Hi Kopete developers,

Has anyone written up instructions on how to compile Kopete for Windows? 

Hunting around on the internet, I was only able to find this page about 
compiling KDE 4 apps, but nothing about Kopete specifically:
http://techbase.kde.org/Getting_Started/Build/KDE4/Windows/emerge


Is there any Kopete functionality missing in the Windows version?  

The reason why I'm asking is that I'm part of Runasimipi.org, a group dedicated 
to translating free software into Quechua and Aymara, which are two indigenous 
languages of the Andes. Our goal is to promote these languages, especially 
among Andean youth, who increasingly think that their native languages are no 
longer useful or "cool", especially in urban and technological contexts. We 
want to change people's perceptions by demonstrating that indigenous languages 
work in modern technology just as well as any world dominant language. The 
Bolivian Ministry of Education is collaborating in this effort by promising to 
install the software which we translate in schools and the 1000 telecenters 
which it is currently constructing in rural communities in Bolivia. This means 
that we can get software installed in computers which will be used by a large 
number of students in rural areas of Bolivia. Plus, the Ministry of Education 
is promising to hold promotional
 campaigns to encourage Bolivians to download and use the software in 
cybercafes, businesses and homes.  

We have noticed that many youth today are using Microsoft Messenger in Andean 
cybercafes, so we have decided to translate a Free Software/Open Source instant 
messenger in Quechua and Aymara. We are thinking of translating Pigdin because 
it is known to work well in Windows and is included in BoliviaOS--a 
distribution of GNU/Linux based in Bolivia. Nonetheless, we would prefer to use 
Kopete, since it has the full voice and video capabilities of Microsoft 
Messenger. 

Here are my initial thoughts after downloading Kopete for Windows, using the 
KDE for Windows Installer for KDE 4.2.2:

To get Kopete for Windows, you first have to download the KDE for Windows 
Installer, which at 1.7MB is not small, especially when most people in the 
Andes access the internet through cybercafes, where connections are typically 
10-20 kilobits/s. Few people in Bolivia pay for home internet access, because 
it costs $43 per month for a 16 kilobit/s connection in the capital city of La 
Paz, which is extremely expensive considering that the average GDP per capita 
in Bolivia is $1150 per year and laborer typically earns $100 per month.
 
The installer only comes in English at this point and it is very complicated. 
You have to navigate through 7 dialog screens in English, just to get to the 
point where you can select which applications will be installed. You can't 
select just a single application like Kopete. Instead you have to install a 
general package which includes several applications. Even worse the installer 
doesn't tell you which KDE applications are included in the packages. If you 
hunt around on the internet, you can find on this page 
(http://techbase.kde.org/Projects/KDE_on_Windows/Installation#Package_status_and_contents)
 that Kopete is included in the "kdenetwork-msvc" package, along with KGet and 
KNetAttach.

After selecting the kdenetwork-msvc package, you will download 36 other 
packages which are dependencies to kdenetwork-msvc. After downloading 81 files 
which occupy 116MB and navigating through 3 more dialog screens, you will 
finally have Kopete for Windows installed on your machine. Unfortunately, the 
installer didn't place a launcher on the desktop or in the quick start panel. 
To execute Kopete, you have to go to Start > All Programs > KDE 4.2.2 Release > 
Internet > Kopete (Instant Messenger).

But wait, it only comes in English. If you want to use Kopete in another 
language (like Spanish), you have to execute the KDE for Windows Installer 
again and select the correct aspell and l10n package and download another 17MB 
of files. You have to download all the localization files for every KDE 
application, although you just want to use *one* KDE application. 

I know that we should be grateful that KDE apps now run under Windows, but we 
clearly can't recommend that people use Kopete for Windows given how 
complicated it is to download and install. What we need is the ability to 
compile Kopete for Windows in a way that the average person can just click on 
the installer and it installs like a normal Windows app. Can anyone give me any 
pointers on how to do this, or do you recommend that we just use Pigdin since 
it has an adequate Windows installer?

Sincerely,
Amos Batto

*****************************************************************
Amos Batto                 Tel: (765)653-7411 (when in the USA)
636 E. Seminary St.        Cel: (591)76280954 (cuando en Bolivia) 
Greencastle IN 46135,USA   Email:[email protected]
Runasimipi Qespisqa Software (http://www.runasimipi.org)
*****************************************************************


      
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