[Ubuntu-BD] FOSS & Ubuntu in Bangladesh

[Shumon]

(I have changed the subject line for relevancy & to get off the original
thread.)

Thanks Nasim for the explanation. While I understand the point about
document standard, sometimes the examples we give predisposes people toward
not switching to a good FOSS alternative. As FOSS enthusiasts/activists, we
ought to be give more confidence to the general public. Yes, there's still
no alternative to the Windows GUI, but there is for MS Office. And as for
your example of Bijoy, don't you think
Avro/Nikosh<http://www.ecs.gov.bd/nikosh/downloads.php?cat_id=1>are
good solutions for Unicode conversion? And I'm sure you/others know
more
such/better solutions.

Frankly (now here is where I will begin to get some tongue lashing from list
members), I think the Bangladeshi Ubuntu/Linux community is missing the boat
on getting more people to switch their OS. This is the perfect time since:
1. Windows experience in Bangladesh is filled with all sorts of viruses that
is a constant worry for users
2. we're getting a tongue lashing from Microsoft on Intellectual Property
Rights every now & then and most people are sick & tired of hearing such
criticisms from yet another US organization
3. Windows 7 GUI is different from XP, albeit not very different but average
users feel they have to learn something new
4. Windows 7 has to be hacked to keep it from updating and installing/using
new/crack software is an uphill battle thereby limiting individual freedom
5. many PC stores are blocking the internet ports as a workaround which
causes many users to spend even more time, money & stress in simply trying
to get online

In my opinion, if the Ubuntu community provides an XP-like GUI with all the
install/plug-n-play solutions in one package while letting me run some
Windows software that has no good FOSS alternative, it will be more
effective, perhaps even evolutionary, than localizing everything to Bangla.
Because with Bangla localization right off the bat we lose communicating
with the international community of Linux/Ubuntu developers, then all the
local corporate users, then we lose the expats & finally those youths who
will be migrating/studying/working for international organizations abroad
will have a steep learning curve is trying to figure out which English terms
is equivalent to the Bangla term they are used to.

I am an XP user, tried Vista when it came out then went back to XP and can't
even think of going with Windows 7. I would like to move to Ubuntu, but is
it a good alternative for someone like me who is not an OS expert? If we
some focused service from the Ubuntu community, I'm sure not only will I
make the changes but so will many many others.

Any corrections, advice & dissenting opinions are most welcome.

Shumon

On Fri, May 13, 2011 at 10:46 PM, Nasimul Haque <nasim.haque at gmail.com>wrote:

> On 13 May 2011 12:36, Shumon <shumon.jahan at gmail.com> wrote:
> > commenting on Nasim's statement, "...Just like windows and MS Office.
> Once
> > you are committed to windows and MS Office it's very hard to use any
> > other software. Not only for the user friendliness but also the
> > file formats."
> >
> > We are friendly to such opinions, no?
>
> My bad. It looks like I failed to explain the analogy properly. Ok,
> let me try again.
>
> Once you have written a thousands of documents using MS Office which
> has some proprietary/non-standard elements in it (e.g., Equations,
> Endnotes, etc. so called user friendly interfaces). You cannot move
> **easily** to any other office software.
>
> Let me give another example. I hope the audience won't be too young
> for this. If you have millions of ASCII Bijoy or some other
> non-standard Bangla documents, you cannot move to Unicode Bangla
> instantly.
>
> So the point is not a specific software but the document standard.
> Since you are sending mails in plain text or HTML formats through
> gmail. As long as the email standard is maintained there's no real
> harm in using it via free software.
>
> --
> M. Nasimul Haque
> Senior Developer
> Appliansys
> Coventry, UK
> http://www.nasim.me.uk
>
> --
> Ubuntu Bangladesh
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bd
>