OpenType support in OpenOffice 3.2 (Greek)
The new version 3.2 of OpenOffice.org is being developed and you can currently download the release candidate for your testing purposes.
A big enhancement in OpenOffice.org 3.2 is the support for OpenType fonts. A typical Linux user is able to do most of the tasks with TrueType fonts, however any new exciting fonts available are mostly OpenType fonts. So, OpenOffice.org 3.2 (to be released this month) has OpenType support and most likely Ubuntu 10.04 is going to have OpenOffice.org 3.2.
You can install OpenOffice 3.2 RC (or final, in a few weeks) on your Ubuntu by downloading the relevant archive from download the release candidate. Extract the files and enter the DEBS/ subdirectory. Then, run sudo dpkg -i *.deb in order to install the development version of OpenOffice 3.2. The installed files are located in /opt/ooo-dev3/program/ and you run now run swriter (for Writer). It is quite possible there is already a relevant PPA repository; tell me in the comments and I’ll update here.
We test with the Greek Font Society OpenType fonts, which are distributed with the OpenFont License. The Debian/Ubuntu repositories already have the GFS fonts packaged for you. You can either install the fonts with your package manager (open synaptic package manager, search for ttf-gfs), or run from the command line
sudo apt-get install ttf-gfs-artemisia ttf-gfs-baskerville ttf-gfs-bodoni-classic ttf-gfs-complutum ttf-gfs-didot-classic ttf-gfs-gazis ttf-gfs-neohellenic ttf-gfs-solomos ttf-gfs-theokritos
Here is a screenshot of the PDF file of GFS Fonts Sample. With OpenOffice.org 3.1 or earlier these fonts would not appear in Writer and would be replaced with the default OpenOffice.org font. In addition, if you tried to export to PDF, you would get the default font (that is, the OpenType fonts do not get embedded in the PDF file either).
Here is the .odf file of the GFS Fonts Sample. If you load it in OpenOffice.org 3.1, you will notice that the default OpenOffice.org font will appear for each line in the sample file. If you load the sample .odt file in OpenOffice.org 3.2, you need to have the GFS OpenType fonts installed beforehand.
The GFS fonts support Greek, Greek Polytonic and several ancient Greek characters. See How to type Greek, Greek Polytonic in Linux for instructions on how to configure and use the Greek keyboard layout in Linux. Note that to type Greek Polytonic, you do not need anymore to select the Polytonic layout; the default «Greek» keyboard layout has been updated so that you can type Greek, Greek Polytonic and Ancient Greek characters. Ergo, άᾷᾂϡϖϝ€ϕͼϾʹ͵ϐϛ.
Laptop without Windows, an update for Dell, Asus, Acer, Compaq
It is very difficult to buy a computer without Windows (that is, to buy it with either Linux, FreeDOS or no OS) in the European market.
Why would you want to buy a laptop without pre-installed Windows?
- Because you are simply not going to use Windows (for example, you plan to use a Linux distribution)
- Because your school has an Developer Academic Alliance (formerly MSDN AA) with Microsoft and they provide the Windows software for you
- Because your organisation has a company-wide agreement for Microsoft software, and you do not wish to pay twice for Windows.
- Because you somehow have a Windows license or Windows package installation box already.
Sadly, when talking to the sales personnel of a manufacturer, it might look an easier strategy to just mention points 2 or 3. There is already some prior knowledge with the sales personnel that large organisations do not need the pre-installed Windows software.
Dell used to sell the N Series laptops with Ubuntu Linux, however they do not sell them anymore, at least in Europe. I contacted a Dell customer care manager on this issue and I was told that N Series laptops are available when you call Dell Sales by phone. I did just that, however the telephone salesperson explained that they do not have N Series laptops anymore. He verified with his own manager.
Dell does sell netbooks with Ubuntu Linux in Europe. For example, the Dell Mini or the Dell Latitude 2100. The situation with the netbooks is almost perfect, but…
What would be desirable is to provide the option, when you customize the Latitude 2100, to be able to select the operating system under the Operating System options. In this way, the customer is in a position to make a better decision between the differences of the two options.
