Microsoft wants to destroy open-source by opening its code for examination, but not for use.

Microsoft’s Open-Source Trap for Mon

Microsoft’s Open-Source Trap for Mono

By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
October 3, 2007

By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
October 3, 2007

Microsoft wants to destroy open-source by opening its code for examination, but not for use.

Microsoft is claiming that releasing the .NET Framework reference source code under the Microsoft Reference License will give developers the opportunity to understand more about .NET.

That sounds good for open source, doesn’t it? Wrong! Microsoft’s so-called opening up of .NET Framework is setting a trap for open-source programmers. Open-source developers should avoid this code at all costs.

You see, as Scott Guthrie, general manager of the Microsoft .Net Framework in Microsoft’s Developer Division, himself explains, the Microsoft Reference License allows viewing of source code, but not modification or redistribution. The source code will be downloadable and viewable by anyone who accepts the license agreement. This is another step in Microsoft’s Shared Source Initiative attempt to confuse people on what open source is, and isn’t.

Microsoft had the sheer gall to submit two of its Shared Source Licenses to the OSI (Open Source Initiative) for approval as an open-source license. Fortunately, the OSI shows no signs of agreeing that these are in any way, shape or form open-source licenses. In particular, the Microsoft Permissive License is unlikely to be approved, according to Michael Tiemann, the president of OSI.

In licensing circles, they’re arguing over Microsoft’s language. Though with this .NET Framework move, we can see Microsoft poisoning open source in action.

The key is that Microsoft will let you look at the code but you can’t use it in your own programs or modify it and use in your software. Now, there’s already a set of open-source programs, Mono, that let you develop and run .NET client and server applications on Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, Windows and Unix.

Mono is sponsored by Novell. It’s led by noted open-source developer Miguel de Icaza. The Mono code is covered by three different real open-source licenses. The C# Compiler and tools are released under the terms of the GPLv2 (GNU General Public License); the runtime libraries are under the LGPL 2.0 (GNU Library GPL 2); and the class libraries are released under the terms of the MIT 11 license.

Thanks to Mono, we now have the popular Linux programs such as the Banshee music player, Beagle search tool and F-spot photography program. With Mono, you can also now run Visual Basic programs on Linux. Mono is also working on porting Microsoft’s Silverlight 1.0, a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering richer Web user experiences in a project called Moonlight.

All of these programs are now in danger from Microsoft.

I know, I know, if you just look at the headline, the executive summary, “Microsoft opens up .NET,” it sounds great for Mono open-source developers. It’s actually a death trap for Mono.

Is open source the best way to unlock the value of IT? Click here to read more.

Let’s say a year from now, Microsoft does a SCO. They claim that Mono contains code that was stolen from the .NET Framework reference source code. They point at their code, they point at the license, and sure enough, there’s similar code. After all, both projects are implementing .NET; there will almost certainly be lines of code that looks alike.

Better still, from Microsoft’s point of view, all they need to do is find one Mono programmer who has signed the license to look at the .NET Framework reference source code. With that “proof,” they’ll claim they’ve found their smoking gun. SCO failed in its attempts because it never did have any evidence that there was Unix code in Linux.

Microsoft, however, is baiting its trap for Mono programmers with .NET cheese. They’ll claim, come that day, about how open it was in letting people look, but not touch, their code. With the combination of “proof” that some Mono code has been stolen from Microsoft and its attempt to muddy the waters about what open source really means, it can look forward to having a much better chance of killing off an open-source project than SCO ever had with Linux

If you ever, and I mean ever, want to write open-source code, I recommend you not come within a mile of Microsoft’s .NET Framework code or any other similar projects that the boys from Redmond “open” up.

If you do, you’re nibbling on the cheese of a trap that will eventually snap shut on you and kill up your program and quite possibly your job and finances.

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2191754,00.asp

Cisco launches I-Prize contest

Cisco launches I-Prize contest

CMN Bureau

Also launches Harvest of Hope, Feed a Child Program, as part of its social responsibility activity

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

 

 BANGALORE, INDIA: In a bid to encourage creativity and innovation, Cisco today announced the I-Prize contest open to entrepreneurs and innovators around the world.

