Debian the clear winner-The Gold for Light and Heavy Weight Championship

Now that the industrial action is over, we brought the Hero to Gyro (not giro and we could not be bought by money circulating on illegal hands or corruption) except perhaps few individual who had vested interests and wanted to be heroes at the expense of the general body politics of our action perpetuated by sheer needs and not aspirations (fell far short of aspirations of accountability, transparency, fairness).
These instant Heroes had unassailable lead and they had to be pulled down to base level and gyrate them on the correct path lest all of us would be heading for disaster.
We never had the political will to bring Heroes to Zeros but the vision to come to the base level we reached way back in 2008 and gyrate in correct orbit instead of asking for miracles which we will never achieve the way we sink into dirty tricks and manipulations by undesirables.

I hope senses will come to body politics of the country, unless of course the voters will bring the Heroes to Zeroes in double quick time at the correct gyroscopic orbit and time and they are not stupid or donkeys who carry burden.

We are of course in the minority in that context and what we can provide is wisdom if not vision.
We came to equilibrium position neither zero nor hero but a position of comfort from where we can gyrate to greater heights if correct recognition is extended.
Otherwise history will take us backward (like in cricket) instead of forward.

Debian

Coming to IT industry where there are commercial heroes but the clear winner which gyrate at the correct orbit is Debian.
It was no surprise.
Score of above 3000 and well above the Gold Standard of 2500 for the standard CD.
For the heavy weight category it is within the Gold Mark where no other distribution has all the components at hand with over 30,000 package well tested.
It has gParted which is around 100 MiB with partition and security features.
It has Blender, Scribus and Inkscape.
Only missing component was O.E.M. component.
It did not have a printed book but thanks to French and the English translation is due soon and available on line as open source.
It has all the versions from Mini to KDE to Server.
It has multi-language support including Sinhala.
It does not pretend to be a (commercial) hero but the wise counsel to all the other distributions which include Ubuntu and extending a hand to Linux Mint currently.
Additionally it is forging with FreeBSD too.
It is the clear winner.
If I said without my marking scheme everybody will say I am biased. Now it is vindicated and flame wars are not the necessity but a feature of Linux and its multi-faceted distributions..
Now I can say with or without bias it is the one that guides us and the Gyroscope for years to come.
If you need a solid, stable and secure enhanced Linux, there is only one and only one.
It is called Debian.
It is not for the lazy souls and it is the one who wants to dig a lot, sweat a bit and enjoy a lot of the hard labour.
Nothing is easy in the IT World.
One has to go into simple command line and give commanding orders till midnight commander sleeps like a sleeping beauty!

Sinhala Linux-Who started it and where it is now?

I can categorically say one thing for certain, it was our own Anuradha from Kandy who started Sinhala Linux, way back in late nineties and early this century but it went into hibernation after tsunami in 2004 but now it has emerged in 3 or 4 Linux versions I have tested.

They are as follows

1. Fedora 13
2. Debian 6.0.0
3. Sabayon 5.5
4. Hanthana Linux
5. Fedora 15 Alpha ( believe-downloading 15 KDE alpha currently)

My profuse apologies to FEDORA Team for jumping the gun and giving the credit to Debian as the first distribution supporting Sinhala Linux.

I was wrong and apologies are with this little update on Sinhala Linux.

I have dissociated with Fedora from Core 3 but did not use it for 10 versions (3 to 13) for many reasons but it is not the purpose of this writing.

First thing first, it was Fedora 3 that allowed the Sinhala font to be used, and I am proud to say I used it with open office a decade ago when nobody was interested in Linux.

Then Mandrake (not Mandriva) allowed the Sinhala font installation but I was never expecting the Sinhala capability of Linux until now with Anuradha drawn into other work by accident.

I have changed myself a lot and given up all and gone to PCLinux which is only in English and 32 bits version.

Reason being the introduction of Live CDs which it was pioneer from Big Daddy stage.

It has FullMonty and there is a version of it named (not by them, texstar tells me) as apartheid (it means what it says) which has brought bad taste to Linux community (only for white people-Mr.Shuttleworth of Ubuntu must take action now to wean the bad eggs in Linux community even if they are not under his fold).

