My Only Posting at www.distrowatch.com

 My Only Posting at www.distrowatch.com

Linux in Sinhala-Hanthana Linux included (by Dr.Asoka Dissanayake (Medical) on 2011-02-21 12:09:10 GMT from Sri Lanka)
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 initialed 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 we pretty good.
 

Immediately blogged this fact at parafox and asokaplus (I am 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 alien and 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 GB 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 on installation (tried on several of my computers) but I did not bother to see Sinhala capability,
 

In fact because of this nuance in Fedore 14 DVD,  I decided to download all the 6 (5 CDs and one netboot) Fedora 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 Mnadrake.
I wonder whether the introduction of Sinhala font into a an experimental Linux distribution is a wise decision.

I hope my reservation proven 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!