“Web 2.0 technology has brought in mass collaboration. Creativity and innovation is booming because of mass collaboration. We are investing in interesting ideas. I-Prize contest will stimulate entrepreneurs to come out with interesting ideas,” said Martin DeBeer, senior vice president, Cisco Emerging Technologies Group, here today through Telepresence.

The winning team may have the opportunity to join Cisco as founders of a new emerging technology business unit. Depending upon the value of the idea, Cisco may invest up to $10 million over three years to fund the new business unit.

“The main idea is to draw wisdom of the crowd and get best ideas from people and I-Prize will maintain open source model,” informed DeBeer.

The contest is for three months and the entries will be evaluated in much the same way that Cisco assesses new internal business ideas for its Emerging Technologies Group. Judges will consider both the technology innovation as well as the business opportunity behind the idea. Ideas should have the potential to bring in at least $1billion revenue to Cisco.

In later rounds contestants will be provided with Cisco technologies and will also have the opportunity to use Telepresence meeting rooms in Cisco locations around the world.

Talking about the new technology Telepresence that was demonstrated today, DeBeer said, “Going forward expect the presence of Telepresence at home at affordable price in bringing families together. It can be used in education as well.”

“As price points are going down and bandwidth increasing, we can virtually put people in a room in a meeting. Cannot shake hands but virtual presence is there,” he added.

Answering a query on globalization, Wim Elfrink, chief globalization officer of Cisco, said that earlier the important differentiator in outsourcing in globalization is cost and labor arbitrage. But now growth and innovation forms the important component of globalization. We are looking at the ways and means of how we can use the technology in rural areas and achieve urbanization of 200 million people in India, he informed.

Speaking about the company’s future, John Chambers, CEO, Cisco, said that the question is how fast we can move in the future. “For this we need education, infrastructure, supportive government and innovation. Combination of these is needed to move forward.”

Cisco also announced the launch of Harvest of Hope, Feed a Child Program, as part of its social responsibility activity to improve the socio-economic conditions of the disadvantaged group in India. Cisco has partnered with an NGO Akshaya Patra for this program to provide food to 5000 children this year.

Cisco will raise funds for the program from its employees.

 

 http://www.ciol.com/content/311007101176.aspx

 

Microsoft Says Windows May Soon Be On XO Laptop

Microsoft Says Windows May Soon Be On XO Laptop

http://www.informat ionweek.com/ news/showArticle .jhtml?articleID =202601773

The low-cost laptop computer for poor children currently runs on rival
Linux software.

By Reuters
InformationWeek
October 25, 2007 07:00 PM

BOSTON – Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has made progress in getting its
Windows software to work on a low-cost laptop computer for poor
children that currently runs on rival Linux software, an executive
said Thursday.

The world’s largest software company is now working to adapt a basic
version of Windows XP so it is compatible with the non-profit One
Laptop per Child Foundation’s small green- and-white XO laptop.

“We’re spending a non-trivial amount of money on it,” Microsoft
Corporate VP Will Poole said in an interview Thursday. “We’re working
hard. But we’re still at least a few months away.”

The One Laptop per Child Foundation, a spin-off from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, plans to start producing the $188 machines in
China next month and eventually manufacture millions a year for
elementary school children in developing countries in Asia, Africa and
Latin America.

The foundation is also selling the machines in the United States and
Canada for $400 apiece through a fundraising campaign.

The laptops were designed specifically to run Linux programs. If the
machines run only Linux, Microsoft will lose an opportunity to expose
tens of millions of children worldwide to its Windows system.

“We’ve made progress,” Poole said.

If the foundation is able to meet its goal of producing millions of
laptops for school children around the world and they are all loaded
with Linux software, then they would end up being more comfortable
with those programs than with Windows, said Wayan Vota, who publishes
a blog that monitors the project. (http://olpcnews. com/).

“People will realize there is an alternative to Windows and they might
like it better,” Vota said.”

