WordPress for Android

This is a sample post from mobile.

Ease of use
The app is easy to use. But certainly not for long posts. Appropriate to do some quick post when on the move. The Samsung Galaxy S2 input methods does make it easier. Swype rocks.

Formatting
Not much of formatting is allowed. Simple stuff like bold, italics, underline, strikeoff, hyperlinks and block quotes are available. Again its not possible to select and format words while in landscape mode. Thats a catch.

Media
You can add images and videos but there’s no way to arrange them in the post. In fact I still don’t know how they will appear. Will post and check.

Metadata
The usual tags and categories are available. You’ll need a working network connection to fetch the previously used categories.

Publishing
The blog can either be published immediately or can be saved as a local draft or even sent for review. Just like in the web version you can also set a specific date for publication.

I think I should stop now. Got to get off the train.

Posted from WordPress for Android

BalaSwecha @ NSKK High School

Can it get better than this? I get to implement Free Software in my school, NSKK High School where I first saw a real computer.

BalaSwecha

BalaSwecha is a GNU/Linux distribution developed by Swecha to cater to the needs of a school. It helps teachers use tools which can enhance their teaching methodology by using IT and helps students to learn new concepts using interactive tools. The distro has a huge collection of free software which are being developed and explored across the world.

Teachers Training at NSKK High School

Teachers Training in BalaSwecha

The training sessions were organized for subject teachers who are used to the usual classroom teaching using blackboards, charts and textbooks. The schedule was spread across three days:

Day 1 – Mathematics

Day 2 – Science (Physics & Chemistry)

Day 3 – Social Studies

Unfortunately day 3 was cancelled because of the ongoing bandhs and uncertainity in the city. But there were teachers who came all the way from places like A.S Rao Nagar for the training. The computer teachers (4 in number) were earlier trained to introduce to the GNU/Linux environment and basic system administration. They did have a bit of trouble in getting the grip of things initially, but over time with practice they seem to be quite comfortable using it now.

Mathematics

Below are the software tools that we demonstrated on day 1 for mathematics teachers:

1. Geogebra
   Geogebra is an interactive software for teaching and learning mathematics covering Geometry, Algebra and Calculus. In NSKK, this can be primarily used for two purposes: (1) Practice geometric construction. (2) Visual proof of various mathematical theorems. I had demonstrated the basic proportionality theorem’s proof during the morning session. This was the point where the teachers actually got convinced that software can help teach in better ways.
   

   Visual Proof of Basic Proportionality Theorem in Geogebra

2. Tux Math
   Tux Math is an arcade game based on Missile Command, featuring Commander Tux whose mission is to rescue igloos housing tiny penguins by solving math questions and shooting the falling comets. It also has support for multiplayer. Should be an interesting way to get students to practice simple math problems. This one is targeted for primary school children.
   

   Solve the problem - Save the igloos

3. KBruch
   This one is a part of the KDE system. Its used to demonstrate how addition of fraction numbers work.
   

   Learn Fractions

4. Kalcul
   Kalcul is for simple arithmetic tests. It helps students practice simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The teachers can configure the complexity of questions and other aspects of the testing methods.
   

   Simple Arithmetics

5. GCompris
   Again, this one is for very small kids. Its a bunch of tools, mostly puzzle games involving arithmetic, identifying letters and numbers, cartoon characters etc. One of the students of the school who happened to be a teacher’s child was engrossed with GCompris, while her mother kept saying that she’s not complaining like she does when asked to do similar kind of homework at home. Hence proved that games for education works.
   

   GCompris - for kids

Science (Physics & Chemistry)

1. Step
   This is a very interesting tool which simulates the laws of physics from the real world in a virtual 2D world. It has got particles, rigid bodies which can have masses of desired value, velocity, angular velocity. Then there are devices like springs, linear motors, circular motors and lot more. Though it looks too complex for school kids, it can be used by the teachers to show how the laws of physics apply which would otherwise require a physics lab and loads of equipment.
   

