Oct - Nov 09 e-newsletter-final

Monthly
Newsletter
OSCC
Quarterly
Newsletter
Bil. 8/2009 October - November 2009
MyGOSSCON 2009 – WOW!!!
Putrajaya 9 November 2009. The recent Malaysian Government OSS
Conference (MyGOSSCON) 2009 was described by most as a roaring
success. MAMPU wowed the 805 participants with the most comprehensive
and interactive events and activities yet in this third successive
MyGOSSCON held on 4-6 November at Putrajaya International Convention
Centre (PICC), Putrajaya.
Inside
●
MyGOSSCON 2009 –
WOW!!!
●
Competitive Spirit
Abounds at Conference
●
OSS Case Study
Internationally
Accredited
●
Government Agencies
Getting More With less
●
World OSS News
Updates
OSCC Newsletter covers the latest
issues and updates related to Open
Source Software in Malaysia.
OSCC Newsletter is developed by
Open Source Competency Centre,
MAMPU. MAMPU, is the central
agency responsible for leading
change and modernisation in the
public service. MAMPU's Open
Source Competency Centre is first
and single point of reference for
support and guidance in the
implementation of Open Source
Software in the Public Sector. For
more
information
visit
http://www.oscc.org.my
or
contact@oscc.org.my
This document is released under a
Creative Commons Attribution 2.5
License Malaysia.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses
/by/2.5/my/
Y.B. Senator Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, Minister in the Prime Minister's
Department officiating MyGOSSCON 2009 on 5th November 2009
The full-fledged conference was officiated on 5 November by Y.B. Senator
Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department. The
conference featured 8 sessions covering 45 papers from a large repertoire of
local and international speakers; 41 OSS showcase exhibition booths from
public and private sector organisations; and several new activities such as
the 24-hour OSS Web Development Contest, OpenOffice.org Competition,
and Birds-of-a-Feather (BoF) and Lightning Talks sessions.
MyGOSSCON 2009 was attended by high profile officials from private and
public sectors, including MAMPU's Director General, Multimedia
Development Corporation (MDeC), PIKOM, Business Chambers and a
delegation from Nile Center for Technology Research (NCTR), Sudan
accompanied by His Excellency, Ambassador of Sudan in Malaysia.
The interactive conference successfully created an environment which saw
participants exchanging knowledge and ideas, as well as sharing
innovations in various exciting activities. The conference achieved
unparalleled successes in capturing and embodying the inherent energy of
OSS and its vibrant communities.
The keynote sessions were on Global Trends and Opportunities,
Transforming for the New Economic Order, Shaping a Dynamic Public
1
Monthly
Newsletter
OSCC
Quarterly
Newsletter
Bil. 8/2009 October - November 2009
Upcoming Training
December 7, 2009
Using MyMeeting
December 7 - 10 , 2009
Linux Network Administration
To register, please visit:
http://www.oscc.org.my/cont
ent/view/9/15/
Highlights
OSSRA
Open Source Software
Reference Architecture is
available for download from
OSCC Portal.
For more information, please
visit http://www.oscc.org.my/
content/view/201/243/
Service through OSS and a closing keynote by the President of the Open
Source Initiative (OSI), Mr. Michael Tiemann, whose work led to worldleading open source technologies and formed the first open source
business model.
Concurrent sessions were separated into Government, Business and
Technology tracks, drawing on key local and international speakers from
Australia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Netherlands, Singapore, Sudan and
USA, each of whom shared experiences in these sessions. Among the
highlights included keynote talks on OSS being used for Presidential
elections in Indonesia and the use of OSS for Geographical Information
System (GIS) in town and country planning in Malaysia.
To-date there are a total of 546 agencies implementing OSS, which
represents a 10-fold increase since the inception of the OSS Programme in
2004.
MyGOSSCON 2009 was officially closed by the Chief Secretary to the
Government of Malaysia, Y. Bhg. Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan at the start of
the Awards Dinner on the evening of 6 November. This concluding event
was yet another phenomenal success, distinguished by high profile officials
from private sector and Government, including MAMPU's Director General,
MDeC, PIKOM, and Business Chambers who were present to participate in
the closing and awards presentation ceremonies.
WAG
Web Application Guidelines
is available for download
from OSCC Portal.
For more information, please
visit http://www.oscc.org.my/
content/view/202/246/
OSS
Adoption
Support/Update
For support and update,
please contact 03- 83191200
or marketing@oscc.org.my.
Alternatively, please
download and send in the
completed feedback form via
email/fax 03- 83193206.
For more info, Please visit
http://www.oscc.org.my/cont
ent/view/227/139/
Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia, Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Mohd Sidek
Hassan giving a closing speech during Appreciation dinner on 6th November
2009
Also in attendance were executives from local and international
organisations such as Novell, Red Hat, The MediaShoppe, Microsoft,
McAfee, Abyres MSC, First Solution, Conatus, local and international
speakers.
