Views
MUCH POTENTIAL IN A LAND WHERE FOSS IS SEEN AS AN OPTION TO 'PIRACY'
Government and industry support makes it happen in Pakistan
Pakistan -- the sixth most populous country in the world, home to the second most populous city in the world, and the second most populous Muslim country [1]? -- is having an interesting encounter with FOSS (Free and Open Source Software). Its experience with FOSS contrasts with those of neighbouring countries in South Asia, as also with those in the rest of the Asian continent.
Initially, and now too, the debate has seen FOSS being promoted as an option to piracy. In Pakistan, FOSS gets support from initiatives supported by the government (OSRC), industry, and through coverage in the mainstream media. Statements from senior officials have played a role in shaping Pakistan's approach to FOSS. There have been indications that the official world is willing to both fund initiatives to promote FOSS, and take cognisance of existing volunteer initiatives.
While useful initiatives are underway, like elsewhere, the issue of making all these 'visible' -- both in tech circuits and to the general public -- still probably remains an unfulfilled need.
Diverse techie networks and individuals, both home-based and expat, have lent a hand in promoting FOSS in this part of the world. More could be done though in terms of building networks in different parts of the country, specially when it comes to building a national network across the diverse regions of Pakistan.
'Piracy'
Pakistan, a country often facing criticism for what the world of proprietorial software terms as 'piracy' (i.e. the illegal copying of software) [2]?, is placing its faith in the Free Software and Open Source options, to get out of this trap and also build local skills. Pakistan enters global listings as having the-fifth highest 'piracy' rate in the world, after Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Indonesia and along-with China where piracy is also estimated at 86% [2]?. In this context, a promotion of FOSS not only makes sense to avoid global pressures over 'piracy', but also build independent local skills.
"Sure, piracy is far high. If everybody somehow started using Linux, we'd fall below the US piracy levels, and maybe have 2% piracy. We want to be ahead of these guys before they start their next 'war on terrorism' (using the issue of 'intellectual property')." -- Salman Ansari, 2002
As Fouad Riaz Bajwa, general secretary of the Free and Open Source Software of Pakistan (FOSS-FP), launched in 2005, said: "Our goal is to help people identify open alternatives to 'pirated' (or illegally copied) software. Our aims is also to identify processes by which people, governments, enterprise and the civil sector can use Free/Libre and Open Source Software for their sustainable economic development." [3]?
Way back in 2003, these issues were already being put on the agenda through official statements. [4]? Pakistan Ministry of Science and Technology advisor Salman Ansari then raised the possibility of some 50,000 low cost computers, PIIs? costing $100 each, being installed in schools and colleges all over Pakistan. Ansari said proprietary software for these PCs? would cost a small fortune, surely more than what the computers cost. Using GNU/Linux would ensure low overall prices. "Don't be surprised if we become the first country in the world to say that all (government-run) services are going to be GNU/Linux based," Ansari had then said in a NewsForge? interview.
Techies, and community
From techies come other interesting initiatives. What is surprising is the low-level of awareness about projects that could have much relevance to Pakistan, South Asia and beyond.
For instance, Zeeshan Ali Khattak developed the Video-Whale Project, which assembled a group of Red-Hat GNU/Linux boxes into a wall of video. The Video-Whale Project is an implementation of a video wall which exploits the combined power of FOSS tools Gstreamer and Xinerama. With it, four monitors are controlled by one machine, and a LAN of four machine controls a 16-monitor video wall. It comes across as a very interesting implementation of low-cost alternative technology to meet needs of the hardware-constrained, resource-poor but talent-rich Third World. [5]?
"The [GNU]?Linux community is very large, but it needs to be assembled together." -- Zeeshan 'Shan' Ashraf.
Fawad Halim has written a man interface in PHP. Code is being distributed under the GNU GPL. There are also some attempts at community building. Apart from the main Pakistan Linux Users Community, other regional LUGs? (or user-groups) that have been noticed in recent years include the Sindhi's Linux User Group (SLUG) in Hyderabad, Sindh, in the Indus Valley. Not all have maintained activity though.
In 2002, the international site tracking FOSS news, NewsForge? [6]? commented "Linux gains ground in Pakistan" [7]?. While the potential was noted, so were the shortcomings that blocked the growth of FOSS in Pakistan.
