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Invasion of the Penguins - LinuxNepal.com.np

Linux and the man behind LinuxNepal.com.np
Kundan Khanal Speaks out!
Interview With Nepalnet

Kundan Khanal , the face behind linuxnepal.com.np, is an engineering graduate from SJM Institute of Technology in Karnataka, India. Before that, he studied in St. Xaviers and Siddhartha Vanasthali in Kathmandu.

With his friends, he started linuxnepal.com.np for the sake of bringing Linux awareness in Nepal. Later the mailing list for Linux was started for the technical Linux solutions. This group currently consists of approximately 100 Linux users and is expanding day by day.

Currently, he is working as a system administrator in HTP. During his free time, he administers the linuxnepal.com.np. The web space for the linuxnepal.com.np, which is freely hosted by HTP. During 2002,he attended training on Integrated Network System Management Course implemented by Center of International Co-operation for Computerization, Japan. This Training dealt with Linux OS, DNS Server Management, Apache Server Management, Design & Maintenance of LAN, WAN, Integrated Network System Management Software etc.

“I think that the participation in the Linuxnepal forums, mailing lists and the article sections will grow much more in coming future. I request all the Linux Users in Nepal to send their ideas, articles, guides etc. anything related to Linux to us so that we can make the site much more informative.” – Kundan Khanal

During last month I had chance to interview him. In the interview, he talked about his linuxnepal.com.np. Please email any comments at info@nepalnet.net


Q. How did Linuxnepal.com.np start?

Kundan Khanal:

This all started 3 years back in May 2000. It had already been 2 years since I was engaged in the field of Linux. At that time, with my friends Utsab Koirala and Deepak Adhikary, I had started an IT company Total Quality Solution &
Research Center. We all had a dream to do something related to Linux as it was becoming popular around the world. So we decided to start a Nepali site for Linux to generate awareness about Linux in Nepal. As Linux itself is an open source and freely distributed OS we wanted to share the knowledge we had through this site.

This is totally an interactive site and would like the interested personnel to take the benefit of this. The users are free to interact with each other. Also the users are free to post their articles about Linux. The site encourage the new users to learn this operating system from the beginning of installation.


Q. On a personal level, how were you first introduced, and how did you first get involved with Linux?

Kundan:

After the completion of my Engineering, I came to Nepal and started the hunt for a job. I was very much interested in computers so was looking for jobs related to this field. HTP Communication was looking for fresh engineers who could be trained and later be used in the organization. My friend Deepak Adhikary called me and insisted me on doing this job. The next day we both had an interview with Mr. Ranjan Koirala and Mr. Muni Sakya of HTP and were selected. We were told that the job was related to Linux and we had a chance to learn and practiceLinux but by ourselves. We both knew nothing about Linux at that time.

After playing with Linux for few months, we were very much attached to it. The next thing I remember is that I was appointed in HTP as a support engineer. Later I was promoted to an assistant system administrator under the supervision of Mr. Ranjan Koirala who was the system administrator of HTP at that time. He was the one who always helped me with my Linux related problems. Since last 3 years I have been working in Linux Platform as a system administrator in this company.

Q. What are the benefits of using Linux in Nepal? What type of future do you see for Linux in Nepal?

Kundan:

There are many benefits of using Linux in Nepal. The first thing is that Linux is free. The government and corporate sector can save a hell lot of money that they use on buying the Microsoft products. The other thing is that Linux is open source. This can be used by our technical and engineering institutes for there research purposes. Since it is open source it can be moulded as per the requirement of the user. As the documents and manuals for Linux are freely available from the internet, it is easier for the Linux newbies to learn Linux and the Linux trainers to train the trainees.

I have seen lots of young people being interested in Linux these days esp. in Kathmandu and Pokhara. The schools and colleges have started making Linux as one of the OS in their syllabus.

The certification programs for Linux have also recently started in Nepal. These are the plus points to uplift the Linux usage in Nepal. There are lots of project being handled related to Linux in Nepal like Ganesha's Project. This kind of project are trying to bring the Linux awareness in the community where people know nothing about the computers.

Let's hope, someday in future, the day might come when everybody will be looking towards Nepal for the Linux related solutions.

Q. If you had to persuade a non-Linux user to use Linux, how would you do so in a few sentences?

Kundan:

  • Linux is Free.
  • Linux is Open Source.
  • The support and help are anytime available through the internet using various Linux community based forums and mailing lists. The documents, FAQ and manual pages for the programs can be downloaded free through the internet.
  • The security is very tight. It has many features that protect your system from intruders.
  • Linux is the most customizable OS as it is highly configurable. You can make it work exactly the way you want and can optimize it for your very own hardware to make your OS faster.
  • The Linux system is very much stable. One of Linux's greatest strengths is its tendency to run for long periods of time without needing a reboot. If you compare it to windows, the Linux system rarely hangs (freezes up).
  • Since most of the viruses are targeted to the windows based application, the risk of getting infected with the virus is minimum in Linux.
  • You can fulfill various networking related task that you cannot implement with windows.

Related Article:

Invasion of the Penguins - Linux.com.np (Interview with Hemanta Sharma)

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