Linux Tamil Nadu Government drops Linux for its laptop scheme!

vivek.krishnan

vivek.krishnan

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Friday, September 02, 2011: The Tamil Nadu government has dropped the provision of Linux operating system (OS) due to a management decision, said Atul Anand, managing director, Electronics Corporation Of Tamil Nadu Limited (ELCOT).

In a brief conversation with EFYTimes.com, Anand said, “It was purely a management decision to do that. However, if the users want, they can always download Linux and use it.”

Probably, the issue is not as simple as it is projected by the ELCOT. The decision has invited a lot of criticism for the government body as well. The state government has been criticised by the open source community for saying “No” to Linux for its 9.1 lakh free laptops.

It is worth mentioning here that the government has scrapped the old tender and issued a new one for buying only Microsoft products. Such a decision has been the talk point between the Linux User Groups in the country.

T. Shrinivasan, co-ordinator, Indian Linux Users Group - Chennai, said, “It is rather shocking to see such a move by the government. We had earlier raised the issue of choosing only Linux as it could help government save a huge amount of money. We have been trying to contact the authorities to take this issue further but nothing material has worked out so far.”

The community believes that it could be a case of pure corruption, where the authorities bowed in front of proprietary software manufacturers. Rahul Raj (name changed), an open source enthusiast, says, “I am bound to think that Microsoft has offered the government something lucrative enough to take such a step because ELCOT has not given any explanation on this so far.”

Given the fact that ELCOT claims itself to be a supporter of open source software, such a move is rather shocking. The ELCOT website says, “Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited (ELCOT) is pushing for open source platform for all their internal IT/ITeS solutions and also providing this service to other government organisations within Tamil Nadu. ELCOT is one of the first government departments to have adopted this open source standard for their IT infrastructure for operating systems (Suse Linux), Database (Postgre SQL), Tools, Java and other latest methodologies for creation of applications.”

According to a few media reports, the state government is willing to pay only Rs 15,000 per laptop, which has been an issue for the takers of this contract. The tender demands technical specifications like preloaded Windows with antivirus, educational software provided by ELCOT, 2GB RAM, dual core processor, 14-inch display, 10/100 LAN and 3 USB ports.

Raj believes, “With the availability of a platform like Linux, which is better in terms of features, usability and security, an investment of this magnitude in proprietary software is an absolute waste.”

The members of the community expect an explanation from the government about its decision, if not a change.

Diksha P Gupta, EFYTIMES News Network
Click to expand...

Source: "It Was Management's Decision To Drop Linux From Tender"
 
Yeah and probably these laptops will end up for sale too.

I think Microsoft is pressurizing the govt. Also I

These people can bundle Linux and the students always have the option to install the pirated version of Windows too.

Have a go at the specs. They left out WiFi. Included a Backpack.
 
Now the government plan to dual boot these systems. LOL. Guess the government is playing ping-pong.

Tuesday, September 06, 2011: The Tamil Nadu government has once again changed its stand on incorporating Linux operating system in free laptops. The latest version from Electronics Corporation Of Tamil Nadu Limited (ELCOT) is that the laptops will come preloaded with dual operating system. Both Windows and Linux will be incorporated in the 9.1 lakh free laptops to be distributed amongst the students in the state. But no official announcement has been made in this regard so far. Neither the tender has been replaced, nor has there been any official statement in any form from ELCOT.

When contacted by EFYTimes.com, Atul Anand, managing director, ELCOT, said, “The provision of dual operating system was always there. The only problem was uniformity in the operating systems. Laptop vendors were confused about which open source operating system to use. We have sorted this out. Now C-DAC will provide open source operating system for the laptops on behalf of ELCOT.” It is worth mentioning here that there has been no formal announcement from ELCOT or the state government about this change so far.

Linux, Windows, ELCOT, Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu, Free laptops scheme in Tamil Nadu

The Story So Far

The drama began when Electronics Corporation Of Tamil Nadu Limited (ELCOT) rolled out a tender including provision for dual operating systems in the free laptops in the month of June. The free laptop scheme is part of Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa's poll promise. Page 57 of the first tender said that ELCOT was looking for preloaded dual booting-—Windows Starter edition with antivirus for 1-year licence.

An unexpected change in the tender came last month when ELCOT removed the provision for Linux. According to the new tender, the laptops should include preloaded Windows with antivirus. When questioned about the change by EFYTimes.com, Anand said, “It was purely a mangement decision to do that. However, if the users want, they can always download Linux and use it.”