The awards ceremony kicked off with the presentation of Best Exhibitor
Award going to Novell Corporation in recognition of its winning efforts for its
OSS showcase exhibition booth.
2
Monthly
Newsletter
OSCC
Quarterly
Newsletter
Bil. 8/2009 October - November 2009
Resources
OSS Implementation
Guidelines
OSS Implementation
Guidelines is available for
download from OSCC portal.
http://www.oscc.org.my/cont
ent/view/25/208/
OSCC Mailing list
The presentation of awards continued with the Chief Secretary to the
Government of Malaysia, Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan presenting
tokens of appreciation to the ICT organisations in recognition of their
continuing support for the OSS Programme and making MyGOSSCON
2009 a resounding success. All finalists and winners of the OSS Case
Study Awards and 24-HR OSS WebDev Contest were presented with
awards and certificates acknowledging their innovative and effective OSS
implementation and web development.
Competitive Spirit Abounds at Conference
All the competition events held in conjunction with MyGOSSCON 2009
achieved overwhelming success in bringing out the inherent energy of
OSS.
To stay abreast of latest OSS
news and to receive email
notification, please subscribe
to our mailing lists at:
http://lists.oscc.org.my/mailm
an/listinfo
The first ever 24-hour OSS Web Development Contest was officiated by
MAMPU Deputy Director General, ICT, Y. Brs Dr. Nor Aliah Binti Mohd Zahri
at 11.00 a.m on 4 November and closed by Y.B. Senator Tan Sri Dr. Koh
Tsu Koon.
e-Marketplace
Bitfluent won this event with WALTS6 and SUK Terengganu as 1 st and 2nd
runners-up respectively. In addition, the NuLogic from UiTM was awarded
the Best Student Team Award.
Government agencies can
now post service requests
and find service providers
with the new e-Marketplace.
Five teams selected as finalists to receive certificates were Bitfluent (OSS
community), KRIMnet, Ready To Go (Jabatan Peguam Negara), SUK
Terengganu and WALTS6 (Universiti Sains Malaysia).
http://knowledge.oscc.org.my
/e-marketplace
Knowledge Bank
Open Source Competency
Centre, MAMPU's
Knowledge Bank is a public
Community of Practice area
for Open Source Software
Implementors.
For further information and to
be part of the community,
please visit
http://knowledge.oscc.org.my
Y.B. Senator Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon visiting a contest team before closing
the 24-HR OSS WebDev Contest on 5th November 2009
3
Monthly
Newsletter
OSCC
Quarterly
Newsletter
Bil. 8/2009 October - November 2009
Upcoming
Events
For the National OSS Case Study Awards, three finalists were selected
from each of the two award categories - the Public Sector agency and IPTA
(Public Institutions of Higher Learning).
OSS Opportunity
Workshops
The winner for category of Public Sector agency was Jabatan Perancangan
Bandar dan Desa, Semenanjung Malaysia with case study entitled
“Establishing Quantum GIS as the principal GIS for the Public Sector”.
Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam and Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi were the
two runners-up in this category.
Registration is now open for
agencies not implementing
any OSS. A series of 10
Workshops will be held
monthly until December 09.
For the category of IPTA, Advanced Medical and Dental Institute (AMDI),
Universiti Sains Malaysia emerged as winner with case study entitled
“Open Source Integrated Library System (KOHA)”. The two runners-up for
this category were Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia and Universiti
Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Shah Alam.
To register, please call 0383191200 or email
marketing@oscc.org.my
OpenOffice.org competition was held for Putrajaya primary schools, with
student teams challenged to prepare creative presentations on the theme,
“1 Malaysia – People First, Performance Now”. The 3 finalists in this
competition were:
Contact Us:
Open Source Competency
Centre MAMPU
➢
Sekolah Kebangsaan Putrajaya Presint 9(1) - 1st Place
➢
Sekolah Kebangsaan Putrajaya Presint 9(2) - 2nd Place
➢
Sekolah Kebangsaan Putrajaya Presint 14(1) - 3rd Place
3rd Floor, APT E302-304
The winning team presented to Y.B. Senator Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon who
Enterprise Building 3
then congratulated them on their achievements at OSCC MAMPU
Persiaran APEC, 63000
exhibition booth after the prize giving ceremony on 5 November.
Cyberjaya
Tel: 03-83191200 or email:
contact@oscc.org.my
Case Study Internationally Accredited
The winner of the 2009 OSS Case Study Award for IPTA category,
Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia (AMDI,
USM) recently achieved another significant milestone when its OSS Case
Study entitled “Open Source Integrated Library System (KOHA)” received
accreditation from the Koha community in Taiwan.
The community requested permission from AMDI, USM to translate the
OSS case study to traditional Chinese and post the case study at KOHA
community related websites for users' reference.
The community envisions that the case study will encourage and help more
institutes to build their own or adopt KOHA within their libraries. They
further commended AMDI, USM for providing proof of the usefulness and
low cost of maintaining the KOHA Integrated Library System.
