LK-LUG will take part in the ASOCIO 2004 Exhibition from the 1^st to 5^th of December. LK-LUG will be at the SLECC - booth no 115.

SLECC is located very close to the Lake House.

Highlights of the stall will include the latest version of Sinhala GNU/Linux (you can take a copy home), Grappix (live CD with 2D and 3D graphics applications - see http://www.mygimp.tk for details) and many other GNU/Linux distributions including Mepis, Mandrake, Knoppix, Fedora, Puppy, Damn Small Linux and many others... :-)

There will be demonstrations on using GNU/Linux to make the most out of slow and old computers.

To take a copy of any distribution we have, please bring a blank CD.

Keep an eye on http://www.linux.lk for updates.

Looking forward to see you at ASOCIO 2004!

Photos taken at the Software Freedom Day 2004 is now available.

LKLUG with the Tux Group at Narada Center participated in the International Book Fair that was held from 6^th - 12^th September. Many people visited the stall and was interested in the Sinhala Linux desktop that the LKLUG is currently developing. More information about the Sinhala Linux project can be found in the Sinhala Linux Project page.

We are planning to celebrate the Software Freedom Day on the 28th of August (Saturday) by holding a Get-Together followed by a public awareness program.

The Get-Together will be in the morning from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon at the Auditorium of Mahaweli Centre. This is going to be a very informal event where members can get to know each other better, and sometimes for the first time by face. There will be a couple of very short presentations during the program to introduce LKLUG and also FOSS culture and community. The rest of the time will be spent on discussions and activities.

We will also demonstrate the Sinhala GNU/Linux desktop.

Only 250 seats are available for the morning event, and will be allocated on a first come first serve basis.

GNU/Linux T-shirts will be available at Rs 350. Those who buy T-shirts will receive free lunch; free as in free beer and free software ;-)

In the afternoon, of course after having lunch, the we will travel to the Lobby of the Majestic City and conduct a public awareness program. Promotional material will also be distributed.

All are welcome and the entrance is FREE!!! Here is the notice. Please pass it around and feel free to display it on notice boards.

We had a real time web log about what was happening in our stall. Visit it at www.linux.lk/es2004

MettaNet Foundation of Narada Center, 380/9 Sarana Road, has ventured in to help in the distribution of free software, as well as setting up an Open Source Software Service Center, where you can call in and get free help on Open Source Software or get service personal to visit your office or home, providing specialist Open Software services through their Tux Group.

LKLUG and Tux Group of Mettanet Foundation will jointly be hosting stall number 61 at the e-Society exhibition at BMICH on 13, 14^th and 15^th to bring awareness about Open Source / Free Software. Highlights include a Linux desktop in Sinhalese, Open Source / Free applications, games, gadgets and much more.

All are welcome!

The new Tux Group conducted a Linux workshop for NIBM students and staff. It was highly successful and the response they got from the participants is very promising.

The Tux Group was formed by Venerable Mettavihari with the help of many GNU/Linux enthusiasts in Sri Lanka. The resources were provided by the PC House, 15 machines were used for the operation and there were 30 participants. The highlight was the Linux desktop and typical server configuration tasks.

The workshop was conducted in 2 days. The first day was spend to introduce everyone how to get Mandrake Linux up and running with full desktop functionality and the second day focused on server configuration and other administrative tasks and as well as using it as a development platform.

We are happy to announce that we have dedicated a seperate page at out site to inform you about OSS projects spearheaded by Sri Lankans.

We are in the process of making the page complete. Please tell us about such projects so that it'll be a rich collection of OSS projects symbolizing the relationship between Penguins and Lions.

Virtusa Corporation has donated a new computer to run LKLUG Internet infrastructure. It is a brand new Compaq/HP box with a 2.4 GHz P4 processor, 128 MB RAM and two 40 GB hard drivers.

Virtusa, a leading IT services provider based in Colombo, Boston and India, is commited to promote open source. Apart from LKLUG, Virtusa is also supporting the Apache Axis project.

Details about the new server migration was posted to the members mailing list in this mail.

LKLUG has been invited by CeyNet, the only official Debian vendor in Sri Lanka, to participate at the IT Office 2003 Exhibition to be held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, Colombo, Sri Lanka from 26th to 28th September 2003.

Update: Photos and details about the exhibition will appear on this page soon. Be patient.