indic-computing-users — Discussing the usage of indian language capable tools

[Indic-computing-users] ubuntu deb for indic

[Nagarjuna G. <nag...@gn...>]

I have noticed that Ubuntu already has a couple of deb files in their
distribution `warty' which includes fonts, and keybaords.  Karunakar,
please update them with our latest releases to the packager who is
doing he deb for them so that our latest releases get there.  Better
thing is to join them and add them in their ftp sites.

Nagarjuna

[Indic-computing-users] CodeFest held in South Korea

[Frederick N. (FN) <fr...@by...>]

Soon-Son Kwon <ks...@kl...> informs that Korea successfully held its third 
CodeFest last weekend. Some 40-50 people gathered and "shared their knowledge, 
code, effort, time..."

Japanese (or non-Korean) friends who happened to be in Korea just then and took 
part included Yutaka Niibe, Roger Seo and Hideki Hiura.

See pictures of the event at http://gallery.kldp.org

Says Soon-Son "Shawn" Kwon: "I hope more countries can support this kind of 
event for their local geeks." Kwon is a key campaigner in the Korean 
localisation project. To know more about him, go to http://kldp.org/~kss
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[Indic-computing-users] [OFFTOPIC] Jambo Open Office...

[Frederick N. (FN) <fr...@by...>]

    SUMMARY
    http://www.o.ne.tz - http://www.kilinux.org

    Because it could be done, we play our part!
    Swahili Free and Open Source Software.

    Dar es Salaam, Tanzania,
    As  the  Father  of  Tanzania, the late Mwalimu Nyerere will always be
    remembered by his famous saying: "It can be done; play your part".

    Today,  4th December 2004, The Open Swahili Localization Project, also
    known  as  Kilinux,  is  proud to announce the first ever release of a
    free office suite software in Swahili, called "Jambo OpenOffice."

    Jambo  OpenOffice  is the Swahili version of OpenOffice.org, a leading
    international  effort  to  provide a free and open source office suite
    based  on  open standards and capable of running on all major computer
    platforms.

    This   pioneering  effort  is  funded  by  the  Swedish  International
    Development  Agency (SIDA) and The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM).
    It  is  coordinated  by  the  Department  of  Computer Science (UDSM),
    Institute  of  Kiswahili  Research  (IKR)  and the Swedish consultancy
    company IT+46. The project does not only aim to localize free and open
    source  software  into  Swahili,  but  also to create awareness of the
    benefits of using and extending free software.

    For more information: in...@ki...

    FULL PRESS RELEASE in english, swahili, spanish, swedish, catalan,
    and french
    http://www.o.ne.tz
    http://www.kilinux.org


    Main project coordinator, UDSM
    Dr. Hashim Twaakyondo
    Email:ht...@cs...
    Phone: +255 22 24 10 657 (office), +255 744 386261 (mobile)

    Technical project coordinator, IT +46
    Dr. Alberto Escudero Pascual
    Email: ae...@it...
    Phone: +255 745 88 40 04

    ICT Project Manager, SIDA
    Jens Nilsen
    Email: jen...@si...
    Phone: +255 22 21 22 235 (office), +255 744 44 44 80 (mobile)


=======================================
APC Forum is a meeting place for the APC community - people and institutions 
who are or have been involved in collaboration with APC, and share the APC 
vision - a world in which all people have easy, equal and affordable access to 
the creative potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to 
improve their lives and create more
democratic and egalitarian societies.

[Indic-computing-users] Consortium formation meet minutes

[Guntupalli K. <kar...@fr...>]

Hi, 
  Today we had the online meet on consortium formation.
 People present for meet were  myself, Nagarjuna, Tapan Parikh & Venky
joining in later.

 A raw log of it is available at 
http://www.indlinux.org/wiki/index.php/23NovMeet

 It started with myself presenting following points.
 a) have one voice which can represent l10n community (volunteer
groups)
 b) have formal org. which can help the groups, acting as a channel
point for getting, managing, & distributing funds to do IC activity
 c) the body gives a platform from where interactions with other
groups can happen.
 d) working groups of body can oversee different indic computing
development activities
 e) first it starts small , with all 1l0n groups, nd then expands to
include other groups/bodies.

 shortly after it was felt that we better have a roadmap or activity
plan for next 6-12 months, on what we aim to do with the consortium.
While there will be long term goals for the consortium, a detailed
short term (1yr) plan is needed to keep the pace of work going and not
loose focus in organizational issues, which could happen if roadmap is
put as a post consortium formation activity. 
 So to evolve the roadmap a questionaire was prepared which would be
circulated among Indic meet particpants and Indlinux-group and
Indic-computing lists, for comments.

 To begin with the consortium will be formed to promote Indic
computing activitys based on FOSS, and would involve all the FOSS
localization groups and other groups working in this area. To start
with initial member list could be September Indic meet participants -
 - All language teams ( Indlinux, Ankur, Rebati, Utkarsh, Indictrans,
Punlinux, Tamillinux, Kannada, Malayalam & Telugu teams, new teams
join as they form) , FSF-India , IIT-Chennai, Indic-computing.sf.net,
Sarai.
 - Organizatons - CDAC, TDIL, Red Hat India, Onward Novell
 It could later expand to include other like minded interested groups.


Questionaire
 1) Why do u feel there is need for cosortium? 
 2) What you/your group expects from the consortium (resources, funds,
networking etc)
 3) Who should/could be members of this consortium
 4) Most imp: What is your groups roadmap for next 6-12 months, in
Indic computing area, list what u plan to do roughly, seperately or as
a part of the consortium.
 5) In what ways you/ur group would like to be involved (eg. areas
like - development, admin, advocacy, PR, etc)

Feedback on these questions will form basis of activities and roadmap
of consortium. 
Feedback could either be posted back on list, or sent to  <feedback AT
indlinux.org> 
This will be then collated and further discussed to finalise a
roadmap. Suggestions, criticism welcome, onlist!.

