New Project Proposal: The ArabicOpenCD

["Djihed Afifi" <djihedlists at googlemail dot com>]

** What is it?

The ArabicOpenCD is a collection of open source software, some of it
already localised in Arabic, some is not, in a CD suitable for
distribution for Microsoft Windows operating systems.

** For Who?

The arabic OpenCD is intended for:
OEM shops, software to be supplied for free with a new purchased computer.
Developers in third world countries were Internet connection is scarce.
Any Microsoft Windows user who would like to have the collection
readily available in a CD.

** Why?

To show the work we've been doing at Arabeyes.
To spread OSS software for windows users, as a first step to let them
how good it is.
To encourage people to contribute to OSS.
To encourage people to contribute to Arabeyes, we're reaching out for
new "recruits".

** What does it contain?

OSS software, in various categories, the list is mentioned below [3].

** Who wrote it?

I mainly wrote the interface. The logo and some graphics have been
made by a friend of mine (Abdelghani). Typing has been done by another
(Mehyeddine).

** In what language is the software?

Arabic where available, English otherwise.

** Can I try it?

Yes, download the file here [1], unzip in a local directory on windows
and try it by clicking start.exe.
The CD will auto start when burnt into a physical CD.
Here is a screenshot of the main interface [2].

** How is it gonna be distributed?

Over the Internet.
By OSS enthusiasts like you, burn a few CD's and give them to a local
OEM ship, a local CD store (it's legal! instead of the illegal CD's
flying around!), or at Linux install fests, conferences, etc...
Potentially, we could have a shipit service here akin to Ubuntu's
shipit. I'm prepared to sponsor it at logical amounts yo send CD's to
developers/users in the third world.



** Has it been tried before?
Yes, It has actually been developed in summer 2005 for a local OEM
shop in my home town in Algeria. It had a good acceptance level from
the customers. I also burnt some CD's and gave them for free on a few
occasions and the responses were positive.

** What License?
GPL for the browser. The license differs between packages, but all of
them allow distribution with source code.

** Well! Reinventing the wheel! why not use TheOpenCD?

Our ArabicOpenCd will be geared more towards showcasing our work at
Arabeyes and for motivating users to contribute to the translation
work.
It contains more software, it is intended to be complete for those
with no Internet connection.
The interface is wholly written for the Arabic language. It supports
it better than OpenCD's Interface.
Note however, that the mechanism of the ArabicOpenCd is the same as the OpenCd.

** How dare you distribute software for M$ operating systems!

The fact that you can't run away from is that many people still use
these OS's. We're not trying to undermine Linux distributions. Efforts
like this will bring users closer to using OSS  software and ideally
an OSS operating system in the end.

** Can I contribute? suggest? comment?
Of course!, reply to this message or email me privately (djihed at
gmail dot com).



Djihed Afifi

---------------------------
[1] http://files.djihed.com/arabicopencd.zip
[2] http://files.djihed.com/arabicopencd.png

[3]List of Software:
7zip
abiword
Apache
audacity
blender
celestia
devcpp
devphp
dia
eclipse
filezilla
firefox
gaim
gimp
gnuplot
gtk
httrack
mpc
mysql
notepad2
ooo
PDFCreator
php
python
thunderbird
tuxracer
vlc
winboard