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[achitnis@exocore.com: [linux@it.com] State of the Onion]
Guys,
Apparently Atul isn't very happy about the lack of participation
of ChennaiLUG at IT.COM - very understandbly so - I vote that Prabhu write
an "explanatory" and maybe "apologetic" email about the situation - Any
comments/votes?
-ravi
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Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2000 10:37:48 +0530 (IST)
Reply-To: linux-at-itcom@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [linux@xxxxxx] State of the Onion
All:
Here is a reminder for you:
October 2000
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 <- We are here
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31 <- This is the day before IT.COM
We have still not talked about things like stall decoration, handouts,
etc.
We have also made zero progress on the tech talks (with no one
volunteering apart from the usual suspects).
Needless to say, I am getting depressed. Most people seem to believe that
one can do everything in the last moment, which is not going to happen (as
was conclusively proven in February). I really thought that our community
had a bit more drive than this.
We have been talking ourselves silly to sponsors for the tech-talks, but
since there are no speakers and no topics to show, we are making zero
headway on this. If we do not see some concrete action on this over the
next 4 days, I am going to recommend that we drop the tech-talks. We need
at least 250K to be able to hold the talks. No plans - no sponsors. And no
sponsors, no talks. Period.
Similarly, unless we see someone taking charge of the home computing
section, that will be dropped, too.
As I had mentioned earlier, there are a couple of sections that I had not
spoken about. These are the Indianized Linux and Linux Installs sections.
The reason why I have been hesitating on these two is for completely
opposite reasons.
I have been doing some (albeit limited) private research here, and have
concluded that the Indianized Linux (localization) scenario appears to be
non-existent.
Most of the "action" seems to be on the talking side ("We *should*
indianize Linux", etc.), but apart from someone showing me Indian fonts in
Netscape, I have not seen or heard of anything else.
If I am wrong, prove it. Don't come and tell me about Devanagari, Tamil or
Kannada fonts in Netscape - that is not localization. And don't talk about
"Aryabhatta Linux" or "Aryan Linux" or other marketing gimmicks like
these, either. There is nothing Indian about them.
I need to see proof that there is any localization effort going on at all
before this section becomes feasible. I don't want us to be the laughing
stock of the computing world by talking big and then having nothing to
show.
The Linux Installs section I have not talked about for a very obvious
reason - calling for volunteers for that will get floods of them. There
will be an install section, demoing installs of all distros we can lay our
hands on. However, since even a 9 year old kid, blindfolded and with one
arm tied behind her back can do a Linux install these days, we are just
going to assign a couple of people out of the general volunteer pool for
this one.
What we really need now is "special" stuff - stuff you cannot see anywhere
else. Or something that makes a major difference. Guru's library project
is an excellent example - once people see this, it is bound to have an
impact on our country, because it is both free and *needed*. The same
applies to the education section.
But the rest of our exhibits, while impressive, will generate "but I can
do this in Windows" kind of responses from visitors. Cost does not play a
role here.
We need a sub-section on system administration. A parallel theme of
inter-operability with other OSs. An "India powered by Linux" section that
shows just how much India can gain from Linux. Stuff like that.
We also need more participation from other LUGs. Currently, efforts are
largely by Bangalore guys. While this is understandable, it is not enough.
The only stand-alone sections handled by anyone else are those from the
Goa and Nagpur LUGs. The only LUGs lending their support to any project
are the Delhi and Calcutta LUGs.
We have heard nothing from the Bombay, Hyderabad, Chennai or Cochin
LUGs. Since these are prominent neighbouring LUGs, I find this
strange. Very strange. What happened to the community spirit?
And lastly - I received a note yesterday from someone who wanted to
"volunteer" and asked if volunteers are being paid anything.
Is this the state of Linux in India?
If you find this long note offensive and too hard-hitting, no apologies.
If you are already active and doing something, this note does not affect
you. If you did feel something, it is because you aren't doing anything.
Get off your butts, please. Linux is a participative project, not a
spectator sport.
Atul
--
--------------------------------------------------------
Atul Chitnis | achitnis@xxxxxxxxxxx (PGP:6011BCB8)
Exocore Consulting | http://www.exocore.com
Bangalore, India | +91(80)3440397 Fax +91(80)3341137
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