Originally dubbed the $100 laptop, which is the group’s target price
for the machine, the XO features a string pulley to charge its
battery, a keyboard that switches between languages, a digital video
camera and wireless connectivity.

The laptop’s designer, Mary Lou Jepsen, said in an interview earlier
this month she expects the price to drop in the first quarter of next
year because prices of memory tend to fall dramatically during that
period.

The computer requires just 2 watts of power compared with the typical
laptop’s 30 to 40 watts and does away with hard drives, relying
instead on flash memory and four USB ports to add memory devices.

The XO laptop’s component makers include Advanced Micro Devices Inc
and Marvell Technology Group Ltd. Software maker Red Hat Inc helped
develop the device. Quanta Computer Incwill manufacture it.

The foundation will start taking orders for its Give 1 Get 1 campaign
on Nov. 12 at http://www.laptopgi ving.org.

By: Jim Finkle

Microsoft finally bows to EU antitrust measures

By David Lawsky 39 minutes ago

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp ended three years of resistance on Monday and finally agreed to comply with a landmark 2004 antitrust decision by the European Commission.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071022/bs_nm/microsoft_eu_dc

The defeated software giant announced it would not appeal against a decisive European Union court ruling two months ago that backed the Commission.

“The repercussions of these changes will start now and will continue for years to come,” Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes told a news conference, adding that Microsoft‘s agreement will have “profound effects” on the software industry.

“It is a victory for the consumer,” she said.

Microsoft, which was fined nearly half a billion euros in 2004 and a further 280.5 million euros ($400.6 million) in 2006 for non-compliance, faced the prospect of steep new fines if it did not accommodate the Commission.

“As from today Microsoft has established compliance, no doubt about that,” Kroes said. “There is no reason to impose further penalties on Microsoft as of this day.”

But she left open the possibility it could yet face fines for its lack of compliance between 2006 and now.

Among other reversals, Microsoft will make available to so-called “open source” software developers information they need to make their programs work smoothly with Microsoft’s Windows operating system for personal computers.

Microsoft has also sliced high royalties for that interoperability information, the Commission said.

Microsoft suffered a major defeat in September when the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg, the EU’s number two court, upheld the 2004 ruling that the world’s largest software maker abused its dominant market position to crush rivals.

It backed the Commission on all major points.

Among other things, the court upheld the Commission’s finding that Microsoft failed to give rivals enough information so their work group server software would work as smoothly with Microsoft’s desktop computers as Microsoft’s own software.

Work group server software is used in small office groups for signing on, file management and printing.

The Commission said Microsoft had made substantial changes to its royalty program in three ways.

First, open source software developers will be able to access and use the interoperability information. Microsoft will not assert patents against non-commercial open source software development projects.

Second, the royalties payable for this information will be reduced to a nominal one-off payment of 10,000 euros.

Third, the royalties for a worldwide license including patents will be reduced from 5.95 percent to 0.4 percent, far less than the 7 percent originally demanded by Microsoft.

Any disagreements will be settled in London’s High Court.

Beyond that, Kroes said the company must comply with the decision, including for new software.

Microsoft’s new stance was signaled earlier this month, when the company withdrew from an appeal against a South Korean antitrust ruling. It had appealed to the Seoul High Court.

Kroes personally negotiated with Microsoft President Steve Ballmer in a number of conversations including over a meal at a restaurant near her home town of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, she said.

“I paid for the dinner,” she said.

(Additional reporting by Emma Davis)

Microsoft accelerates free access to journals

Open access to scientific journals will be extended until 2015

Ochieng’ Ogodo
16 July 2007
Source: SciDev.Net
Information technology company Microsoft will give technical assistance to enhance access to online research for scientists, policymakers and librarians in the developing world.

This was announced at a meeting in Washington last week (10 July).

Representatives from the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Environmental Programme, and leading science and technology publishers, together with representatives from Cornell and Yale Universities met to officially extend their free access to peer-reviewed journals for many developing world scientists to 2015, in line with the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.

