Re: [LI] Comdex and what followed

[linuxfan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Hi,

 I was the one from Indian Council of Agricultyral Research (ICAR )
presently posted at Mathura available there and greatly enjoyed the talks
on Linux. As a long term Linux users ( I am using Linux since 1994-95), I
could not resist when Mr. Mukhi tried to mis-interpertate the facts about
Linux and came to Dias to speak my experiances with Linux. Let me be more
elobarative about Linux uses in ICAR which controls Agricultural
Institutions all over India and Agriculture Universities where more than
6000 scientists are working. It has a plan to link about 800 stations with
Internet for the benefit of Agriculture scientists, Teachers, students and
more important the farmers with the name Agriculture Research Information
System with the help of World bank under National Agriculture Technology
project..

	Till date about 90 KU band VSATS and 10 "ernet"  'C' band VSATS
have been instaled in the system. In 1998 I was only one user in the
system and have had web serever, and intranet running on a Pentium 90
server. In its first National conference when i sopke about the Linux it
was a complete furor in the house which had about 300 delegates.  Out of
those delegates about 55 had SUN Solaris runing on Sun machine and rest
were on Novel Netware. Their point of view were they that they do not have
space to learn one more OS that to free one which may not of any worth as
no one would like to sell any thing free.

	But success of Linux at CIRG Mathura had a great impact on system.
I was able to start a listserver using majordomo for the benefit of ARIS
centers in January 1999 which is "aris-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx" and Dr. G.J.
Sarvaiya at Gujrat Agriculture University tried abnd Instaled the LINUX.
We were then able to convince every one to go for Linux OS at all 800
Centers. We even now are thinking to have a dedicated mirror site for
Linux so that downloads are easy.

	The result more than 40 servers all over India in our suystem are
on Linux. Our mailing list "aris-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx" has the
responsibility to solve the problem of Linuxers.  Most of thees servers
are connected with KU band FTDMA VSAT and are runing intranet. We have had
full day Seminar on Linux at NBPGR, Pusa New Delhi in March 1999 and that
was great. The fight between Microsoft and Linux group was more there than
what I saw at Comdex New Delhi. The result the Linux is clear winner.

	At Comdex what i saw was that most of the delegates were eager to
learn baout the Linux. They were not avers of Linux except those from
Microsoft Group. The Microsoft group asked the same questions which
Microsoft published at it site named "  Linux Myths". The Linux OS is well
accepted now but people has some fear and doubts which Linux community in
India can solve by showing the realilty by demonstration. Let the peole
Like Mr. Mukhi feel and understand that an OS can not be called " bad" if
it does not has a drivers or two for some controllers. Mr. Maddiog was
very clear when he told the audiance that the Linux have the maximum
drivers after NT.

	Oh! the porescence of Atul, Raj and his friends made the event 
charming and educative.

 
Long Live Linux.
 



--Dr. S.K. Singh--
Senior Scientist, agril. Res. Services.
CIRG, Mathura.

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