Atul Chitnis (February 20, 1962 – June 3, 2013 ) was a German-born Indian consulting technologist. He was also the founder of FOSS.IN (formerly Linux Bangalore), which was one of Asia's largest free and open source software (FOSS) conferences.

Career

Data communication and networking

In 1989, as part of his development work on data communications software, Chitnis set up what was apparently India's first online service, a Bulletin Board System (BBS) called CiX, 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.

From 1993 to 1997, he chronicled his experiences in the field in his PCQuest column COMversations. Chitnis 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.

This article appeared before the Government was actually able to release the regulations. Chitnis, along with other sysops including Ashish Gulhati, Kishore Bhargava, and 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 theGuidelines to Value Added Services, the government physically removed the relevant pages from the document (covering sections 8.0 to 8.2.2 in that document).

Free and open source software

Atul Chitnis at FOSS.in

Atul Chitnis and Jimmy Wales

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, an effort to introduce FOSS and Linux to readers of the popular magazine.  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.in. 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, was a key organizer of the 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. He also served as a faculty member at the National Resource Centre For Free/Open Source Software.

In 2003, Chitnis was invited by the National Computer Board, Government of Mauritius, to speak to government, industry and academia about FOSS. 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 technical curriculum in India, and to experiment with technologies as tools, not as ends in themselves.

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.

He was also part of DataQuest India's "Project Mobility" - 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.

Before his death, he was involved in efforts to help people understand the differences in technology and applications required for effective mobility product designs and usage.

In 2006, he joined Geodesic Limited (developers of the Mundu range of applications for mobile devices, and who had recently acquired Simputer creator PicoPeta) as Senior Vice President, and in 2008 became the company's Chief Products Officer. He left Geodesic in 2010, citing a desire to work on other things of interest.

Music and entertainment

Chitnis worked with music groups such as Phenom and the Raghu Dixit Project, explored and wrote about entertainment technologies. In 2007, he became involved in RadioVeRVe, an Internet radio station known for its promotion of independent music from India. Chitnis himself was also an amateur musician.

Death

Atul Chitnis was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in August 2012 and was under treatment. He died on 3 June, 2013.