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IRC Chat: Roadmap for Community Initiatives

Posted Thu, 06/05/2010 - 1:43pm by kinshuksunil

Objective: Meet & Discuss on the various issues of the community and how to take the initiatives forward.

I suggest the following agenda:

  • Next OSScamp Delhi
  • Plans for OSScamp Solan
  • OSScamp.in Website
  • New Community Initiatives:
    • OSScamp Blog
    • FOSS Helpdesk
    • FOSS Directory
  • Consolidating the Communication platforms for the community

Please suggest more agenda items for discussion on the Facebook Event Page. Also register your presence for the discussion at the Facebook Event Page only.
Please also note, the chat will be logged and shared with the community on osscamp.in
If you dont know how to use IRC or dont have an IRC client, to join the discussion at the #osscamp IRC channel, do the following:

  1. Go to http://webchat.freenode.net/
  2. Write a Nickname - a name you will be identified with in the discussion
  3. For channel, enter - #osscamp
  4. Click on Connect
  5. Use it now as a normal chatroom

For more extensive help on IRC - http://irchelp.org/irchelp/altircfaq.html

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How Secure is Wordpress ?

Posted Tue, 20/04/2010 - 10:29pm by kinshuksunil

A friend of mine is a web development service provider and a competitor of his, raised a question mark on Wordpress, which was being deployed for a specific project. The question raised was "Wordpress is not secure enough for commercial needs!". I am attaching my friends short reply to that question below:

---

Hi <customer>
I respect the expertise and experience of <my competitor>, however I cannot ignore the expertise, time and experience that IT teams working for big brands like CNN, The New York Times, Ford, NASA, Sony Playstation, Harvard and many more put in to choose the right platform for their content. For a complete list please, check the following links:

Almost 75% of blogs on the internet use Wordpress as a publishing platform. You can see more data on the following link

And when we say blogs, we just dont mean a horde of personal blogs - but immense blogs handling millions of users per day like - Tech Crunch, MakeUseOf.com, Giga OM Networks, amongst many others.

Other than that, if you wanna see how many Wordpress has been downloaded click on following link 

No software is perfect. Vulnerabilities and security loophole exist everywhere. Even companies like Google have been hacked, for more details click on the following link 
But, Wordpress is being developed by an active community consisting of thousands of developers. What this means is that the turnaround time for new features and vulnerability fixes is very short compared to any other commercial cms, usually averaging around a day only.

<customer>, At the end of the day the final call is yours. I still stand with my support for Wordpress. 

---

What do you guys think - How Secure is Wordpress? Leave a comment!

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Redesigning the OSScamp Website

Posted Tue, 20/04/2010 - 3:42pm by kinshuksunil

Hello

In my personal opinion:

The OSScamp Website is pretty broken and needs a major architectural upgrade to be a perfect example of what a community can achieve when it sets its heart to it. There is a general lack of features and usability is a major issue on this website. Even though Drupal is a robust platform, I still haven't been able to utilize it completely.

I ask myself the question: How can we fix this website by overcoming the flaws of one individual? And I answer myself: By involving the community. 

Please treat this blog post as the point where we can discuss the changes and fixes this website needs and where we can commit and contribute our efforts.

 

What should be the objectives of the redesign?

  1. Make it easy for people to register at and participate at various events
  2. Provide a platform to open source projects to promote themselves and get support
  3. Provide enough opportunities for members to interact amongst themselves and network with each other
  4. Provide for sharing of ideas and knowledge in the open source domain
  5. Exhibit what a community can achieve with its efforts
  6. Provide a base Drupal Distribution (Install Profile) for communities like us, so that they can simply set up a powerful community website and focus on their initiatives.
Who can contribute to the development of this website? 
  • Drupal Developers can help build the website
  • Drupal Themers can help theme the website
  • Graphics People can help Drupal Themers with creating the theme
  • Everyone one else can help with ideas and testing the website
Suggestions and Contributions welcome. Do add a comment to this page about your opinions about the website and the needed changes

 

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OSScamp Chandigarh April 2010 - Schedule

Posted Thu, 01/04/2010 - 12:53pm by kinshuksunil

OSScamp returns to Chandigarh within 6 months for a splendid show on April 10th, 2010, at Chitkara Educational Trust, Chandigarh. Organized by the will and initiative of two 14 year old school kids, OSScamp Chandigarh has also received a good response from the tech community in Chandigarh and promises to be a grand FOSS event in the city.

