Saturday, February 20, 2010

Enforcing freedom ... to be free

One of the major landmark settlements and probably a de facto precedent, the enforcement of a dream seems to be coming true. Law is now being used to free the once constrained and fettered premises that law itself imposed!!!



References:

A Big Victory for F/OSS: Jacobsen v. Katzer is Settled

Settlement in benchmark case means FOSS licenses can be enforced





Monday, February 1, 2010

iCompetition Freak ...

With hardware restricting competition by not allowing other software to be run on it, I think its time we reassess our competition law strategy. Its very akin to Windows coming preloaded with Internet Explorer and Windows not supporting any other office suite other than MS Office!!! Composite embedded software and appliances utilizing such platforms should now be checked as they have grown beyond cellphones into smart-phones and now have evolved into cell-pads (iPhone into iPad). The Adam is a more competitive and acceptable equivalent to this evolutionary chain.



References:

Apple iPad will choke innovation, say open internet advocates

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The Meaning of Self Governance ...

all celebrate the adoption of the Constitution of India today but in fact no one has ever celebrated the Constitution since its inception ...

a true celebration entails practicing its tenets in our daily lives ...




Reference:

Kiwi school stands up to government and Microsoft


Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Opening up to the source of creativity ...

Then why does Indian Government have to spend on MS Windows licensing ?!! The Delhi High Court uses Vista, so do many government offices. We sure lack political will to eradicate profiteering and enforce judicious use of taxpayers' money.



References:

California blesses open source as 'acceptable'

California Warms Up to Open Source Software in Government








Copyleft Extreme !!!

Copyleft was the anti-thesis to Copyright giving birth to the Open Source Movement, but now there is a new anti-thesis to Copyleft, thus creating propriety redundancy!!!


Reference:

The Unlicense: A License for No License








Friday, January 8, 2010

The Wolf of Environment amongst the flock of Unemployed Sheep assisted by Artificial Intelligence ...

Run the local newspaper wala out of his livelihood, cashiers jobless, bill payment haats closed, so we now see how the New Year will evolve with such resolve !!!

New Year equation:

Value Added Services + I.A. = Unemployment



References:

Save trees, Save Environment great message by idea mobile

'Environment' is Idea Cellular's next big idea






Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Our Rise is How We Fall ...

If we're one of the living, we got to walk a thousand miles ... but if we keep on exploiting, we shall not survive more than a while ...

Sustainable development is the only way forward, but India seems to be the last to even coming closer to realizing that. All it realizes is commonwealth games and cutting more trees!!! Sadly so, the economy too failed to collapse just as all other failures, be it tiger preservation, rain forest preservation, Delhi Ridge preservation, sunderbans preservation, coral reef and coastal preservation, river eco-system preservation, and the list goes on ... We do however preserve poverty, unemployment, corrupt systems, inflation, diesel car sales, and the like ...

Choice is ours, to rise towards and leap out to our doom!!!


Reference:

CO2 emissions can be stabilized only with collapse of economy



Saturday, November 21, 2009

Enemy's Enemy, My Friend!!!

So it is hereby revealed that the scattered Jedi unite to fight the good fight, a common cause that is sacrosanct by itself, the freedom of software, its applications and related avenues. So does this mean cheaper final products? If its Dell and Acer probably yes, if its Toshiba or Lenovo or even Sony its probably a big no. (HP-Compaq fits just right nowhere!!!)

Ubuntu has already dented the MS bandwagon, probably the Chrome OS would do the same. Not to forget the Android OS on Acer Aspire One D250.



References:

Ubuntu's Canonical and Google partner to create Chrome


Acer Aspire One D250 with Android

Monday, November 9, 2009

Bond like the best ...

James Bond, the epitome of the debonair, dashing, suave, philanderer, womanizer, decadent, indulgent, macho, technologically geeky and all that associated jazz. He has inspired a host of Rado Wearing, Aston Martin driving, Bollinger drinking and caviar eating hedonistic generation.

What our culture has failed to adopt from that very character described above is his honesty, loyalty, strong sense of honor, sincerity and integrity, despite his meager salary, and being surrounded by red tape and pompous politicians. He signifies the ultimate weapon of justice, wielded by the MI6, yet his license to kill does not corrupt him into making arbitrary, false or biased decisions.

We humans are very easily blown away by superficialism and most often than usual choose the easy path to glory and success, that hurts no only the weak and un-empowered, but also the deserving and honorable.

