Do I hate Microsoft?

Sometimes people ask me : “Do you hate Microsoft?” or “What is your problem with Microsoft”? Well, perhaps, it's not about hate of Microsoft but about what do opensourcetools good.

There is a “Me” part in it but also a “You” part.

The “Me” part
I started using open source with one of the best known Open Source Software tools: Open Office.org. I started using it after the first release. It was the time of Windows 98.  And out of curiosity I started using this new open source office suite. And bit by bit I start up MS Office less often and defaulted to Open Office.org (http://www.openoffice.org).

As a browser/mailer I used a very long time Mozilla until it was inevitable to use Firefox/Thunderbird.

Then came the time that I didn't use MS Office at all! Why?Because the power that lies in this software. Examples: the PDF-export button, just open a textfile while using a spreadsheet.

After a while I started thinking about Linux. Again out of curiosity. What is it? What does it do? And after a while I installed Linux on one of my PC's.

What did I find? Well, at first, it was a pain because I had to find a way to start my USB Internet connection. After I found out how to work around this problem I could normally use my PC and for nearly every need there is a solution.

But what you find in Windows is is that you are restricted in what you are allowed to do with your PC. It is for example a pain to use certain media files.

Have you ever tried to install Windows ánd all the software and drivers you need? This is a hassle because you have to install all the software bit by bit. In Linux it is mostly one click away.

And after a few years of experience I found that a linux computer does more with less and greater ease of use which results in a greater productivity.

That's the “me” part of it but there is a “you” part in it.

The “you” part
If I use opensource software I can share it with you! I am legally allowed to copy my Linux DVD and give it to you so you can install Linux. This is explicitly prohibited with Windows.

Another expample : I use some software where I found there wasn't a Dutch translation. Well: make it yourself! Have you ever tried this with Microsoft? Or Apple for that matter?

I can help YOU by sharing my knowledge! That's the greatest part of opensource!

So after nearly 10 years is the most important thing about OpenSource Software : sharing. I am legally allowed to share my software and ideas with you.

Conclusion
Where does this lead to? What I found in the last 10 years:

• I have a greater productivity using opensource tools than using ANY other closedsource tool. Be it office productivity or converting for example media files.
• The mindset of the software ánd the communities around it gives more freedom to experiment with the software and make it better
• There is more choice in opensource software which enhances my productivity.
• Opensource software serves you instead of the big companies behind other closed source software.

Websites:
Openoffice.org : www.openoffice.org
Firefox/Thunderbird : www.mozilla.org

Translating for Moodle

A lot of people ask them self's : How do I contribute to Open Source? Well to me this was also a question. I am not a programmer so : How do I contribute?

But answers come when you ask the question.

At our company we use Moodle for some learning stuff and I was looking at some handy modules to add to our basic install. What struck me was that there was no Dutch translation. For these blocks and Modules I was looking at. And of course I could hope for someone to arrange for a translation but as this is open source I can do it myself.

I contacted the authors and asked whether they would appraciate a Dutch translation (answer = yes) and how to do this.

How to translate for Moodle?
Moodle add-ons work with zip files. When you unzip these files there is a main directory and in this main directory there is a directory called lang.
Ofcourse there is an English translation (en_utf8) but I want to make Dutch one.

* Copy the directory and contents of en_utf8 to nl_utf8
* Enter the nl_utf8 directory and there you will find an PHP file. In my case called "block_progress.php"
* When you open this file in an editor you see all texts used by this module. eg : $string['activity'] = 'Activity';
* This string is used by the module.
* The text after the "=" (Activity) has to be translated. Which is "Activiteit".
* When done with the whole file you can send it back to the author of the module. Always ask how to send it back because not every author works on the same way.

Editors
A good editor when you are working in Windows is notepad++. On Linux and Mac you could use your standard editor.

Testing
During the translation proces it is good to test your translation. But this is stuff for a next blog

Good luck with translating.