[Localization] localized keyboard

Fri Jun 13 05:36:11 EDT 2008

On Thu, Jun 12, 2008 at 5:50 AM, Jim Gettys <jg at laptop.org> wrote:
> Thanks for the great start!

A pleasure.

> However, we need to fill in many blanks, probably best presented in
> tabular form...
>
> 1) population that would use each keyboard type.

The approximate number of first-language speakers is available on the
Ethnologue Web site, by country and by language. We can get country
policies on official languages taught in schools.

For example, here are home country and world totals for the leading
European languages:

* UK English 55,000,000. 2,600,000 in Ireland (1983). Ireland uses a
QWERTY keyboard, but it is not the same as US English or UK English.
Dutch and Danish children get 12 years of English in school, and no
doubt this is true in other European countries.
* French in France, Belgium, and Switzerland. 51,000,000 in France.
Population total all countries: 64,858,311
* German in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. 75,300,000 in Germany
(1990). Population total all countries: 95,392,978.
* Spanish in Spain. 28,173,600 in Spain (1986).
* Italian in Italy and Switzerland. 55,000,000 in Italy. Population
total all countries: 61,489,984.

Educated Swiss are commonly trilingual, at least.

> 2) whether we have a sufficiently close keyboard design on hand for the
> keyboard type.

All of the keyboard layouts listed on the Localized Keyboards page are
in Ubuntu Linux. All of the XO-ized variants are listed on the Wiki.
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Keyboard_Artwork_Library has links to
keyboard pictures.

> 3) whether we've built any of those designs in the past (another words,
> we've already sunk the cost for the tooling, and the lead time for
> building that tooling is already accounted for, leaving production
> scheduling as the remaining variable); I can get that information from
> the production information.

I believe that Kim has that information. Keyboards actually made are
listed at http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Mfg-data#Keyboards.

> 4) whether there are laws governing importing of other keyboard types
> (another words, you can't ship a machine into the country without it
> conforming to some standard).

The following suggests that it might not be that bad.

http://selene.uab.es/_cs_iuee/catala/obs/Working%20Papers/Working%20papers%20ocasionals/working_programa_liverpool_archivos/liverpool_wp_closa.pdf
"...the Commission...had rejected the ban on the sale of computer
keyboards lacking the offending letter [~] in Spain."

It should be legal to sell keyboards for any language in any EU
country, since nationals and other speakers of many languages live and
work in many EU countries. They are trying to harmonize their
regulations, but have not quite succeeded.

> Again, we don't yet know whether the partners we'll be working with for
> the next G1G1 program will be in a position to handle multiple SKU's or
> not, or how many; I can't make any promises at all as yet.  And unless
> we can fill in many of the above blanks, we can't even judge the
> costs/risks/benefits associated with them.
>                Thanks again for the information,
>                           - Jim

I may be able to fill in some blanks this weekend. I started a
contract today, otherwise I would just plunge in tomorrow.

> On Wed, 2008-06-11 at 17:53 -0700, Edward Cherlin wrote:
>> First draft of Localized Keyboards page is done. It is tolerably
>> complete for Europe, but not elsewhere, and makes only a slight
>> attempt to deal with minority languages. I left Oceania alone, in part
>> because there are people creating projects in several island nations
>> who can give us verified data on what they intend to support. Detailed
>> checking will be needed, because I don't have access to the various
>> national keyboard standards docs. I just did this from what is
>> installed on Ubuntu. I moved the previous contents to the Discussion
>> page.
>>
>> Enjoy. I trust that there will be more questions.
>>
>> On Wed, Jun 11, 2008 at 1:15 PM, Edward Cherlin <echerlin at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > On Wed, Jun 11, 2008 at 12:05 PM, Yama Ploskonka <yama at netoso.com> wrote:
>> >> OK, OK, I didn't want to  :-), but here it is
>> >>
>> >> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Talk:Localized_Keyboards
>> >> has this thread, I'll be messing with it a while to get it a bit decent,
>> >> and hope someone will push further, and do the
>> >>
>> >> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Localized_Keyboards
>> >>
>> >> page with relevant stuff
>> >
>> > In progress right now.
>> >
>> >> Jim Gettys wrote:
>> >>> Ok, this discussion is becoming a bit more useful...
>> >>>
>> >>> An SKU is a particular build including keyboard, power adapter, and
>> >>> exact components used to build the system).
>> >>> 
>> >>> In short, the more SKU's necessary, the higher the cost (and risk of
>> >>> OLPC losing its shirt).
>> >>>
>> >>> There are a number of issues here, all intertwingled:
>> >>>
>> >> _______________________________________________
>> >> Localization mailing list
>> >> Localization at lists.laptop.org
>> >> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/localization
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > Edward Cherlin
>> > End Poverty at a Profit by teaching children business
>> > http://www.EarthTreasury.org/
>> > "The best way to predict the future is to invent it."--Alan Kay
>> >
>>
>>
>>
> --
> Jim Gettys <jg at laptop.org>
> One Laptop Per Child
>
>

-- 
Edward Cherlin
End Poverty at a Profit by teaching children business
http://www.EarthTreasury.org/
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."--Alan Kay