Meraj Rasoo was quoted saying: "The drawback (blocking the growth of FOSS) is trained people, I mean there is no such institute or college (other than a few) who may have qualified or experienced people in Linux. So no good Linux training. For a business point of view, if you implement Linux in (your) business, it would be very hard for you to get support from any IT company. Because currently no one is offering its support services for Linux. So it is also a major drawback. The same I told to the Director of ASPLinux? [http://asp-linux.com]? , who is from Pakistan. What we need here in Pakistan is trained people so that we could give support to the businesses who migrate to Linux. On the other hand most of the ISPs? in Pakistan are using Linux as their platform...." [8]?
Since then, the situation has changed somewhat, as the links below would indicate.
"I'm interested in [GNU]?Linux because of the fact that in [GNU]?Linux you know what's going on. Nothing is hidden from you behind nice dialog boxes as in Windows. It's a very good toy for me as I can play and tweak as much as I want and I have all the necessary help and information from the Net." -- Zuhair Ali, worked in networking and has done his Masters in Physics and Systems Engineering
As NewsForge?'s Robin "Roblimo" Miller commented in the same article: "One contributing factor is -- like everywhere else in the world -- proprietary software producers' increasingly aggressive licensing enforcement. Pakistan is one of the countries where almost all individuals and small- or medium-sized businesses have historically used software they either copied themselves or bought under the table, which means Linux has offered little or no cost advantage over Windows."
It has been suggested that in a context of much talent, the high cost of proprietorial software, and some degree of official support, FOSS appears to be well placed for growth in Pakistan. It would help however if there was greater awareness of initiatives in diverse parts of the country. There is also a pressing need for greater communication among the diverse islands of excellence that Pakistan has already created, so as to encourage others to both find role-models and enter the field themselves.
Recognising the community
In June 2002, the English-language newspaper 'The Dawn' published from the port city of Karachi, announced: "... The Government of Pakistan is committing itself to the reduction of piracy and the protection of intellectual property. Linux and open source technologies are the corner stone of this initiative."
Pakistan's Technology Resource Mobilization Unit (www.tremu.gov.pk) was been established by the Government of Pakistan to enable groups of professionals to exchange views and coordinate activities in their sectors.
"These physical and virtual groups involve volunteers in Pakistan and abroad, who contribute to policy making by the Government of Pakistan. Each group has national and regional coordinators. Meetings, seminars and conferences are held to debate, crystallize and propagate relevant ideas, concepts and policy directions," the Pakistani government announced. On the GNU/Linux front, "the task force is expected to include committed professionals (e.g.PLUC), academics, and practicing software developers to set the future direction for Pakistan", it was officially announced via the Pakistani press. PLUC is the Pakistan Linux Users' Community.
PLUC was formed in December 1999 by Abdul Basit. Initially, there were just eight members in the group. In a couple of months, the PLUC list increased to 30. By 2001, there were 100+. There were many more registered at http://www.linuxpakistan.net Basit and his friends launched this network from the Sir Syed University (SSUET) in Karachi.
In recent years, plans were announced to have a "Linux force" -- as it has been described -- to hold meetings, seminars and conferences to educate the user community. "They will also come with proposals to the government (for) funding such as the creation of user-friendly client/server software, training strategies, local language software development, the induction of Linux into (the) basic syllabi, etc," said the government in an advert published in The Dawn newspaper.
TReMU?, Pakistan's Technology Resource Mobilization Unit, in the past, has plans to set up secure network and e-commerce task forces too, in addition to the GNU/Linux task force. "The main qualifications to participate are a commitment to volunteer your time and intellectual inputs, to work in a team, and to have a desire for the betterment of the country," said TReMU?.
It anticipated that these groups will "enable a sharing of resources and ideas". Besides, TReMU? has voiced hopes that several of the ideas could germinate into development projects and thus "translate the brainstorming, discussion and planning sessions into practical realities". Forms to sign-up were at www.gov.tremu.pk.