   Step - simulating gas

2. Avogadro
   A cross-platform molecule editor for teaching chemistry. Atoms, bonds, molecular structures, properties of molecules under various conditions etc., can be demonstrated using this tool.
   

   Avogadro

3. Kalzium
   A Periodic table which gives tons of information for chemistry students about elements, isotopes etc. Very resourceful indeed.
   

   Kalzium

Volunteers Required

The workshop is incomplete and will have to continue with training to Social Studies teachers. This will be followed by another round for computer teachers to teach them KTurtle, which will help teach the students the basics of programming. I am sure most of us who learnt computers at school will remember LOGO, the turtle that draws at our commend. “FD 40, RT 90, PEN UP, PEN DOWN”. KTurtle is a modern version of the same tool.

Right now its just me, Naveen and Sindhu doing most of the stuff. But we need volunteers to do a lot of tasks coming ahead.

• Preparing material for teaching
• Exercises for students and teachers
• Finding bugs in some of the software like Step
• Fixing the bugs found in these software

If you are interested in joining the work, send out a mail to sms-at-swecha-dot-net.

It would be great fun when we start working with the students. Waiting to post when that’s done.

All Day.. All Week.. Occupy Wall Street

Finally the American public has waken up to the global call for revolution. Right now, there are more than 9000 Americans gathered at the Wall Street with one common agenda “Occupy Wall Street”. Inspired by the massive public protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and Madrid’s Puerta del Sol Square, thousands have slept outside Wall Street for the past two nights starting from 17^th September. One of the protesters says “This system of permanent growth is neither sustainable nor reasonable. This system is about to collapse on its own way. We are here to make it happen a little bit faster.”

At the call of Adbusters, a non-profit reader-supported magazine, this movement has been taken up by Internet activists, hackers, students, social rights activists, calling themselves the 99%, to protest against the corporations and the big banks, the 1%, that have had a long history of failing the commons in America. “Banks Got Bailed Out, We Got Sold Out” is the latest slogan being heard live from the Internet as of this writing. The big banks which have been revered as ‘too-big-to-fail’ have proven to be the epicenter of the mess that the US economy is in today.

Anonymous, the popular hacktivist group behind launching cyber attacks on government and corporate institutions in support of Wikileaks, freedom of speech, has also announced their support to the movement. In a message to the NYPD, Anonymous said “Will You Be There To Serve And Protect? Or will you be the instruments of an oppressive system? Regardless of your choices. Consider this a direct and clear message. Know every injustice you commit upon any protesters. We Will Find Out. We Will Not Tolerate The Silencing of Free Speech. We will not merely watch at these injustices and We Will not sit idly by. We will come to the calling of our brothers and sisters.”

Internet Powered Revolution

This revolution has been fuelled by Internet, more than any other revolutions in the recent past. The runup to the movement until the morning of September 17^th has been coordinated through Twitter, the micro-blogging social network. hundreds of activists have been tweeting about the movement right from the moment they flew down into New York airports. A protestor tweeted “I tell the cab driver I’m here for #occupyWallStreet and he turns meter off and ride is free! #solidarity”.

Knowing the possible blackout of the event in the mainstream media, the protestors also resorted to online streaming of the entire proceedings of the action at Wall Street which can be watched on http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution. A popular phrase has been thus extended this way “The Revolution won’t be televised, it will be streamed live.”

Why This Revolution?

The Occupy Wall Street movement is a result of the frustration of a commoditized society, in which the mere existence of an individual carries a price tag. The protesters might differ in race, gender, occupation and the reasons why they are camping at the Wall Street, but the one string uniting them is the opposition to the principle upon which the contemporary society is build upon: profits above people. It is a people’s resistance to the philosophy of the domination of market forces upon the will of the people.