Regards,
Karunakar

[Indic-computing-users] September Indic meet transcripts

[Guntupalli K. <kar...@fr...>]

Hi,
 transcripts of the audio recordings is available at 
http://www.indlinux.org/doc/IndicMeet.txt
 Mayank Sharma and Shashank Sharma did the painstaking work of
listening through all the audio casettes and write the transcripts.
 It starts from the afternoon session post lunch - on Day 1 ( 18th
Sept 2004 ). The morning session was more of intro & short talks by
team members.
 This transcript has to be converted to a full report, typically what
could be done is some people pick up some threads ( like consortium,
GRIND, tecnhical issues etc, ) and summarise them, which we can then
collate to single report.

Regards,
Karunakar

Re: [Indic-computing-users] Online Meet - 23rd Nov,3pm -5pm - Agenda - Consortium formation issues on #indlinux, irc.freenode.net

[Venkatesh H. <ve...@vs...>]

Nagarjuna, Nirav Mehta, myself and Karunakar had a brief chat yesterday
at the Netcore office (the Mumbai GLUG meet yesterday was hosted by
Netcore) and felt that the consortium formation should be the main
agenda. All of us will be there on the online chat. See you at 3PM
tommorrow!

Venky


On Mon, 2004-11-22 at 02:48, Guntupalli Karunakar wrote:
> Hi, 
>   After todays online meet, it was decided to have another meet, to
> discuss issues related to formation of a Indic computing consortium.
>   Meeting will be on 23rd Nov, 3pm-5pm , #indlinux, irc.freenode.net
> 
> Regards,
> Karunakar
> 
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------
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> _______________________________________________
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> [Other Indic-Computing mailing lists: -devel, -standards, -announce]

Re: [Indic-computing-users] New Book

[Niladri S. D. <ni...@is...>]

Dear Pavanaja,

Sorry for the late response. I have forwarded your mail to the Publisher=20
as well as to the distributor. Personally I talked to the Manager of the=20
Eastern zone and he categorically informed me that once the book is=20
published it will be available in all major cities of India as well as at=
=20
some pockets arround the world.

The book is scheduled to see the light of the day by the emd of January=20
2005. It is delayed a little due to some technical problems related with=20
the representation of Bangla and Hind letters in Indian Roman characters=20
with all diacritic symbols.

Best wishes,

Regards,

Niladri
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

On Tue, 16 Nov 2004, Pavanaja U.B. wrote:

> <?xml version=3D"1.0" ?>
> I had sent a mail to the publishers requesting for pricing and
> availability at Bangalore. I am attaching the reply that I got-
> ------ Forwarded message follows -------
> From:=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0"Mittal Publications"
> <mi...@de...>
> To:=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0"Pavanaja U.B."
> <pav...@vi...>
> Subject:=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Re: (=
Fwd) [Indic-computing-users] New Book
> Date sent:=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Mon, 15 N=
ov 2004 17:10:03 +0530
> Your Message Has Been Recieved.
> All the messages that arrive to us are read. Nevertheless, due to the
> great amount of e- mails that we received, we were sorry to be incapabl=
e
> to answer each one of them individually.
> We respond to so many messages as it is possible to us, and we will put
> ourselves in contact with You to the brevity if it is the case.
> Thanks for mailing.
> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
> MITTAL PUBLICATIONS
> 4594/9 DARYAGANJ
> NEW DELHI - 110002
> PH: 23250298, 25351493, 25351521
> FAX - 25251521
> E-MAIL - mi...@nd...
> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
> ------- End of forwarded message -------
> Regards,
> Pavanaja
> >
> > Dear Joseph Koshy,
> >
> > First of all I wish you and all a very HAPPY DIWALI.
> >
> > Thank you very much for showing your interest about my book. However,
> > regarding the price of the volume I am yet to receive any information
> from
> > the publisher itself. Therefore I confess my inability in this regard.
> >
> > I will be grateful if you kindly send an email to the follwing people
> > asking about the price and date of publication.
> >
> >
> > MANAGING DIRECTOR
> > MITTAL PUBLICATIONS
> > 4594/9 DARYAGANJ
> > NEW DELHI - 110002, INDIA
> > PH: (011) 23250398, (011) 25351493, (011) 25351521
> > FAX - 25251521
> > E-MAIL: mi...@nd...
> > E-MAIL: mi...@de...
> > Website: www.mittalpublications.com
> >
> > and
> >
> > Mr. R.K. Khan
> > Branch Manager
> > Mittal Publications
> > B-12/7 Paymanty, ECTP-I
> > Kolkata 700107
> > West Bengal, India
> > Ph: (033) 24426466
> > Fax: (033) 28400525
> > Email: mit...@ho...
> >
> > Thank you once again.
> >
> > With best regards,
> >
> > Sincerely,
> >
> > Niladri
> >
> > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
> > % Dr. Niladri Sekhar Dash (MA,NLP,PhD,CCP)=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0%
> > %(Specialised in: Corpus Linguistics, Lexical Semantics,%
> > % Bangla Linguistics, and
> Lexicography)=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0%
> > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
> > % Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Unit=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0%
> > % Indian Statistical Institute=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0 %
> > % 203, Barrakpore Trunk Road=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 =A0=A0=A0=A0%
> > % Kolkata 700108, West Bengal, INDIA=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
 =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0%
> > %
> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
%
> > % Phone (O): (91)(33)
> 2575-2858/2858=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0%
> > % Phone (R): (91) (33) 2477-3337=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0%
> > % FAX: (91) (33)
> 25776680/3035=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0%
> > % Email: ni...@is...=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
%
> > % Email:
> ns...@ya...=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0=A0=A0=A0%
> > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
> >
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------------
> > This SF.Net email is sponsored by: InterSystems CACHE
> > FREE OODBMS DOWNLOAD - A multidimensional database that combines
> > robust object and relational technologies, making it a perfect match
> > for Java, C++,COM, XML, ODBC and JDBC. www.intersystems.com/match8
> > _______________________________________________
> > Indic-computing-users mailing list
> http://indic-computing.sourceforge.net/
> > Ind...@li...
> > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/indic-computing-users
> > [Other Indic-Computing mailing lists: -devel, -standards, -announce]
> >
> >
> ---------------------------------------------------------
> Dr. U.B. Pavanaja
> CEO, Vishva Kannada Softech
> http://www.vishvakannada.com/
> 91-80-23309693, 91-9341980400
> Think Globally, Act locally
>=20
>=20

