net/article/view/56261 - main report: http://oneworld.net/filemanager/download/1255/ Regional reports: - Asia: http://oneworld.net/filemanager/download/1253/ - Africa: http://oneworld.net/filemanager/download/1252/ and - Latin America: http://oneworld.net/filemanager/download/1254/ * * * MICROSOFT CLAIMS that free and open-source software violates 235 of its patents. See the analysis at Groklaw for a different view. http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070513234519615 * * * APDIP e-Notes 14 and 15 by Roger Harris 14: Telecentre 2.0 http://www.apdip.net/apdipenote/14.pdf 15: Telecentre Sustainability http://www.apdip.net/apdipenote/15.pdf All APDIP e-Notes are available at http://www.apdip.net/apdipenote/ All APDIP e-Resources are available at http://www.apdip.net/elibrary/ * * * GLOBALISWATCH.ORG: A new watchdog report monitoring promises made by governments and the United Nations to ensure that information technology is used to benefit millions of people, got launched in Geneva on May 22. The fruits of the information technology 'revolution' are unevenly distributed between countries and within societies. The gap is not only "digital". The reasons for the inequalities are complex but, claim the editors of the report -- the Association for Progressive Communications and the Third World Institute -- experience shows that the status quo prevails unless citizens actively demand change from their governments. A Global Information Society Watch is needed to make governments and international organisations accountable, it suggests. Download or read online: http://www.GlobalISWatch.org * * * How To Keep Hostile Jerks From Taking Over Your Online Community http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199600005 * * * TINY GOA AND CYBERSPACE: Goa, the former Portuguese colony on the west coast of India, is seeing students get access to computers. But what are they being used for? Dr Nandkumar Kamat nkamat@unigoa.ac.in points to various resources available. He writes: "Instead of giving substandard CDs to students, it is advisable to use MIT opencourseware. Undergraduates and postgraduates, just log on to ocw.mit.edu and get information on 1600 courses. There are hundreds lecture notes in pdf and PowerPoint or other presentation formats. These are prepared by some of the world's best teachers-the subject specialists in their own area." * * * Enter the Blogosphere: The Politics, Profits, and Perils of Blogs: Interesting syllabus on blogging.... http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/10243 * * * India, EVMs debate.... A debate over electronic voting machines used here. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/10245 * * * FIRST RURAL BPO COMPANY IN SRI LANKA: Horizon Lanka Foundation started a new BPO company named OnTime Pvt. Ltd. recently to carry out BPO operations. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/10261 * * * ICT Skill Development in the Asia-Pacific Region Part one: the gap between demand and supply http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/message/10262 DOWNLOAD: http://www.apdip.net/apdipenote/13.pdf * * * NON-PROFITS LEVERAGE FREE SOFTWARE: Indian voluntary groups are being offered solutions in free software - with training and support thrown in - to give them options to using illegally copied software for their work and campaigns. A series of workshops are being held across India over the next two years, and each participant organisation will enjoy free software support until 2009. http://www.zdnetindia.com/zdnetnew2007/index.php?action=article&prodid=5692 * * * CPRsouth2: Empowering rural communities through ICT policy and research December 15-17, 2007 in Chennai, India. Organized by LIRNEasia & TeNeT Group and RTBI, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, supported by IDRC-Canada. Visit http://www.cprsouth.org for more information about the conference. * * * PEER-TO-PEER: Valentin Spirik <valentin.spirik@gmail.com>, who is also the author of the popular guide for autonomous video production at http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Category:Audiovisual , has produced a four-minute video presentation of the main peer to peer ideas ... http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/what-is-peer-to-peer-4-min-version-of-michel-bauwens-video-interview-featuring-cc-licensed-music/2007/05/04 * * * INDIAN RIGHT TO INFO LINKS: http://indiarti.blogspot.com (Pune activist Vishal Kudchadkar's initiative from via California, US, where he's based); http://righttoinformation.gov.in (official site); http://parivartan.com (site of the Delhi-based Parivartan); http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/programmes/ai/rti/india/india.htm (comprehensive web pages on RTI packed with info including a users' guide); http://www.agnimumbai.org/rti2005.pdf (Mumbai-based AGNI, Action for Good Governance and Networking in India) on RTI); http://cic.gov.in (Central Information Commissioner); http://sic.maharastra.gov.in (Maharasthra State Information Commision, in Marathi). * * * PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE AN ANOMALY: Free and open source software researcher Rishab Ayer Ghosh says that just 16 percent of software spend is on pre-packaged software and the majority of programmers work outside the pre-packaged software sector. 'Proprietary software is an anomaly,' says Ghosh. http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1468&s=news * * * GNU/LINUX ... STAMP-SIZE: Yet, it has all the power of a full-sized board complete with 32 megabytes of memory; 16 MB of storage and the interconnects needed to fuel any standard Linux application. The Bangalore-based EI Labs India has just released "LinSeed version 1", a single chip embedded Linux computer that original equipment-makers can use to create a host of handy devices, including wirelessly connected pocket computers. It will save device-makers from having to create their own custom chips -- and almost halve the cost of the end product, explained Krishna Vaidyanathan, EI Labs founder and Chief Executive. If bought in quantity, the LinSeed will cost around $100 a piece -- and the company also offers an evaluation board which developers can use to build their applications around the LinSeed chip. http://www.hindu.com/2007/05/06/stories/2007050600241200.htm * * * SIMPUTER, NOT YET GIVING UP: Some recent interesting discussions on the Simputer, which is not giving up yet. Check it out: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/simputer/ * * * FREE MEDIA VS FREE BEER (By Andrew L): The free beer Richard Stallman loathes is everywhere. Media companies are currently falling over themselves to produce the new hive for user generated content. The names have rapidly become common place - YouTube, MySpace, Flickr - and their affect has been enormous, dramatically changing the production and distribution of media globally. Free beer pours from the taps of these new hubs of participatory media as they clamor to get you in the door. But free beer, as Free Software Foundation founder Richard Stallman has always emphasised, is not the same as freedom. http://nettime.freeflux.net/blog/archive/2007/05/04/nettime-free-media-vs-free-beer-by-andrew-l.html OR http://www.engagemedia.org/Members/andrewl/news/freebeer/ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To join the mailing list http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers/join OR contact fred at bytesforall.org and request to be subscribed. 1682 members. Founded June 2001. Reaches all those who care about the social impact and fairness of computing and information technology. This issue compiled by: Frederick Noronha, co-founder. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * -- FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490 (after 1300IST) Skype: fredericknoronha Yahoochat: fredericknoronha http://fn.goa-india.org http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com Email fred at bytesforall.org Res: 784 Saligao 403511 Goa India # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net