From: Frederick Noronha [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 04 June 2002 08:09
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [Bytesforall] NEWSLETTER: BytesForAll, June 2002
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MAKING COMPUTING RELEVANT TO THE COMMON(WO)MAN * JUNE 2002 ISSUE
http://www.bytesforall.org * http://www.indialists.org
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FREE FONT FOR MALAYALAM
Efforts are on to spread the use of ICT among the speakers of the Malayalam
language of South India, with support from the Free Software Movement. This
initiative has just got support from APDIP, the Asia Pacific Development
Information Programme, linked to the UNDP.
Some basic software are today available in free downloadable forms over the
Internet. But these software do not cater to the fonts in Malayalam, which
is the language of 30 million in the southern Indian state of Kerala and at
least 10 million outside.
Not just that. This project aims to create Free Font for Malayalam, create
toolkit (toolkits are basic building blocks in creating Graphical User
Interface based applications) with Malayalam support, and create a localised
desktop and office productivity applications and documentation in Malayalam.
As of now, Malayalam enabled software is scarce. Those available are for
Word Processing alone. Malayalam usage in computers is limited to using the
computer as an electronic typewriter and for publishing.
The major reason for this is the lack of Operating Systems supporting
Malayalam. To add to this, the Malayalam font system for the global standard
-- the Unicode -- has not been built. As a result, it is not possible to
have an ICT infrastructure with Malayalam support.
Another issue is the very high cost of proprietary software. This project is
to be implemented by the Kerala Bureau of Industrial Promotion (K-BIP),
partnering with the Free Software Foundation, the world-renowned
organisation founded by Richard M. Stallman in the USA in 1984.
FSF argues that all software should be free, as software is information and
the withholding of information is wrong and a denial of a human right. The
first FSF Chapter in India was incidentally started in India in Trivandrum,
Kerala.
http://www.apdip.net/news/malayalam/index.htm
Contact: Ajay Kumar, Secretary to the Government of Kerala Industries
Department Email: [log in to unmask]
Tel: 91-471- 333028 Fax: 91-471- 311883
*****************************************************
ICT SOLUTION FOR FISHERMEN
The Financial Express reports from Hyderabad that the Indian National Centre
of Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has signed an agreement with the Tata
Consultancy Services (TCS) to develop an online solution aimed at offering
Web-based services for fishermen.
"This five-year partnership covers the development of a Web-based
multilingual online solution that will allow the user community to visualise
and download a variety of ocean information and advisory services.
Information kiosks will be set up along the coastlines to help about 6
million fishermen in the country. TCS will be hosting the solution in the
next 12 months," Dr K Radhakrishnan, director, INCOIS was quoted as saying
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=8404
*****************************************************
WANTED: JAVA VOLUNTEERS
Says the TEN Newsletter, of an Indian project: "If You Know Java - Tarahaat
Needs Your Help for Their Multilingual Software Project". Tarahaat is trying
to build stronger and more independent communities in India through its
marketplace technology.
For a project like this, an Indian language interface is essential. However,
licensing costs for proprietary software and language technologies are too
high for local entrepreneurs. The obvious solution is to use Open Source
software, but support for Indian languages on Linux (*UNIX) platform is
poor. That's where TEN and YOU come in.
The two main objectives of this exercise are: (1) To build an open source
(GPL), Java applet to serve as a multi-platform, multilingual input/ output
interface for web applications in Indian languages. This applet must provide
a method to translate between Font-code and Unicode (2) To build a WYSIWYG
HTML editor using the above applet to support data entry via touch screen,
keyboard, phonetic script and ISCII (Indian Script Code for Information
Interchange).
If you can help provide any of the programming, analysis and development
skills to support Tarahaat's existing team and see this project to
completion, contact TEN Director Ulla Skiden now. More Details of the
exciting partners in this project on the TEN site.
*****************************************************
TONGUE TO TALK: MALAYALAM
Want to learn Malayalam? This CD promises to do just that, without tears!
Vidyarambham Malayalam Tutor CD is priced at Rs 900 (US$22.50). Check it
out at www.vidhyarambham.com/ordernow.asp
Details from: Allen Park Infotech http://www.allenparkinfotech.com
Email [log in to unmask]
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VOGRAM -- MESSAGES FOR RURAL INDIA
VoGram is something of new technology, that promises to have some utility
in a country like India.
In summary, the system concept is that anyone can go to an STD kiosk
and make a phone call to a VoGram centre. At the VoGram center an
operator will take the call, and take information as to the way the
recepient will be intimated about the VoGram: by phone (if the
recepient has a phone), or by a printed notice (which will need to be
delivered by hand).