--=20
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
% Dr. Niladri Sekhar Dash (MA,NLP,PhD,CCP)		%
%(Specialised in: Corpus Linguistics, Lexical Semantics,%=20
% Bangla Linguistics, and Lexicography)			%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
% Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Unit		%
% Indian Statistical Institute                  	%
% 203, Barrakpore Trunk Road                    	%
% Kolkata 700108, West Bengal, INDIA            	%
% =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D				%
% Phone (O): (91)(33) 2575-2858/2858			%
% Phone (R): (91) (33) 2477-3337			%
% FAX: (91) (33) 25776680/3035				%
% Email: ni...@is...				%
% Email: ns...@ya...				%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

[Indic-computing-users] logs of todays meet on #indlinux

[Guntupalli K. <kar...@fr...>]

Hi all,
 
 'Raw' IRC logs of todays Online Indic meet are available at;
http://www.indlinux.org/wiki/index.php/21NovMeet

Gora Mohanty started the discussion raising the following points
"Some thoughts on prioritizing tasks (items marked with the same no.
have roghly identical priorities):
(1) Popularizing Linux
(1) Increasing cooperation among language teams
(2) Localization
(2) Distribution
(3) Making it easier for localizers in new languages, dialects"

The discussion then moved to identifying the target user segments, it
then moved towards consortium formation issues, with Sayamindu giving
a breif on how it works at GNOME.
Then GRIND issues came up where Sayamindu explained the plan for GRIND
& some breif on componentized linux, on which it will be based. The
idea basically being, first a working base be developed on top of
which applications/services can be added in plug-n-play fashion based
on user needs.  The consortium will look into the planning issues. For
a beginning, a core engg. team will be formed which will work on base
distro part.
 This means testing out componentized linux (
http://www.componentizedlinux.org/ ), make a custom build. Xfree86
will be added to the CL base, with customization & localization of
Anaconda, which is the GUI installer used. The complete process has to
be studied and the tasks outlined. Different modules will need
maintainers & testers. There would be need of volunteers with right
skill sets.

Meeting ended summarising on following action points
(a) focus on getting CL-core up and running,
(b) identify components, get volunteers and assign tasks
(c) in parallel, put together consortium, and seek ways of funding
localization and cooperation work.

The next online meet would be on 23rd Nov, 3pm-5pm , primarily to
discuss consortium formation issues.
Another online meet would happen in coming weekend, to discuss 
building of CL-core for GRIND.

Regards,
Karunakar 

[Indic-computing-users] Online Meet - 23rd Nov, 3pm -5pm - Agenda - Consortium formation issues on #indlinux, irc.freenode.net

[Guntupalli K. <kar...@fr...>]

Hi, 
  After todays online meet, it was decided to have another meet, to
discuss issues related to formation of a Indic computing consortium.
  Meeting will be on 23rd Nov, 3pm-5pm , #indlinux, irc.freenode.net

Regards,
Karunakar

Re: [Indic-computing-users] Online Indic Meet - coming saturday, 20th Nov , 3pm - 6pm on IRC ( #indlinux, irc.freenode.net )

[Guntupalli K. <kar...@fr...>]

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 20:16:50 +0530
Guntupalli Karunakar <kar...@fr...> wrote:

> Hi all, 
>   We will have a online Indic meet on 20th Nov, 3pm - 6pm on IRC ,
> #indlinux, irc.freenode.net
> Main issues on agenda are post Indic Meet l10n activity, L10n
> deployment issues, consortium formation. 
>  A log of meet will be posted on wiki soon after the meet.
> 
 The meet would continue on Sunday (21st Nov), 2pm-5pm

Regards,
Karunakar

[Indic-computing-users] Re: [Indlinux-group] Tamil?

[Guntupalli K. <kar...@fr...>]

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 12:56:25 -0800
Tapan Parikh <ta...@ya...> wrote:

> 
> I need to know few things about Tamil...
> 
> 1) What is the most common keyboard mapping for Tamil data entry? 
> Is it available for xkb / xmodmap?
> 
> 2) Do I have to use TSCII fonts, or are there any good unicode
> ttf/otf fonts available for Tamil?  So far I have found Indix and
> Sooriya.  Are there any others?
> 

Inscript keymap 'tam' is available in all distros, more keymaps &
different fonts you can find in files section of 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tamilinix/

> 3) What is the current status of Tamil unicode rendering in Mozilla?
>  
> In Firefox?
> 
Mozilla 1.8 ownwards have pango rendering enabled in it ( though one
has to compile it with --enable-pango options ). More on this is at
http://www.indlinux.org/wiki/index.php/TamingTheDragon

> Anyone can help me with these questions or point me to further 
> resources, I would appreciate it.
> 
See http://www.indlinux.org/wiki/index.php/TamilLog for more 

cc'ing to R Hariram who is with Tamil linux team, who can help more.

Regards,
Karunakar

[Indic-computing-users] Tamil?

[Tapan P. <ta...@ya...>]

I need to know few things about Tamil...

1) What is the most common keyboard mapping for Tamil data entry?  Is 
it available for xkb / xmodmap?

2) Do I have to use TSCII fonts, or are there any good unicode ttf/otf 
fonts available for Tamil?  So far I have found Indix and Sooriya.  Are 
there any others?

3) What is the current status of Tamil unicode rendering in Mozilla?  
In Firefox?

Anyone can help me with these questions or point me to further 
resources, I would appreciate it.