There is Linux dedicated to Bible and I see no problem with it but Obama in high office this propaganda is something not for the current century.

What I am getting at is, all Linux Distributions including PCLinux should have multi-language capability and I give lot of credit and marks for that.
It is now happening in, French, German, Spanish and Russian.

Linux is global and for everybody unlike Microsoft or Apple Mac and multi-language capability is a must.

Coming back to Fedora when I realized that it has Sinhala capability and it is changing fast I decided to download all 5 CDs of Fedora 13 and DVD. I downloaded all the versions of Fedora 14 and I was not impressed and did not check Sinhala capability since Fedora 15 was round the corner.

After nearly 3 days of downloading I managed to have a DVD in my hand and tried it and found the Sinhala capability ( I now invariably check for that ability now) in installation.
So my ignorance was exposed and I have to correct that right away.

In defense of Fedora, I have all the versions of Redhat from 7 to 9 and Fedora Core from 1 to 3 and now Fedora 13 and above.

Suffice is to say, the most number of books and CDs I have are from Redhat and Fedora even though I did not use it for my work recently. My entry into checking 100 Live CDs was a harbinger and the Rediscovery of Linux Potential and for two years I have been downloading and testing Linux and I am in the final (stage) lap of honours to all Linux Distributions and Communities, especially with multi-language capability.

Not only that I found a Fedora Bible (the book) with Fedora 6 version CD / DVD and bought it to add to my collection and for reference purpose and I am gong to support Fedora with all my heart from now onwards in spite of forgivable misgiving with Redhat Team, sometime ago.

My only concern is that Redhat is introducing so many changes in so little time, will it be possible to have a stable edition like Debian ( with many derivatives) for me to use.

I might even consider dropping PCLinux if they are resistant to other languages other than English.

It is time for other distributions to take the lead from Debian and Fedora and take Linux to new heights with muli-language capability.

Sorry for me being political here.

I hate politics of all types whether, it is economic, power, race or language.

Update on Fedora 15 Alpha KDE
I have now downloaded and tested the pre-release alpha version and it has no Sinhlaa capability in installation.
In addition it has some difficulty in detecting hardware.
It appears sleek and my genuine fears already compounded by its rapid change in many areas including file system and program selection make me feel hesitant to recommend for a newbie, especially in Sri-Lanka.

Best bet is to use Fedora 13 and see how it works but download DVD version, (or 5 CD version) and not live CDs (see how it works for you).

This is the same reservation I have for Hanthana Linux which is based on Fedora 15. I have not been able to download it beyond 700 MiB but I will keep trying.

Fedroa 13 took almost 3 days with one or two seeds.
Debian multi arch is taking about 7 days with one seed.
It is painfully slow even with K-Torrent if seeds are not there.

In the mean time I have downloaded many others including CTKarchlive, Trisequel, Astrumi and Puppy and many other small utilities, including sound drivers for Microsoft.

I am also happy to report I managed to download Taylor Swift Swift Linux after about 40 (forty odd) attempts.
That was something based on Debian and AntiX (Mepis) and plays a Taylor Swifts song at boot time which was very pleasing.
It is meant for low RAM of 256 or so and old computers.
Download and try it please if your internet is fast enough!

Sinhala Linux anf Sabayon Linux-5-5

I am pleased to inform you not only Debian but Sabayon which is a Gentoo based Linux distribution with many excellent graphic features let you install Linux on a laptop in Sinhala.
it has XMBC.
Unfortunately Gentoo Live DVD has not got a script to install on a computer.Make sure you have Sabayon but not Gentoo but if you want to demonstrate Linux features especially XMBC use Gentoo but I prefer Sabayon.

Thanks Guys and Girls at Sabayon for introducing Sinhala capability.

Installing Debian in Sinhala-Debian-6.0.0-Update

I am glad to report to the wider world that I have tested Debian 6.0.0-32 bit and 64 bit versions on my desktops and the laptop and they are running amazingly well.

Now I am getting a hang of Sinhala terminology, installing went on while watching the cricket match and without making any mistakes but “alpili” and “papili” are still in awkward places but can read them without a problem.