David Graeber, an anthropologist who took part in the demonstration on Sunday said “If you look at who showed up in Egypt and Spain, it was mostly young people, and most of them were people who had gone through the educational system, who were deeply in debt, and who found it completely impossible to get jobs. The system has completely failed them. If there’s going to be any kind of society worth living in, we’re going to have to create it ourselves.”

The American public seems to have finally begun to wake up from the deep slumber of their social consciousness caused by a society of ruthless consumerism and a regime that has institutionalised indiscriminate greed. This is the moment that the people of America and the rest of the world has been looking forward to: the moment when the foundations of this ‘all-pervasive’ system will begin to crumble. That moment has arrived!!

PS: This article got published in Pragoti.in

#OccupyWallStreet

Peaceful protests have been launched at the epicenter of international trade, the Wall Street. Codenamed as “Occupy Wall Street”, this movement is a call by online social activists and Adbusters a Canada-based non-profit magazine. It has been endorsed by Anonymous, the secret group of computer hackers.

Why is this happening?

The protests are a result of a frustration from a commoditized society that makes the mere existence of a human in the society as a commodity. This order of the society based on the principle, “profit over people”, is what the movement protests in common. Of course, the participants of the movement are going to form wide spectrum of society including students, working men and women, teachers, social activists, pro-democracy activists, musicians, artists, economists and many more. The protestors belive that Wall Street symbolises the dominant capitalist socio-economic system. The mega banks of America which have been termed as ‘too big to fail’ have proven to be one of the sources of the messy economic turmoil which has pushed people into unemployment, pension-less retirement and an uncertain future. The aim of the protestors is to replace the current society with a society of cooperation and community.

What is their demand?

The protesters do not have a pre-determined single demand. People have long realized that Washington runs with the money of the big corporations and not with the will of the citizens of the country who elect their President and the government. The Adbusters magazine suggests the below which sort of reflects the mood:

1. Setting up an American Democracy Reform Commission to the monied corruption of Washington.

2. Setting up a Presidential Commission to rethink the American banking system.

3. Downsizing the big banks and made to serve the people and society.

One thing that is common to all the protesters there, is that all of them are against the domination of corporations over society. The protestors very well know that achieving their goals would require not just legislations and constitutional amendments but a social movement.

How it Started?

The movement which started a few hours ago has been completely coordinated and campaigned over the Internet. The primary tools used for the campaign has been Twitter and blogs. The call for the movement was given by Adbusters along with other online social activists urging Americans to come in thousands and stage sit ins and occupy Wall Street for months until the President gives in to their demands.

It has also been supported by and called upon by Anonymous, which as the name suggests, is a group of anonymous hackers from around the world, who have been launching successful cyber attacks on various corporations and government websites including the CIA in protest to incidents like banks withdrawing support to Wikileaks funding on the request of US government etc.

A protester who flew down from a different city to the New York was stopped at the airport after being seen with tents. When asked he told that he was going to attend a Catholic camp and was let off.

How It Will Work?

The call given to people is to occupy the area near Wall Street popularly known as Lower Manhattan. People have been asked to bring along tents, kitchen tools to setup kitchens and barricades. They have decided to ‘crowdsource‘ the demands by organizing General Assembly of all the people who are participating over there. They all assemble every Saturday between 5pm to 8pm to discuss on what demands to put forward during discussions.

The website https://occupywallst.org/ has been setup to help the protestors coordinate online. It has information regarding the schedule of occupation program, the various music and art events to be held around the area.

Another protestor reached New York and took a cab at the airport. When he told the cab driver that he is here for the Occupy Wall Street movement, the driver immediately turned off the meter and gave him a free ride. That was an inspiring show of solidarity.

Links to Check Out:

1. Live Stream of the REVOLUTION

2. Twitter Stream for #OccupyWallStreet

3. Blog of AnonOps

Do you also see Vasco da Gamas around us?

