Linux and Ubuntu takes off in Europe

Created by Stuart Yeates (University of Oxford) on December 7, 2006

Wired is running an article on the increasing Linux-friendliness of European territorial authorities, which are switching to Linux and OpenOffice solutions for a whole range of reasons, including ease of customisation, translation and localisation. Linux and OpenOffice aren't a silver bullet, of course, there are no silver bullets in IT.

A Gendarme contacted by Wired News who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that while he was optimistic about the prospects of the Linux operating system and noted how his unit had a capable IT support staff, he was not too happy with OpenOffice. He said he missed MS Office, even though it is designed by a company run by people he considers to be "thieves."

Linux.com is reporting that the recent release of a Kurdish localisation of Ubuntu is causing tensions in Turkey.

However, many bureaucrats still put up staunch resistance to the limited rights granted the Kurds. Subsequent reports in the Turkish press suggest that Mayor Abdullah Demirbas of Sur, a town in Diyarbakir, Eastern Turkey, is currently under investigation by the Diyarbakir chief public prosecutor's office following the launch. It is not clear what Demirbas is being investigated for, but it is probably related to Turkey's less than tolerant stance on the public use of Kurdish.

The Ubuntu release reflects a great deal of hard work, not just by the Ubuntu Kurdish translation team, but the Kurdish translation teams for Gnome and all the other packages that make up Ubuntu. Even their work would not be possible without the careful use of internationalisation (i18n) libraries by literally thousands of open source programmers worldwide, which allow the text, documentation and interfaces to be translated.

cheers stuart

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		Linux and Ubuntu takes off in Europe Created by Stuart Yeates (University of Oxford) on December 7, 2006 Wired is running an article on the increasing Linux-friendliness of European territorial authorities, which are switching to Linux and OpenOffice solutions for a whole range of reasons, including ease of customisation, translation and localisation. Linux and OpenOffice aren't a silver bullet, of course, there are no silver bullets in IT. A Gendarme contacted by Wired News who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that while he was optimistic about the prospects of the Linux operating system and noted how his unit had a capable IT support staff, he was not too happy with OpenOffice. He said he missed MS Office, even though it is designed by a company run by people he considers to be "thieves." Linux.com is reporting that the recent release of a Kurdish localisation of Ubuntu is causing tensions in Turkey. However, many bureaucrats still put up staunch resistance to the limited rights granted the Kurds. Subsequent reports in the Turkish press suggest that Mayor Abdullah Demirbas of Sur, a town in Diyarbakir, Eastern Turkey, is currently under investigation by the Diyarbakir chief public prosecutor's office following the launch. It is not clear what Demirbas is being investigated for, but it is probably related to Turkey's less than tolerant stance on the public use of Kurdish. The Ubuntu release reflects a great deal of hard work, not just by the Ubuntu Kurdish translation team, but the Kurdish translation teams for Gnome and all the other packages that make up Ubuntu. Even their work would not be possible without the careful use of internationalisation (i18n) libraries by literally thousands of open source programmers worldwide, which allow the text, documentation and interfaces to be translated. cheers stuart Europe \| European Union (EU) \| i18n \| Kurdish \| kurds \| Linux \| localisation \| OpenOffice \| open_source \| translation \| translation teams \| Turkey \| Ubuntu Stuart's blog Login or register to post comments 4423 reads
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