The event schedule is as follows:
OSScamp Chandigarh April 2010
April 10, 2010
10AM to 6PM - OSScamp
6.30Pm to 8.30 PM - Tweetup Chandigarh
Chitkara Educational Trust
Saraswati Kendra, Sector 25D,
Chandigarh

  • 10.00: Introduction to OSScamps and FOSS
  • 11.00: Start of Sessions; half hour each
  • 01.30: Break for Lunch
  • 02.00: Resume Sessions
  • 05.00: Start Open House Networking/Activity/Interactions
  • 06.00 Wind Up OSScamp
  • 06.30: Start Tweetup
  • 08.30: Wind Up Tweetup

A wide range of sessions have been listed for the camp, with a special emphasis on running and contributing to FOSS Projects. There is also an unpanel on InfraTalk and a couple of Social Sandboxes on FOSS Projects and the Cult of Geek. Another aspect being focused on is Databases with Sessions on MySQL, NoSQL, and YQL. Facebook API, Twitter API, Moodle, Mashups, RIA are other topics worth highlighting.

You are invited to participate at the camp and give talks as well. Do register at the OSScamp Website and register a talk. We need your help and support to more promote the event, please write blog posts about the event - what do you expect from this OSScamp Chandigarh, tweet about us, talk about us, make some noise. The hashtag for the camp is #osscamp.

We are also doing "Spot the Posters" contest. If you spot the OSScamp Poster in Chandigarh somewhere, take a picture of it and put it on twitpic to win some random prizes. Nice surprises are in store for whoever does it.

See you there!
Kinshuk

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Announcing OSScamp Pilani March 2010

Posted Wed, 03/03/2010 - 8:37pm by kinshuksunil

Students of BITS Pinali are organizing the next OSScamp. The open source unconference is scheduled between March 12-14, along with TEDx Pilani. The organizers are seeking active participation by the community and the industry to create a successful event and spread awareness for open source in the Pilani region.

Schedule

March 12:

  • 08pm - 10pm: Social Sandbox: Open Source, Unconferences, India
  • 10pm - 12am: Sessions and Talks (4 Slots Available)
  • 12am - 02am: FOSS Hackathon

March 13:

  • Daytime: TEDx Pilani
  • 04pm - 06pm: Install Fest
  • 08pm - 10pm: Sessions & Talks (4 Slots Available)
  • 10pm - 12am: Games Fest
  • 12am - 02am: Social Sandbox: Using FOSS

March 14:

  • 11am - 01pm: FOSS Projects Demonstrations

Besides this, a special FOSS Den will be open during the daytime for people to visit and learn more about FOSS. The FOSS Den will be an open exhibition hall for FOSS Projects. There will be video presentations on comparisons between open source and proprietary softwares and chart displays in the room. Volunteers will be there to present these to the visitors.

The organizers will also work out a mechanism for participants of OSScamps to attend TEDx Pilani as well.

Travelling to Pilani

Best Ways to Travel Pilani:

  • From Delhi (about 6 Hrs by Bus)
  • From Jaipur (about 6 Hrs by Bus)

Unlike other towns, Pilani is not accessible by rail. The nearest rail stations are Chirawa (16 km) and Loharu (25 km). Jaipur is 220 km from Pilani and Delhi is 210 km and well connected by road.

Accommodation at Pilani

Accommodation is available in BITS Pilani Guest House for particpants (coming from outside Pilani) on a First-Come-First-Serve Basis. Only 15 slots are available. Please contact Aastha on the number mentioned to make necessary arrangements.

Support Required

The organizers need help in the organisation of this OSScamp in the following ways:

  • participation at the event
  • promote the event by spreading the word about the event - tweet, blog posts, social networks - use the hashtag #osscamp
  • suggest/connect with foss projects so that they can set up displays at the FOSS Den (expo) and promote themselves
  • contribute linux installation media and goodies for the event

Contact

  • Aastha Mehta - +91 99506 76030
  • Ninad Pundalik - +91 99835 26855
  • Kinshuk Sunil - +91 99100 24895

More Details

 

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