Urumi

Just back from the movie Urumi starring Prithvi Raj, Genelia, Prabhudeva, Vidya Balan, Jagathy Sreekumar and a little bit of Tabu. Originally made in Malayalam, I watched the Telugu dubbed version with lot of friends. I had listened to the songs, but the movie turned out to be as good as the songs. I am not really sure, but I think I heard the name of a place which sounds very close to my surname. Starting with this, sometime later, I will try to trace my ‘roots’.

Movie Review

The movie was directed by Santosh Sivan and so the expected visual experience was there. What I liked about the movie was the simplicity used to depict the historical context. Though a lot of fantasy was added to take advantage of the fictitious nature of the story, considerable amount of care seems to have been taken to depict the place and people at that time. The kings, their “palaces” and Vasco Da Gama’s character seemed the most relevant and the appearance of the lead actress was the most irrelevant, especially in her non-combat mode. I felt they had done a good deal of research to keep close to reality and wherever there was a gap, the director filled it with some really good fantasy screenplay. For example, the scene where Kelu instructs Ayesha to go when the war starts and the last war scenes itself. Tabu’s 30 second screen presence was … useless.

Revolutions Are Always Inspiring

I had the same experience watching this movie that I had when I was watching 10000 BC, Legend of Bhagat Singh etc. Literally, “Hair Raising”. I don’t know if that was supposed to be the defining scene of the movie, but I really felt inspired. People who came to our land in the name of trade, turned rulers, plunderers and exploiters. Vasco da Gama went back with wealth worth 60 times the cost of his expedition. It was not because Vasco was a greedy man, it was because that was the way trade was done.

Do we still see a Vasco da Gama around us?

I couldn’t stop myself from comparing that situation to our world and country today. Corporations, in the name of trade (called business or develop/\[ment|ing|ed]) are plundering the society for resources, both material and human. Here’s what was going on in parallel while watching:

• PURPOSE OF ENTRY
• THAT DAY – Trade, Prosperity, Royal gifts
• THIS DAY   – Job creation, Nation building, Economic growth
• WEAPONS
• THAT DAY – Gun Powder, Cannons, Pistols
• THIS DAY   – Tax cuts, Stock Markets, Violation of Human Rights and of course military like those of US.
• CONSEQUENCES
• THAT DAY – Exploitation
• THIS DAY  - Exploitation
• REVOLTS
• THAT DAY – Chirakkal Kelu Nayanar and tribal army, Pazhassi Raja and tribal army, Bhagat Singh and his comrades
• THIS DAY   – ???

Let’s see.

ForIT’s Protest against Corruption

Just back from a protest organized by ForIT (Forum of IT Professionals) against Corruption in general and also the attack on democratic rights of a citizen to protest.

I happen to fall into that category of people who consider neither the Governments LameLokPal nor the civil society’s JanLokPal can actually root out corruption from a country like India. What is happening across the country is not just mere expression of their anger on corruption. It’s a cumulative expression of all the anti-people policies that the governments now and before have rubbed on everyone’s faces. Price rise has pinching everyone sharper and sharper since a long time. RTI activists have been and are being (even 2 days back) murdered who were trying to uncover the truths hidden by the government and its agencies. Add to that all the farmer suicides, increasing income inequalities, jobless growth which is the only thing on our Prime Minister’s mind when he’s not executing the Divine Will.

These scam revelations have helped this rage reach a boiling point, but the other factors actively or passively did contribute to this situation. Probably people didn’t respond this aggressively when a farmer left our world because of our spectacular growth-inducing ‘inclusive‘ policies, but it sure did push our rage at-least a fraction of a degree up.

Now that everyone is talking about ‘Bhrashtachar hatana hai, Bharat ko badhana hai‘ and ‘Prajala pantham, Avinithi antham‘, lets hope the unity continues so that we can fight and root out even the other deeper problems that are around us. ForIT and other similar organizations should grow stronger in bringing out the collective voice of a prominent section of society.

