Free-software guru meets Indian president

Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation, met on Thursday with Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to discuss "the ethical issues related to the use of proprietary software," according to the Free Software Foundation of India. Stallman also met officials in the state of Kerala to discuss the use of nonproprietary software in government initiatives. Last year, Kalam spoke out in favor of open-source software following a meeting with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.

A number of governments around the world have been looking at the prospect of adopting Linux and other open-source software as an alternative to Microsoft's proprietary Windows operating system and other applications. Microsoft may be moving to counter that trend in India, and other places, by offering to let government agencies get a look at the inner workings of Windows.