Some like Ovais Khan commented: "The interesting thing is that the name of PLUC is in the ad. Congrats (to PLUC's key driving force Abdul) Basit and all the others." But some felt differently. Fawad Halim wrote: "I'm very skeptical about anything (good) coming from the Government; but let's see what comes out of this." Bilal Muddassir felt differently: "I think the only organization that can mobilize immense amounts of resources (of course if it wants to) for a particular purpose currently in Pakistan is a government organization. Being skeptical is okay..."
For some time now, officials in Pakistan have been talking about "not stopping" the government from buying branded (proprietorial) software, so long as they could justify their decision and negotiate a good price. The need for a level playing-field has also been stressed. "In a government contract, if you're going to bid for computers which has a legal OS and office suite, guess who's going to win," as Ansari put it in an interview.
On the strategy has been encouraging legal software, enabling a 'complete industry growth' for product development (including tools based on GNU/Linux), and making people aware of the powerful potential of FOSS.
New initiatives
In recent years and months, new initiatives have come up.
In Pakistan too, there are other networks -- like the professional-based Linux Pakistan network, active since earlier this decade.
FOSS-FP has been holding short-duration, single-day literacy campaigns. They say they have given students free training on installing and using Ubuntu Linux, Open Suse, Red Hat Fedora Core. FOSS-FP is headed by a board of nine, with specialists from the world of computer sciences, special education, and gender-based representations. It networks with other institutions such as CRULP (Centre for Research in Urdu Language Processing), the FASTCE (Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Technology), among others.
In Pakistan, FOSS-FP believes it contributed to helping 5000 individuals from 506 organisations in two years to shift over to Ubuntu. "FOSS-FP provided technical support (to technical reports) to 4000+ incidents. FOSSFP also released a book on release of Ubuntu Drake. We hope to release a printed copy soon, at a price of not more than Rs 150 (US$3 approx)," says Fouad Bajwa.
The FAST initiatives on FOSS is made up of students. (FAST's National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences is a private information technology institute, established in 1980 under Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Technology. www.nu.edu.pk)
Usage, Ubuntu
For long now, the highest rate of GNU/Linux usage has been on the server side. Bulk of the ISPs? use GNU/Linux. All enterprise networks in Pakistan had -- and have -- a bridge between the server side on GNU/Linux and the desktop network on Windows. But with the entry of the simpler-to-use Ubuntu distro, it is seen as something which could possibly change. Easy to implement Urdu solutions to work on the Free Software platform is one of the main priorities. Work is underway on this front.
Comments FOSSFP's Fouad Bajwa: "Apart from its low-cost and free-of-cost models, its greatest benefit particularly for Pakistan is that FOSS can be localised into the 70 regional languages spoken in Pakistan. This will provide versions of FOSS that use Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Pushto, Sariki, Himalaya as an alternative to the widely available software interfaces in English."
Some of the reasons for the slow spread of FOSS in Pakistan have been identified as being due to the law of awareness, software piracy, uncertainty of available support, lack of active GNU/Linux user groups, and a lack of established companies providing high-end training. (See Zeeshan Muhammad in 'The Future is Open Source' http://www.linuxpakistan.net/news/?q=node/254 )
Institutions
Some of the institutions often named in FOSS-promotion activities in Pakistan are the OSRC of the software-exports' PSEB www.osrc. org.pk, Linux Task Force of the ministry of science and technology www.tremu.gov.pk, Special Interest Group of the Computer Society of Pakistan www.csp.org.pk/foss and Linux Pakistan www. linuxpakistan.net are making their contributions by creating awareness about the initiative.
Educational institutions offering FOSS training has been identified as Peshawar University, SZABIST, MAJU, NUCS-FAST, OpenTech?, Oracle University, and APTECH (professional, technical and managerial training) and GIK, NED, UET, or NUST-NIIT (in the fields of engineering, GIS, etc).
This 'country profile' seeks to offer links to groups, initiatives, issues and individuals taking FOSS forward in Pakistan. Below are some specific links and resources. Readers are requested to point out any omissions to fred at bytesforall.org so that this could be corrected in future releases.
[1]? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan [2]? http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/05/23/78597_HN2005piracyrate_1.html [3]? http://tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1262 [4]? http://www.newsforge.com/software/03/10/05/162252.shtml?tid=132&tid=82 [5]? http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/apps/videowhale.html [6]? http://newsforge.com/ [7]? http://os.newsforge.com/os/01/12/20/1532225.shtml?tid=2 [8]? http://os.newsforge.com/os/01/12/20/1532225.shtml?tid=2
RESOURCES AND NETWORKS IN PAKISTAN
AFFORDABLE SOFTWARE
Copied low-cost software available in Pakistan: Maintained by Tariq Farooqi, 4 - E - 1/6 Nazimabad Karachi - 74600.