Thanks!
Tapan

[Indic-computing-users] Online Indic Meet - coming saturday, 20th Nov , 3pm - 6pm on IRC ( #indlinux, irc.freenode.net )

[Guntupalli K. <kar...@fr...>]

Hi all, 
  We will have a online Indic meet on 20th Nov, 3pm - 6pm on IRC ,
#indlinux, irc.freenode.net
Main issues on agenda are post Indic Meet l10n activity, L10n
deployment issues, consortium formation. 
 A log of meet will be posted on wiki soon after the meet.

Regards,
Karunakar

Re: [Indic-computing-users] New Book

[Niladri S. D. <ni...@is...>]

Dear Joseph Koshy,

First of all I wish you and all a very HAPPY DIWALI.

Thank you very much for showing your interest about my book. However,
regarding the price of the volume I am yet to receive any information from 
the publisher itself. Therefore I confess my inability in this regard.

I will be grateful if you kindly send an email to the follwing people 
asking about the price and date of publication. 


MANAGING DIRECTOR
MITTAL PUBLICATIONS
4594/9 DARYAGANJ
NEW DELHI - 110002, INDIA
PH: (011) 23250398, (011) 25351493, (011) 25351521
FAX - 25251521
E-MAIL: mi...@nd...
E-MAIL: mi...@de...
Website: www.mittalpublications.com

and

Mr. R.K. Khan
Branch Manager
Mittal Publications
B-12/7 Paymanty, ECTP-I
Kolkata 700107
West Bengal, India
Ph: (033) 24426466
Fax: (033) 28400525
Email: mit...@ho...

Thank you once again.

With best regards,

Sincerely,

Niladri

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
% Dr. Niladri Sekhar Dash (MA,NLP,PhD,CCP)		%
%(Specialised in: Corpus Linguistics, Lexical Semantics,% 
% Bangla Linguistics, and Lexicography)			%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
% Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Unit		%
% Indian Statistical Institute                  	%
% 203, Barrakpore Trunk Road                    	%
% Kolkata 700108, West Bengal, INDIA            	%
% =============================				%
% Phone (O): (91)(33) 2575-2858/2858			%
% Phone (R): (91) (33) 2477-3337			%
% FAX: (91) (33) 25776680/3035				%
% Email: ni...@is...				%
% Email: ns...@ya...				%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

[Indic-computing-users] Link to KhmerOS.info

[Frederick N. (FN) <fr...@by...>]

http://www.khmeros.info -- useful site telling you what's happening for 
localisation in the Khmer language. (This site uses English.)

Quote:

The KhmerOS project was born from our dream for the state of computer 
technology in Cambodia in three years. We envision, in 2007, a country where 
Cambodians can learn and use computers in their own language, a country that 
does not have to change to a new language in order to use computers! Databases 
and applications will be developed directly in Khmer, with easy, standard ways 
to handle names and data.

Endquote.

FN
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frederick Noronha (FN)                    Nr Convent Saligao 403511 GoaIndia
Freelance Journalist                      P: 832-2409490 M: 9822122436
http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks http://fn.swiki.net
http://www.ryze.com/go/fredericknoronha   http://fn-floss.notlong.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Difficulties to send email across? Write to fredericknoronha at vsnl.net
============================================================================
                       Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments
                   See http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html

Re: [Indic-computing-users] New Book

[Joseph K. <a_j...@ya...>]

Dr Dash,

> book on Corpus, Linguistics, and Language Technology with reference
> to 
> Indian Languages is going to be published soon from the Mittal 
> Publications of New Delhi - one of the best publishing houses of
> India 
> with an International Standard.

This book promises to be an excellent reference.  Would you be
in a position to know the approximate cost of the book?

=====
Joseph Koshy, FreeBSD Developer, http://people.freebsd.org/~jkoshy/
Founder/Manager/Programmer/Peon, The Indic-Computing Project
                                 http://indic-computing.sf.net

________________________________________________________________________
Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your life partner online
Go to: http://yahoo.shaadi.com/india-matrimony

[Indic-computing-users] New Book

[Niladri S. D. <ni...@is...>]

Dear Colleagues,

Hope you are hale and hearty.

Kindly allow me to draw your kind attention to inform you that the first 
book on Corpus, Linguistics, and Language Technology with reference to 
Indian Languages is going to be published soon from the Mittal 
Publications of New Delhi - one of the best publishing houses of India 
with an International Standard.

SUMMARY OF THE BOOK
===================

Title		: Corpus, Linguistics, and Language Technology
Author		: Niladri Sekhar Dash
General area	: Corpus, Linguistics, and Language Technology 
Language	: English.
Pages		: 500+ (approximately)
Nature of book	: Empirical database research, analysis and application.


FEATURES OF THE BOOK
=====================

The book is based on empirical analysis of a large corpus of written 
texts. It covers the history of corpus-based language study, present 
scenario of corpus generation, types of corpus, issues of corpus 
generation, techniques for corpus processing, and the use of corpus in 
general linguistics and language technology. In essence, it focuses on the 
research into naturally occurring texts complemented with qualitative and 
functional interpretation of corpus-based findings. People working in the 
area of natural language processing, computational linguistics, language 
technology, phonology, morphology, lexicology, lexicography, descriptive 
linguistics, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, 
language teaching, semantics, dialectology, pragmatics, discourse, 
stylistics, and others will find this book useful for relevant information 
and analysis. The book can also fulfil the requirement of the 
undergraduate and postgraduate students and research scholars dealing with 
corpus linguistics and language technology in Indian languages. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS
=================

Acknowledgement
List of abbreviations
Code chart for characters
Preface
Chapter 1: Language Corpus: A New Pasture
Chapter 2: Generation of A Written Corpus
Chapter 3: Processing A Written Corpus
Chapter 4: Analysis of Characters
Chapter 5: Analysis of Spelling Variation
Chapter 6: Statistical Analysis of Corpus
Chapter 7: Structure Analysis of Words
Chapter 8: Morphological Processing of Words
Chapter 9: Corpus in Linguistics Studies
Chapter 10: Corpus in Machine Translation

Appendix I
Appendix II
Appendix III
Bibliography
General Index

If you are interested to have a copy of the book, then please contact 
(either by email or by surface mail) in the following address:

MANAGING DIRECTOR
MITTAL PUBLICATIONS
4594/9 DARYAGANJ
NEW DELHI - 110002, INDIA
PH: (011) 23250398, (011) 25351493, (011) 25351521
FAX - 25251521
E-MAIL: mi...@nd...
E-MAIL: mi...@de...
Website: www.mittalpublications.com

OR

MR. R.K. KHAN
BRANCH MANAGER
MITTAL PUBLICATIONS
B-12/7 PAYMANTY, ECTP-I
KOLKATA 700107
WEST BENGAL, INDIA
PH: (033) 24426466
FAX: (033) 28400525
EMAIL: mit...@ho...

