India is moving towards Open Source E-Govt projects why not Pakistan? A Question for the Nation :(

Yesterday i have read a blog article at EFY times that Indian government is moving its e-govt projects to Open Source.

"NEW DELHI: Computer hardware and peripherals used by all new e-governance projects must work with Linux and other opensource operating systems, says a draft policy."

Its really a great achievement of Open Source contributors, Promoters and Ambassadors in India. They have realised their government institutes the benefits and less cost of procurement of the Open Source Projects. It is not a one day effort, but it takes them a long time to make this revolution. They build motivation in their society, spread the word FOSS(Free Open source Software) in the public. They teach it from the gross root level and now they took it to the highest level.

 

Unfortunately, It will dump a huge penetration of Apple and RIM in Indian e-govt, but it will let them save billions of dollars , which they spent on the maintenance and up-gradation of these existing system.

My point of discussion is, Pakistan. But first i introduce you about the Open Source.

 

What is open Source?

 The concept of Open Source and the free sharing of technological information existed long before computers. For example, cooking recipes have been shared since the beginning of human culture. Open source can pertain to businesses and to computers, software and technology.

Open Source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.

One of my fellow have a blog and he perfectly describes it in the case of Free software.

Free Software is a matter of freedom, not price. Free Software respects four essential freedoms:

1. to run the program for any purpose you wish
2. to study the source code and change it to do what you wish
3. to copy the program and distribute the copies when you wish
4. to publish or distribute a modified version when you wish.

In the case of pure It language, most software that you buy or download only comes in the compiled ready-to-run version. Compiled means that the actual program code that the developer created, known as the source code, has run through a special program called a compiler that translates the source code into a form that the computer can understand. It is extremely difficult to modify the compiled version of most applications and nearly impossible to see exactly how the developer created different parts of the program. Most commercial software manufacturers see this as an advantage that keeps other companies from copying their code and using it in a competing product. It also gives them control over the quality and features found in a particular product.

 Open Source software is at the opposite end of the spectrum. The source code is included with the compiled version and modification or customization is actually encouraged. The software developers who support the open source concept believe that by allowing anyone who's interested to modify the source code, the application will be more useful and error-free over the long term.

Point to be Noted 

I hope now you have better idea, what Open Source is ? Now what the Open Source Contributors doing here in Pakistan. In fact Open Source awareness is not even 20-25% of the IT field. WE mostly talk about Google and Facebook and now the hot issue is Google+. I hardly heard about any FOSScon in Pakistan. Last Open Source major event, i have attended was Ubuntu Release Party, arranged by some individuals.

Pakistan Software Export Board have launched Open Source Resource Center.

I haven't heard any event organised by any public forum. Even the key representative authorities have to promote the individual volunteers and contributors to spread the FOSS in the public. They have to organize meetings, workshops and let the public know , what Open Source is , and what are its benefits.

Lot of people working in Pakistan to promote and flourish Open Source in Pakistan, But they are doing individual efforts. There should be a specific platform , from where they  access the community and this should be a better idea.

Think Pakistan! Its time to change .....:)

Some useful links of Pakistan Open Source Community :

Pakistan open Source Organisation

Open Source Resource Center 

Pakistan Software Export Board 

Urdu Linux 

Linux Urdu CBTs by Baber Zahoor 

Courtesy: Ch Qasim Raza(Fedora Ambassador)

Fedora Operating System

I am using Fedora since 2008, i was annoyed from the typical Window usage. It made me a robot, just buy a Windows CD , get installed in my system and then use it, until it get infected from virus, and now i have no other option to either reinstall it or get an anti-virus. But it also wouldn't solved my problem. I want something different , where i have freedom to use and even configure it as to my needs.
I was listening about Linux and its different distros. I firstly installed Fedora7 first time and it makes me one week to understand its installation and its usage. But when i became familiar with it. I found everything.

Now Fedora is releasing its Fedora15. and i want to let you people know, what fedora is :)

Fedora is a fast, stable, and powerful operating system for everyday use built by a worldwide community of friends. It's completely free to use, study, and share.