In a regional Dell website, it is possible to select the operating system while you are customizing the computer. In this case, when you select Ubuntu Linux, you can easily see that you are saving €30 compared to the initial price.
It is not clear why Dell UK and Dell Germany do not provide the facility that we see with Dell Greece. Normally the localised editions of a website take any changes later than the main languages (English, German).
Updated (soon after posted): It is possible to get the Dell UK page for the Latitude 2100 so that both pre-installed Windows and Ubuntu appear in the same section. It might be an update that has been rolled out just recently. When you visit the Customise page, you can now see that by selecting pre-installed Ubuntu Linux, you save £24 compared to pre-installed XP.
What would be ideal is for the consumer to have the option to avoid the pre-installed Windows, in a way shown above at the Dell Greece website for the Latitude 2100. Having options for Ubuntu Linux or FreeDOS (for those who already have a Windows license) would be the best value for the customers. This would make Dell the best company around.
So, what’s going on with the other laptop manufacturers?
Acer, Asus, Compaq and HP do not appear to sell computers without pre-installed Windows to the European market. I have not been able to locate retailers that would sell a laptop with FreeDOS, let alone a Linux distribution.
Is this the case with Acer, Asus, Compaq and HP in other markets?
This is an example of laptop models from the SE Asian market. The laptops come with FreeDOS and if you want pre-installed Windows, you pay extra (€53 or $74). The quoted price for the laptop is not subjected to local tax for the specific SE Asian country. Here is the price equivalent for each laptop,
Acer: €325 or $460
Asus: €525 or $745
Compaq: €365 or $515
Manufacturers such as Lenovo and Toshiba appear as black sheep to me, regarding the European market. Lenovo is supposed to sell laptops with SuSE Linux, however I could not find an example. Toshiba is completely out of the radar. They might not be a big laptop manufacturer.
What would be great for the European customer is to have the option to buy a product without pre-installed Windows. And this option of buying a computer without pre-installed Windows should be a visible and accessible option.
How to type Greek, Greek Polytonic in Linux
There is a new guide on how to write Greek and Greek Polytonic in Linux, and in particular using the latest versions of Linux distributions.
https://docs.google.com/View?docID=dccdrjqk_4cqjn9zcj (LATEST VERSION)
The guide shows in detail how to add the Greek keyboard layout to your Linux desktop, and how to write Greek, Greek Polytonic and other Ancient Greek characters.
The guide is also available in both ODT and PDF format. (both files are somewhat obsolete. use google docs URL from above instead)
For a Greek version of the guide, please see http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dccdrjqk_3gx3bq5f9
We attach the HTML version of the guide in this post.
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dccdrjqk_4cqjn9zcj
This document is the translation from Greek of
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dccdrjqk_3gx3bq5f9
Updates
2009-05-11: Fixed Polytonic instructions; AltGr+] is for ypogegrammeni (instead of the wrong AltGr+}). (Thanks Christos Nouskas)
2009-05-11: Fixed Polytonic instructions; Psili and Daseia require AltGr+: and AltGr+” respectively (not vice versa). (Thanks Christos Nouskas)
Writing Greek, Greek Polytonic (Ancient Greek) on Linux (X.Org 1.6+)
Summary
In Linux distributions that first appear from spring 2009, it is possible to write Greek and Greek Polytonic (Ancient Greek) simply by adding the Greek keyboard layout. In this document we show in detail how to add the Greek keyboard layout and how to write in Greek. In previous versions of distributions, one had to enable a specialised Greek Polytonic layout, which was awkward to use.
Adding the Greek layout
We show how to add the Greek keyboard layout in GNOME. Instructions for KDE, XFCE and other environments are very much welcome.
1. Right-Click on the panel and select Add to Panel…
2. From the list of applets, select Keyboard Indicator and click on Add. Then, click on Close.
3. On my system, the default layout GBr (Great Britain) is shown. In your case you might see US, or something similar (such as Fr, Es or De).
