Noulakaz

The blog of Avinash, Christina, Anya and Kyan Meetoo.

Mauritius

Thank you for making OSS2011 a success

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OSS2011: Le Logiciel Libre, 2011 et après

Thank you to all participants for making this seminar on Open Source Software in Mauritius such a success.

All the members of the organising team (from left to right: Vara Appavoo / UoM, Ajay Ramjatan / LUGM, Begum Durgahee / UoM, Anwar Chutoo / UoM, Jayantee Gukhool / AUF, Anuja Appavoo / UoM and Avinash Meetoo / LUGM) worked really hard to get everything right. Of course, we were far from being perfect but, still, we were happy as all of us, organisers as well as the numerous participants, learned a lot during the day and met interesting people.

Special thanks to LUGM members who were present on that day especially Logan Velvindron who talked about how he has managed to mitigate the effects of denial of service attacks in OpenBSD. Special thanks also to Ajay Ramjatan who brought his own computers to demonstrate a variety of Open Source Software to the participants. His focus on multimedia software was a refreshing change from what we generally are shown during such an event.

The presentations from institutions like the MIE and UoM were very interesting as well as those from the other students (I was very impressed!) and private companies.

Of course, I loved the interactive session from 13:30 to 15:00. I had the pleasure of being the chairperson for that session and I found the discussion very lively and enriching. I loved how young people and older ones (like me…) could share the same kind of vision for our beloved country.

In three weeks, Anwar Chutoo and his team will finalise a report on the conclusions reached during the event which will then be circulated to all participants.

Once again, thanks to all who helped: organisers, presenters as well as participants.

See you all for OSS2012.

(Thanks to Irfaan Lamarque for the nice picture)

Our memorable trip to France, England and the USA

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As you all know, Kyan, Anya, Christina and myself visited France, England and the USA in April and May. Of course, we couldn’t prevent ourselves from taking hundreds and hundreds of photos… It took us nearly two months to choose the best among them and upload those to our Flickr account.

Here are our best memories from our visit to France, England and the USA:

Part 1A: Christina on a mission in the USA (19 March – 8 April 2011)

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It all started when Christina left Mauritius on 19 March to go the USA for work. There she met people from various countries and they traveled through some very well known cities and places:

Part 1B: Obtaining a visa in Paris (27 March – 7 April 2011)

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Kyan, Anya and myself went to Paris in France to (try to) obtain a US visa. After more than ten years, I met my uncle, Matchuk, and his wonderful wife, Angela, and daughter, Maya.

Part 2: San Francisco (8 – 14 April 2011)

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Yeah! We have our US visa! Kyan, Anya and myself took a plane from Paris and flew to San Francisco on the West coast of the US to meet Christina. We flew over Greenland to reach there!

We spent a few days in the middle of the Silicon Valley: at Audrey’s place in San Carlos as well as with Nawaaz, Failah, Adam and Sarah in San Leandro.

  • 1st day: Arriving in San Francisco.
  • 2nd day: Visiting Chinatown and the Musée Mécanique.
  • 3rd day: Discovering the Golden Gate Bridge with Nawaaz and his family.
  • 4th day: Walking through San Carlos and visiting the Hiller Aviation Museum.
  • 5th day: Walking through San Leandro and discovering how life was aboard a WWII submarine, the USS Pampanito.
  • 6th day: Visiting Alcatraz.
  • 7th day: Strolling though the Google premises, seeing the Computer History Museum and leaving for Los Angeles in a coach.

Part 3: Los Angeles (15 – 18 April 2011)

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We arrived in Los Angeles at night, checked-in in a nice hotel on Sunset Boulevard, a road which is parallel to the world renowned Hollywood Boulevard. During the next few days, we were tourists in Hollywood. And it felt like a dream.

  • 1st day: The Griffith Observatory and the famous Hollywood sign.
  • 2nd day: Being amazed at the really fantastic Universal Studios.
  • 3rd day: We could resist spending an additional day at the Universal Studios and, at night, we went to see the Stars on Hollywood Boulevard.
  • 4th day: Seeing Marilyn Monroe and the Californian Science Center.

Part 4: Washington DC (19 – 23 April 2011)

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We took an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Washington DC and crossed the entire United States. On arriving at the state capital, we were met by my dad’s cousin, Navin, and his lovely wife, Kavita. We had a lot of fun together during the next five days.