Then the operator leaves the call, and the caller
is prompted by the VoGram server to say the message. The message (upto
60sec) is digitised, compressed and sent off as an email attachment
over the Internet to the VoGram center nearest to the recepient.
This VoGram centre will then inform the recepient by automatically placing a
phone call or sending over a printed notice. This process will convey to the
recepient a password. The recepient can then call the VoGRam centre and
listen to his message after keying in his password. Meanwhile the sending
party can call his sending VoGram centre and learn about the status of
delivery of the message, since the VoGram system keeps updating the sending
VoGram centre, explains Anurag Kumar, Professor and Associate Chairman of
the Department of Electrical Communication Engineering of the IISc,
Bangalore <[log in to unmask]>
http://ece.iisc.ernet.in/vogram/
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TECHNOLOGY TO FIGHT LEARNING-BARRIERS
KnowNet-Grin (Knowledge Network for Augmenting Grassroots Innovations) is an
effort at reducing barriers to learning. It is an initiative involving the
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) and SRISTI (Society for
Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions,
www.sristi.org). The inspiration came from Prof. Anil K Gupta from IIMA.
"While working on the project we had experimented on several aspect in which
we could apply technology for reducing the barrier of learning viz language,
literacy and localism. At the same time we experimented with various models
in which we could expand the electronic network. Some of the models as we
discussed were cost effective such as the ham radio but other very expensive
such as the VSAT", explains Vijay Pratap Singh <[log in to unmask]>, one of
the bright and determined young men working on this project.
http://www.sristi.org/knownetgrin.html
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PROJECT CLEARINGHOUSE
---------------------
The World Resources Institute, a think tank in Washington D.C., has
developed a Web site dedicated to exploring creative business approaches,
public-private partnerships, and other sustainable ways to bridge the global
digital divide and create lasting economic, social, and environmental
benefits.
Central to the project is the Digital Dividend Project Clearinghouse.
Located at http://wriws1.digitaldividend.org/wri/app/index.jsp, the
Clearinghouse serves as a fully-searchable repository for information
and shared experience on digitally-enabled projects providing services
to underserved populations in developing countries. Several of the
projects listed below are included in the Clearinghouse, each with full
contact information.
This is what's on offer: If you or your organization has an applicable
project, do submit it online. Or, if you prefer, this centre can create a
project capsule for you. Just send in your information including a brief
project description, start date, full contact information and URL,
affiliated organizations, and any related documents you'd like to have
linked to your project capsule.
http://www.digitaldividend.org
Email: [log in to unmask]
*****************************************************
DRUG DESIGN
Rajkumar Buyya <[log in to unmask]> one of the young Indian expats who
volunteers without expectations on the BytesForAll team, recently developed
a system that support service-orieneted world-wide computing. It allows the
creation of online computing marketplace. The system has been used for
running applications such as drug design.
More details at
http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2001/091201/Tools_automate_computer_sharing_09
1201.html
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SOFTWARE FOR THE TEMPLE
-----------------------
The Times of India recently reported on 'Ganati' -- a temple management
software. It is aimed at bringing "efficiency and transparency" in various
temple functions.
Ganati will specifically address billing and accounting procedures,
documentation of hundi collections, inventory management of utility articles
to valuable ornaments, as well as stores maintenance to purchases, HR
functions and trust affairs as part of the everyday temple procedures. The
software has already been implemented at the Sri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt at
Sanjaynagar.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=6096747
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CYBERCAFE ON WHEELS
-------------------
This comes from the [log in to unmask] mailing list (the Global Knowledge for
Development network):
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Kanpur, India are
working on what they describe as "info-thela", or cyber cafe on wheels -- an
IT-based innovation that is expected to revolutionise the rural economy and
boost output.
The idea is to provide battery-operated IT services on tricycles which can
reach even the remotest of areas. The mobile cyber cafe will enable
villagers to get information about weather forecasts, market rates of
agricultural products and inputs and even entertainment, all at one place
and just by one click of the mouse.
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IT FOR EYE-BANKS
----------------
Percy Ghaswala <[log in to unmask]> of the Mumbai-based Ghaswala
Vision Foundation, in the process of being registered, has plans for
e-enabled eye banking. Initially, this hopes to work at a single eye-bank,
and then network others. Ghaswala is volunteer and faculty at the SEWA
Roshni Eye Bank of Lilavati Hospital & Research Center in Mumbai.
IT brings about transparency, and this could help. Specially as in some
parts of India, eye banking is controlled by politics and eye banks are run
by architects, lawyers, chartered accountants, ophthalmic surgeons with
vested interest and anyone except professional eye bankers trained for
the purpose.