The United Nations‘ Technology Officer, Randy Ramusack, said the technical assistance will give policymakers and librarians from the developing world faster access to peer-reviewed science journals from three portals.

The portals ― HINARI (Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative), AGORA (Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture) and OARE (Online Access to Research in the Environment) ― provide access to journals focusing on health, agriculture and the environment to more than 100 of the world’s poorest countries.

“We consider this as [a] donation to a society that needs it most and as the initiative’s only technology partner, Microsoft is providing a new system for access and authentication, enabling secure and effective use of the programs in developing countries,” said Ramusack.

Microsoft will provide new software called the Intelligent Application Gateway 2007 that will meet increased demand for access to heavily trafficked portals and perform at the standards of today’s most heavily trafficked websites, said Ramusack. The system will also enhance security through authentication of users when they log on.

Professor Otieno Malo, the chairman of the Kenya National Academy of Sciences, said this will improve research capacity for institutions and researchers.

“[The new system] will greatly enhance scientific research collaborations between the developing and developed world scientists through research works and even put us in touch with relevant institutions and researchers once we get their works online,” he told SciDev.Net.

“HINARI-AGORA- OARE removes many of the barriers that we in the developing world have been facing in accessing published literature,” said Mohamed Jalloh, consultant urologist at the Hôpital Général de Grand Yoff in Dakar, Senegal.

“These programs have the great potential to improve health, education training and research in remote areas all around the world,” he said. “They have drastically improved the way we work at the hospital.”

Related SciDev.Net articles:
Free access blocked by unawareness and librarians
Scientists push open access for developing nations
Universities urged: ‘share benefits of health research’
‘Free’ access to research should not be limited
Online library needs to sharpen up

http://www.scidev. net/News/ index.cfm?fuseaction= readNews&itemid=3757&language=1

BBC NEWS – $100 laptop production begins

‘$100 laptop’ production begins

By Jonathan Fildes Science and technology reporter, BBC News

Five years after the concept was first proposed, the so-called $100 laptop is poised to go into mass production. Hardware suppliers have been given the green light to ramp-up production of all of the components needed to build millions of the low-cost machines.

Previously, the organisation behind the scheme said that it required orders for 3m laptops to make production viable.

The first machines should be ready to put into the hands of children in developing countries in October 2007.

“There’s still some software to write, but this is a big step for us,” Walter Bender, head of software development at One Laptop per Child (OLPC), told the BBC News website.

The organisation has not said which countries have bought the first machines.

Silencing critics Getting the $100 laptop to this stage has been a turbulent journey for the organisation and its founder Nicholas Negroponte.

Since the idea was first put forward in 2002, the low-cost laptop has been both lauded and ridiculed.

Intel chairman Craig Barret famously described it as a “$100 gadget” whilst Microsoft founder Bill Gates questioned its design, particularly the lack of hard drive and its “tiny screen”.

Other critics asked whether there was a need for a laptop in countries which, they said, had more pressing needs such as sanitation, water and health care.

Professor Negroponte’s response has always been the same: “It’s an education project, not a laptop project.”

The view was shared by Kofi Annan, ex-secretary General of the UN. In 2005, he described the laptop as an “expression of global solidarity” that would “open up new fronts” for children’s education.

And as time passed, even some of the critics have changed their stance. Earlier this month, Intel, which manufactures what was considered a rival machine, the Classmate PC, joined forces with OLPC.

Functional design

The innovative design of the XO machine has also drawn praise from the technical community.

Using open source software, OLPC have developed a stripped-down operating system which fits comfortably on the machine’s 1GB of memory.

“We made a set of trade-offs which may not be an office worker’s needs but are more than adequate for what kids need for learning, exploring and having fun,” said Professor Bender.

The XO is built to cope with the harsh and remote conditions found in areas where it may be used, such as the deserts of Libya or the mountains of Peru.

Professor Negroponte first proposed the laptop in 2002

For example, it has a rugged, waterproof case and is as energy efficient as possible.