They are not of print quality.

Bit better than the Sinhala fonts of the government web site.
So with a sigh of relief I go to bed with our boys getting a good win at cricket,too.

Thanks to guys and girls at Debian for doing a wonderful job.

Thanks to our cricketers for a creditable win.

Make sure you download CD/DVD from LinuxTracker and they are also doing a wonderful job.

Both DVD and CD (2 CDs at Linuxtracker) are Sinhala installation capable, now.
Make sure you use K3B and not Nero for image burning.

Linux in Sinhala and Installation of Debian 6.0 in Sinhala

I can now report to you that Debian DVD 1 (one of many) has Sinhala capability and is available at LinuxTracker with many seeders and one can download it in less than 24 hours.

Please do not go for point to pint download or slt.net.

The good news is that I have now installed Debain in Sinhala with Sinhala dropdown menu  (mixture of Sinhala and English) and it is amazingly good.

It is Gnome but I will miss K3B but  the Debian Sinhala is going to stay in my main computer from now onwards and I will be reporting bugs if I detect any.

I hope, in its next edition, it drops Openoffice and go for LibreOffice.

In any case, it is going to improve my Sinhala leaps and bounds.

Thank you Debian and the Translator Team.

I have no hesitation in recommending it’s use but with one or two advices and some warning is in order.

Please get a proficient Linux guy / girl to install it and do not copy the DVD with Nero.

For best use one must have an internet connection when  one installs it and Debian configures the card automatically (better have a router instead of telephone connection) in its initial install and please have patience, it takes a fairly long time to install (do it in the night when internet is not busy).

With those provisos HAPPY SINHALA LINUX for all.

Mind you this was edited with Sinhala Linux activated and Debian’s Iceweasel on the web track.

Old Note on the CD

Now I have tried installing Debian 6 in Sinhala, I can report back and say it can be done but prior understanding of Linux and how Debian does things is essential.

I also have to report that the 4 CD / DVD that I downloaded is not available in Linuxtracker due to unfortunate incidents there.

It is up and running but it will be sometime before all Debian CD/DVDs are restored for download.
Moment I have good news I will be posting it here and elsewhere.
I  have to tell you that I had  to format my hard disks and redo all the installations new.

It is all fun and game in Linux but took lot of my spare time and not having interesting cricket matches to watch was a bonus.

Everything went on smoothly and I was expecting to work in Sinhala after the installation but sadly it was not to be.

I could not select Sinhala at boot time and none of the Linux distributions let  you do that currently  and even though many of the Linux distributions have the multilingual capacity, Sinhala has not been promoted in the web world outside Sri-lanka.

I am afraid lot of translation work has to be done  in legible and lexicographical world of Sinhala and enough Sinhala fonts have to be installed in the usr/src folders.

Coding for fonts and character map is now available but translation of computer terminology is extremely difficult and many thanks for the guys and girls for trying it.

I enjoyed installing it in Sinhala with my limited ability in Sinhala but lot of guess work, in doing so but having known Debian for a long time and had sweated a lot learning Linux, a little over decade ago, the guess work (Sinhala terms) did work.

This gives an opportunity to learn how Linux works especially Debian for one who has difficulty in English language.

But my advice for all is one should be proficient in both Sinhala and English to be a successful translator and Learning Linux in that process is an added bonus.

I am not at all good in Sinhala to be of any help to you but I am there to test the capability of Sinhala in Linux and report to the wider web.

Thanks again guys and girls for trying a very difficult task.

With good team work and perseverance it can be accomplished and good luck with your future efforts.

Debian is the best Linux distribution to learn nuts and bolts of Linux, even though it is bit difficult to master it and the learning curve is steep at the beginning but it invariably drops quickly after the first year of trying.

Do not give up your efforts of Learning Linux in Sinhala and English too.

