Bangalore Linux User Group
Encyclopedia
Foss
Foss may refer toPeople*Foss , people with the last name Foss*Foss Shanahan , New Zealand diplomat*Foss Westcott , English bishop...
user group.
Formed in 1998, it jumped into the public eye with its participation at Bangalore IT.COM
Bangalore IT.COM
Bangalore IT.in is a Indian technology exhibition. It is held annually sometime between October to November in Bangalore, India. The name of this event was changed to starting with the event held in 2005...
, now known as Bangalore IT.in '99 - then India's largest and most prominent technology event. The Government of Karnataka gave the BLUG an entire pavilion, where it exhibited Linux-based machines showing various applications, under the motto "Seeing is believing". This participation was a huge success, drawing people's attention to the then-nascent operating system, and earning the pavilion the title of "Crown Jewel of Bangalore IT.COM"(Bangalore IT.in) from the local media.
Over the years, the BLUG participated in a number of technology events, and in 2001 facilitated
Facilitation (business)
Facilitation in business, organizational development and in consensus decision-making refers to the process of designing and running a successful meeting.Facilitation concerns itself with all the tasks needed to run a productive and impartial meeting...
India's premiere
Premiere
A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
FOSS
Foss
Foss may refer toPeople*Foss , people with the last name Foss*Foss Shanahan , New Zealand diplomat*Foss Westcott , English bishop...
event - Linux Bangalore. Linux Bangalore/2001 (and its sequels - Linux Bangalore/2002, Linux Bangalore/2003 and Linux Bangalore/2004), broke ground for the growing Linux and Open Source community in India, seeing participation by thousands of delegates from India and abroad. (The current edition of the event is called FOSS.IN
FOSS.IN
FOSS.IN is a Free and Open Source Software conference, held in India. It is the successor of the FOSS conferences known as Linux Bangalore , and is one of the largest annual FOSS events in Asia...
)
In late 2000 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linux-bangalore/message/1489, the BLUG was registered as a not-for-profit society, under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act 1960 http://web.archive.org/web/20011122053730/linux-bangalore.org/blugmemo.php.
During 2004-2005, recognising that Linux and Open Source had become mainstream technologies and had little need for generic advocacy, members of the group proposed creating smaller groups in Bangalore. The formation of Special Interest Groups (SIG
Special Interest Group
A Special Interest Group is a community with an interest in advancing a specific area of knowledge, learning or technology where members cooperate to effect or to produce solutions within their particular field, and may communicate, meet, and organize conferences...
) http://fci.wikicities.com/wiki/SIGs is a natural outcome of this. Another outcome was regular "Birds of Feather" or BOF
Birds of a Feather (computing)
In computing, BoF can refer to:* An informal discussion group. Unlike special interest groups or working groups, BoFs are informal and often formed in an ad-hoc manner...
meets organised each fortnight at various locations across the city.
In February 2005, the BLUG was judged to be the "Most Popular Indian Linux User Group" at the Linux Asia conference in New Delhi.
In mid-2005, the BLUG regrouped and resumed its activities, including meetings, while at the same time adopting the role of a staging platform for multiple FOSS activities, especially amongst students.
From late 2005 onwards, the BLUG began a campaign of talking at various technical colleges. BLUG members speak on technical and non-technical FOSS topics at student-arranged events in colleges, in an attempt to get more students (and faculty) involved in FOSS.