Fedora is a Linux-based operating system that showcases the latest in free software. Fedora is always free for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. It is built by people across the globe who work together as a community: the Fedora Project.

What makes Fedora different?
 

• Advancing software and content freedom is a key goal of the Fedora Project.

• People world-wide work together in Fedora to advance free software.

• Many features that benefit all Linux distributions start in Fedora.

• The future of Linux is built into Fedora. 

We fight for software freedom
Fedora Says

"We try to always do the right thing, and provide only free and open source software. We will fight to protect and promote solutions that anyone can use and redistribute. To this end, we use only free and open source software to power the Fedora infrastructure itself. With this in mind, all of our developers are focused on working closely with upstream development teams, so everyone can benefit from our work and get access to our changes as soon as possible. Due to the huge amount of innovation that Fedora drives, this focus has had significant and long lasting effects."

Fedora 15: Now with GNOME 3.

Experience the next generation of desktop environments in Fedora 15. Elegant, intuitive, and easy to use, GNOME 3 combines a modern look with the productivity you need.

A worldwide community of friends.

Fedora is a Linux-based operating system that showcases the latest in free software. Fedora is always free for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. It is built by people across the globe who work together as a community: the Fedora Project.

"Since its first version, in 2003, Red Hat's Fedora Linux has been the best place to track what's on the leading edge of Linux and open source software."
— Jason Brooks, eweek.com
 



Courtesy: Ch Qasim Raza(Fedora Ambassador) + Fedora Wiki

Facebook Video Call Service :)

Call Your Friends Right From Facebook
Today Facebook have launched Video calling and some more features to chat.

See The Friends You Message  Most

The new chat design includes a sidebar that lists the people you message most. Now it's easier to find your friends and start a conversation. The sidebar adjusts with the size of your browser window, and it automatically appears when the window is wide enough.

Create a Group Chat Instantly

Facebook have also launched multi-person chat, which is one of our most requested features. Now when your friends can't figure out what movie to see, you can just add them to a chat and decide together. To include more friends in your conversation, simply select Add Friends to Chat.

And just like your other chats, the history of your conversation is available in messages.
Bring Your Conversations to Life

Video chat has been around for years now, but it's still not an everyday activity for most people. Sometimes it's too difficult to set up, or the friends you want to talk to are on different services.Facebook built it right into chat, so all your conversations start from the same place. To call your friend, just click the video call button at the top of your chat window.

Talk to friends around the world right from Facebook.

Video calling will be available to everyone over the next few weeks, but if you don't want to wait, you can get it now.


Courtesy: Philip Su

Java 7 launch

Java 7 launch, dubbed "Java 7, Moving Java Forward" is set on today.

This live event will be hosted by Adam Messinger (Oracle) in Redwood Shores, Bruno Souza (SOUJava) in São Paulo and Ben Evans (LJC) in London. You can register for the webcast or for the in-person events from this page. The twitter hashtag for this launch is #java7. 

You can also listen to the latest episode of the Java Spotlight Podcast (#37) featuring an interview with Michelle Kovac on this Java 7 Launch where she mentions Accenture, Travelex, Riot Games, HP and others as heavy Java users and participants to the live events. 

The final Java 7 bits should be available on July 28th as planned.

 

Courtesy:oracle java

Facebook is Launching In-Browser Video Chat Next Week In Partnership With Skype

Earlier this week while visiting Seattle, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg tipped off Seattle press that the company would be launching an “awesome” new product next week that has been built by Facebook’s Seattle team. The press invitations to that event went out , saying nothing more than “Please join us for an event at Facebook” on July 6.

It shows that Facebook will launch a new video chat product, powered by Skype, that works in browser. Suddenly those chat icons in the invitation have a lot more meaning.

The product has been built on Skype and will include a desktop component. It’s not still whether that means it will just work if a user has Skype already installed on the computer, or if additional software will need to be downloaded even if the user already uses Skype. But it’s clear that there’s very deep integration between the products, and from the user’s perspective, the product will be an in browser experience.