Linux Extras-Debian06.0-08

In between World Cup Cricket, my work and students examinations, I found time to install Debian 6.0 KDE CD version, in one of my old IBM computer with 512 RAM.
Unlike in the good old days new Linux distributions especially the KDE craves on RAM do not ever think of trying it less than 512 RAM and ideally 1 GiB is necessary now.
This computer I fiddled with it to add some muscle (but could not find a SCSI hard disk) and it did not boot up (20 GiB SCSI ans 20 IDE). I installed latest PCLinux KDE and it took ages to install.
This the one that gives me headache in hard disk detection. One distribution does not recognize the nomenclature (a becomes b and b becomes a scenario) of the other distribution and only Debian figure out the architecture and the type of disks.
Sure enough it did a good job of recognizing two other distributions and partition table was edited correctly since Debian was the one I used last.

In distrowatch forum there was so much animosity towards this distribution which follow Free Software principles and for that principle I call it the God Father of Linux (I did not get involved in the flame war).
I now have a special liking for it since for the first time a Sinhala Linux version has come in to being (it can be installed in Sinhala Graphic format) and that is Debian 6.

I went through Sinhala graphic installer and it selected Sri-Lanka as the location, correctly. I stopped at that point and installed it in English (My Sinhala computer vocabulary is next to nothing) and I could not Sri-Lanka as a location.
Now Sri-Lanka is reserved for Sinhala only.
This I found strange since we have Tamils and Muslims in this country and many of them do not work in Sinhala.
In defense of the Tamils Linux can be installed in Tamil but then they cannot select Sri-Lanka as a the location.
I decided to use Singapore as the location since Singapore uses English as their language operation.
I think Debian should allow Tamils and English installers the ability to select the location as Colombo.
This can be corrected after installation but this I found annoying to say the least.

It installs the basic (kernel) system and then let you select the installation type that include laptop and desktop.
Unlike PCLinux installation is fast and user and root passwords are selected in the first time round.

I can understand why many were against its installation mode.
It’s partition tool is not in graphic mode and only in writing mode (old habits die hard).
The instructions are clearly written for any sane person to follow.
1.Create a partition.
2.Format a partition.
3. Mount a partition with or without boot flag and the job is done.
The procedure has to be repeated for root, home, var and user partition.
There is nothing more to it.
Another point of importance is that it always assume that you are connected to the internet.
Missing packges can be installed with apt get and there are over 60, 000 to select.
Mind you if you do not understand partitioning it does it automatically for you.
Why bother1

Its GRUB automatically select what is to boot and the boot splash is very simple and not graphic intensive.
Because it does things in an organized and simple manner once configured it boots and runs program fast unlike other KDE counterparts, say SuSe.

It has no K3B (one of my favorite CD/ DVD writing tool), or openoffice (mind you there is a limit to what can be put in a CD with 700 MiB).

All these are simple routines to me which I learned 12 years ago without any Guru but by trial and error.
If you want to learn nuts and bolts of Linux one has to use learn Debian and in its write mode.
Mind you best graphic partition tool is gParted and it is Debian and it is very reliable and even better than that of Knoppix or Puppy.
Whatever criticism Debian will outlast all its other distributions since its resource base is over 60,000 and may grow up to 100,000.
That is why it had 4o odd CDs and now 8 to 10 DVDs.
One DVD will do the work for you and they are available in 32 and 64 bits.
I am currently downloading the first DVD and it will take two sold Sri-Lankan days for it and I will be back with you soon.

Linux In Sinhala-Hanthana Linux included

I have waited over a decade to see a Linux version in Sinhala and finally it has arrived.

Our own Anurahdha who was an expert in Linux and especially Debian initiated it well over a decade ago and he produced an experimental version named Sinhala Linux(I still have a copy).

 

Then after 1994 tsunami he was drawn into presidential task force (had nothing going on at that time) to steer all web applications and e-commerce and the Sinhala project was push to a back burner.

 

I have been testing Live CDs (over 150 now, except Ubuntu) for the last 18 months and when I tested Debian 6, I accidentally discovered Sinhala Installation Capability which was a pleasant surprise. I downloaded all the Debian CDs and some DVDs for testing and they were pretty good.

Immediately blogged this fact at parafox and asokaplus (using them for promoting Linux 100) my rambling spaces in the web.

I am trying to distribute these Debian CDs / DVDs after thorough testing.

