Re: some thoughts

[Nadim Shaikli <shaikli at yahoo dot com>]

--- Arafat Medini <lumina at silverpen dot de> wrote:
> A list of linux vendors:
> 
> http://www.linux-plus.com/ egypt
> http://www.linux.com.tn/ tunisia
> http://www.linux-sa.com/ saudi arabia
> http://www.linux.com.kw/en/ Kuwait
> http://www.masterlinux.net/about.htm egypt
> 
> Those are the only 5 linux vendors in the Arab world, very few indeed.

I'm thinking we should try to contact the above companies and see
what their clients' experiences have been in hopes of getting a
more realistic picture of what real-world issues are have yet not
faced.  Once (and if) we get that info, we would have accomplished
two things,

 1. Gotten the vendors to know about our existence and our
    willingness to work together
 2. Gotten to know more of what the business world out there
    is experiencing with regard to Arabization of Linux.  What
    applications, issues are yet to be resolved, etc.

Worth doing ? Thoughts ?

> >I think the two go hand-in-hand.  In order for this community to grow
> >and flourish, we continue to need new blood and the most fertile land
> >to find those people are the universities - as people are seeking to
> >expand their horizons and learn a thing or two.
> 
> I would agree with you here, after looking through the net, I found that
> the Arabic community is very narrow I never thought the community is so
> small in the Arabic world... that totally changed my view of Linux in
> the Arab world...

So to take this (and other) facts and convert them to action, what
should we do ?  As noted, I am very keen on universities and do
think that we need to target the students, first and foremost, and
their teachers.  I continue to dream about a day where CS professors
start assigning students assignments that deal with linux's inter-
working (as it is a great teaching tool).

> >it is a grab-n-run attitude although they will say otherwise, but
> actions speak much much louder than words...
> 
> I am very pragmatic here: if you have the possibility to work on
> something you like and earn money with it then I am not against this.
> Still It would be good if some would want to participate in non paid
> projects as well.

OK, so applying the "itch factor" (TM) on all of this, how do we get
the various silent developers out there (that are making money off
of this efforts and open source in general) to contribute ?  The
only "itch" (lure) I can think of is money, or anyone have any
suggestions ?

> The first thing that was really shocking/funny is that there
> isn't ANY communication btw the LUGs.

News will be coming forth soon ISA about the SUPER-LUG idea (among
other things) that is finally cementing itself.  So, at a minimum,
we should expect better collaboration between the various entities
(or so we hope).

> universities: if this was successful so why don't all of you who
> live in the Arabic countries try something like that ?
> In tunisia there are "dar ashabab" is there something like that in other
> Arabic countries? If yes why only universities? go to computer clubs,
> dour ashabab, etc... and make this only one weekend in a month it so
> much fun...

I think this is the best avenue to pursue - this should come from the
students to the students (again, the jordan and egyptian experiences,
from what I heard, worked well).  How can we continue on this and have
it mushroom to all countries ?

> >"I hardly ever need to use Arabic on my computer"
> 
> He's simply a dumb looser. That's from the hacker standpoint. He's a
> very narrow minded person doesn't even know why he's hacking on a pc.

The point is (without needing to call anyone any names as that is
counter productive and leads us nowhere), there are people out there
with this attitude.  Applying the "itch factor", how can we get them
involved ?  Suggestions/ideas ?

> I have a very nifty idea: let us force the lazy members to do some work.
> where is Anmar? Where is Azawawi? where is Elqibbany? Where is Twaijiry?

Beyond instilling a sense of urgency and a well-placed need for their
work and time, we can't do much more.  We try to be clear about what
is needed, facilitate that which is required to get the work done and
then relay on people's commitment, conscious and drive to get the rest
done.  One thing I have most certainly noticed is that we tend NOT to
schedule and/or plan things which must change (grab any project and
try to focast its next release and/or its next objective - see what I
mean?).  Having a pre-ordained goal and a schedule is a must for a
developer/contributor to pace him/her-self to get the job done.

> Well I am very frustrated at the situation but it seems it is not
> really an Arabeyes problem it is an Arabic problem, I'll not wonder
> anymore why the Arabs are in such a bad pos.

I would tend to agree with that, but we can't simply find fault in
something else and "live with it".  We are a microcosm of that
world and as such we must lead by example and show to people that
which can (and will) be done (change MUST come from within).

I'm not a fan of long emails (and I know others aren't as well),
as such the points discussed so far are not new.  We have the
following things to do (again, we need people to do these things),

 1. Agreement on what to do with the company list noted above.
 2. Agreement on what to do with the universities,
    a. Student campaigns, alumni networks, roaming tour ?
    b. Teachers and research projects - how ?
 3. Agreement on how to motivate lurkers and continue the drive.
 4. Agreement on what sexy projects we should undertake to get
    more world attention and appreciation ("itch" markers).
 5. Agreement on if all necessary documents/pamphlets are in place ?

Let's keep this short and concentrate now on the "doing" part.

Salam.

 - Nadim


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