> >> I do not expect to see the people living in the 'barong-barongs sa tabi-tabi' > >> to have their hands on a computer running Linux (at least, for a long time). > >
I was going to comment on that -- MUST. RESIST. POUNDING. ON. KEYBOARD. Hehe. (Sorry for the all-CAPS.) Then again, reason got the better of me: ramfree26 is right, it's his (rpb's) outlook, can't blame him. The thing is, we ought to do something about it. The issue goes beyond having translations for tools that we think will give the country an edge -- or at least a fighting chance. The issue, I think, goes to the core of our system: education, for one. Okay, people living in 'barong-barong' communities may not be the ideal target audience for Linux translations. Why don't we make them targets? Better yet, start at the schools. We can't trust the government to embrace open source -- I *am* in government: it's HARD, believe me -- but that shouldn't stop us from doing our part. Say, pick a school, your alma mater perhaps. Offer your, uh, services to tutor in computer skills: word processing and spreadsheets, basic stuff. Do it using your old PC. Why, go donate one. Fill it with stuff. Let the kids get their hands dirty with it. You'll be surprised how easily children pick up on computing. Do it, say, once a month. Befriend the principal, make the teachers trust that you're not plying any malicious wares, not out to molest the students. ;) And here's where translation comes in. (Reality check: we're not that hot in English-speaking anymore. China is going to surpass us. Plus, they're good in math, and they've got the numbers.) When you leave the kids to tinker with the computer, they'll be needing all the hand-holding that one gets from good docs. As English comprehension in schools is increasingly becoming abysmal, I guess translated documentation will do the trick. So, yeah. We need translations. And, yeah, kids living in 'barong-barong sa tabi-tabi' can get their hands on computers -- even those not running Linux. If we let them. Mabuhay tayong lahat! -- Ian Dexter R. Marquez http://iandexter.co.nr -- Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List [EMAIL PROTECTED] (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph) Official Website: http://plug.linux.org.ph Searchable Archives: http://marc.free.net.ph . To leave, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/plug . Are you a Linux newbie? To join the newbie list, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/ph-linux-newbie