4. Right-click on the layout name (on GBr in my case) so that you get the Keyboard Preferences option, and open it.
5. These are the default settings when you install your distribution. In my case, the default is Great Britain. Notice the + button. This button allows to add additional layouts. Click on +.
6. Select Greece for both Country and Variant. This is the new default layout that includes support for Greek, Greek Polytonic and Ancient Greek characters. Finally, click on Add.
7. The new layout is enabled. We did not finish yet; we need to configure the keyboard shortcut to switch between our native layout and Greek. The default keyboard shortcut is Alt+AltGr, which many users may not find convenient. In addition, it may not even work in some cases due to a bug in the X.Org. We click on Other Options… in order to configure the keyboard shortcut.
8. Under the heading Layout switching, locate and enable the option Alt+Shift change layout. Untick any other option. I think that Alt+Shift is one of the most common shortcuts for switching layouts. (My personal preference however is Both Shift keys together change layout). Then, click on Close.
9. Notice the two layouts. In the Type to test settings you can test both Greek and your original layout. Use the shortcut to switch between layouts. You can also switch by simply clicking on the Keyboard Indicator applet. Finally click on Close.
New basic Greek layout
The following table shows how to write modern Greek. The subsequent table shows how to write additional characters for Greek Polytonic.
|
Result |
Key combination |
Works for… |
|
Tonos/Acute ΄ |
Dead key (;) + vowel |
All vowels: ά έ ή ί ύ ό ώ |
|
Dialytika ¨ |
Dead key (:) + vowel |
These vowels: ϊ ϋ |
| Dialytika with Tonos | Dead key (;) + Dead key (:) + vowel | These vowels: ΐ ΰ |
| Dialytika with Tonos | Dead key (:) + Dead key (;) + vowel | These vowels ΐ ΰ |
|
Ano Teleia · |
AltGr + (>) |
|
| Greek brackets « » | Key produces « Key | produces » | |
| Greek brackets « » | AltGr + , produces « AltGr + . produces » |
Table 1 How to type modern Greek
| Result |
Key combination |
Works for… |
|
Περισπωμένη ῀ |
AltGr + Dead key ([) + vowel |
ᾶ ῆ ῖ ῦ ῶ |
|
Υπογεγραμμένη ͺ |
AltGr + Dead key (]) + vowel |
ᾳ ῃ ῳ |
|
Ψιλή ᾿ |
AltGr+ Dead key (:) + vowel or the letter ρ |
ἀ ἐ ἠ ἰ ὐ ὀ ὠ ῤ |
|
Δασεία ῾ |
AltGr+ Dead key (“) + vowel or the letter ρ |
ἁ ἑ ἡ ἱ ὑ ὁ ὡ ῥ |
|
Βαρεία ` |
AltGr+ Dead key (‘) + vowel |
ὰ ὲ ὴ ὶ ὺ ὸ ὼ |
|
Μακρόν ¯ |
AltGr+ Dead key ({) + vowel |
ᾱ ῑ ῡ |
|
Βραχύ ˘ |
AltGr+ Dead key (}) + vowel |
ᾰ ῐ ῠ |
Table 2 How to type Greek Polytonic
Note: You can stack together multiple dead keys in order to produce any allowed combination (such as ᾧ).
|
Αποτέλεσμα |
Συνδυασμός πλήκτρων |
Αποτέλεσμα |
|
Sampi Ϡ ϡ |
AltGr + Ππ (pP) |
ϡ Ϡ |
|
Koppa Ϟ ϟ |
AltGr + Κκ (kK) |
ϟ Ϟ |
|
Digamma Ϝϝ |
AltGr + Γγ (gG) |
ϝ Ϝ |
|
Stigma Ϛ ϛ |
AltGr + ςΣ (wW) |
ϛ Ϛ |
|
Theta ϑ ϴ |
AltGr + θΘ (uU) |
ϑ ϴ |
|
Yot ϳ |
AltGr + ι (i) |
ϳ |
|
Numeral sign ʹ |
AltGr + ν (n) |
ʹ |
|
Lower numeral sign ͵ |
AltGr + Ν (N) |
͵ |
Table 3 How to type other Ancient characters
Available Greek Polytonic fonts
Most Linux distributions come with Greek Polytonic fonts which allows to start working as soon as you enable the Greek keyboard layout. If you wish to add additional Greek Polytonic fonts, please select a Unicode font.
