RE: [A12n-Collab] "Microsoft to launch applications in three Nigerian languages"

["Don Osborn" <dzo@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Andrew, I'm really interested to know more about what Microsoft is doing in 
this regard. Over the years we have seen some announcements followed by 
comments that the products have been slow to reach the market. Then something 
like the recent article on the "failure" of Microsoft's Swahili version.* 

At the same time the "Classmate PC" project (similar in some respects to OLPC, 
but different in others) is apparently opting for a kind of MS base, though I'm 
not totally clear on that and am seeking more info on various aspects of the 
project including localization.

Then there are some questions like you pose, which relate to technical issues, 
standards, and marketing. 

I don't mean to be too critical (being overextended myself I'm in a proverbial 
glass house right now), but it does raise questions re Microsoft's strategy and 
implementation. 

I would like to suggest:

1) More coordination on issues of standards (such as keyboard layouts) and 
locales (this will receive focused attention from the new PanAfrican 
Localisation Network this year). This involves probably 4 main "stakeholders" 
(as we often say in international development): open-source community, 
proprietary interests (namely Microsoft), governmental standards, and 
international cooperation. The first two, if one may make a broad 
generalization, are not given to collaboration, which may make sense in some 
ways, but not for the languages and the end-users. The third is often 
non-existant, under-resourced, or not yet interested. The fourth is a catch-all 
category, but key within it would be on the one hand regional African bodies 
concerned with language (ACALAN) and ICT (UNECA/AISI and various others), and 
international donor/development agencies (of which IDRC is prominent; the OSI 
group including OSIWA and OSISA are among the few others to take any interest 
in this area - USAID and its usual contracting NGOs are mostly MIA on 
localization issues; French aid has its own agenda framed in terms of "langues 
partenaires"; and so on).

2) Better marketing. This is an issue for both Microsoft and, in some cases at 
least, open source. One of the biggest and most frustrating (for me) gaps is 
between localization products on the one hand and ICT for development & 
education efforts on the other (OLPC being a happy exception). But the apparent 
failure of a corporation like Microsoft to get products that it has spent 
resources developing into the appropriate markets or niches is puzzling. Tunde 
as their project lead in Nigeria, has even expressed concern and a request for 
help on this.** (He actually sees the technical issues as less challenging, but 
it would also be interesting to hear his thoughts on Andrew's questions.)

I could go on with other thoughts on strategies, but maybe some of the list 
members, including those in MS, will have some feedback, info, and other ideas.

Don Osborn
Bisharat.net


* "Why Microsoft Swahili Version Failed" (Kenya) 
http://lists.kabissa.org/lists/archives/public/a12n-collaboration/msg01098.html

** [PAL-en] Re: Microsoft to launch applications in 3 Nigerian languages 
http://lists.kabissa.org/lists/archives/public/pal-en/msg00187.html 



> -----Original Message-----
> From: a12n-collaboration-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:a12n-
> collaboration-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Andrew Cunningham
> Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 10:30 PM
> To: A12n tech support
> Subject: Re: [A12n-Collab] "Microsoft to launch applications in three
> Nigerian languages"
> 
> interesting for what it doesn't say as much as what it does say.
> 
> Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo only have input locales in Windows Vista
> 
> Yoruba requires a version of Uniscribe and appropriate fonts to render
> correctly, this combination currently restricts it to Windows Vista (if
> you include need for UI font capable of rendering Yoruba.
> 
> Microsoft currently do not ship Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba keyboard layouts.
> 
> I'd assume that for a Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo LIPs for Office to be
> useful, they'll need to roll out an ELK including support for these
> three languages?
> 
> Andrew
> 
> Don Osborn wrote:
> > The following item from Highway Africa News Agency (HANA) was seen on
> > the HANA site at http://hana.ru.ac.za/article.cfm?articleID=1917
> > (linked from their Weekly Digest). It has also been disseminated on
> > SANGONeT at
> >
> http://www.sangonet.org.za/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=vi
> > ew&id=9177&Itemid=1
> >
> <http://www.sangonet.org.za/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=v
> > iew&id=9177&Itemid=1>
> >
> >
...