Low-priced CDs?, in a range of distros. Debian, SkoleLinux?, Red Hat, Fedora, LTSP, En Garde Secure Linux, Mandrake/Mandriva, Lycoris, Demo Linux, Knoppix, ASP Linux, GLUE, Yoper, Ark Linux, AST Linux, redWall, EuroNode?, Startcom, OpenLX?, Astrix@Home, ADIOS, Symphony, Slackware, Vector Linux, Arch Linux, Free BSD, Lunar Linux, Debian NP Live, Buffalo Linux, College Linux, SLAX Live, Blagg Linux-LAMP Server, Trustix Linux Server, Trustix Firewall, Lorma Linux, LAS Linux Server, SOL Linux, SuSE? Linux, Gentoo Linux, Damn Small Linux, Gnoppix Linux Live, Ubuntu Linux, Kubuntu, Berry Linux Live, White Box-Enterprise Server, Tiny Sofa-Enterprise Edition, YES Linux-Small Business Server, IP Cop-Firewall Gateway, AUSTRUMI-Live, Debian Edu, OpenWall?, GoboLinux?, Censor Net "Open source Internet Filtering & Management solution", ZoneCD?, Pentoo, Puppy, Admantix, Dragon Fly BSD, JayOS?, pfSense, PcBSD?, GobLinx?, Nonux, Freeduc, Kanotix, Grml, KLAX, SaxenOS?, SLAMPP, DDBackup?, PCLinuxOS?, Finnix, TRIXBOX, SME Server, ZenWalk?, NibleX?, dyne:bolic, easys, Fresh RPM's, Lycoris Dev Tools, INRIA Software, Downloaded - Applications, Distro's and Manuals, LP ISO Collection, GPL Software for Win_xx OS.
Prices approx Rs 35 :call SearchCompleteStop?() per CD. Contact linuxcd_AT_linuxpakistan_DOT_net
http://wapurl.co.uk/?FX3W2ZB OR
http://www.linuxpakistan.net/wiki/index.php?pagename=LinuxPakistanKarachiSof tware
Ubuntu Linux is available for download locally at
- http://www.ubuntu-pk.org
- http://www.fossfp.org
- http://www.ubuntulinux.org/download/
- http://mirrors.dotsrc.org/ubuntu-cd/
YES Linux Release Team <release@yeslinux.org> has announced availability of YES Linux 2.2 Build 3. This is the third build of YES Linux 2.2. This release features more updates to features than to new features such as php, and apache.
NETWORKS IN PAKISTAN
MAILING LISTS
General -- LinuxPakistan? General Discussion list This is the list for general discussion at LinuxPakistan?.net general@linuxpakistan.net http://mail.linuxpakistan.net/mailman/listinfo/general_linuxpakistan.net 362 non-digested members; 156 digested members as on Nov 12, 2006
pluc 106 Members, Archives: Public New subscription requests will be sent to pluc@linux.com.pk Moved to Mailman. At http://mail.linuxpakistan.net/mailman/listinfo/general_linuxpakistan.net Please subscribe to general@linuxpakistan.net instead. Even though this list is still around, the activity on the list is restricted. The new list has complete access for users. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pluc/
FOSSFP MAILING LISTS http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fossfp/join http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fossfp
The ICT4Pakistan Forum has been established by FOSSFP: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ict4pakistan/ 93 members.