With best regards,

Sincerely,

Niladri Sekhar Dash

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
% Dr. Niladri Sekhar Dash (MA,NLP,PhD,CCP)		%
%(Specialised in: Corpus Linguistics, Lexical Semantics,% 
% Bangla Linguistics, and Lexicography)			%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
% Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Unit		%
% Indian Statistical Institute                  	%
% 203, Barrakpore Trunk Road                    	%
% Kolkata 700108, West Bengal, INDIA            	%
% =============================				%
% Phone (O): (91)(33) 2575-2858/2858			%
% Phone (R): (91) (33) 2477-3337			%
% FAX: (91) (33) 25776680/3035				%
% Email: ni...@is...				%
% Email: ns...@ya...				%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

[Indic-computing-users] FC3 with Indian language support

[Venkatesh H. <ve...@vs...>]

Fedora Core 3 is now available for download. FC3 includes support for
Hindi, Punjabi, Gujrati, Bangla and Tamil. The Lohit family of fonts for
these languages are included with FC3. These fonts have been released
under GPL.

http://fedora.redhat.com/download/mirrors.html

Venky

[Indic-computing-users] Asia Source: Tech camp for the voluntary sector [Details and Form]

[Sunil A. <su...@ma...>]

Dear Friends,

Please apply if you are interested in Free/Open Source Software and
Development.
=20
AND/OR
=20
Please forward to your colleagues from the voluntary sector in South
Asia / South East Asia.

Thanks,

Sunil
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-
Asia Source: Tech camp for the voluntary sector [Details and Form]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-
Bangalore, India. January 28th to February 4th 2005.

Asia Source hopes to bring together over 100 people from 20 countries to
increase the use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) amongst the
voluntary sector in South and South East Asia.=20

This week long event will bring together NGOs and NGO technology support
professionals working at the grassroots level across the region to learn
new skills, exchange tips, and share experiences. Together with
regionally and globally renowned experts and specialists they will look
at the use of FOSS within the non-profit sector from both an access and
a content perspective. Offering participants the opportunity to explore
the practical technical side of FOSS whilst providing a conceptual
backdrop.=20

Asia Source will be the first event of its kind in the region, bringing
together regional non-profit professionals with a rights based focus, it
will invite those from both the technical and content end of the
spectrum to focus on the practical elements of FOSS deployment.=20

Participants with a range of expertise will be provided with a space for
intensive peer learning. They will be given the opportunity to develop
their understanding of FOSS, learn how to select and apply alternative
technologies, and be provided with the skills and tools to utilise this
within the context of their daily work. They will also be encouraged to
explore the challenges and the future potential of FOSS adoption within
the social context.

During this 'camp' style event,  participants will take part in a range
of sessions. From planning and helping an NGO to migrate to FOSS, to
sharing tips and techniques on using FOSS tools for content development,
advocacy and campaigning. In parallel to this they will look beneath
user-level scenarios, and break-down tricky issues such as localisation
techniques and how to develop total cost of ownership models.=20

Four themes will flow throughout the event

     1. 'FLOSSophy' for NGOs
     2. Migration and Access
     3. Tools for content and communication
     4. Localisation

Asia Source will be held in a small artists community on the outskirts
of Bangalore. Its aim is to become a community building event, with the
potential to seed connections and future partnerships across borders and
between skillsets.=20

The event is co-organised by Mahiti.org (Bangalore) and the Tactical
Technology Collective (Amsterdam). The event is guided by an advisory
board of established non-profit and FOSS professionals from across the
South and South East Asian region.  Asia Source belongs to a larger
family of Source Events that seek to increase the viability of FOSS use
by the non-profit sector. Other source events have taken place in South
East Europe, Southern Africa and are planned in 2005 in Western Africa.

For more information please visit http://www.tacticaltech.org/asiasource
or http://www.mahiti.org/asiasource

Participants will be selected by the advisory board based on their
interest and experiences. There will be a small registration fee for the
event. A limited number of travel and registration fee scholarships will
be available and may be applied for on application. If you have any
questions=20
please write to asi...@ta....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-
Asia Source: Application Form
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-
Please send the application to asi...@ta.... The deadline
for sending applications is 19th of November 2004.

We will confirm receipt of the application immediately and will
ask you to check and reserve (if you do not have to pay for this)
your flight to Bangalore, India. We will also ask people who need
visas to check how they can apply for it.

As we have limited space and funds, we cannot accept all
participant applications and cannot reimburse the expenses for all of
them. Between the 19th of November and 3rd of December 2004 we will
personally inform each applicant by email if we are able to invite
him/her and in some cases reimburse expenses.

Dates:-
Asia Source is a week-long meeting, to be held January 28th -
February 4th 2005 in Bangalore, India. If you would like to
participate, you will need to attend the entire event, which means
arriving in Bangalore on or before January 27th and leaving on or
after February 5th.

Fees and subsidies:-
Participants will arrange for their own travel to Bangalore, India.
Once there, transport to the venue from the airport in Bangalore
will be provided. All meals and accommodation during the meeting
will be provided, for the modest participation fee of US$ 75.

There are a limited number of participation fee subsidies available
to cover this US$ 75 for those who are not able to raise the
funds. Travel subsidies are also available for participants who
would not otherwise be able to attend the meeting. Please apply as
soon as possible for subsidies as there availability is limited.
Who should attend?