May this vision grow.
*****************************************************
SIMPUTER... IN LINE FOR TAKING ORDERS
-------------------------------------
After some despondency, now it's time for optimism once again. Sandi Morgan
<[log in to unmask]> recently announced via the Simputer mailing list
that the is a plan to accept orders for smaller quantities of the Simputer,
the low-cost computing device that India design skills is promising the
world.
Wrote Sandi: "We are accepting orders for smaller quantities. Interested
parties may inquire. I'm working on a large order for a US corporation and
will be happy to accept smaller quantity orders for September/October
delivery."
Earlier, other firms in India said they were concentrating on larger orders
-- of at least 200 Simputer units -- since they lacked the huge
infrastructure needed for marketing small orders. PicoPeta Simputers Pvt.
Ltd. (http://www.picopeta.com) is one of the firms working on the product
within India.
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'LITTLE' BOOST
------------
Three cheers for IT for helping struggling ventures to get a wider audience
worldwide.
One of the recent attempts to find a wider voice on the web came from 'The
Little Magazine', or TLM for short. Published from Delhi, this claims to be
South Asia's "only professionally produced print magazine devoted to essays,
fiction, poetry, art and criticism".
It also terms itself as the only publication to publish complete film and
theatre scripts, and with a special interest in translation.
IT and the Internet would hopefully give this venture a chance to reach out
to wider audiences. Check out the site at http://www.littlemag.com. Access
to back issues is at www.littlemag.com/archive.html -- as reported by Little
Magazine's Pratik Kanjilal to The Asian Studies WWW Monitor put out, again
via cyberspace, by Dr T. Matthew Ciolek. (See
http://coombs.anu.edu.au/asia-www-monitor.html)
*****************************************************
LANGUAGE RESOURCES FOR MACHING TRANSLATION
------------------------------------------
Language Technologies Research Centre <[log in to unmask]> recently announced
LRMT-2002, a workshop for developing language resources for machine
translation. It will be held from June 17 to July 6, 2002 at the
IIIT, Hyderabad.
Say the organisers: "For information revolution to take place information
must become available to common people in their languages".
Machine translation (MT) systems need to be developed so that information in
one language becomes available in another language. There is a large amount
of electronic text in English pertaining to various branches of knowledge.
There is a great need to develop systems which can translate from English to
Indian languages. These systems have the potential to make texts in English,
accessible to people who know Indian languages.
For building machine translation systems, appropriate language resources
need to be developed. The focus of this workshop would be on building such
languages resources, specifically, on development and use of word sense
disambiguation, transfer lexicon and grammar, and aligned and tagged
parallel corpora.
Primarily, the workshop is designed for linguists, language scholars and
Sanskrit scholars interested in developing computational language resources
for use in MT systems. Some selected computer scientists and statistics
researchers will also be admitted.
*****************************************************
E-Desh, Bangladesh
------------------
Something from beyond India's borders, but very much within the South Asian
neighbourhood. It promises to be a "place where Bangladeshi people all
around the world read Bangladeshi news, currents events in Dhaka and other
cities, Bangla literature, etc. It also includes other Bangladeshi web
resource addresses and Bangla scholars." Once again, this came in via the
Asian Studies WWW Monitor.
http://www.e-desh.com
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bYtES For aLL is a voluntary, unfunded venture. CopyLeft, 2002. bYtES For
aLL e-zine volunteers team includes: Frederick Noronha in Goa, Partha Sarkar
in Dhaka, Zunaira Durrani in Karachi, Zubair Abbasi in Islamabad, Archana
Nagvenkar in Goa, Arun-Kumar Tripathi in Darmstatd, Shivkumar in Mumbai,
Sangeeta Pandey in Nepal, Daryl Martyis in Chicago, Gihan Fernando in Sri
Lanka, Rajkumar Buyya in Melbourne, Mahrukh Mohiuddin in Dhaka, Deepa Rai in
Kathmandu and Ashish Kotamkar in Pune. To contact them mail
[log in to unmask]
BytesForAll completes three years of fruitful existance in July 2002. Three
years on, BytesForAll thanks all those who have volunteered their time,
energy and motivation in taking this experiment forward, since its launch in
July 1999. If you'd like to volunteer too, contact the above address.
BytesForAll's website www.bytesforall.org is maintained by Partha Sarkar,
with inputs from other members of the volunteers' team and supporters. To
join or leave this mailing-list simply send a message to
[log in to unmask] with SUB B4ALL or UNSUB B4ALL as the subject.
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