FLOSS network for South Asia (including Pakistan) set up after the APC regional consultation in Dhaka, Bangladesh in April 2006: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_floss/
linuxpromoters http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linuxpromoters/
PkOug?_Linux 58 Members, Archives: Membership required PkOug? (Pakistan Oracle Users Group) SIG Linux http://www.pkoug.org/sig/linux http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PkOug_Linux/
linux_pakistan 53 Members, Archives: Public http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linux_pakistan/
linux-system 18 Members, Archives: Public http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linux-system/
plpo < 5 Members, Archives: Membership required Group of users, programmers, gamers, administrators and consultants for the [GNU]?Linux platform. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/plpo/
linuxfoundation 45 Members Linux Pakistan Research & Development http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linuxfoundation/
linuxpakistan 22 Members A group dedicated to Linux experts in Pakistan http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linuxpakistan/
linuxworkshop_gift 13 Members Linux GIFT University Gujranwala (Pakistan) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linuxworkshop_gift/
Paklinuxclub 8 Members http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Paklinuxclub/
pakistan-linux < 5 Members An egroup for Pakistani Linux enthusiasts. The purpose is to share knowledge, news and other issues about Pakistani Linux community. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pakistan-linux/
lnxpakistan < 5 Members, Archives: Public http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lnxpakistan/
Linux Pakistan. Linux User group in Pakistan. 17 members. http://groups.google.com/group/Linux-Pakistan
Ubuntu-Linux Pakistan Mailing List http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-pk
NETWORKS IN PAKISTAN
WIKIS
LinuxPakistanWiki?. (Currently not much information) http://www.linuxpakistan.net/wiki/index.php/HomePage
Ubuntu-Linux Pakistan LoCo? Team Community Wiki http://ubuntu-pk.org
NETWORKS IN PAKISTAN
MISCELLANEOUS
Ubuntu Monthly Newsletter: Produced and Published by Ubuntu-Linux Pakistan Local Team in collaboration with FOSSFP: Free and Open Source Software Foundation of Pakistan www.fossfp.org. Provide your feedback at bajwa at fossfp.org Publishers say the Ubuntu-Pakistan Mailing List reaches to 800 subscribed members.
NETWORKS IN PAKISTAN
ORGANISATIONS: REAL OR VIRTUAL
OSRC: The Open Source Resource Center (OSRC) was created by the Pakistan Software Export Board (G) Ltd. [http://www.pseb.org.pk/]? at Islamabad. Its aim is to bring together a wide range of expertise related to FOSS technologies and resources at one place. It aims to enable IT companies to access, share, and contribute the knowledge "particular to the development and transformation of IT products on Open Source technologies." This Resource Center says it brings together established technology vendors, startups, Open Ssource community members and enterprise IT users/customers to jointly explore new opportunities for OSS deployment and how to capitalize on them. The Resource Center said it would serve local IT companies to discover cutting-edge features of FOSS; offer detailed information on the best practices in FOSS, bring in pragmatic guidance on how to leverage FOSS in business; access the "comprehensive knowledge base covering various facets" of FOSS; tackle technical issues related to development, deployment, distribution and packaging in general and to startups in specific. It would also aim to hlep build networking of professionals, start-ups, researchers and existing communities Source: http://www.osrc.org.pk
Contacts: OSRC, Pakistan Software Export Board, Ministry of Information Technology 2nd Floor, Evacuee Trust Complex Agha Khan Road, Sector F-5, Islamabad Tel : 051 9208748 Fax: 051 9204075 Email: hosman@pseb.org.pk URL: [http://www.osrc.org.pk]? ; [http://www.pseb.org.pk]?
See details of OSRC seminars http://www.osrc.org.pk/seminar/
LINUXPAKISTAN: http://www.linuxpakistan.net/ Linuxpakistan.net has some 4321 members in its discussion forum.
FOSSFP describes itself as "an organization that promotes ICTs? enablement through FOSS for reducing the digital divide and promoting knowledge development and innovation." http://www.fossfp.org/
NETWORKS IN PAKISTAN
PROJECTS
"We have been actively involved in open source training and creating awareness, and by the grace of Allah, today PING is working on a completely open source environment with an ever-growing list of customers who have migrated to Linux and open source." -- Asaf Maruf Ali, CEO of PING Systems www.ping.com.pk. Quoted by Zeeshan Muhammad in 'The Future is Open Source' http://www.linuxpakistan.net/news/?q=node/254
In May 2005, it was reported that the Ministry of Information Technology [http://www.pakistan.gov.pk/moitt/index.jsp]? is currently implementing two open source software-related projects under the Pakistan Software Export Board [http://www.pseb.org.pk/]? The "Automation of Domestic Industry on Open Source Systems" project had as its aim to develop Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software for "four to five" industrial sectors and to introduce the automation culture in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs?) with a developmental budget of Rs 38 million. It was announced: "This project will create jobs by initiating open source software development in Pakistan, and help local software companies acquire knowledge and experience of open source technologies. It is expected that this will help in eliminating the software piracy issue in Pakistan, and also bridge the gap between the local industry and software companies." http://mm.gnu.org.in/pipermail/fsf-friends/2005-May/003300.html
Seema Javed Amin noted that another project costing Rs 29 million, the Open Source Resource Center [http://www.osrc.org.pk/]? was meant to facilitate "stake-holders and investors in the software industry, should they decide to shift their businesses from vendor-dependent proprietary software to open source software technology."
