Open Moko

OpenMoko is a GNU / Linux based open software development platform. Developers have full access to OpenMoko source and they can tailor their implementations to underlying hardware platforms.

Philosophy:

Mobile phones, currently closed and self limited, will rival broadband computers. When based on Open standards, they will deliver ubiquitous computing and vanish.

Ubiquitous computing means more than computing wherever you wander: It means knowing the locale, weaving seamlessly into the local fabric, and vanishing.

Devices disappear when developers have unrestricted access to hardware.

Neo gives you this control for the first time.

We want your mind in OpenMoko. Let’s work together. You’ll have our full support. Now, Free Your Phone.

The entire OpenMoko system and application software are built using Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).

Links:  http://www.openmoko.com/index.html

FOSS in India

FOSS.IN is one of the world’s largest and most focussed FOSS events, held annually India. Over the years, it has attracted thousands of participants, and the speaker roster reads like a “Who’s Who” of FOSS contributors from across the world.

FOSS.IN is extremely focused on FOSS developers and contributors, and does not cater to FOSS advocacy and basic introductory talks that are already being catered to by User Groups and other conferences.

Where and When

FOSS.IN/2007 will be held on December 4-8, 2007 (Tuesday through Saturday), at National Science Symposium Centre of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India.

Who should participate

If you are are someone who has the skills (coding, testing, documenting, etc.) and who has always wanted to participate in a FOSS project, or if you are an existing contributor who is looking at exchanging thoughts and experiences with your peers, then FOSS.IN is for you.

Links:

http://foss.in/2007/info/Home 

http://foss.in/2007/info/About 

http://foss.in/rss

Licenses

Published software should be free software. To make it free software, you need to release it under a free software license. We normally use the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL), but occasionally we use other free software licenses. We use only licenses that are compatible with the GNU GPL for GNU software.

Documentation for free software should be free documentation, so that people can redistribute it and improve it along with the software it describes. To make it free documentation, you need to release it under a free documentation license. We normally use the GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL), but occasionally we use other free documentation licenses.
Links:

http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html

http://www.gnu.org/licenses/ 

Gnu’s Not Unix!

GNU, which stands for Gnu’s Not Unix, is the name for the complete Unix-compatible software system.
So far we have an Emacs text editor with Lisp for writing editor commands, a source level debugger, a yacc-compatible parser generator, a linker, and around 35 utilities. A shell (command interpreter) is nearly completed. A new portable optimizing C compiler has compiled itself and may be released this year. An initial kernel exists but many more features are needed to emulate Unix. When the kernel and compiler are finished, it will be possible to distribute a GNU system suitable for program development. We will use TeX as our text formatter, but an nroff is being worked on. We will use the free, portable X window system as well. After this we will add a portable Common Lisp, an Empire game, a spreadsheet, and hundreds of other things, plus on-line documentation. We hope to supply, eventually, everything useful that normally comes with a Unix system, and more.

GNU will be able to run Unix programs, but will not be identical to Unix. We will make all improvements that are convenient, based on our experience with other operating systems. In particular, we plan to have longer file names, file version numbers, a crashproof file system, file name completion perhaps, terminal-independent display support, and perhaps eventually a Lisp-based window system through which several Lisp programs and ordinary Unix programs can share a screen. Both C and Lisp will be available as system programming languages. We will try to support UUCP, MIT Chaosnet, and Internet protocols for communication.

GNU is aimed initially at machines in the 68000/16000 class with virtual memory, because they are the easiest machines to make it run on. The extra effort to make it run on smaller machines will be left to someone who wants to use it on them.

Links: http://www.gnu.org/gnu/manifesto.html

Why Linux?

I guess people won’t switch to Linux because it’s free (as in free speech, they probably don’t care) or because it’s free (as in free beer, they probably think they didn’t pay for Windows), but because they see new, great features that Windows doesn’t have. So here are a few reasons why Linux rocks!

Oh, and before that, if you’re already a Linux geek, you might want to read this

 Links: http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/