This is an event for experienced professionals actively working with the
non-profit sector in South and South East Asian countries. To be
eligible to attend, you will need to answer the questions below,
providing detailed information about projects you have worked on. The
application deadline is November 19th, 2004. We are interested in all
kinds of non-profit and technical experience, but areas of particular
focus will include the following:
  =20
     1. Localisation and multi-language projects
     2. The use of technology within monitoring or campaigning projects
     3. The use of technology for organising and collaborating
     4. Audio/video, streaming media and/or radio
     5. Innovative use of technology within non-profit projects
     6. Experience deploying FOSS operating systems or applications

Demonstrating that you have worked on projects in one or more of the
above areas will make your application stronger.

All participants at Asia Source are required to be proficient desktop
users of computers, have been involved in at least one NGO/technology
project before and to have an existing awareness of the concept of Free
and Open Source Software.

Applications from women are highly encouraged by the event organisers.

Application Questions:-
Please answer the following questions. You do not need to write long
responses, but please provide us with enough information to understand
your skills and interests, and to have a sense of why you want to attend
Asia Source and what you can contribute to the event.

Please provide answers to all the following questions.

1) Basic personal information:=20
        a. Name:=20
        b. Gender:=20
        c. Nationality:=20
        d. Country where you live and work now:=20
        e. E-mail address:=20
        f. Telephone and emergency contact number(s):=20
        g. Anything else we should know about you (allergies, diet, =20
           medical condition, special needs):=20
        h. Do you need a visa to come to India?

2) What is your experience of working with non-profit organisations/the
   voluntary sector. What kinds of projects and initiatives have you=20
   worked on?

3) Have you been involved with any technology projects for non-profit or
   civil society organizations? If so please briefly explain them.

4) Where are you from, where do you live now, and what is your current=20
   professional affiliation (organization you work for, mission of the=20
   organization, position you have in the organization, is your=20
   organization a non-profit, etc.)?

5) Please describe your current technical expertise and ability.

6) Why are you interested in attending Asia Source; what do you hope to=20
   learn?

7) Asia Source participants are encouraged to teach as well as to learn.
   What tutorials, development sessions or discussions would you like to
   lead (or help lead)?

8) Will you need to receive a participation fee subsidy in order to=20
   attend Asia Source? If so, please explain why.

9) Will you need to receive a travel subsidy in order to attend Asia=20
   Source? If so, please explain why and estimate how much your=20
   round-trip travel to Bangalore will cost.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-
=E0=B3=8D
Thanks,

=E0=B2=B8=E0=B3=81=E0=B2=A8=E0=B3=80=E0=B2=B2=E0=B3=8D
Thanks,

=E0=B2=B8=E0=B3=81=E0=B2=A8=E0=B3=80=E0=B2=B2=E0=B3=8D
--=20
Sunil Abraham, su...@ma... http://www.mahiti.org
314/1, 7th Cross, Domlur Bangalore - 560 071 Karnataka, INDIA
Ph/Fax: +91 80 51150580. Mob: (60) 1-6311-1330

Currently on sabbatical with APDIP/UNDP
Manager - International Open Source Network
Wisma UN, Block C Komplex Pejabat Damansara.=20
Jalan Dungun, Damansara Heights. 50490 Kuala Lumpur.=20
P. O. Box 12544, 50782, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: (60) 3-2091-5167, Fax: (60) 3-2095-2087
su...@ap... http://www.iosn.net http://www.apdip.net

"A world opened up by communications cannot remain closed up in a feudal
vision of property" - Gilberto Gil, Minister of Culture, Brazil

[Indic-computing-users] Nokia launches SMS in Hindi

[Pavanaja U.B. <pav...@vi...>]

<?xml  version="1.0" ?><html>
<head>
<title></title>
</head>
<body>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">http://in.rediff.com/money/2004/nov/02mobile.htm</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><br/>
</div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">What about the standards being followed? Anyone has any idea?</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><br/>
</div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">Compliance to some standard is a must. For ex., Reliance phones already 
have Hindi SMS. Are thes two are compatible? If I send Hindi SMS from 
Reliance phone will it be readable on Nokia phone?</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><br/>
</div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">Regards,</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">Pavanaja</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">---------------------------------------------------------</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">Dr. U.B. Pavanaja</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">CEO, Vishva Kannada Softech</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">http://www.vishvakannada.com/</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt">91-80-23309693, 91-9341980400</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt"><i>Think Globally, Act locally</i></span></font></div>
</body>
</html>

Re: [Indic-computing-users] Mailman in Indian languages?

[Cherry G. M. <ber...@ya...>]

>>>>> "FN" == Frederick Noronha <(FN)"
<fr...@by...>> writes:


[...]



    FN> how feasible and possible it is to translate
Mailman into
    FN> Indian languages?

If the email clients can understand and render Unicode
in the said
language(s), then I don't think its very difficult. 

From googling:

http://google.com/search?q=gnu+mailman+unicode

I got

http://barry.warsaw.us/papers/mailman-freenix-2003/

From which I understood the following:

The "text" or "message" of emails can readily be
handled by the
mailman interface, as it stands. This is due to the
unicode abilities
of the Python language. Mailman already RFC 2047 [1]
compliant, via
the Email [2] package.

The Web interface on Mailman, for subscription etc,
needs to be done
in a given language, but Mailman has a framework (
like GNOME po ) to
take care of this.

It should probably be a week's job, for an experienced
python
programmer, to get the framework in place. Plus the
time it takes for
the local language placeholders in the web interface,
which will
depend on volunteer support.

I probably don't know what I'm talking about.

Cheers,

Cherry

-- 
It is Texas law that when two trains meet each other
at a railroad
crossing, each shall come to a full stop, and neither
shall proceed
until the other has gone.  -- /usr/games/fortune

 
[1] http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc2047.html
[2]
http://www.python.org/doc/current/lib/module-email.html



		
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish.
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail 

[Indic-computing-users] Mailman in Indian languages?