Yet another project costing Rs24 million was begun under the auspices of the Pakistan Computer Bureau [http://www.pcb.gov.pk/]? "Its target is to create a talent pool of 4,000 end-users and 200 systems administrators in open source software technologies. It has already trained a number of people in this regard. Another objective of this exercise is to prepare related training material in a simplistic format," Seema Javed Amin commented. http://mm.gnu.org.in/pipermail/fsf-friends/2005-May/003300.html
NETWORKS IN PAKISTAN
INTERESTING SOFTWARE PROJECTS FROM PAKISTAN, OR LINKED THERE
[Some in an initial stage of work, or at concept level.)
Fawad Halim's man software for PHP (a man interface in PHP)
http://www.linuxpakistan.net/man.php?source=1
Download 'saveable' code from
http://www.linuxpakistan.net/man.php.txt
Telenor SMS Script
Telenor SMS sender script enables you to can send SMS to any Telenor mobile numbers. In Pakistan.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/telenorsms/
Pklinux (Minimal distribution set for all your basic GNU/Linux needs)
http://linuxpakistan.sourceforge.net/pklinux/info.html
Pashtu Localization Project
This project is designed to initiate and facilitate the localization of Open Source Software into Pashtu, the majority language of Afghanistan and the border areas of Pakistan.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/localizepashtu/
Urdu Localization
Urdu internationalization utilities. Three utilities: Inpage converter, typing tutor and collating/search will be made available initially.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/urdu/
Urdu Font Project
Urdu Font Project is a step towards Opensource development of True Type Unicode Standard based Urdu Fonts specially "Nastaleeq", "Nastaleeq" Like and "Naskh" fonts.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/urdufontproject/
Urdu Indic Initiative
This is the F/LOSS-based localization (l10n) Initiative for Urdu as spoken in the Indian sub-continent. We are working towards a localized GNOME/KDE, Mozilla Firefox and OpenOffice?.org for ur_IN based on the Unicode Standard and associated technologies.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/urduindic/
Urdu Bulletin Board A Mozilla-Firefox Plugin which enables Urdu Typing/Rendering for HTML Pages.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/urdu-bb/
RabtPad? RabtPad? is a configurable unicode and Java based text editor for arabic based scripts including Urdu and Farsi with virtual keyboard for not latin scripts on latin based systems, export to pdf, rtf, html and plain text (later xml).
http://sourceforge.net/projects/rabtpad/
PyUrduEdit? PyUrduEdit? is a simple text editor for the Urdu language.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pyurduedit/
Urdu phpBB An Urdu adaptation of the phpBB forum software complete with langauge translation and an online Urdu editor.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/urduphpbb/
Urdu OCR SDK
It is under progress and will be capable of of recognition of Urdu isolated character recognition. It is an SDK for off-line Urdu character recognition.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/urduocrsdk/
Zeeshan Ali Khattak developed the Video-Whale Project, which assembled a group of Red-Hat GNU/Linux boxes into a wall of video. The Video-Whale Project is an implementation of a video wall which exploits the combined power of Gstreamer and Xinerama. With it, four monitors are controlled by one machine, and a LAN of four machine controls a 16-monitor video wall. It comes across as a very interesting implementation of low-cost alternative technology to meet needs of the hardware-constrained, resource-poor but talent-rich Third World.
http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/apps/videowhale.html
Sahana is a secure Web portal that provides applications for coordination and collaboration in the aftermath of disasters. Applications include finding missing people, connecting organizations, reporting on the distribution of aid and services, matching donations to requests, tracking temporary shelters, and, overall, providing transparency and visibility to groups working in a disaster. Key features include GIS, biometrics, PDA support, and availability in the form of a live CD. From Sri Lanka, but deployed in Pakistan following the 2005 Pakistan earthquake.