The recent Commonwealth Games 2010 at Delhi is a perfect example of how our environment is being sacrificed for the sake of conforming to the superficial, while ignoring the actual need for green cover in Delhi.


References:

SC panel nixes covering of storm water drain for Games


MCD damages 50 trees on Lodhi Road








Saturday, November 7, 2009

Medical Profession NOT Medical Business ...

Synonyms? ... nope ... then what's the confusion about?!!

Our nation fails to understand the difference between Medical Profession and Medical Business and the emergence of the latter concept owing to Patent Protection and weak Drug Price Control Order, 1995.

It is sad to see that the world's largest democracy can not become "by the people and for the people"!!!



References:

Obama prods House to pass health care bill


Thursday, October 29, 2009

Thursday, October 22, 2009

The Bug!!!

THE AIM OF UBUNTU:

Microsoft has a majority market share in the new desktop PC marketplace.
This is a bug, which Ubuntu is designed to fix.

Non-free software is holding back innovation in the IT industry, restricting access to IT to a small part of the world's population and limiting the ability of software developers to reach their full potential, globally. This bug is widely evident in the PC industry.

Steps to repeat:

1. Visit a local PC store.

What happens:
2. Observe that a majority of PCs for sale have non-free software pre-installed.
3. Observe very few PCs with Ubuntu and free software pre-installed.

What should happen:
1. A majority of the PCs for sale should include only free software like Ubuntu.
2. Ubuntu should be marketed in a way such that its amazing features and benefits would be apparent and known by all.
3. The system shall become more and more user friendly as time passes.


It is the beginning of the end!!! Open is aggressive now, like never before, with the Ubuntu release of Karmic Koala coming up this October end and Lucid Lynx in mid April 2010 to be followed by Mystic Mammoth; the future seems bright for the Freemasons of the Wild in their war against the Orthodox Church of Proprietarians ...




References:

Bug #1

5 years later, 5 ways that Ubuntu has made Linux more human


Ubuntu 9.10 RC edition released

Ubuntu's Encrypted Home Directory: A Canonical Approach to Data Privacy


Feature-By-Feature: Ubuntu 9.10 Vs. Windows 7

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Truth about Virtue ...

M.K. Gandhi's greatness is marked by virtue that may be described as under:

Virtue is never in her proper element but when death and danger seem to have hemmed her in on every side; she scorns the prize whose purchase requires not the use of all her nerves. Imperia dura tolle, quid virtus erit? (Remove the restraints of law, where will virtue be found?) saith the Tragic. Inveniet viam, aut faciet: wheresoever she become, she will either find a way or make one. No calamity is of power sufficient to bring her under. This majesty alone knows what it is to suffer check; it can neither be elevated nor dejected. Her greatness, like the highest heavens, is always firm and without clouds. Are you desirous to see her? You shall find her in the temple, in the market, in the court; you shall find her standing at a breach or scaling of a wall, her garments dusty, her countenance all tanned, and her hands as hard as iron. Wherefore, whosoever is possessed with her, let him prepare himself for dangerous assaults.


-- Daniel Tuvill, Essays politic and moral, and Essays moral and theological, (John Leon Lievsay, ed.) (Folger Shakespeare Library, Univ. Press of Virginia, 1971) at p.43.

Existentialist Futility!!!

Why bother about water in Moon, is there a water pipeline planned from there; are we now going to run it dry!? Futility of our civilizational efforts is all around us when all we need is a joint effort to eradicate the earth of more important things as hunger, thirst, inequality, pollution, oceanic submersion & the like.




References:

NASA Wants to Mine Moon Water

Porsche launches Panamera in India

Samsung India bets big on touch screen mobiles

Upcoming Bugatti Galibier 16C to carry a price tag of $1.44 million

Ape Man? Researchers Spot Legendary Orang Pendek in Sumatra




Saturday, September 19, 2009

Finest Dawnsong!!!

One of the finest decisions since the pulling out of Iraq, Obama has once again shown an intellectual commitment (rather than a testosterone driven) to International relations. He decided against reaping by not sowing!!!

We are living in the times of a living legend; Abraham Lincoln, M.K. Gandhi, and Chanakya were the only finest people in whose eras one would live and feel that there is still hope for change of heart, change of policy and deliverance from decadence.




References:

Russia Defence Min: No need now for missiles in Kaliningrad

Obama Missile Plan Wins Russia Praise, No Iran Shift






Sunday, September 13, 2009

Electric Barbarella ...