Look out for more such activities by ForIT. To follow:

Facebook Fan Page and Group

Twitter @For_IT

Dowry

Yesterday, as I reached office, I overheard two employees in the elevator discussing among themselves. Here’s how it went:

Employee 1: “Appude adigundalsindi ra. Emi adagaledu” (I should have asked then itself. I didn’t ask anything)

Employee 2: “Mari emi ivvaleda vaala pillaki. Edo istaru kada.” (Didn’t they give anything to their child? There should have been something)

Employee 1: “Aa edo icharu le…” (They gave some…)

I had already abruptly stopped humming a song and probably he realized that I was paying attention and so he stopped.

I was certainly not surprised to learn that people discuss about taking dowry. I have met a person in my previous company who had “accepted” a generous Rs. 2 crore as dowry for their marriage. The person I saw yesterday didn’t seem like he got married recently (it could still be the case) and it didn’t seem like he’s been married for a long time now. Even if it was a year since his marriage, it disgusts me how a person can just ignore the fact that he had decided to spend the rest of his life with the lady whom he considers a ‘bad deal’.

The larger concern I have is how people fail to absorb the characteristics of environment they are in. They attend schools and colleges, learn in their subjects that “Dowry is a social evil” (in the ranks of Sati, Child Marriages etc), study about the lives of people who relentlessly worked to eradicate these evils. In case of an IT employee, fortunately, the companies usually follow policies of gender equality and equal opportunities. But none of these make it into the character of some people. Not sure if this is because of the compartmentalization behavior of humans that the author of ‘God Market’ talks about in the book. (Offtopic: It’s a wonderful book. Highly recommended!!)

A good section of people in IT are clear about their stand on not taking dowry. There is a section which is determined on taking dowry, no matter what. They even plan their career in those lines. Then there is a section who don’t have a stand of their own. They consider dowry as a ‘matter of the elders’, which is in no way an excuse for taking dowry. They don’t seem to do that when it comes to which girlfriend they choose in college. A very small section of people manage to loot through a love marriage also. Frankly I didn’t want to rant when I started, but couldn’t help it.

Talking about environments we live in, I understand that family, relatives and the ‘social circle’ (the politically correct way of saying caste) also play a major role in forming a person’s opinion about dowry. A family which doesn’t follow the practice of dowry taking/giving is less likely to have people in it who will discontinue it and vice-versa, largely because in India, cutting across castes, religions and regions, marriage is a family affair. Then there is this caste factor which is rotten to the extent that there are price ranges depending on the popularity and superiority of the caste.

Educated people should resist (in my opinion, FIGHT) their parents and relatives when it comes to matters like dowry. Dowry system is another durable proof that social changes cannot be brought by making laws. The problem is not with the ineffective implementation of these laws. It’s because these laws lack a social structure. When we say that education takes the society forward, it is through these means, it is when educated people start changing things. It’s not easy. I had a tough time fighting with my parents to convince them that I will go for a love marriage, which was not what they wanted. After a lot of discussions, spanning months, they understood and agreed. It’s not in the same context of social evils, but the nature of pressure was similar. I do not endorse the ideology that to change to society, everyone has to just change oneself. No, that is not enough. But one should certainly make those changes happen in their lives to visualize them across the society.

PS: In practice, corporates often stick their heads in the sand when it comes to equal opportunity.

Corruption: The Hype and then The Problems

Today, I had an interesting discussion with my colleague. He showed me a SMS that was forwarded to him about the anti-corruption movement. It was a very strong statement calling for action on 16th August and was supposed to be a message from Anna. He remembered me organising a rally on behalf of ForIT sometime back when Anna Hazare was fasting in Delhi. He too had taken part in it. But my opinion of Anna’s anti-corruption crusade has taken a sharp turn.

The reason I supported his ‘fast’ movement was because corruption is really a big problem and now that people have started raising their voices against it, everyone should do their part to take it forward. Anna’s resolve to fight the issue is appreciated, but not the solution he’s proposing. There are actually two solutions – The draft Lokpal Bill that the government says they ‘will’ present to the parliament and Team Anna’s Jan Lokpal Bill which they attempted to rub on the face of the Central Government (and partially failed)

Problems with the Lokpals

There was a very informative piece in the center page of The Hindu on June 23, 2011 illustrating the differences between the two versions of Lokpal (with or without Jan).