  • 1st day: Walking through Washington DC and seeing the White House, home and office of one of my idols: Barack Obama.
  • 2nd day: Seeing the Washington Monument and visiting the Capitol and the Library of Congress (we are members there now!)
  • 3rd day: Amazed in front of fighter airplanes (F-14, F-22, F-86, F-4, Mig-21, etc.) and the Enterprise space shuttle in the Air and Space Museum.
  • 4th day: Visiting (a few of) the Smithsonian Museums of Washington DC
  • 5th day: Walking through the Arlington National Cemetery and seeing the Lincoln Memorial

Part 5: New York City (24 – 27 April 2011)

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We reached the Big Apple in a glorious sunlight on 24 April. Navin and Kavita accompanied us on the first day there and we were glad to have them guide us in this mad city (in the good sense of the word).

  • 1st day: Walking on Broadway and Times Square by night.
  • 2nd day: Discovering New York City and the Apple Store next to Central Park.
  • 3rd day: Passing by the Statue of Liberty and seeing New York by night from above from the Empire State Building.
  • 4th day: Traveling through Queens before boarding an airplane at JFK for Paris.

Part 6: A quick stop in Paris (29 April 2011)

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We were exhausted when we arrived in Paris yet we had quite an excellent dinner in a small French restaurant with Matchuk, Angela and two of their friends.

Part 7: London (30 April – 2 May 2011)

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We arrived in London the day following the Royal Wedding (for the Chowtaree as a matter of fact…) We were pleased to meet our family there: Usha, Raj, Joshna, Mala, Vanesha, Bisham, Rushil, Kavi, etc. I also had the privilege of meeting for the first time, Stéphane, my sister’s “friend” (as my mum puts it).

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Of course, in between the eating, the drinking and the djalsa, we still got some time to indulge into some sightseeing.

  • 1st day: Taking the Tube and having a great briyani and singing party at Usha and Raj’s place.
  • 2nd day: Visiting the Natural History Museum and dining in London.
  • 3rd day: Meeting Juju and Stéphane next to the Big Ben.

Part 8: Back to Paris (3 – 6 May 2011)

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Christina was happy to spend a few days in Paris as she wasn’t with us at the beginning of our trip.

  • 1st day: Buying Mauritian food in Paris.
  • 2nd day: Going to Disneyland with Maya.
  • 3rd day: Walking through the Quartier Latin, Montmartre and Pigalle…
  • 4th day: Seeing the Eiffel Tower a last time before leaving.

And, finally, part 9: our return to Mauritius on 7 May 2011

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We arrived in Mauritius with 9 items of luggage (count ’em!). We had bought a lot of things everywhere and we also got a lot of gifts.

Once again, we would like to thank Matchuk, Angela, Maya, Audrey, Nawaaz, Failah, Adam, Sarah, Navin, Kavita, Usha, Raj and Joshna for everything they have done during our trip. Everything was easy and oh so very enjoyable thanks to them.

We were glad to meet Juju and Stéphane as well as all the other family members and friends.

We hope to see them all in Mauritius soon…

OSS2011: Seminar on Linux and OSS on 22 June 2011

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As the founder of the Linux User Group of Mauritius (LUGM), I am delighted to, once again, tell you that there will be a Seminar on Open Source Software on 22 June 2011 at the University of Mauritius.

The seminar is organised by LUGM in collaboration with the University of Mauritius and the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie and will be held at the Burrunchobay Lecture Theatre at the University of Mauritius (Google Map)

The programme for the day is as follows:

  • 09:00 – Official opening
  • 09:15 – First presentation session: Policy on OSS in Mauritius
  • 10:30 – Second presentation session: Students contributing to OSS
  • 11:15 – Third presentation session: Real world use of OSS
  • 12:00 – Lunch break
  • 13:15 – Three working sessions in parallel: (1) OSS in industry (to be chaired by myself), (2) OSS in education and (3) OSS at the level of the Government.
  • 14:30 – Synthesis of discussions held

I would be more that happy if you could participate in the seminar and contribute to the discussions based on your extensive experience on using open source software at work. More information about the event can be found on http://cse.uom.ac.mu/oss/fr

Please note that the seminar is open to everyone but, because of logistical constraints, it is important to confirm your presence by IMMEDIATELY registering at http://cse.uom.ac.mu/oss/fr/inscription_invite

I would like to thank Ajay Ramjatan of LUGM as well as Jayantee Gukhool, Director of AUF, and Anwar Chutoo, Lecturer at UoM, and his colleagues for making this seminar a reality.

Please feel free to disseminate to friends, colleagues and relatives :-)