[Frederick N. (FN) <fr...@by...>]

Just this evening, Kunal from the North Mumbai group phoned, and we got 
talking. We noted that some regional centres (specially in the North) seem 
to be having far lower GNU/Linux activity than their potential offers.

Could a mailing-list in the regional language help to enhance 
communication? (I guess this would be the case, specially in large states, 
which have a strong regional language culture.) If this is the case, how 
feasible and possible it is to translate Mailman into Indian languages?

Just a thought. FN
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frederick Noronha (FN)                    Nr Convent Saligao 403511 GoaIndia
Freelance Journalist                      P: 832-2409490 M: 9822122436
http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks http://fn.swiki.net
http://www.ryze.com/go/fredericknoronha   http://fn-floss.notlong.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Difficulties to send email across? Write to fredericknoronha at vsnl.net
============================================================================

[Indic-computing-users] Re: Indic-computing-users digest, Vol 1 #344 - 2 msgs

[<jit...@vs...>]

janabhaaratii project has been launched and would take shape soon. Here is an attempt to get the perceptions of the teams meeting on this list for the same.( acceptance of the suggestions will be subject to constraints of resources as well as approvals and policy as determined by steering group)
The janabhaaratii project consists of development, deployment and community building and is envisaged as collaborative project. I hope the launch announcement has been read by all reading this.
Following immediate rquests/points  may be considered.

1> Compilation of s/w and docs
as janabhaaratii project we would like to have an annotated compilation of 'GPL/LGPL'ed software and 'GFDL'ed documentations
This is a request to send the list of such s/w and docs . Those not yet released but in the pipeline may also be listed with due annotation.janabhaaratii project will have website showcasing all such stuff.

2> We need to have a wishlist of projects that will ensure deeper and faster penetration of free/opensource indic software in the country. janabhaaratii may be able to release a CD ( live or otherwise) with all such content. Since all its contents will be GPL/LGPL all other distributins will be able to adopt the same. janabhaaratii project will have a team to provide support and generate feedback

3> A showcase for all localisation teams in the form of a page with links is proposed to be putup on the janabhaaratii site. Each of the teams may send their page .

4> A workshop is to be arranged . It may be arranged in january. Since in December [ 1-3 (linuxbangalore) and 6-10 (Localisationsummit Delhi ? )] some other workshops are being arranged it would be appropriate to hold ours in January 2005.
  Agenda for the workshop ? suggestion
    1> major theme 'localised e-governance : available tools and implemented solutions, support and improvements needed '
    3> Solutions for NGOs : Documentations
    4> A distribution CD : live or otherwise , with various language packages, tutorials, help dobcumentation , case studies etc. 
 

[Indic-computing-users] indic meet participants

[Guntupalli K. <kar...@fr...>]

Hi,
  Just a pic of participants on recently held Indic meet in mumbai
 http://www.indlinux.org/doc/indicteam.html

Regards,
Karunakar

[Indic-computing-users] Localization Newsletter Issue 7, Vol 1 ( October 15, 2004 )

[Guntupalli K. <kar...@fr...>]

***********************************************************
Localization Newsletter Issue 7, Vol 1 ( October 15, 2004 )
***********************************************************

Editor Speak
------------
On Sept 18-19th, the Indic Computing Coordination meet was held where
members of all localization groups in India met to share their
experiences and chart out a road-map for future of Indic computing.
Participants were all language team coordinators, team members ,
contributors and organizations working on related lines. A report is
coming up at http://www.indlinux.org/wiki/index.php/IndicMeetReport.
For a glimpse of all the participants see
http://www.indlinux.org/doc/indicteam.html .

In this issue we have Oriya group speaking about their localization
efforts. Oriya localization effort called Rebati project, hosted at
http://oriya.sarovar.org. Also announcing next release of
IndLinux-Hindi 0.9 (Unnati) with updates for KDE Hindi.

As usual, we are looking for volunteers who will provide us with news
about Language Workshops, Usability Tests and general L10n news.

Feedback on content, presentation, suggestions for newsletter welcome
at <feedback at indlinux dot org>


News Bits
*********

IndLinux Hindi 0.9 (Unnati) released
------------------------------------
IndLinux Hindi 0.9 (unnati) is released. It contains updated KDE
translations Hindi translation update for KDE is released. This
includes updated translations for KDE, including the work done at KDE
Hindi translation review workshop -
http://www.indlinux.org/wiki/index.php/ReviewWorkshop


GNU/Linux to power voter list search in Mumbai and Thane this assembly
elections More than 1.2 crore voters of Mumbai (main and suburbs) and
Thane districts of Maharashtra will be taking benefits of GNU/Linux
powered search engine developed by Indictrans team. The Chief
Electoral Officer (CEO) of Maharashtra have put up a voter list search
engine for these 3 districts for the upcoming assembly elections on
their website.

The main features of software used for this search engine include:
    * Full Text Search can be made by name and/or address OR Photo
Identity Card No.
    * Search results include Polling booth name,address and Other info
such as serial No. and Part No.
    * completely based on GNU/linux
(Knoppix3.4+Apache2+PHP4+PostgreSQL7.4.3)
    * original ISCII data in DBF format was converted to unicode and
imported into PostgreSQL
    * complete source code of the search engine is released under GNU
GPL on savannah.nongnu.org (see vl2-libs) copyrights belong to Swapnil
Hajare & Sreepathi Pai
    * powered by intuitive similar sounding search technique called
"souindics" developed @ Indictrans
    * Although the data itself is in Marathi search can be made in
Marathi as well as English
    * Search results can be in Unicode Marathi/modified ITRANS English
OR in legacy fonts like Shusha,DVBWTTYogesh.
    * Results are also available in Dynamic font
AkrutiHnbDynamicYogini (courtsey: Cyberscape Ltd.)
    * Search time less than 15sec on entire data on an average
    * Search results can also be obtained in the form of voterslip as
PDF with embedded Shusha font which can be viewed in any PDF viewer
without installing font


Critical bug in OpenOffice.org Calc affecting Indian language
localised builds
---------------------------------------------------------------------
---------
Hindi and Kannada builds of OpenOffice.org Calc crashes whenever the
user tries to insert Functions. Gregor Hartmann, on the dev at l10n
mailing List points out the problem is because the translations in the
calc module are too large and exceed a 64K limit imposed by OO.o's
current resource system. Possible solutions are,
    * Split the large resource
    * shorten the translations

Discussions on Issue 33228 conclude the changing the resource file
format to 32 bit will solve the problem. This won't happen for OO.o
1.1.x, since it will break the builds, but has been fixed for OO.o
2.0. New Kannada builds of OpenOffice.org has been frozen because of
this bug.