There is an issue with OpenType fonts and OpenOffice.org. If you encounter a problem, it is recommended to use the default fonts of your distribution (such as DejaVu, shipped by default in Ubuntu Linux; works great with OpenOffice.org).
If you would like to explore additional polytonic fonts, we suggest to try the fonts produced by the Greek Font Society. Your distribution probably has those fonts in the repositories, thus you simply need to open your package manager and install. For Ubuntu, the packages are
- ttf-gfs-artemisia – Greek font (Times Greek-like)
- ttf-gfs-baskerville – Ancient Greek font revival
- ttf-gfs-bodoni-classic – Smart Greek typeface revival
- ttf-gfs-complutum – ancient Greek font revival from the University of Alcalá, Spain
- ttf-gfs-didot-classic – Greek font family (Classic Didot revival)
- ttf-gfs-gazis – ancient Greek font (Byzantine cursive hand style)
- ttf-gfs-neohellenic – new Greek font family with matching Latin
- ttf-gfs-solomos – ancient Greek oblique font
- ttf-gfs-theokritos – decorative Greek font
The default font in Fedora, Liberation, does not include Greek Polytonic support. If you would like to help, please see the following bug report https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=473842
Technical information
The current Greek keyboard layout is located at
http://gitweb.freedesktop.org/?p=xkeyboard-config.git;a=blob;f=symbols/gr
This is the upstream location of the layout.
The Greek layout file in your Linux installation is at /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/gr
Contact
The author of this document is Simos Xenitellis <simos.lists@googlemail.com>.
See blog posts on Greek Polytonic at
http://simos.info/blog/archives/category/i18n/polytonic
Thanks
I would like to thank the following contributors for their work on the Greek keyboard layout (since the first version) Βασίλης Βασαΐτης, Αλέξανδρος Διαμαντίδης, and Κωνσταντίνος Πιστιόλης. If your name is not listed, feel free to contact me.
Ενημερωμένος οδηγός γραφής ελληνικών (και πολυτονικό)
Ενημέρωσα τον οδηγό για το γράψιμο ελληνικών (και πολυτονικό) και είναι διαθέσιμος από τη σελίδα
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dccdrjqk_3gx3bq5f9
Είναι διαθέσιμος ο οδηγός για γράψιμο ελληνικών (και πολυτονικού) σε μορφή PDF.
Είναι διαθέσιμος ο οδηγός για γράψιμο ελληνικών (και πολυτονικού) σε μορφή ODT.
Ο οδηγός περιγράφει τη δυνατότητα γραφής μονοτονικού, πολυτονικού και αρχαίων ελληνικών χαρακτήρων. Ο οδηγός αυτός διορθώνει μια σειρά από αβλεψίες στις οδηγίες.
Ο οδηγός ισχύει για τις διανομές Fedora 11 (ή νεώτερες), Ubuntu Linux 9.04 (ή νεώτερες) και άλλες διανομές που θα βγουν την Άνοιξη του 2009. Για προηγούμενες διανομές, δείτε τις οδηγίες (και τον αντίστοιχο παλαιότερο οδηγό) από το παρόν ιστολόγιο για το πως μπορείτε να προσθέσετε την νέα ελληνική διάταξη πληκτρολογίου.
Κάθε σχόλιο για βελτίωση του οδηγού είναι ευπρόσδεκτο.
10 Μαΐου: Το φόρουμ Ubuntu-GR έχει ΓΕΝΕΘΛΙΑ (1 χρόνος)!
10 Μαΐου: Το φόρουμ Ubuntu-GR έχει ΓΕΝΕΘΛΙΑ (1 χρόνος)!