“The laptop needs an order of magnitude less power than a typical laptop,” said Professor Bender. “That means you can power it by solar or human power.”

Governments that sign up for the scheme can purchase solar, foot-pump or pull-string powered chargers for the laptop.

And because it may be used in villages without access to a classroom, it has also been designed to work outside. In particular, the green and white machines feature a sunlight-readable display.

“For a lot of these children it’s their only book and we want them to have a first class reading experience,” said Professor Bender.

Name drop

The XO will be produced in Taiwan by Quanta, the world’s largest laptop manufacturer.

The final design will bring together more than 800 parts from multiple suppliers such as chip-maker AMD, which supplies the low-power processor at the heart of the machine.

“This is the moment we have all been waiting for,” Gustavo Arenas of AMD told the BBC News website.

“We certainly believe very strongly in the mission and vision of OLPC so finally starting to see it come to fruition is not only gratifying, it is also rewarding.”

Test machines, on which the final design is based, are currently being put through their paces by OLPC.

“We keep laptops in the oven at 50 degrees and they keep on running,” said Professor Bender.

Field testing is also being done in countries such as Nigeria and Brazil.

However, the names of the governments that have purchased the first lots of machines have not been released.

The XO currently costs $176 (£90) although the eventual aim is to sell the machines to governments for $100 (£50).

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news. bbc.co.uk/ go/pr/fr/ -/2/hi/technolog y/6908946. stm

Published: 2007/07/22 23:09:42 GMT

Intel to roll out portable PCs in Indian schools

Intel to roll out portable PCs in Indian schools
By Fakir Balaji

Jaipur, July 23 (IANS) Global chipmaker Intel Corp is all set to roll
out its Classmate PC, a portable mini-notebook, in Indian schools from
August to digitally enhance the existing teaching format.

The Indian subsidiary of the $39-billion silicon firm has tied up with
HCL Infosystems to hard sell the novel educational tool in thousands
of schools across India for empowering students and teachers with
computer literacy.

“The Classmate PC, designed and developed in India by engineers at our
Bangalore development centre, will only complement the conventional or
existing format of teaching and learning in classrooms in a digital
form or e-way,” John McClure, the Intel South Asia director
(marketing), told IANS at a industry-media conclave here.

HCL, one of India’s largest PC manufacturers, will be the prime vendor
to distribute and maintain the Classmate PC for enhancing the
education system and infrastructure in government-run as well as
private schools, he said.

The innovative computing device, powered by Intel’s Celeron mobile
processor 900Mhz, comes with Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity. With a
seven-inch LCD screen, 256-512 mb RAM and a flash memory of one-two
gigabytes capacity, the portable device runs on Linux and Windows XP
operating systems.

Weighing about 1.5 kg and having a three-four hour battery life, the
product is being manufactured in China by Intel’s ODM (original design
manufacturer) Computex, a Taiwanes firm, for the Asia-Pacific region.

Since the $1-billion Intel World Ahead Programme was launched a year
ago, the company has distributed around 32,000 Classmate PCs in the
APAC region, including 10,000 units in select states across India on a
pilot basis.

To be priced at about Rs.18,000, the PC will be customised to meet the
local requirements in terms of rich content and features for quicker
adaptability. Equipped with a water-resistant keyboard and rugged
protective cover to prevent dust, the handheld device will be loaded
with special content for two-way teacher-student and teacher-parent
collaboration.

“In addition, the Classmate PC has an advanced theft-control feature,
based on network-issued digital certification, and is powered to run
mainstream applications, including video and educational software,”
McClure said at a preview of the product.

“The game plan is to encourage innovation and enable schoolgoing
children to communicate worldwide, developing 21st century skills such
as digital literacy, problem-solving, critical thinking and
collaboration, ” he added.

HCL Infosystems vice-president Rajendra Kumar said the Classmate PC
would revolutionise classroom learning by taking teacher-student
interaction to a higher level in schools across the country.

“A large number of public and private schools have already started
setting up computer labs to expose students to the world of
information and communication technologies (ICT) and equip them with
skills that will empower them in e-learning and qualify them for
high-tech jobs,” Kumar pointed out.