JanLokPal – The authority it proposes to establish is supposed to be above even the Prime Minister of the country. That sounds very radical. But who is this Lokpal accountable to and in what way? It cannot be an elected body/person, so not directly accountable to people, neither accountable constitutionally. Probably its only accountable to the “Civil Society”.

But the most important void and the point of discussion between me and my colleague was, will the Lokpal be capable of questioning the Corporate Power? My question to Dada was ‘who was the biggest gainer in the 2G Spectrum scam or the recent one brought out by CAG?’. His answer was Reliance. Though not accurate, he was right. It’s the corporations that get benefits from the scams, a part of which is enjoyed by the Ministers, legislators, bureaucrats etc. But where is the motivation to devise a scam coming from? Its not that our ministers go around corporate houses selling scam ideas. They have worked well where the corporation have asked them to. Agreed, bureaucracy is corrupt in the public institutions as well, but the scale is different when the private sector plays its turn.

Macro vs Micro

The response that my colleague gave me baffled me. “If Reliance or Tata is corrupting the Ministers at the central level, it doesn’t affect us commoners much. What bothers us is when the local policeman asks a bribe, or the local government office employee scratches his palm before us”. The answer: “If the government had not lost Rs. 1,76,000 crores, they could have used that money to solve the agriculture and food crisis which is causing the rising prices (there are other factors too). You could have bought more Tur Dal for your kids with the same amount today.”

“The corporations use government agencies and legislators to do the dirty work. If we keep the agents in control, wouldn’t it solve the problem?”

“The corporations will still need to bend, break and make rules for their dirty work. If they are let loose, they will find some other ways”

The discussion happened across our cubicles, so it couldn’t reach a strong conclusion (I would have bombarded him more, if it were the cafeteria), but it gave me an insight into how people view the problems that the country faces as against the problems that they themselves face. We often fail to realize that they are not two different problems, but two different faces of the same demon. We cannot afford to fix one while keeping the rest in place. If the Lokpal is the watchdog of ‘everyone’ who will dog watch the Lokpal? Lets not get into the classic chicken-and-egg problem.

I want to share about the experience of listening to P. Sainath‘s talk on “Age of Inequalities” at Swecha’s 15-day Free Software Workshop which included a discussion on Corruption. Thats for a later

PS: This was yet another resurrection but with less hype like in the previous post 2 years back.

Resurrection … 2 years later

2 years later ….

The last time I posted on my blog was on 26th December, 2006. And that makes it a little over 2 years of no-blogging. I had thought of making this resurrection at multiple points of time in between these two years. But for some or the other ‘unavoidable’ reasons, I couldn’t post. I am glad I could at least retain the account and make a comeback to the same place where I started blogging long back.

From computer hacktivism to Social Activism

The last two years had seen a lot of changes everywhere in the world around me and so, inevitably, in myself too. I can connect this from the last post that I had made on this blog. “Confessions of an Economic Hitman” was written after reading a book of the same title. This book influenced me in a great way. Till then, I was less of a regular student and more of a computer hacktivist working for the cause of the Free Software Movement that was born out of the early hacker culture. I still continue to work with the Swecha community in that direction.

After reading that book, my focus for knowledge shifted towards understanding the currently prevalent system of society and the way it functions. The thought of making use of Free Software to liberate knowledge and make it available to the society, made me think of the term ‘society’ in a more detailed manner. One thing, for sure, that got imbibed in my heart was deep condemnation for the Imperialist Advancements of United States of America and its ‘allies’.

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Confessions of an Economic Hitman

i finally completed reading “Confessions of an Economic Hitman” by John Perkins. The book gives an insight into “The shocking inside story of how America REALLY took over the world”.