Δείτε την παρουσίαση του φόρουμ του Ubuntu-gr που έκανε ο goofy στο συνέδριο FOSSCOMM που έγινε στη Λάρισα.
Δείτε την ανακοίνωση γενεθλίων στο www.ubuntu-gr.org.
Μερικά στατιστικά στοιχεία κατά τη συμπλήρωση του ενός χρόνου λειτουργίας του φόρουμ,
- τα περισσότερα από 2700 μέλη και τους πιθανότατα χιλιάδες επισκέπτες
- τις περισσότερες από 45.000 δημοσιεύσεις σε σχεδόν 4.500 συζητήσεις (θέματα / νήματα)
- τους περισσότερους από 150 Οδηγούς (How to – Tutorials)
- τα περισσότερα από 37.000 hits στο 3ο τεύχος του περιοδικού μας Ubuntistas (εξαιρουμένων λεκτικών Google, bot, κλπ)
- την έντονη δραστηριότητα-συμμετοχή σε δικτυακό τόπο Ubuntu-GR / λίστα συνδρομητών / Κανάλι IRC #ubuntu-gr στο δίκτυο FreeNode.
Γραφτείτε στο φόρουμ ubuntu-gr και μάθετε περισσότερα για το ελεύθερο λογισμικό στην ελληνική γλώσσα!
Java plugin 64-bit, now available.
Sun Microsystems announced the 64-bit version of the JRE, which includes the Java Plugin.
This means that if you have a 64-bit version of a Linux distribution, you can now have Java applets running in your Firefox.
Download at https://jdk6.dev.java.net/6uNea.html
You can install in /usr/local/
Then, you need to make a symbolic link, (it’s OK if Firefox is still running)
ln -s /usr/local/jre1.6.0_12/lib/amd64/libnpjp2.so ~/.mozilla/plugins/
Then, in Firefox, visit about:plugins and check if the new plugin is recognised. You should see the text below.
libnpjp2.so
- Όνομα αρχείου: /usr/local/jre1.6.0_12/lib/amd64/libnpjp2.so
| Τύπος MIME | Περιγραφή | Επιθέματα | Ενεργές |
|---|---|---|---|
| application/x-java-vm | Java | Ναι | |
| application/x-java-applet | Java | Ναι | |
| application/x-java-applet;version=1.1 | Java | Ναι |
Finally, test your browser with the demo applets at http://java.sun.com/applets/jdk/1.4/index.html
I do not know how well some complicated Java applications will behave. If you do not see the applet starting up (there is no loading indication), have a look at ~/.xsession-errors for any hints of a failed applet.
How to install the 64-bit Adobe Flash Player 10 for Linux in Ubuntu Linux?
So you just read the announcement from Adobe for the alpha version of the 64-bit Flash Player 10 for Linux and you want to install in Ubuntu Linux?
Here is how to do it.
- First, we understand that the flashplugin-nonfree package that is currently available to those with 64-bit Ubuntu Linux, installs the 32-bit version of Flash and uses the nspluginwrapper tool to make it work.
- After some time, I expect that the flashplugin-nonfree will stop using nspluginwrapper and will simply install Adobe Flash Player 10 (64-bit) for Linux. So you need to have a look in your package manager and the package description in case flashplugin-nonfree has already been updated. If flashplugin-nonfree has been updated, stop reading now.
- Close Mozilla Firefox.
- Uninstall the flashplugin-nonfree package using your package manager, or simply running sudo apt-get remove flashplugin-nonfree
- Download the alpha version of the 64-bit Adobe Flash Player 10 for Linux and extract the file from the archive. You will get a libflashplayer.so file, which is about 10MB is size.