HCL will also rope in content developers and education service
providers to offer customised and integrated learning solutions. It
will reach out to schools and educational institutes across the
country through its distribution network.

Indo-Asian News Service

World’s poor don’t need pared-down PCs

World’s poor don’t need pared-down PCs

Intel and AMD maintain that it is not the cost of PCs that”s holding back PC adoption

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2007/107032004.asp

Lucas van Grinsven

HANOVER: Low income consumers in emerging economies do not need pared-down cheap PCs, but affordable access to the Internet and full-featured second-hand PCs, the world’s main two microprocessor makers said at CeBIT.

Intel and AMD, which sell virtually all the key microprocessors for the 250 million personal computers sold around the world every year, are not taking a cue from the global mobile phone industry, which has dramatically cut the price of cell phones to the point where they cost less than $30.

“People want a normal (PC) experience. People don’t want a second class experience,” Christian Morales, Intel’s manager for Europe, Africa and Middle East said in an interview at CeBIT, the world’s biggest technology trade show.

The biggest cost of a personal computer is usually the microprocessor, with fast, advanced chips selling for more than $200, or one-third of the total cost to produce a PC. The other expensive elements are large flat displays, memory chips, a DVD drive, a hard disk and software.

It is no surprise, therefore, that mobile phone penetration will reach three billion consumers this year, including remote and poor areas, while computers are used by around one billion consumers who are mostly well off.

Intel and AMD maintain that it is not the cost of PCs that’s holding back PC adoption.

“I can go to India and buy a PC for less than $50. There’s a secondary market for it. And because of the compatibility that PC still runs most of the key software programmes,” said Stephen DiFranco, worldwide director for sales and marketing at AMD.

JUST LIKE CLOTHES

He draws a parallel with the clothing industry.

“One-third of the world’s population cannot afford new clothing, but there’s a huge infrastructure to provide used clothing. It’s very likely that with PCs, with a rotation every year and notebooks which are replaced every two years, we’re starting to see a similar infrastructure,” DiFranco said.

Even when a cheap mobile phone becomes the preferred device to access the Internet amongst low income consumers in emerging economies, microprocessor makers still benefit because they also provide the chips that power the computer servers needed to send Internet pages and services to these phones.

Intel’s Morales, who manages an economically diverse region with countries from Switzerland to Mali, believes expensive Internet access is the real stumbling block holding back adoption of computing in Africa.

“The number one issue in Africa is the access cost to the Internet,” he said, pointing out that consumers in Paris can pay one-fourth the price of a broadband Internet connection compared with consumers in Africa.

Internet access is key to selling computers, Intel found in its research among universities, students and consumers several years ago.

“Getting the Internet infrastructure in place is the first concern. Getting the financing schemes in place to pay for those PCs over a number of years is second. The cost of the PC is the fourth or fifth issue,” Morales said.

http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2007/107032004.asp

Invitation to “Owning the Future” symposium with IIT Delhi

From: “Venkatesh Hariharan” <venky@redhat.com>

To: “Venkatappa Kumaraswamy” <vmkumaraswamy@yahoo.com>
CC: “Rupal Juneja” <rjuneja@redhat.com>
Date: Sun, 06 Aug 2006 17:21:18 +0530

Dear Mr. Kumaraswamy,

I would like to invite you to a symposium titled, "Owning the Future:
Ideas and their role in the digital age." This symposium is jointly
organized by IIT Delhi and Red Hat and will be held at Delhi on 24th
and
25th August 2006. This event is supported by the Software Freedom Law
Center, Confederation of Indian Industry and Creative Commons India.

In this symposium, we will seek to examine the notion of intellectual
"property," the emerging philosophy of "copyleft," and "Free and Open
Source Software," -- issues that we believe will have a significant
impact on the 21st century. This is an *invitee only* symposium that
will bring together 150 technologists, policy makers, legal experts and
leaders from the open source community to examine whether our current
policies on copyrights, patents etc promote or hinder innovation. 

