Software Freedom Day-2008 at National Institute of Technology
Software Freedom Day-2008 Celebrations were held at National Institute of Technology Karnataka, India (NITK) from September 17-25, 2008. Web Enthusiasts Club along with Linux User Group, NITK were the people behind the SFD celebrations for which preparations were done well in advance so as to avoid the last minute hassles. The SFD event was a huge success and helped in spreading the FOSS culture in the campus.
Following were the events held during Software Freedom Day-2008
The Linux Install Fest: (17th – 20th September 2008)
In order to spread the use of Open Source and Linux Operating System, Web Enthusiasts Club had organized Linux Install Fest. Interested students registered on the club website and web club members personally went to room of every registrant to install Linux. Every participant received a free Ubuntu Linux 8.04 CD. Linux Install Fest was huge success with over 120 installations.
21 September (Day 1)
1. Inauguration by Director
The director inaugurated the event and stressed on the point that a moment of this sort [Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) movement] shouldn’t be restricted to one day and should be carried on throughout the year and appreciated the students in their endeavor to generate awareness among the masses (students) about the benefits and advantages of Open Source.
2. Talk by Naabo professionals
Professionals from Naabo, a company started up by our own college students, talked on the business model available on Open Source and how it can be exploited for successful business venture, clearing the myths that Open Source model is not suited for business.
3. Guest Lecture by Mr. Mahesha Nanjundaiah, General Manager Compiler and Tools R&D, HP India
He spoke on various technical aspects related to opportunities available to students in field of Open Source. One of his main points was India, having highest growth rate in the IT sector, contributes very less to R&D in core aspects of computing. India lags way behind other countries like even China and Russia when it comes to core R&D in computer science and encouraged the students to take up research in Computer Science.
4. Demonstration of Open Moko
OpenMoko, an Open Source alternative to iPhone, functions as good as iPhone and costs half its price and is very popular among the student developer community.
5. Compiz Fusion
Demo of 3D effects in Linux using Compiz Fusion as compared to in Microsoft Windows Vista Aero Features. Demo of Open Source games.
6. Debate on general issues related to Open Source.
In the end the students were able to gain from the experience of the guest lecturer and got a direction to work, for a better and challenging future in IT, than just chasing normal IT companies. The Open Moko and 3D effects demo was very fascinating and everyone was thrilled to see their capabilities.
23 September (Day 2)
Workshop on PHP and MySQL
- Workshop on PHP and MySQL conducted by our own Web Club students. The workshop catered to people who had some experience with C and C++ and little to no experience with PHP and MySQL.
24 September (Day 3)
- Introduction to Open Solaris – features like DTrace, zones, SMF, IPS.
- ZFS features – 128 bit filesystem, Self Healing data, high reliability, platter speed performance.
25 September (Day 4)
Introduction to NetBeans – Grand Unified IDE to compile C, C++, Java Programs and PHP scripts.
- Java Swing Worshop – Swing components, JButton, JRadioButton, JPanel, JCheckBox, JTabbedPane.
Email: <gaurav.mogre AT gmail DOT com>