We stand here at the brink of the Kyoto Crisis. The need of the hour: electric cars, solar power, oceanic energies (wave, current and tidal power), wind power, geo-thermal power and other alternate sources of energy. Its time to strike back at our self induced decadence. This reminds me of a great song of my teens, that has kept the flame alive of saving the earth from certain destruction ...

What about sunrise
What about rain
What about all the things
That you said we were to gain...
What about killing fields
Is there a time
What about all the things
That you said was yours and mine...
Did you ever stop to notice
All the blood we've shed before
Did you ever stop to notice
This crying Earth its weeping shores?

What have we done to the world?
Look what we've done.
What about all the peace,
That you pledge your only son?
What about flowering fields?
Is there a time?
What about all the dreams,
That you said was yours and mine?

Did you ever stop to notice,
All the children dead from war?
Did you ever stop to notice,
This crying Earth its weeping shores?

I used to dream
I used to glance beyond the stars
Now I don't know where we are
Although I know we've drifted far

Hey

what about yesterday
(What about us)
What about the seas
(What about us)
The heavens are falling down
(What about us)
I can't even breathe
(What about us)
What about empathy
(What about us)
I need you
(What about us)
What about nature's worth
(ooo, ooo)
It's our planet's womb
(What about us)
What about animals
(What about it)
We've turned kingdoms to dust
(What about us)
What about elephants
(What about us)
Have we lost their trust
(What about us)
What about crying whales
(What about us)
We're ravaging the seas
(What about us)
What about forest trails
(ooo, ooo)
Burnt despite our pleas
(What about us)
What about the holy land
(What about it)
Torn apart by creed
(What about us)
What about the common man
(What about us)
Can't we set him free
(What about us)
What about children dying
(What about us)
Can't you hear them cry
(What about us)
Where did we go wrong
(ooo, ooo)
Someone tell me why
(What about us)
What about baby boy
(What about it)
What about the days
(What about us)
What about all their joy
(What about us)
What about the man
(What about us)
What about the crying man
(What about us)
What about Abraham
(What was us)
What about death again
(ooo, ooo)
Do we give a damn



-- Michael Jackson, Earth Song, HIStory (1995)




References:

Reva to Reveal New Vehicles with Remote Charging Technology

GM India could partner Reva to roll out its electric Chevy Spark ...

Tata Indica Vista Electric Vehicle SKD kits to be shipped to Norway

Tata to Build Electric Cars in Europe

Green cars, green shoots at Frankfurt







Sunday, August 16, 2009

Ordinary world ...

Our Independence is valuable to us as is our survival. M.K. Gandhi showed that India needed to survive the British and fight fiercely for the survival of the nation as one. We should not now leave the path of struggle when we are free to do what we can; not to turn away from our duties as a nation, especially those that concern our survival.

When will we as a nation stand up to the real issues concerning us? One look at the innumerable news channels on cable TV is conclusive of the fact that Shah Rukh Khan is more important to us than expensive and unaffordable insurance premiums, health care, drought, vanishing ground water, and what not!!! But the government aims only at hiking tax of individuals and not corporates. Where would we go if we cannot afford to live? We all need alternate sources of fuel/energy, health care, and above all employment rights that are being denied to us by planned government efforts.

I fail to understand why in such a poor country like India the Prime Minister is not nailing the real issues, when a richer country like the USA; their President can put up a fierce fight against corporates for each individual's basic necessities.

We are an ordinary people with ordinary needs. We need to survive before we can aim for luxury. Affordability of necessities should be addressed first ...







References:

Obama invokes late grandmother in health crusade

Sunday, August 2, 2009

If a spade can dig, so can a shovel, if the soil is loose and unsettled ...

The Agricultural Produce Market Committees are marketing boards established by the state governments of India to facilitate farmers to sell their produce to the APMC and get a reasonable price for it. However, due to middlemen creeping in, the system has become so profiteering that the ultimate price to the end consumers is more than 100% of the price of procurement from the farmers!!! It is also illegal to circumvent an APMC under state law. But due to political reasons, the Shiv Sena has shown that circumventing the system can enable them to sell agro-produce to the end consumer at 1/2 the retail market rates, without affecting the agro-procurement prices or the nominal profit margins.

This development poses a very interesting intersection of law, politics, consumer interest, constitutional duties of governments and above all the duty to serve by upholding justice (that may or may not include upholding the law!!!).

As it has been rightly said, Law is merely a tool, if its breaking serves the purpose, so be it.




References:

Eyeing vote gain, Shiv Sena sells veggies at no-profit-no-loss rates

Sena members stage protest against price rise