> Hi Wayne, > > Could you pl update the wiki at > ://wikis.sun.com/display/g11n/OpenSolaris+i18n-l10n+pr > oject+ideas > with this and possible other inputs you have about > future G11N projects > which can help to take OpenSolaris > to the next level ? > > Given the schedule for 2008.11 and current Live CD > space situation, we > may have to consider your proposal > (which will be discussed further to make a decision) > of putting SCIM to > Live CD for 2009.04 release. > > Regards, > Suresh >
Hi suresh, Thanks for putting together such an ambitious and apparently comprehensive plan. I agree with you that OpenSolaris has the right infrastructure to become "simply the best global operating system" (quoting your own words). Actually this is one of main reasons that I am spending so much time on it. Many many years ago I had a long conversation with General Alexis Lum, a retired major general who serves as executive assistant to Senator Daniel Inouye. Senator Inouye is the chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in the US Senate. General Lum told me that when our troops are stationed overseas, they still use the English version of Microsoft Windows. The costs to purchase localized version of Windows and its associated software can be prohibitive even for someone like myself--plus you need a separate machine to run a different Windows locale. As a result, our troops and their families are effectively cut off from the local community. He commented that it would be very helpful to our troops and their families if someone can develop a "global operating system". I don't think anyone is interested in hearing what happened after that. But in short, I believe OpenSolaris is our last hope. Will it take us to where many Linux distros can't? I think we have a good chance. Of course, many will think that I am nuts. Regarding whether SCIM should replace IIIMF in the 2008.11 LiveCD, I think this is a no-brainer. In the past, I had been very critical of the fact that Sun's Beijing employees don't use OpenSolaris outside their jobs. However, it never occurred to me that my criticism was very unfair b/c, as I just happened to realize, even I don't use it when I do Chinese (I always booted into SuSE). AFAIC, it is probably fair to conclude that no respectable Chinese will use OpenSoalris if IIIMF is the only input option. Understandably, one can always use the GUI tool to install the SCIM packages. But for the most majority (especially for new comers whom we are desperately trying to attract), if an application is not in the LiveCD, then it's not there. But we must also realize that the input method is not just for Chinese users. I have no way of finding out how others feel about losing IIIMF. I don't think we will ever find out the answer before the packaging deadline. I am thinking of another alternative, which is to package the zh locale in a separate LiveCD. I know we all hate forking. But there is a special rationale. Chinese characters are represented by glyphs, and a workable set of Chinese font family typically comprises twenty to thirty thousand or even more characters (& we are talking about tens of millions of bytes per each font family). It will be very desirable--and appealing--to include a good number of font families in the distro. But doing so will be very unfair to non-Chinese speakers. I remember twenty or so years ago, Microsoft was able to induce a massive migration of DOS users to Windows (3.0) using a very smart gimmick--a free glitzy game called Solitaire. I was thinking perhaps we can pull a similar trick by including a good collection of eye-popping (& open-sourced) Chinese fonts. :-) -- This message posted from opensolaris.org _______________________________________________ indiana-discuss mailing list [email protected] http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/indiana-discuss