NETWORKS IN PAKISTAN
CAMPAIGNS
FOSSAC'2005 1st National Free and Open Source Software Awareness Campaign 2005 (August 2005) At the Punjab University College of Information Technology (PUCIT),University of the Punjab, Allana Iqbal (Old) Campus, Lahore, Pakistan. FOSSAC'2005 was a four day mass awareness and training event organized by [FOSSFP]?Free and Open Source Software Foundation of Pakistan - Punjab University College of Information Technology PUCIT, Pakistan Software Export Board-Open Source Resource Centre PSEB-OSRC with support by UNDP-IOSN International Open Source Network to promote nationwide awareness about the benefits of Free and Open Source Software and to persuade organizations and individuals of Pakistan to use Free & Open Source Software by providing an alternative to Pirated Proprietary Software."
NETWORKS IN PAKISTAN
LOCAL LANGUAGE COMPUTING
Ubuntu Pakistan Team Urdu-l10n International Translation Team (Noumaan Yaqoob, Team Lead) has announced the localizing -- including the new "language-pack-gnome-ur 1.6.06+2 Pack" -- in the latest Ubuntu Linux version 6.10 global distribution which gives support for Urdu at installation. The latest version comes with an installable Urdu Pack by default and is also available when upgrading Ubuntu 6.06 LTS version to Ubuntu 6.10. Test new features and report them to noumaan{at}ubuntu-pk{dot}org
Noumaan and team created and contributing Pakistan's first public Urdu Word Bank and Dictionary accessible at http://l10n.urduweb.org/dictionary as well as translating the latest versions of Gnome Interface into Urdu. Saadat Saeed, an Ubuntu Pakistan team member, introduced the first Ubuntu Linux Urdu Editor "PyUrduEdit?".
https://sourceforge.net/projects/pyurduedit
According to Faoud Bajwa, Team Lead Localized Documentation Team Waqas Toor is shortly (as of October 2006) introducing the Ubuntu Desktop and Server Guides in Urdu that will also be available in the future versions of Ubuntu Distributions as default availability. Contact: waqas{at no spam}ubuntu-pk.org
An announcement said teams are now "gearing up for Sindhi and Punjabi translations" and volunteers have been sought. Ubuntu Pakistan Team claims to have over 40 volunteer developers and contributors.
Register at:
https://launchpad.net/people/ubuntu-pk (Ubuntu Pakistan Team)
https://launchpad.net/people/ubuntu-l10n-ur (Ubuntu Urdu l10n Team)
Subscribe:
https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-l10n-urd
https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-pk
To participate in translation:
Urdu: https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/edgy/+lang/ur
Sindhi: https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/edgy/+lang/sd
Open Office 2.0+ is already available with Urdu Support, with efforts coming in from India, but that has to be added as a separate language pack, according to Bajwa.
o Kamran Azeem (RHCE) has contributed Computer Based Training programs for learning Linux in Urdu. CDs? from www.wbitt.com/urducbts according to a post by Fouad Riaz Bajwa <bajwa@fossfp.org> DVDs? Rs 500 each. Contact Kamran: kamran@wbitt.com
o According to Gora Mohanty [gora_mohanty at yahoo.co.in]? in New Delhi there are now GPL-licensed Urdu fonts from an organization called PakType?. * CDAC, Pune has localized the OpenOffice? 2.0 user interface into Urdu, though there are some issues with the drop-down selection boxes for a LTR language. * Work has also been started on a Hindi-Urdu transliterator, which can help by allowing a first-approximation transliteration from Hindi to Urdu, that can then be reviewed by an Urdu speaker.
