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Indian President Advises Open Source Approach
geo_2677 writes "The Indian President Dr. A Kalam has advised defense scientists to go for open-source software for software security, rather than be stuck with insecure proprietary software. Being a scientist himself, he surely knows what's good for his country." Speaking at the Indian Navy's Weapons and Electronic System Engineering Establishment, Kalam argued: "Open source codes can easily introduce the users to build security algorithms in the system without the dependence of proprietary platforms", though continues: "We should take maximum care to ensure that our solution is unique to protect our own defence security solutions implemented on open platforms." We previously reported on Richard Stallman's meeting with Dr. Kalam earlier this year.
...can be found on sarovar.org... it's one of the biggest public GForge sites out there.
The Army reading list
..Indian's political structure? I seem to remember that a woman was just elected as Prime Minister (a big leap for India!).
Where have you been? For that matter, hit Google News--she decided not to take up the position after heavy pressure from nationalist parties, who pointed out that Sonia Gandhi was, in fact, born in Italy.
Back on topic... enjoy.
Someday, you're going to die. Get over it.
In the Indian system (similar to the British), the PM is the head of government and the President is a figurehead, like the queen of England. He has some, limited powers. The PM is elected by people's representatives (not directly like in US, though), usually from the largest elected party.
Actually, the presidential system is more similar to monarchies than the Indian system. Look at how much Bush can do without having to answer anyone in any parliament!
All your favorite sites in one place!
Incidentally his official website runs Apache/2.0.42 (Unix) PHP/4.2.3. A couple of brief excerpts from his bio here:
After a fairly secure childhood, during which he is said to have read as much as he could, he studied at the Madras Institute of Technology, where he specialised in Aero Engineering.
He has worked in leading defence and space organisations in research and managerial capacities. He contributed in a major way to the development of the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) III, which put the Rohini Satellite into orbit. He has also been chairperson to Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC).
A vegetarian, his interests include playing the veena and writing poetry. He has written two books, Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India and India 2020: Vision for the New Millennium.
Till now, Abdul Kalam has been best known for his key role in the nuclear tests at Pokharan in the Rajasthan desert on May 11 and 13, 1997. With most parties choosing him as their presidential candidate, he has become the 11th Indian to join a very select group.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
Knowing my president, he definitely does not see "unique" as "closed". So let's not mis-interprete his words. He probably meant "not based on tainted imported technology", i.e. an encouragement to innovate, rather than copy.
I have watched him take on this issue for years now (in his roles as both president of India, and as a highly respected scientist), and I can tell you that you are dealing with someone who is majorly savvy about open systems. He could probably teach quite a few people here on Slashdot about such things - he certainly taught Bill Gates a few things.
If RMS was in a receptive state of mind during his meeting with President Kalam, I am sure he would have learnt a few things himself.
You aren't remembered for doing what is expected of you
Here's the proof:
Article from the Times of India. A blurb
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2003 12:06:03 AM ]
PUNE: President A P J Abdul Kalam on Wednesday urged Indian IT professionals to develop and specialise in open source code software rather than use proprietary solutions based on systems such as Microsoft Windows.
Stallman's visit reported in The Hindu and elsewhere:
Kalam, Stallman discuss open source software NEW DELHI, JAN. 31. The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, last Thursday played host to two radically divergent poles of the global software industry.
Though the second link does not say 2004, I'm sure it was earlier this year, and a Google search should help you confirm that. Also the URL is dated 20040201.
The above information renders your argument incorrect and w/o H20.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
Look at his acchievents milestones and also a site dedicated to him here
Even though the position is only decorational, it is good to know that a country recognizes its intellectual wealth and respects it.
for the last time people, I am "frodo from middle eaRTH", not "middle eaST".