[Wikimediaindia-l] (OT) On the importance of Unicode

[Anivar Aravind]

On 2/24/11, Nikhil Sheth <nikhil.js at gmail.com> wrote:
> Great discussion, but I wonder why I didn't see any real, easy, doable,
> inexpensive, quickfix solution put forth that every Indian on the internet
> can begin using immediately to get around the Unicode Vs custom Fonts issue.

Hey,
What you are mentioning is just about Transliteration Input methods.
And there are 100's of such solutions , Phonetic Keyboards etc .
Transliteration keyboards existed years before google & most of the
solutions you pointed.
Take a look at Firefox extensions and m17n-db to get a feel of it.

The Discussion here was not only about Input methods. It is about
Encoding , Rendering & Fonts, which is the underlying technology which
enable input methods to work

Also just a friendly request to understand thread first before
knee-jerking with what you know

Anivar Aravind


> So here's some from me:
>
> 1. Quick copy-paste, working with a net connection:
> http://www.google.com/transliterate/
>
> 2. Put a bookmarklet/favorite in your browser to type in Indian language in
> any site. इधर भी : http://t13n.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/blet/docs/help.html
>
> 3. Get these languages installed in 5 mins on your machine so you can use it
> in any application from notepad to chat :
> http://www.google.com/ime/transliteration/ or sneak out the files for
> offline installation in your hometown using this neat hack:
> http://visibleblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/google-transliteration-ime-offline.html
>
> (I know our greatest angels won't care about this one because it only works
> on Evil Windows!)
>
> 4. Indian made alternative both editor and input language:
> http://www.baraha.com/
>
> Sincere apologies to the purists who might blow up like a volcano at either
> going to the Evil Google Lord for help, or Daring to use transliteration
> instead of the
> so-easy-to-use-and-learn-if-only-you-spend-a-whole-day-on-it-and-get-an-indic-script-keyboard-from-God-knows-where-because-everyone-is-well-off-and-supposed-to-be-living-in-a-well-connected-metro-like-me.
>
>
> If there is an open-source/cross-platform/creative commons/kumbayaah
> solution where we don't have to mug up what to do when we forget what we are
> supposed to have mugged up like the key combination for भ or त्र or ण
> or ळinstead of just typing "bh" or "tra" or "na" or "l" and (if
> needed)
> backspacing twice to get a dropdown menu to choose what we truly want and
> moving on with our lives, or where we don't have to bend the laws of physics
> to get that elusive त्सा or perform computer साल्सा to have that split
> letter stuff on our screen then let's have it right here and right now or
> let's get our hands dirty and make'em for the love of the Lord instead of
> blasting the impure and corrupt Harijans who dare to take shortcuts for the
> sake of getting their work done on time.
>
> (Disclaimer : Only little offense meant with the hope to give a kick and
> create a demand for real open source solutions that can rival the private
> ones)
>
>
> Cheers,
> Nikhil Sheth
> +91-966-583-1250
> Pune, India
> Teach For India <http://www.teachforindia.org/> Fellow, 2011-13
> www.nikhilsheth.tk
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-- 
"[It is not] possible to distinguish between 'numerical' and
'nonnumerical' algorithms, as if numbers were somehow different from
other kinds of precise information." - Donald Knuth