reading this article , felt like there are endless possibilities of what you can make of yourself. +1 and likes and respect for Emila Terzon, Khom Raj Sharma and FOSS Nepal community .
>From the PC of Spandan Pradhan Acme Engineering College Email : [email protected] [email protected] Website : www.spandan.com.np www.meroudayapur.com www.siwdt.co.cc Blogs : www.technetnepal.net/blogs/spandanp www.ctrlaltdelte.tk On Sep 16, 10:35 am, Hempal Shrestha <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear FOSSians, > > Thanks to Emilia Terzon for carrying out this story in the Front page of > the Republica Daily Newspaper. > > With kind regards > > Hempal Shrestha > > Story > Link:http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_... > Epaper > Link:http://e.myrepublica.com/component/flippingbook/book/1007-republica-1... > > FOSS fans hype up for Software Freedom Day > > * EMILIA TERZON * > KATHMANDU, Sept 15: Pokhara´s Khom Raj Sharma is your typical free and > open-source software (FOSS) enthusiast: he loves computers, browsing the > Internet, and is a self-confessed IT geek. > > But he can´t see any of the information displayed on his computer monitor. > “Disability is just diversity of the human race,” he said of his profound > blindness. > > Born in a rural village where nobody else was blind, the 28-year-old is a > major inspiration today to a niche IT community quietly growing across > Nepal in the last 10 years. > > First coined globally in the 90s, FOSS promotes the use of computer > software that is both free to download and use, and can be modified to suit > an individual user´s needs. > > Unlike expensive market dominators - such as Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft > Word - these programs have no pricetag or copyright licenses preventing > their evolution. > > Hempal Shrestha, founder of FOSS Nepal, said its local active fan base is > relatively small - in the thousands - and mostly comprised IT > professionals, fanatics and students. > > Those participating unknowingly, however, are innumerable. Mozilla´s web > browser and email software, Firefox and Thunderbird, are two widely > downloaded examples of FOSS. > > For Pradeep Mahato, operator of the Bishwanath Institute of Computer (BIC) > in Chitwan that opened this year, the founding “flossophy” (philosophy) > behind it is “freedom”. > > Mahato, who teaches his students at BIC solely in FOSS, said the movement > is all about “freedom to use, freedom to share, and freedom to modify”. > > Of course, for a country like Nepal, where piracy of software and illegal > downloading is rampant, the “free” is this statement almost seems like a > non-issue. > > Yet its followers say FOSS offers an alternative to illegal activity; > giving poorer Nepalese access to more programs while encouraging creativity > in the IT community. > > For instance, Mahato uses a version of the FOSS operating system, Linux, on > his personal laptop that´s modified to display and navigate purely in Hindi > and Nepali. > > Sharma also uses Linux, Firefox, and a FOSS screen reader for the visually > impaired called Nonvisual Desktop Access (NVDA). > > “FOSS is especially important for the visually impaired in Nepal because > most of them are from poor backgrounds,” said Sharma. > > “Having access to IT for reading is a big challenge. It´s beyond their > expectations. FOSS makes it accessible and affordable for them.” > > Mahato said other benefits to his 50 students include software that´s free > of computer viruses and general cost cutting. > > “They are always trying to make their custom desktop interface unique from > other Linux desktops,” he said of his students. > > Yet there are setbacks to FOSS. Many of these programs require training to > install and learn, and modifying software is something best left to those > with IT skills. > > Some programs, like Linux affiliated software, are often incompatible with > non-FOSS operating systems used widely, like Windows, making file sharing > complicated. > > Shrestha, Mahato, and Sharma will be just some of those celebrating at IT > events held across the world this Saturday for Software Freedom Day. > > Yet they said FOSS has a long way to go before it makes it into the > mainstream as a common business and personal practice. > > “The business and government sectors need to be strong. They shouldn´t be > using pirated software when they could save so much money with FOSS,” said > Shrestha. > > Some NGOs, like the United Nations´ Nepalese wing, have been moving towards > widespread implementation of this software within their administration. > > “The first advocates of this need to really put our efforts together and > make it happen for a developing country,” said Sharma. > > Sharma is today dedicated to teaching other visually impaired Nepalese how > to use NVDA via his non-profit Pokhara training centre. > > “When I went blind, I felt like I was the only person in the world facing > that challenge. People were negative because they´d never seen people like > me doing these things. > > “I made a decision to change that. The world is not limited. It is so > important to encourage social initiatives that really empower people.” > > Published on 2012-09-15 07:00:23 > > -- > With kind regards, > > Hempal Shrestha > FOSS Nepal Community > Putalisadak, Near Share Market, > Kathmnadu, Nepal > +977-1-4261459 (O) / +977-9851077031(M) -- FOSS Nepal mailing list: [email protected] http://groups.google.com/group/foss-nepal To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] Mailing List Guidelines: http://wiki.fossnepal.org/index.php?title=Mailing_List_Guidelines Community website: http://www.fossnepal.org/