This is the second such symposium organized by Red Hat. The first was
held in Raleigh, along with the University of North Carolina, Raleigh.
The details of the NC event are at: 

http://portal.northcarolina.edu/ipcip/index.htm

Some of the confirmed speakers for this event are:

1) Shri. Prithviraj Chauhan, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's
Office
2) Dr. Sam Pitroda, Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission (via
videoconference)
3) Dr. Vijay Kumar, Academic Director of MIT
4) Dr. DB Phatak of IIT Bombay
5) Prof. Anil Gupta, IIM Ahmadabad
6) Eben Moglen, Software Freedom Law Center
7) James Boyle, Center for Public Domain
8) Jim Wales, founder of Wikipedia
9) Paul Jones, founder of ibiblio
10) Madhukar Sinha, Registrar of Copyrights, Ministry of Human
Resources
Development
11) Lawrence Liang, Alternative Law Forum
12) Parbir Purkayastha, CPIM
13) Justice Yatindra Singh, Allahabad High Court
14) Vandana Shiva, Navadanya
15) Subbaiah Arunachalam, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation
16) Danese Cooper, Intel
17) Nishith Desai, Nishith Desai and Associates
18) Michael Tiemann, President Open Source Initiative and VP, Red Hat
19) Dr. VK Gupta, Traditional Knowledge Digital Library, National
Institute of Science Communications & Information Resources 

As you can see, this is a world class line-up of speakers. The draft
agenda and session abstracts are attached. I hope that you can
join us for this symposium.

Regards,

Venky

Venkatesh (Venky) Hariharan
Head-Open Source Affairs
Red Hat India Pvt. Ltd
1st Floor, C-Wing
Fortune 2000
Bandra Kurla Complex
Bandra (East)
Mumbai-400 051
Tel No. +91 22 39878888
Mobile. +91 93242-23263
Fax No. +91 22 39878899
E-mail: venky@redhat.com

http://www.gutenberg.net - Fine literature digitally re-published
http://www.plos.org - Public Library of Science
http://www.creativecommons.org - Flexible copyright for creative work

Owning_the_Future_Agenda_v2.1.pdf (233k)

Intel provides “Double Impact” for resellers

Intel provides “Double Impact” for resellers

The Intel-CIOL event series empowers channels with knowledge of financing options and technology

Saturday, August 05, 2006

http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2006/1080505.asp

BANGALORE: The first leg of the “Double Impact series” for the channel community, organized by Intel in association with CIOL, got off to a start in Bangalore on August 4. The series helps channel partners in learning about finance options available for end-customers and also the technology advantages of Intel’s new path-breaking Core 2 Duo processors.

Kicking off the proceedings, Anil Kumar R, vice president, CIOL, urged channels to leverage technology and the web to reach out to opportunities in rural areas.

Frank Gens, senior director, research at IDC, said, “Around 49 per cent of the IT spend comes from small and medium businesses. Channels need to look at ways of growing their base in rural areas and tapping more opportunities.”

ICICI Bank officials provided an overview of financing options available for SMBs to buy IT assets. “We have seen financing available for everything today and in some cases manufacturers make sure financing is arranged even before the launch of a product. But IT products on the other hand have not taken off in a big way. We have decided to bridge this gap and make it easy for customers to buy,” said Sanjay Agarwal, DGM, ICICI Bank.

ICICI offers loans of Rs 15 lakh and above for end-customers. Financing is available for almost all kinds of IT assets with easy documentation and quick processing. The bank expects 80 per cent of its Rs 2000 crore office equipment sales target to come from IT products, said Pankaj, product head, ICICI.

Prakash Bagri, president, OEM business, Intel India, provided an in-depth view on Intel’s latest watershed product- the Core 2 Duo. “The new processor offers a 40 per cent performance and energy efficiency boost compared to other processors. It is ideal for multitasking situations that requires use of multiple applications running on the system,” he said.

More than a hundred Bangalore-based resellers attended the event. The Double Impact series will also be held in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai in August.

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