Atul Chitnis

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Atul Chitnis

Atul Chitnis (1962-) is an Indian consulting technologist known for his work in the fields of data networks, internet and intranets, Linux and Free and Open Source Software and mobile computing in India. He is also the founder of FOSS.IN (formerly Linux Bangalore), one of Asia's largest FOSS conferences.

1 Biography
2 Software development
3 Data communication and networking
4 Free and Open Source Software
5 Government and education
6 Mobile computing
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Biography

Born in Berlin, Germany in 1962, he completed his primary schooling there, before migrating to India in 1972, along with his brother and German mother, to join his father there. He completed his secondary schooling at the Belgaum Military School, and graduated in Mechanical engineering from the Gogte Institute of Technology in 1985.

After working for a while in Mumbai, Chitnis settled down in Bangalore in 1986, where he continues to live with his wife, Shubha and daughter, Geetanjali.

[edit] Software development

During the late 1980s, Chitnis was actively involved in the development of application software for the growing PC markets in India.

In 1987, in an effort to change people's mindsets about the use of pirated commercial software, he developed and marketed a series of low-cost (INR100/US$2), DOS-based application and utility software titles. These titles (called SmartDIR, PAM, Pegasus, DOSutils, etc.) did surprisingly well, and were purchased by many people for whom this represented their first piece of legal software.

Eventually, he moved into the development and marketing of datacommunication and networking solutions. In 1990, he released CyberNet, a corporate communication host, based on BBS technology. The system was used by many large corporate house, such as Asea Brown Boveri, Associated Cement Companies, Cyber Media India, Indian Aluminium, and several financial institutions, including the Coimbatore Stock Exchange. He continued developing and supporting Cybernet and associated solutions until he ceased development activity in 1994.

[edit] Data communication and networking

In 1989, as part of his development work on data communications software, Chitnis set up India's first online service [1] - a Bulletin Board System called "CiX" [2], which was based on his product, CyberNet. This BBS provided an entry point for many newcomers to the field, allowing them to experience the concept of online communication and online communities. In 1993, he began chronicling his experience in the field in his PCQuest column COMversations, which lasted until 1996. He soon became involved in many efforts to popularize data communication in Indian industry. These efforts included nationwide speaking tours, where he and Kishore Bhargava provided information and practical solutions on topics related to data communications, the internet and intranets.

It was during this period that Chitnis first got involved with was then known as "electronic activism". In early 1994, he was made aware of a move by the Government of India to tax BBSs, and he wrote publicly about this impending move. [3] This article appeared before the Government was actually able to release the regulations. Chitnis, along with other sysops, such as Ashish Gulhati, Kishore Bhargava, Suchit Nanda, created an online campaign - the first of its kind in the Indian subcontinent - spreading via the various BBSs that had just begun spreading in India.

The result of this was that days before the issue of the Guidelines to Value Added Services [4], the government physically removed the relevant pages from the document (covering sections 8.0 to 8.2.2 in that document).

[edit] Free and Open Source Software

Chitnis has worked extensively to promote Linux and Free and Open Source Software.

As Consulting Editor for PCQuest from 1996 to 2002, he was responsible for the PCQuest Linux Initiative [5], a successful effort to introduce FOSS and Linux to India.

In the 1990s, there were few organisations in India that would provide FOSS support. In 1999, Chitnis formed Exocore Consulting, a company that provided commercial support and consulting services to clients who wished to deploy FOSS technologies, and also provided him with corporate backing for his FOSS promotion efforts.

Working with the FOSS community (most prominently the Bangalore Linux User Group that he had helped create in 1998), seminars and articles, he encouraged people to try out and use FOSS technologies. He also encouraged the FOSS community to participate in large technology events such as Bangalore IT.COM. The exposure from these events gained the community more visibility and credibility in industry and government.

In 2001, Chitnis, along with a group of like-minded friends [6], created and ran Linux Bangalore series of FOSS community driven conferences. Now known as FOSS.IN, the conference has become one of Asia's largest annual FOSS events.

[edit] Government and education

In 2002, Chitnis was invited by the Government to submit a white paper [7] that would establish a basis for the Government's FOSS policy.[8]

Subsequently, he was invited to become part of the several Project Review and Steering Groups (PRSGs) of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) of the Government of India, and has worked to increase government involvement in (and adoption of) FOSS.

One of these projects led to the establishment of the National Resource Centre for FOSS (NRC-FOSS), established jointly by the Anna University and the MCIT.[9]. He is on the faculty committee of the NRC-FOSS. [10]

In 2003, Chitnis was invited by the National Computer Board, Government of Mauritius, to speak to government, industry and academia about FOSS. [11]

He often speaks to students and faculty at universities, colleges and schools. As a keen supporter of Indian innovation, he uses FOSS as a platform to get students to think beyond the narrow confines of the often outdated technical curriculum in India, and to experiment with technologies as tools, not as ends in themselves. [12]

[edit] Mobile computing

Beginning in the late 1990s, Chitnis became increasingly involved with mobile computing technologies, such as wireless, GPRS/CDMA, PDAs, notebooks etc. Himself a heavy user of these technologies, he repeated his formula from a decade earlier, and in 2003 began writing about these technologies in various publications, as well as on his websites. [13]

He is also part of DataQuest India's "Project Mobility" [14] - a project to promote awareness and deployment of mobile computing technologies.

During 2004 and 2005, he was also involved with the Simputer project, helping its developers with design and licensing decisions, which eventually resulted in the release of the SDK of the Simputer under an Open Source license.

He is currently involved in efforts to help people understand the differences in technology and applications required for effective mobility product designs and usage. [15]