Urge Visveswaraiah Technologies University to go Open Source.

Dear Sir,
There are thousands of engineering and polytechnic colleges in India. Each year lakhs of graduates and diploma holders earn their degree. They pay thousands of rupees as fees to get the best facilities. A part of this goes to buying the softwares which they use either in college lab or for doing assignments at home. Well for every software which they use; there is alternate open source software available. Now this shows the amount of money which we can save if we start using open source softwares. This can make the education cost less.

Other than money the advantages of open source software are
--No-fee licensing
--Ease of license fee management
--Better large-scale programmability
--Easier integration
--Better performance
--Development convenience
--Intellectual propriety
--Better support

There are hundreds of open source softwares which colleges or universities can adapt. Considering Vishweshwaraiah Technological University as one of the biggest in India, its time for VTU to move towards open source. This will make other Universities to follow. Let the VTU have pride to be the first.
Here I am giving you an example of three such softwares which can be used.

(1) Operating System: Windows v/s GNU/Linux
I dont know what university generally recommends to colleges. But presently all most all the colleges use windows based operating system. We all know the best available operating system today is Linux. It is the best OS any educational institution can have. Students can not only use it but also can play.

(2) Simulation: Matlab v/s Octave
Matlab is used in communication and electronics lab. Matlab for individual license for university (academic use) costs $500. Any college will have to buy minimum 25 licenses. Which means shelling out Rs.537500.
Octave, which is simulation software written by University professors. This usually comes with the Linux distro. The advantage to students is that they dont have to buy a limited student version to use at home. They can use Octave both at Lab and at home.
SciLab is another open source competitor for Matlab. It uses sophisticated algorithms to analyze data and produce lovely graphics. Now you have the choice which one you want to include in your curriculum.

(3) Office softwares: MS Office v/s Open Office
well we all used Microsoft word to submit our project documents for review and for other academic purposes. Now we have Open Office which is as good as MS office. It gives you everything starting from worprocessor, presentation software to PDF generator. Don't you think its the right time to save money of a poor student?

The above are just examples. There are many such from which the students can benefit. We hope the university understands the urgency and the need. We would be happy to give you any information/help if university needs.
Here by we urge the university makes an effort in this direction.

Thank you,
Thejesh GN.
Milwaukee USA.
Former student of VTU [1BT98EC047].
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