- If you want all users in your system to have this alpha version of Adobe Flash Player 10 for Linux, copy the libflashplayer.so file to /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/. The command is sudo cp libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/
- If you want just the current user to try out the Flash player, copy the libflashplayer.so file to /home/yourUSERNAME/.mozilla/plugins/. The command is cp libflashplayer.so ~/.mozilla/plugins/
- Check that in ~/.mozilla/plugins/ there is no dormant file with the name npwrapper.libflashplayer.so. A common issue with people who migrate their profiles is to perform a simply copy of the profile. The effect of this is sometimes there is an actual file called npwrapper.libflashplayer.so instead of a symbolic link. The result is that these people would end up using some old buggy version of nspluginwrapper which might be the cause of Firefox crashes! When you backup, use cp -a, so symbolic links remain symbolic links.
- You can now start Mozilla Firefox. Visit about:plugins and verify that the version of Flash is something like Shockwave Flash 10.0 d20. Make sure there is no remnant of any other previous Flash player.
- If you want to return back to the 32-bit Flash Player with emulation, remove the file we just added and install again the flashplugin-nonfree package.
The instructions for other distributions should be fairly similar.
Προβληματικές συμπεριφορές γύρω από το hellug
Δε λαμβάνω τακτικά φαν μέηλ, ωστόσο όταν λαμβάνω, τα διαβάζω με προσοχή.
(Κάντε κλικ στο σύνδεσμο παρακάτω για περισσότερα)
Ενημέρωση 18 Οκτ 2008:
Θα ήθελα εδώ να κάνω μια περίληψη όσων έχουν ειπωθεί.
Η αντίδρασή μου είναι στο ύφος ατόμων που είναι γύρω από το Hellug, όταν συζητούν σε λίστες όπως public@hellug.gr. Μπορείτε να δείτε παραδείγματα παραπάνω. Το ύφος μπορεί να είναι προσβλητικό, αρνητικό, stop-energy, κτλ.
Το ειρωνικό είναι ότι οι απαντήσεις που έλαβα ήταν του ίδιου ύφους που κατακρίνω. Οι περισσότερες απαντήσεις ήταν προσωπικές επιθέσεις, ότι κάνω κριτική στο Hellug διότι θέλω να είμαι ηγετική φιγούρα, ότι είμαι «κομπλεξικός», άλλοι (ανώνυμοι!) να παραποιούν το όνομά μου σε Σίμωνα ή Σιμούλη. Στις απαντήσεις στην ανάρτηση αυτή είχαμε και άσχετα σχόλια, προσωπικές επιθέσεις σε τρίτα άτομα.
Από τα επώνυμα άτομα που απάντησαν σε αυτό, είχαμε τον πρόεδρο και αντιπρόεδρο του συλλόγου Hellug.
Ο πρόεδρος του συλλόγου δήλωσε ότι πιστεύει ότι δεν υπάρχει πρόβλημα με τις αρνητικές συμπεριφορές. Αυτή είναι μια άποψη, που όμως καταστρέφεται όταν προσθέτει ότι η κριτική που κάνω εγώ (!) αποτελεί αρνητική συμπεριφορά! Το pattern που βλέπω στον πρόεδρο του hellug είναι ότι μερικά γράμματά του έχουν ποιοτικό περιεχόμενο που αξίζουν σε πρόεδρο. Ωστόσο, στο τέλος υπάρχει ένας χαρακτηρισμός ή ένα σχόλιο που καταστρέφει το όλο μήνυμα.
Το ελεύθερο λογισμικό βασίζεται στους χρήστες του που επικοινωνούν και συζητούν ηλεκτρονικά. Αυτού του είδους η επικοινωνία είναι πολύ σημαντική, και πρέπει να έχουμε ένα επίπεδο συζήτησης. Ο σύλλογος hellug ασχολείται κατά βάση με τη διάδοση και τις δημόσιες σχέσεις για το ελεύθερο λογισμικό στην Ελλάδα. Είναι πολύ σημαντικό τα άτομα, τουλάχιστον του συμβουλίου του hellug, να κάνουν την προσπάθεια να συμπεριφέρονται ποιοτικά.
Writing J2ME applications in Linux
Here is an interesting article on writing J2ME applications in Linux. 
J2ME applications is software that runs on mobile phones that support Java applications. Most phones support such Java applications, and it’s good to get your phone to run at least your own Hello, World! program.