Team Watch: Rebati project
**************************

Do gnomes like crane-meat snacks?
---------------------------------

* Rebati project homepage - http://oriya.sarovar.org/
* Rebati mailing list subscription -
http://lists.sarovar.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/oriya-group
* Rebati mailing list archives (public) -
http://lists.sarovar.org/pipermail/oriya-group/

The Rebati project grew out of the need of the institution of
Srujanika for an Oriya desktop publishing solution. Nikhil Pattnaik,
and other Srujanika members, had long since become tired of being tied
to various mutually-incompatible, proprietary solutions. The move to
open-source was helped by Gora Mohanty, who happened to be on
sabbatical in Bhubaneswar at the time. Looking up Google, and asking
around in various Oriya groups netted us more members, including
Hariram Pansari who has long been interested in local-language
computing issues and has already made contributions to Hindi-computing
development; Ajit Nayak who provides Linux expertise while marshaling
his band of enthusiastic, if sometimes rowdy, band of student
volunteers; Rajesh Pradhan, our resident fontographer and calm voice
of reason; Parasar Nayak, S. Phatak and D. Pradhan who have been keen
participants from the beginning; and D. Pattnaik who has et to deliver
on his promise of taking team members out for Chinese food. Several
renowned linguists, including Debi Pattnaik, J. Mahalik, and L. Singh,
have kindly volunteered their time to help out with language problems.
The list would not be complete without acknowledging Grizzly Kukur and
other assorted animals from Srujanika who do their level best to
disrupt all group meetings. Srujanika will continue to be a focal
point for the work, and we have unoffical groups at various other
places, including Silicon Institute of Technology, Institute of
Physics, NALCO, Sarang Engineering College, etc.

Why the name, Rebati, you ask? Ah, therein hangs a tale. Rebati is the
name of the first-ever published Oriya short story (and one of the
first Indian short stories published), by Fakir Mohan Senapati in
1898. The story is titled after the main character, a little village
girl called Rebati, who seeks an education, contrary to the mores of
the day, and against vehement opposition from her own grandmother. It
is a starkly realistic picture of village life, and in our minds a sad
commentary on the state of affairs in India that even now, over a
century later, one would not be hard-pressed to find modern-day
Rebatis in Orissa. While it might be beyond our powers to immediately
change things for her, we can at least hope to remove some of the
obstacles in her path.

We plan to provide a usable computing platform to the silent majority
of Orissa, who neither speak English nor can be expected to do so in
the near future. Our hope is to shrink the yawning gap between digital
haves and have-nots, which, if not attended to now will result in
ever-worsening economic backwardness and social alienation of the
disadvantaged. Further, we recognize that for Oriya culture and
literature to continue to flourish, we have to adapt to the
possibilities offered by new computing technology. Our initial effort
is going into localizing GNOME, so that at least one Oriya interface
is available to the user. After GNOME is largely translated, we plan
to start on KDE, OpenOffice, and the system software under the Free
Translation Project. At some point of time, we will also get working
on the documentation, HOW-TOs, etc., and start making Oriya literature
freely available online. Simultaneously, we would like to develop an
easy-to-use, open-source platform built around Linux, that provides
the basic Oriya software that would be needed by the average user:
editors, spell-checkers, word processors, optical character
recognition, desktop publishing, etc. Today, we assimilate just one
GNOME program, tomorrow the world.

To come back to earth, progress has been somewhat slow, if steady. We
have an OpenType, Unicode Oriya font that largely works, apart from
some issues currently being addressed, and that is certainly
sufficient for the translation work. Oriya rendering is still a
problem, with yudit being the one place where it seems to work
perfectly. We hope to work on Oriya rendering in Pango, and under
OpenOffice (ICU), Scribus, and KDE. For now, yudit serves as our
workhorse, with improved Inscript, Srilipi typewriter and ITRANS
keymaps. xkb keymaps are also available, and work on IIIMF is in
progress. A glossary of computer-related terms, originally built
around the GNOME glossary is available, and is being continuously
updated. We are trying to locate a freely available electronic Oriya
dictionary, and are also trying to develop one of our own. We have
completed less than 2% of GNOME, though quite a bit more of the core
programs. While we have a sizable team of translators, more are always
welcome, and we have a pressing need for computer literate people to
help out on a wide variety of technical and maintenance issues. This
is an entirely voluntary project, with our volunteers paying for
incidental expenses like Internet access, etc. We have no immediate
plans for seeking external funds, though that might change when it
comes to the implementation phase. The enthusiastic help from the
IndLinux people, and other open-source volunteers has made this
worthwhile.

I will end this long screed on a light note, explaining the sub-title.
The first localization job that we tackled from GNOME was bug-buddy,
as we were looking for instant gratification with minimal translation
effort. A native Oriya speaker, on hearing the term bug-buddy, would
transliterate it into her own language, where it ends up meaning
roughly "crane-snack". So, we figured that crane-meat snacks must be
what gnomes feast on.


Help
****
Contributions for user documentation for Indic Live CD required
---------------------------------------------------------------
All languages Indic Live CD - Rangoli will be coming up soon. At
present it has boot options for languages - (GNOME) Bengali, Gujarati,
Marathi, Malayalam, Punjabi. KDE - Hindi , Tamil. Xfce - Kannada. We
need many howto's/ guides for users to be written, preferably they be
in indian languages, and using Unicode. For more on what contributions
are needed, checkout
http://www.indlinux.org/wiki/index.php/RangoliDocs