Facebook and Skype have already been working together, including integration of various Facebook features into the Skype service.

But this is something else entirely. The partnership could substantially increase Skype usage. Facebook has more than 750 million active users. Currently Skype has just 170 million. And it will certainly help Facebook become even stickier for users as they start to have voice and video chat as an option to communicate.

And this also brings Facebook even closer to Microsoft, which is a Facebook shareholder and has a pending acquisition of Skype. The guys in Redmond must be smiling today, something that happens far too infrequently at Microsoft HQ.

Courtesy:techcrunch

Effective Information Product Tips You Can Start Using Right Now

Information products can make you rich beyond your dreams and selling them could help you create a million dollar company. There are a lot of internet marketers that have created info products from scratch and have make thousands of dollars in sales.

However, a lot of new internet marketer that step into the internet world want to know if it isn’t too hard to come up with this kind of product. There are tons of questions about what their information products should look like and how they should be packaged. In the following article we will discuss the three easy information production creation concepts that will be successful in any niche market.

An effective information product idea that works all the time is selling software products, tools and scripts that your customers can use to make their work/life easier. These days you can witness that there are online accessories for everything such as management and design. This gives you an open opportunity to experiment with various ideas on selling such tools in your niche market. There are many general ideas that can be turned over into automated tools. For example, let us say that you are in the online marketing field and you see that when you submit articles to a lot of directories, it takes up too much of your time. You can simply take a hint from this idea and create software that automates the whole submission process; sell this tool for a good amount and you have your own info product that can sell like hot cakes.

Discover a market, find a solution and turn it into a software product. Wonderful

Another idea is to create webinars and invite people to join for a price.

This could include having a webinar, conference, discussion or etc. For example, if you know about copy-writing, you can schedule a live webinar in which you talk about different aspects of copy-writing to those in attendance. They can talk with you live at the webinar and get their questions answered. It is one of the methods that is real lively and will get responses because it will happen in real time.

Last, if you have conducted a few telesiminars or webinars within the last few months, you can sell them in a package deal. People like to find information products that were recorded live. You can give them wonderful articles by advertising these packages.

To conclude, this article clearly shows the different methods that can be used to create a product that is unique and generates brilliant results. It requires little time to create a product and the best bit is that you work only once and you keep on earning. Apart from that, once you start down the path of product creation you will find that there is a never-ending need for knowledge and you will be able to make money from it.






Courtesy:

39 things you should know about Google+

While we'll no doubt learn plenty more about Google+ as time goes on, here are some quick nuggets to get you a little more acquainted with it.

1. Google+ is currently available on an invitation-only basis.

2. Google does not consider it a Facebook competitor (at least publicly).

3. Google+ is currently available for download as an app in the Android Market.

4. When you download that app, it splits off the "Huddle" feature as a separate app.

5. Users can post status updates, and these appear on the Google Profile under a tab called "Posts". The +1's and Buzz tabs remain separate. I have to wonder if we'll see Buzz and Posts merge eventually.

6. What is available now is "just the beginning" according to Google. These are just the first features or presumably many more to come.

7. Circles is one current feature. It lets you share things with different people (kind of like Facebook Groups) but with a very different user interface.
Watch this video.

8. Another feature is Sparks. This looks for videos and articles it thinks you'll like, so "when you're free, there's always something to watch, read, and share." Filter Bubble anyone?

9. Hangouts is another feature. It's basically group video chat. Google describes it as "the unplanned meet-up."

10. Instant uploads is a mobile-specific feature. Photos upload themselves as you take them, and are stored in a private area on the cloud.

11. Huddle is another group-conversation feature for mobile. Essentially, it's group chat.

12. The stream is basically the equivalent of the Facebook news feed.

13. When you share something with Google+ it's added to your stream and the stream of everyone you shared with.

14. The stream shows you what all of your Circles have shared with you.

15. If you mention a user, using the "+" or "@" symbols, the person may receive a notification that you mentioned them.

16. You can see who specific posts were shared with in the stream -- whether they were shared publicly, to extended circles, or a limited group.

