FOSS-ed for Windows

While there is a trend in the industry moving towards GNU/Linux and Free and Open Source Software - FOSS - Microsoft Windows is still a dominating force. Many applications have been developed around it and many continue to do so. Most of this software is also proprietary and includes heavy license fees. Proprietary software may cost anything from a few hundred dollars to millions of dollars for licensing fees alone. As a developing country, most individuals and even companies cannot afford such prices and resort to using illegal copies of software. Pirated software may cost only a fraction of the actual price but the implications can be far greater.

So are there viable alternatives to be used in the Windows environment? The answer is YES! Alternatives that don't have exorbitant licensing fees and will not result in intellectual property violation lawsuits being slapped against you! Alternatives that do not involve high maintenance costs either, are customisable, regularly and quickly provide security fixes in response to feedback and also have community driven support. What are these wonderful viable alternatives? It's Free and Open Source Software that run on Windows too! A large and wonderful catalog of FOSS applications exist for Windows users today. From Web browsers and mail clients to graphics software and content management systems, it's all out there ready to download and use! If you want to know more come check out FOSS-ed for Windows: THE event for all you decision makers to find out how YOU can benefit from FOSS while still continuing to use Windows.

Who should attend:

• Enterprise Users
• System Administrators

Objective:

• Learn about available FOSS applications and solutions in the Windows platform

Why should you go for this?

• Avoid penalty fees and lawsuits
• Cost benefits : Reduce high costs involved in purchasing and maintaining commercial enterprise software
• Customise : Tailor software to suit your specific needs
• Security : Bug fixes are turned out regularly and quickly in response to feedback
• Support : Large knowledge base available along with support contracts if necessary

When: 26th, 27th and 28th of June 2007

Where: 22nd Floor of the HNB Towers

Registration Fees:

Full:
Rs. 4500/= for two day conference
Rs. 1000/= for 3rd day of tutorials

Student:
Rs. 200/= for two day conference
Rs. 100/= for 3rd day of tutorials

Payment Points:

Sahana Lab, UCSC
WSO2, 7th Floor, BOC Merchant Tower, St. Michael's Road, Colombo 3

Cheques should be addressed to : Lanka Software Foundation

Agenda

Day 1

0800 – 0830	Registration
0830 – 0840	Opening Ceremony
0830 – 0900	Welcome Address	Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana
Session 1: Front Office
0900 – 0945	OpenOffice	Eranga Jayasundara Srimal Jayawardena
0945 – 1030	Adobe Photoshop Alternatives – GIMP	Rajkumar Ganeshan
1030 – 1100	Break
Session 2: Security
1100 – 1145	FOSS Desktop Security Tools	Suchetha Wijenayake
1145 – 1230	Server-side Security for Antivirus and Antispam	Buddhika Siddhisena
1230 – 1330	Lunch
Session 3: Email and Collaboration
1330 – 1415	Thunderbird, Evolution and Firefox	Mifan Careem
1415 – 1500	FOSS Messaging and Collaborative Alternatives	Srimal Jayawardena
1500 – 1530	Break
Session 4: Network Services
1530 – 1615	FOSS File Server	Deependra Ariyadewa
1615 – 1700	Free Instant Messaging via Jabber	Suchetha Wijenayake

Day 2

0830 – 0900	Registration
0900 – 1030	Keynote – Brian Behlendorf
1030 – 1100	Break
Session 5: Databases and Content Management
1100 – 1145	MySQL and PostgreSQL	Kanchana Welagedara
1145 – 1230	Content Management with Drupal	Anuradha Ratnaweera
1230 – 1330	Lunch
1330 – 1415	Case Study 1: Embedded Wireless Authentication Gateway Case Study 2: TBD	Gayan Suranga De Silva TBD
1415 – 1500	Lightning Talks	Suchetha Wijenayake Mifan Careem
1500 – 1530	Break
1530 – 1700	Panel – Switching to FOSS and Getting Real with IPR	Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana

Day 3

0830 – 0900	Registration
0900 – 1030	Tutorial 1 – Free Media - VLC, VirtualDub, IceCast MPlayer		Suchetha Wijenayake
1030 – 1100	Break
1100 – 1230	Tutorial 2 – Adobe Alternatives		Chamil Thanthrimudalige
1230 – 1330	Lunch
1330 – 1500	Tutorial 3 – LAMP on Windows		Kanchana Welagedara
1500 – 1530	Break
1530 – 1700	The Open CD Project – An overview of what's inside		Suchetha Wijenayake

For more details please check out the brochure and the poster for the event.