Koha is an integrated library system (ILS) and was the first open source
solution in this area. Koha was created in 1999 by Katipo Communications
for the Horowhenua Library Trust in New Zealand.
4
Monthly
Newsletter
OSCC
Quarterly
Newsletter
Bil. 8/2009 October - November 2009
AMDI, USM successfully customised the Open Source Integrated Library System to accommodate its
specific needs. KOHA was commended for its low maintenance cost and ability to control operations such as
making changes, system customization, data retrieval tests and system deployment.
Total cost savings of over RM 1.3 million can be realised based on a 5-year projected cost savings analysis
conducted by AMDI, USM.
Government Agencies Getting More With Less
MAMPU continues to proactively encourage and inspire more Public Sector agencies to implement OSS by
presenting a paper on “Getting More with Less Through OSS” in the recent I.T Showcase Asia Conference at
Berjaya Time Square on 6 - 7 October 2009.
Madam Tan giving her talk at I.T Showcase Asia on 7 October 2009
Citing the eight OSCC products developed using OSS, the Deputy Director, ICT Planning and Policy
Division, MAMPU, Madam Tan King Ing stressed that Open Source Software (OSS) enables government
agencies to do more with less.
“Malaysia does not want to buy a package and use only a few modules but we'd rather develop our own
software for our own use and OSS enables us build the software once and use it on many platforms by all
agencies without having to pay license fees,” said Madam Tan.
In an effort to further widen the use of OSS in Public Sector, Madam Tan highlighted some of the free
services offered by OSCC MAMPU to Public Sector agencies such as OSCC products and services,
comprehensive training courses, OSS Development Toolkit, Advanced Virtualisation Facility and
OpenOffice.org Migration Pack.
5
Monthly
Newsletter
OSCC
Quarterly
Newsletter
Bil. 8/2009 October - November 2009
World OSS News Updates
1. Linux saves networks from disastrous virus attack
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the computer networks of Australian power supplier, Integral
Energy were recently attacked by a nasty virus, affecting all its facility's 1,000 computers, which had to be
repaired.
Integral Energy quickly swapped the infected Windows boxes for machines running Linux to prevent the virus
from taking over all the operator displays in the control room. Fortunately, their power grid control servers run
on Solaris that eventually saved the day.
For full story, please visit:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/08/australian-power-grid-attacked-by-virus-linux-saves-the-day/
2. Linux endorsed as safe for Internet Banking
According to cybercrime experts from Australia, Linux or the Apple iPhone was endorsed as the safe systems
to use for Internet Banking.
Detective Inspector Bruce van der Graaf from the NSW Computer Crime Investigation Unit gave evidence on
the security feature provided by Linux at a public hearing in Sydney.
"If you are using the internet for a commercial transaction, use a Linux boot up disk - such as Ubuntu or
some of the other flavours. Puppylinux is a nice small distribution that boots up fairly quickly.
"It gives you an operating system which is perfectly clean and operates only in the memory of the computer
and is a perfectly safe way of doing internet banking," van der Graaf was quoted as saying.
For full story, please visit:
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/157767,nsw-police-dont-use-windows-for-internet-banking.aspx
3. French Government switches 130,000 PC's to Open Source
The French Government's public finance department will replace its IBM Lotus Notes and Microsoft Office
with Mozilla's Thunderbird email service, Lightning Calendar and open source groupware applications.
About 130,000 desktop PC's will be switched to Mozilla's email and calendar applications. An ever increasing
number of government agencies from around the world are embracing OSS to reap the benefits of cost
savings and better license agreements.
The city of Los Angeles has also decided to use Google Apps to save cost. About 30,000 city employees will
use Gmail and have access to Google Docs. Full story is available at http://bit.ly/CFbUU
4. Whitehouse.gov Goes Drupal
According to The New York Times, the flagship website of the U.S Government, Whitehouse.gov has
migrated from proprietary Content Management System (CMS) to Drupal, an Open Source CMS.
The U.S Government clearly realised the benefits of Open Source such as lower risks, avoiding vendor lockin and lower costs. White House's adoption of Drupal matches U.S President Barack Obama's push for open
and transparent government. Drupal adoption and awareness are growing rapidly within the U.S.
government and will also grow across all governments world-wide.
6
Monthly
Newsletter
OSCC
Quarterly
Newsletter
Bil. 8/2009 October - November 2009
For full story, please visit:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/drupal-moves-into-the-white-house/?scp=1&sq=white%20house
%20drupal&st=cse
Editorial Board
Y. Brs Dr. Nor Aliah Binti Mohd Zahri (MAMPU Deputy Director General, ICT) - Advisor
Tn Haji Muhammad Rosli Bin Abd. Razak (MAMPU Director, ICT Policy and Planning Division) - Chief Editor
Madam Tan King Ing (MAMPU Deputy Director, ICT Policy and Planning Division) – Deputy Chief Editor
Managers & executives (OSCC MAMPU) - Contributors
7