17. You can filter the stream by specific Circles.

18. You can chat directly in the stream

19. You can report inappropriate content.

20. You can search for people from the search box at the top of the stream.

21. Soon, Google says you'll be able to search the stream itself from the search box.

22. If you leave comments on a post, you can edit or delete them.

23. The same goes for posts, but you can't edit a post's sharing settings after the post has been shared. However, you can delete the post and share again to different circles.

24. You can "reshare" posts made by others (like retweeting).

25. You can "mute" a post. This will let you stop receiving updates from a post, like if the comments get out of control for example.

26. You can use the "Google+ Bar" that appears at the top of various Google products as your connection to the social network.

27. When you're signed in you'll see your full name or email address displayed with a photo or avatar next to it, to help you identify which account you're currently signed in to.
28. If you've enabled multi sign-in you can sign in to two different Google accounts and switch between them using the Google+ bar.

29. When you sign up for Google+, you're also signing up for Picasa Web Albums, so all photos and videos uploaded to Google+ (including from your phone via Instant Upload) will also be available in Picasa Web Albums.

30. You can use the Google +1 button from the stream.

31. You can have a ton of friends on Google+. Robert Scoble quickly added over 1,000.

32. The central user interface is very Facebook-esque.

33. Google+ quickly became the butt of a lot of jokes (and even cartoons), but has also received a great deal of praise thus far.

34. With Google+ Google adds a "You" link to the recently redesigned (painted black) navigation bar across Google properties

35. You can view public Google+ content without actually being invited (Danny Sullivan has a guide on how to view it )

36. China is already blocking Google+. That didn't take long.

37. Invitations have been listed on eBay.

38. There are already privacy concerns about Google+ but the Privacy Guide can be found here.

39. According to the Financial Times article, you can share something within a closed "Circle," but somone from that circle can then reshare it with anyone, and even make it public.







Courtesy: WebProNews

Convert Resume into an Infograph

 Vizualize.Me is a new application that can link to your LinkedIn profile and pull your career information into a graphical representation of your skills, work history and professional background. This process is done all through a powerful code that requires no graphic design skills from the user. Infographs are a visual design technique that portrays data and interesting information creatively. There are a plethora of infographs out there today, but this one doesn’t require a design degree to make.
At this time, Vizualize.Me is not available to the public, but is scheduled to be available by August 1, 2011. Vizualize.Me is giving a select few a chance to sign up early, however, with the opportunity of free access to premium features during the private launch on July 25, 2011.

Courtesy:  Vizualize.Me

ILIKE SILVER PENDANT

The Internet has inspired artists, designers, fashion catwalks and museums, and certainly has been an inspiration for Lysander Follet’s iLIKE Silver Pendant.
For a round of Facebook-inspired jewelry, young French designer Lysander Follet from French studio Minigorille has created a pendant that is fully handmade out of silver 925. It’s a limited edition, 30-piece pendant made in Lyon, France that may look familiar to some of you social network lovers out there. That’s right, the design is formed in the shape of the “Facebook Like” button icon that you use every day.
For lovers of the largest social network in the world, here is an original jewelry gift to offer or to be offered.
This limited edition iLIKE Silver Pendant is available at selective shops around the world.

Courtesy: Trendhunter

linux Pakistan

 

Courtesy : Saeed Ahmed

How to send Google+ invitation

Google had sent Google+ in the It cloud as beta version. It is still in testing phase , so they haven't offered any invitation service. But IT gurus find a breach in it , here it is ;)

1. Write or share something vis post
2. Click on +Add circles or people to share with… add the email address of your friend you want to invite
3. Just Share it to them 
4. They will receive an email, and when they open the post , they will see , join Google+ link :).... Enjoy 

Courtesy of: Mustufa Qasim