Impi Linux 2 to be launched at open source Installfest (ITWeb) [LWN.net]

Impi Linux 2 to be launched at open source Installfest (ITWeb)

Posted Aug 28, 2004 20:59 UTC (Sat) by erwbgy (subscriber, #4104)
In reply to: Impi Linux 2 to be launched at open source Installfest (ITWeb) by leandro
Parent article: Impi Linux 2 to be launched at open source Installfest (ITWeb)

What is stupid about having a distribution customised for local conditions? There are already such distributions in Asia and South America. Here are some reasons for such a project I can think of off the top of my head:

We have 11 official languages so we need to ensure that everything is translated so that as many people as possible can benefit from the software. See translate.org.za for work that is already being done.
There is a wide range of hardware is use, much of it much older than you will find in Europe and the US where the most popular distributions come from.
Simple things like having the modem config pre-configured with the local ISPs and the default browser web page have ZA links.
Provide a O/S for South Africans to build local support businesses around. The ZA IT industry is very small - most software is imported - so anything that stimulates it is a good thing, particular if it encourages free software.
Development in many other African countries comes from South Africa - look at the telecommunications and power industries for example. If this distribution is successful, the benefits could spread to these countries.
The free software community is still quite small, being mainly clustered around universities. This and efforts such as Go Open Source should help to grow this community.
Most importantly, when people feel some sort of ownership they are more likely to get involved and contribute. We are on the other side of the planet from most major free software events, so we need something of our own to build around.

Of course this project will be part of the whole community and will make use of and contribute to free software from all over the world. But, don't begrudge its existence and wish to find its own identity.

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Impi Linux 2 to be launched at open source Installfest (ITWeb)

Posted Sep 3, 2004 19:41 UTC (Fri) by erwbgy (subscriber, #4104) [Link]

Apologies. I missed the point of what you were saying.

Impi Linux 2 to be launched at open source Installfest (ITWeb)

Posted Sep 2, 2004 13:04 UTC (Thu) by ranger (guest, #6415) [Link]

We have 11 official languages

I don't see how that makes us so different from other countries that we need our own linux distro.

See translate.org.za for work that is already being done.

I just wonder if work would progress faster if the time spent was rather spent translating than reinventing.

There is a wide range of hardware is use, much of it much older than you will find in Europe and the US where the most popular distributions come from.

Most distro's don't have problems with old hardware, but rather with new hardware.

Simple things like having the modem config pre-configured with the local ISPs and the default browser web page have ZA links.

Most distros already provide means to do this (for the other 100-odd countries who have the same requirements).

Provide a O/S for South Africans to build local support businesses around.

There are already lots of South African businesses that provide services on existing linux distributions (such as the one I work for). Impi won't get into the majority of institutions we really need to penetrate to get corporate acceptance (which will lead to more adoption than advocacy normally does).

I don't really see the need for Impi to be totally different ... but then for example I note that Mandrakelinux is already translated into Afrikaans (the whole installer), and it will include the latest translate.org.za translations for OpenOffice.

As far as I understand, translate.org.za was also translating anaconda ...

Impi Linux 2 to be launched at open source Installfest (ITWeb)

Posted Sep 3, 2004 19:57 UTC (Fri) by erwbgy (subscriber, #4104) [Link]

There is a wide range of hardware is use, much of it much older than you will find in Europe and the US where the most popular distributions come from.

Most distro's don't have problems with old hardware, but rather with new hardware.

Most modern distro's don't run well on Pentiums with 64 MBs of RAM...

Simple things like having the modem config pre-configured with the local ISPs and the default browser web page have ZA links.

Most distros already provide means to do this (for the other 100-odd countries who have the same requirements).

The means yes, but not pre-configured.

Provide a O/S for South Africans to build local support businesses around.

Presumably these businesses are built around commercial distributions like Redhat, SUSE or Mandrake. Since these all come from overseas, that is a lot of foreign currency going out of the door. I don't know if Impi is the answer - I'm not involved with it at all. But, I do think that South Africa (and perhaps Africa in general) needs their own commercial distribution. Wouldn't the company you work for make more profit if their business was built around a commercial distribution that cost Rands instead of US dollars or Euros?

As I replied before, I missed the point the original poster was making. I agree that new distributions should not be different just for the sake of it.