This is an idea that just might catch on. The other day, at the launch
of the Xavier's Open Source Club, Principal Newman Fernandes spoke about
wanting to get every single college student an email address.
With so many email address services going around (anyone out
there wanting a 2GB free Gmail account?) it's not very
difficult to get an email address. Using it effectively and
efficiently, keeping it in use, and realising its true worth.
That is the tough part.
But the college is also aware of this aspect, and Principal Newman was
talking about Rene Barreto's initiative to have an "email address for
every Goan".
St Xavier's also wants its students to experiment with Free/Libre and
Open Source Software (FLOSS). Dr Albert Gouveia, head of IT at the
National Institute of Oceanography and an alumni of the prestigious IIT
Bombay, was the keynote speaker at the launch of the club. Gouveia was
an alumni of Xavier's from the 1968-1970 batch.
"Our college has a principle of offering students all they way. We have
1850 students and 40 clubs. We have a Rainwater Harvesting Club, a music
club, an e-centre where the class notes which teachers used to dictate
are shared via the intranet. We also have a Centre for Traditional
Knowledge," said Fernandes.
Nelson Lobo, the lecturer of IT, said that FLOSS was based on the
principle that everyone gains when everyone shares.
Gouveia argued: "It's not safe to stay with just one technology. You
need to be exposed to all.... Open source gives you the freedom to
experiment. With proprietorial software you don't have the source code
to experiment with."
Contacts:
St Xavier's College: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Dr Albert Gouveia: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