History - of - Religion

How has the geography of religion evolved over the centuries, and where has it sparked wars? Our map gives us a brief history of the world's most well-known religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. Selected periods of inter-religious bloodshed are also highlighted. Want to see 5,000 years of religion in 90 seconds? Ready, Set, Go!



Source: http://mapsofwar.com/ind/history-of-religion.html

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Amma by 6th Lane

Sandu Rathri by 6th Lane

Malpeththak Se by 6th Lane

CHAMPION OF SRI LANKA’S ICT INDUSTRY VIDYA JOTHI PROFESSOR V.K. SAMARANAYAKE PASSES AWAY

The ICT industry in Sri Lanka lost its most valued member after Professor V.K. Samaranayake passed away on Tuesday, 06^thJune 2007 aged 68.

Prof. Samaranayake was the Chairman of the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka from 2004. He was also the Emeritus Professor of Computer Science of the University of Colombo. He was the founder Director, University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC) of the University of Colombo. He served the University of Colombo for a continuous period of 43 years since his first appointment in 1961 immediately following his graduation from the same University. He was the founder of the Department of Statistics and Computer Science (DSCS) and of the Institute of Computer Technology (ICT) of the University of Colombo. These two institutions were merged as the UCSC in 2002. He was a Fellow of the Harvard Information Infrastructure Project and the National Centre for Digital Government of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. In 2005 he was a Visiting Fellow of the Digital Vision Program of Stanford University, USA.

Prof. Samaranayake served the Council for Information Technology (CINTEC), the apex National agency for IT in Sri Lanka as its Chairman for a period of 12 years. In the field of IT he has pioneered work on IT Policy, Legal Infrastructure, EDI/E-Commerce, Security, Internet Technology, Computer Awareness and IT Education. He was actively involved in the formulation of the ISO 10646 standard for Sinhalese Characters and in the development of multilingual web sites. He was also instrumental in helping to apply computers in many areas of governance, including in national elections. He was also actively involved in introducing ICT to rural communities and is engaged in developing Multipurpose Community Telecentres. He was a member of the advisory panel of the Asia IT&C program of the European Commission. He chaired the National Y2K Task force that coordinated the very successful crossover to year 2000. More recently he initiated the External Degree of Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT) of the University of Colombo which in its very first year of operation has attracted 5000 registrations. He is the Chairman of the Project Management Committee of the SIDA funded project to enhance internet connectivity of Sri Lankan Universities. He was the President of the National Academy of Sciences during 1998-1999 and the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science during its golden jubilee in 1994. He is also current President of Infotel Lanka Society.

The Government of Sri Lanka has honoured Prof. Samaranayake for his contribution towards IT by the award of Vidya Prasadini in 1997 and the national honour Vidya Jyothi in 1998. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has presented its President's Award for International Cooperation to Prof. Samaranayake in 1996 in recognition of his contribution. At its convocation held in January 2005, the University of Colombo conferred on Prof. Samaranayake the Degree of Doctor of Science ( Honouris Causa ) for his outstanding contribution to the University.

Reshan Dewapura, COO, ICTA said: “Everyone in the ICT industry in Sri Lanka has either met or worked with Professor Samaranayake. It was his sense of commitment towards ICT development in the country coupled with his boundless energy that set him apart and allowed him to make lasting alliances and friendships both personally and professionally around the world. There is no doubt that Prof’s tireless commitment to the ICT industry has made his contribution over the years remarkable. He will be greatly missed.”

His remains will be brought to Sri Lanka and funeral arrangements will take place in Colombo.