What, a distro thread in PLUG? It isn't 2005 right? XD On Tue, Dec 4, 2012 at 1:21 PM, claive alvin Acedilla <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello guys, > Can we start a project Linux desktop distro that is translated to Filipino?
No; you don't need my (or anyone's) permission, just do it ;) You can call for help if you want to, but it is really up to you to make the first step. The way open source distro works is this: make/fork something out yourself (to scratch that itch you have, be it being you want packages made your way, or in this case, you want stuff in your language,) then announce it; if people find your effort worthwhile they'll pitch in effort/invest PhP/etc. I look forward when you're about to plug _your_ distro project on PLUG :) > We can start translating the desktop environment first then the default apps > later. Or continue with already-established (although erratic) efforts in launchpad.net for Ubuntu and debian-tl for Debian... it is erratic simply because many Filipinos who can use computers already have a good command of English enough to understand basic functions of it like web browsing, chatting, email, and typewriting.[0] Also, a consistent translation can be hard due to specific computer terms not having a Filipino counterpart (sure, you can invent, but even so those terms can be unwieldy...) I might touch some raw nerves when I say this: Filipino localization of the Linux desktop is but a novelty. Ever saw a full Filipino Windows install in action? I daresay, until you see a lot of them in real use (and not in some curious research position) the average Filipino would not bother reading Filipino on a desktop environment UI[1] (much more so if it were on dry manual pages, though I'd think an intro(3) manpage in Filipino would be interesting reading.) > We will use a light and stable distro. We will use apps that are > lightweight. One person's light is another's bloat. Preference kicks in, unless you're doing a Pat Volkerding and choose apps you yourself just as lightweight for your distro... > We can start with ubuntu and trim ubuntu to become lightweight. Then > translate the desktop. If you want to do this, forking Ubuntu is actually a good idea since Canonical's launchpad.net gives you the infra to do so (including BTS, l10n, blueprinting/spec planning, excluding buildds, IIRC.) [0]: On the _other_ hand, there _could_ be a market for a Linux distro for those learning Filipino/Cebuano/Bikolano/etc... *hint hint* [1]: Case in point: cellphones. When first introduced here in the 90s Pinoys didn't bother with a Tagalog l10n until pretty much later (I remember early Nokia 3210s didn't even have Tagalog as a locale.) Which begs the question of who actually uses Tagalog as a system locale on a phone... (I'm really interested if anyone uses Tagalog as the system language in their Android phone, for starters, as I would think it would be more useful there than in the desktop.) -- Zak B. Elep || zakame.net 1486 7957 454D E529 E4F1 F75E 5787 B1FD FA53 851D _________________________________________________ Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List http://lists.linux.org.ph/mailman/listinfo/plug Searchable Archives: http://archives.free.net.ph