Other links:
- o FOSSFP Urdu Language Localization Project - ULLP
- http://www.fossfp.org/ullp
- o Urdu Linux Localization Project Presentation
- http://www.fossfp.org/fossac/downloads/ullp/ubuntu_localization.pps
- o Urdu Linux Localization Project Steps
- http://www.fossfp.org/fossac/downloads/ullp/steps_for_ubuntu_ver3.doc
- o Urdu Linux Localization Project Brochure
- http://www.fossfp.org/fossac/downloads/ullp/pamphetlet.doc
o Khalid Latif [klatif at ifs.tuwien.ac.at]? says National Langauges Authority (NLA) and FAST-NU had worked together on developing nastaleeq true types font for Urdu and also an installable windows keyboard layout [1,2]?. True-type-fonts also exists, he says [3]?.
[1]? http://www.crulp.org/ [2]? http://www.cicc.or.jp/english/hyoujyunka/mlit4/7-10Pakistan/Pakistan2.html [3]? http://www.crulp.org/linuxphonetickb.html
MISCELLANEOUS LINKS
Linux Pakistan User Group http://www.linuxpakistan.net Linux Pakistan latest posts Forum: http://www.linuxpakistan.net/forum/ News: http://www.linuxpakistan.net/news/?q=rss.xml Jobs: http://www.linuxpakistan.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=9 Linux Pakistan News Portal: http://www.linuxpakistan.net/news/
Linux Pakistan General discussion list http://mail.linuxpakistan.net/mailman/listinfo/general_linuxpakistan.net
Linux Pakistan Karachi http://www.linuxpakistan.net/wiki/index.php?pagename=LinuxPakistanKarachi
Software avaiilable: http://www.linuxpakistan.net/wiki/index.php?pagename=LinuxPakistanKarachiSof tware
Free and Open Source Software Foundation of Pakistan http://www.fossfp.org Ohloh service http://www.ohloh.net FOSSFP chapters http://www.fossfp.org/chapters Rosetta http://www.launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/dapper/+lang/ur BytesForAll? FLOSS Localization http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_floss
SOLUTIONS ... AND THE SEARCH FOR THEM
ERP GUIDE FOR PAKISTAN: Fouad Riaz Bajwa <bajwa@fossfp.org> has written a guide ERP-Rising in SPIDER Magazine, March-June 2003 which focuses on Enterprise Resource Planning in Pakistan. More recently, he has been working on the second edition of ERP-Rising "that will take into account ERP implementation case studies from the Pakistani IT Industry scene." Bajwa says they plan to also "be focusing on OSS based ERP solutions identifying their viable market options for Pakistan, presenting open business models that can be taken into account." To share case studies, implementation experiences, the pros and cons of OSS ERP solutions contact bajwa at fossfp.org
PSEB-OSRC's Industrial Automation Project, also known as BRIDGE-OPEN SOURCE Project was worth Rs.60 million that has developed 4 OSS (Java/Postgre/Fedora/RedHat?/Ubuntu) ERP solutions to be deployed at member companies, according to PSEB. PSEB has partnered with four industrial associations -- All Pakistan Textiles Processing Mills Association, Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers, Pakistan Ready-made Garments Manufacturers Association/Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association, and the Surgical Instruments Manufactures Association. Initially the solution will be provided to fifteen industrial units in each of these four sectors. http://www.osrc.org.pk or http://www.pseb.org.pk/page.php?page_id=100
ANNEXURES
o Tune your brains, by Fouad Riaz Bajwa: Open source software has gradually made its way across the shores to Pakistan. It is not only major organisations but also interested individuals that can benefit massively from its arrival http://www.spider.tm/sep2006/cstory1.html
o The open and closed case by Nizar Diamond Ali: A study of open and closed source software reveals why more corporate and home users are making the shift towards open source http://www.spider.tm/sep2006/cstory2.html
o The Open Option By Seema Javed Amin, May 21, 2005 http://www.dawn.com/weekly/science/science6.htm
o My Ubuntu experience, by By Noumaan Yaqoob: A computer user explains his reasons for switching from the near-ubiquitous Windows operating system to a user-friendly version of Linux called Ubuntu. http://www.spider.tm/sep2006/cstory3.html
o The Future is Open Source By Zeeshan Muhammad http://www.linuxpakistan.net/news/?q=node/254
o In Pakistan, the Government looks to the Linux users' group http://www.freelists.org/archives/linuxinindia/09-2002/msg00002.html
Feedback to: Frederick Noronha fredericknoronha at gmail.com
FOSS Training / workshop under ASEAN Cooperation at C-DAC, Chennai, India