The move invited criticism from all quarters. Reacting to these criticisms, R.B. Udhayakumar, state minister for information technology, told The Hindu, “Linux operating system will be provided to the vendors for preloading them in the laptops. The hard disk drive of 160 GB can be used for loading multiple operating systems. A Linux operating system under the name 'Bharat Operating System Solutions (BOSS)', which has been developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Chennai, a Government of India organisation, will be preloaded in the laptops. This will ensure that Linux operating system with its drivers will be made available to the students uniformly. The cost for providing the Linux OS along with the drivers would be borne by ELCOT. Thus, the freedom of the students to choose the operating system of their choice is encouraged.”

Credibility In Question

Open source enthusiast Rahul Raj (name changed) says, “If the minister wants the world to believe what he is saying, why has ELCOT or the ministry not issued any official statement in this regard so far. If they can change the document once, why have they not changed it again specifying the facts. There is nothing wrong in specifying that the laptops will be preloaded with Linux operating system. It purely looks like an attempt to wash off the criticism and corruption charges from the ministry's side.”

Diksha P Gupta, EFYTIMES News Network
Click to expand...

Source: Nothing Official About Linux In TN's Free Laptops
 
Finally, we have a government which supports piracy, when the whole world battles against it. Seriously, no ones gonna listen! Just an face paint!

I hope people voice their opinion and got back Linux on those laptops for good.

Whose gonna provide those laptops with ANTI- ViRu$ software?? Tell me its MACROSOFT themselves.......LOL!! 9.1Lakh machines gonna be the next ZOMBIE BOTS!
 
stalker said:
No it is not. When a student gets 'free' access to MSDNAA, it is because the institution is subscribing to it from MS.
Click to expand...

Well, I was talking about https://www.dreamspark.com/default.aspx

I got my kid brother who is doing his engineering to get an account after he got ISIC card and he got all the softwares for free. which include win 2k8 and win 2k3 servers.
 
TN Govt Says Yes To Linux 'Officially'

After much dilly-dally, the Tamil Nadu government has finally incorporated Linux in the free laptops. The government has a corrigendum in this regard as well. As reported earlier, the state-run Electronics Corporation Of Tamil Nadu Limited (ELCOT) did not clear its stand on the usage of Linux along with Windows in the 9.1 lakh free laptops to be distributed amongst the students of the state.

ELCOT has now issued a corrigendum which talks about revised computer specifications. Page 7 of the corrigendum states the changed specification in the tender. The tender talks about incorporating "BOSS Linux from Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC)", which will be "sourced by ELCOT and the same shall be preloaded".

This comes as good news for the open source community. Rahul Sharma, an open source enthusiast, says, "Although the new specifications look compromised on the hardware part, but the good news is that BOSS Linux is a part of the systems. Such a move is good for a long run in terms of flourishing of open source ecosystem." But Rahul is not happy about the usage of Windows. He says, "The usage of Windows is a sheer wastage of money. And they have compromised on the hardware to adjust the increasing cost, which sounds absurd. There is no use of a proprietary software when they are providing Linux. So, to me, its sheer wastage of money."

Some laptops have already been supplied which are given the dual booting system.

The Story So Far

The drama began when ELCOT rolled out a tender including provision for dual operating systems in the free laptops in the month of June. The free laptop scheme is part of Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa's poll promise. Page 57 of the first tender said that ELCOT was looking for preloaded dual booting---Windows Starter edition with antivirus for 1-year licence.

An unexpected change in the tender came last month when ELCOT removed the provision for Linux. According to the new tender, the laptops should include preloaded Windows with antivirus. When questioned about the change by EFYTimes.com, Anand said, "It was purely a management decision to do that. However, if the users want, they can always download Linux and use it."

The move invited criticism from all quarters. Reacting to these criticisms, R.B. Udhayakumar, state minister for information technology, earlier said, "Linux operating system will be provided to the vendors for preloading them in the laptops. The hard disk drive of 160 GB can be used for loading multiple operating systems. A Linux operating system under the name Bharat Operating System Solutions (BOSS), which has been developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Chennai, will be preloaded in the laptops. This will ensure that Linux operating system with its drivers will be made available to the students uniformly. The cost for providing the Linux OS along with the drivers would be borne by ELCOT. Thus, the freedom of the students to choose the operating system of their choice is encouraged."
Click to expand...

Link: TN Govt Says Yes To Linux 'Officially'
 
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