But I personally prefer to install them in English which is second nature to me and activate the Sinhala capability afterward since the Sinhala terminology is somewhat GREEK to me.

Mind you Debian is not for the weak minded and certainly not for a newbie or a novice.

And today I find Hanthana (I live down the Hanthana Range- on the other side of the University) Linux 3.6 GiB DVD released which is Fedora 14.

It takes 3 to 10 days to download a DVD in Sri-Lanka and very few will bother to download it.

Now I have tested all Fedora 14 releases and Fubuntu (installed only Fubuntu for further testing) and all Fedora CDs freeze in installation (tried on several of my computers) but did not bother to see Sinhala capability.

In fact because of this nuance in Fedore 14 I decided to download all the 6 (5 CDs and one netboot) Fedora (13) CDs for posterity.

It has some problem with the Grub file too.

I cut my teeth with Redhat 8 and 9.

Debian I learned many moons later.

Then again Fedora 3 was the first Linux to allow Sinhala font in Open Office and later Mandrake.

I wonder whether the introduction of Sinhala font into an experimental Linux distribution is a wise decision (hope my reservation prove wrong).

Anyway we have two robust distributions having Sinhala capability.

I hope Ubuntu will pick the trend and run faster than both of them.

I won’t pass my judgment just for a little while!

Freedom, Friendship and Sinhala Capability of Linux

I am happy to report that Debian 6 is available with Sinhala graphical installer.

Well. well I am happy to tell you that I downloaded KDE version (currently downloading Gnome version) of Debian 6 and it can be installed in Sinhala but I prefer installing it in English and then using Sinhala capability by changing the language after installation. 

It is install only but not a live CD.

Now I can update you to say that Live DVD is available which is Live as well as install. Ir comes in both 32 bit and 64 bit with Sinhala Capability.

I am going to make them available locally in Kandy and you are free to copy it,  install  it and send me a comment below if there are any difficulties in using it in Sinhala.

The Sinhala terminology in there was like Greek to me but when I have the free time I will install it in one of my spare computers in my office and see its virtues.

In the mean time, I get a few of my university students who are versed in Linux to try it and give me a feedback.

It is advised that one downloads it as K-Torrent and not as normal web browser download (point to point).

Thanks you Guys and Girls at Debian for doing the honours for Sinhala Language.

I have to thank Anuradha (who comes from Kandy) profusely for his initiation.

Please do not worry him he is a busy person and doing some other important work. It is time for you to make local Linux Groups and spread the message of wisdom in Sinhala.

It was long time waiting for me but I am now at a different level and carry Linux in a Pendrive and enjoying it as  pastime. and promoting Live CDs.

Visit my blog at http://www.wordpress.org  (Linux for Computing and updates at asokaplus).
There over 200 hundred versions but many of them are not in Sinhala and many do not have multilanguage capability.

I am now more interested in promoting Linux globally and activating K-torrent Groups who are posting and seeding Linux distributions globally for every nation on this planet to use without copyright laws.

For me this as an achievement of a few dedicated Sinhala (not the race but the Language) loving IT Guys and Girls who had devoted their free time to make Sinhala available in Linux.

It was our own Anuradha who tried to Make Sinhala Linux.

Unfortunately he was drawn into Presidential Forces after tsunami and he could not persevere with this project due to his workload and lack of support of dedicated Linux guys.

Our own Rev. Mettavihari (foreign) of course added Pali and Sinhala font and the unicode version of Sinhala some years ago but nobody took active interest in prompting Sinhala Linux.

Please note http://www.worpress.org has Sinhala capability and it is open source and I have seen a few using it in Sinhala.
One reason (now there are many) I felt out Microsoft is when it introduced XP there was NO Sinhala in its 40 odd languages.

Please note the note below.
Due to the lack of translation updates two languages were dropped in this release: Wolof and Welsh.

If we do not persevere it will (Sinhala) be dropped from Linux like Welsh.

Asturian, Estonian, Icelandic, Kazakh and Persian have been added to the graphical and text-based installer.

Kannada, Lao, Sinhala and Telugu have been added to the graphical installer.

Spread the message of Linux in Sinhala and Tamil.