Of all the South Asian countries, it is best positioned to exploit the potential of cell broadcasting both for early warning and for commercial applications. In this light, LIRNEasia was pleased to be invited to conduct a scoping study on cell broadcasting for both public-service and commercial purposes by the Telecom Authority of the Maldives. As part of that activity, we organized, in collaboration with TAM, a workshop with the participation of Mark Wood (CEASa International) and Harsha Purasinghe (MicroImage), two people who have worked on implementing (not just talking about) cell broadcasting for the past few years.

Mark talked about the change in the environment for cell broadcasting following the US rule that any mobile device that was incapable of delivering public warning would have to be labeled as such and the greater enthusiasm displayed by the EU following the successful trials in the Netherlands. Harsha described the innovative work done by his team together with Dialog Telekom and the University of Moratuwa on developing DEWN. The commercial applications of cell broadcasting (location-based) services are also seen to be quite significant and attractive in and of themselves.

LIRNEasia was very pleased to see the high levels of enthusiasm among the participants and is confident that with timely follow through the Maldives can become the Asian leader in providing security to both its citizens and its guests through effective early warning.

“We are pleased to inform you all that Dialog Telekom launched the Sinhala & Tamil Mobile Browser and their Content Portal “SINHALANTHAYA” during New Year week. The browser can be downloaded by visiting http://www.dialogwap.com using your mobile and going into Application Download Area. This is the 1st ever launch of most successful Unicode compliant browser application. This application runs on wide range of phones starting from entry level low end Java Hand Sets, High End Java Hand Sets, Microsoft Windows Mobile Hand Sets and Black Berries.”

“The most important thing is the content is 100% Unicode Compliant. So people who have been critics of Sinhala Unicode will get another blow as we easily integrate 3rd Party Unicode Content in this platform. You can access Government News content through the browser which is listed under News.”

“At present content portal is updated every day multiple occasions with many interesting content which includes, News, Exchange Rates, Lottery Results to many more. There will be more and more content coming up soon.”

“Download & Enjoy true localized mobile internet! It’s only GPRS charges which applies other than the initial one time nominal download fee.”

The last few posts from the previous thread are posted below for continuity.

1. 196 Harsha Purasinghe on Jul 11th, 2006 at 9:08 am edit
   Dharma,I think I have mentioned this in one of my earlier posts. (which is not visible now, beleive it’s archived)The ideal situation for all of us should have been Standard been established long time ago, and technical implementations of the same happened at that time so by now all of us use standardized sinhala on whatever platform each of us use. If somone either Donald, JC, University or a consortium established the Sinhala standard at that time we will not have these arguments (with technical implementations). I am not in a position to answer the delays behind Sinhala standardization.

   Let me repeat this again I am not defending anyone or any masters as we dont work for anyone. But we followed the Sinhala Unicode and technically implemented it for various use of Sinhala in MS & Mobile Platforms. Same thing I beleive people like Linux, MS, IBM, Orcale will be doing.

   The technical implementation of finalized unicode standard was started about 1 – 1/2 years ago, if am not mistaken so it will take some time to see all these things in place in the marketplace. Windows will support this in Vista, Linux already supports, Oracle supports Sinhala Unicode and so does many other technical implementations. Win XP supports Sinhala Unicode through an enabling pack however the best implementation for MS will arrive with VISTA.

   I think the big mistake ICTA is doing is sleeping rather than coming out and showcasing these solutions to what’s available to general public. If they organize a forum and mini-exhibition to showcase all Sinhala Unicode compliant products/services including emailing among platforms, cut & paste to what not, we can invite all these forum members to showcase the same. Perhaps the same forum can be used to arrange a debate/questioning about the Unicode!

   Newspapers
   ————-
   The best people to answer would be people from ANCL, Wijeya, and Upali where there are 2 people from these organizations who were in the Unicode Task Team if am not mistaken. So they should come and highlight why the papers are not Unicode complaint yet. I dont see an issue but beleive it’s all internal matters which they among themselves needs to finalize.

   Dharma for you to see respective Sinhala Unicode based websites in your PC without downloading, you may have to wait for VISTA where you upgrade to it. Even if another standard get’s established there is no way it will just get established in your PC magically. It applies to JC, Donald and whowever who builds another standard, font or way of working in Sinhala. That too has to be technically accomplished.

   Finally, if it was Donald’s standard which is been accepted by ALL (MS, Linux, Oracle, Googls to local acedamia and private software companies to government) sometime ago we would have implemented the same. But everyone agreed and accepted to work on Sinhala Unicode (SLSI1134) hence we too have established the same to ensure inter operability and also since it’s feasible to technically implement.

2. 197 Donald Gaminitillake on Jul 11th, 2006 at 9:39 am edit
   Dear HarshaWhy you always aviod the question. Just going round and round.I have never said UNICODE is wrong but what you registered with unicode consortium is incomplete Sinhala. The whole problem is this.This was pointed out by me and the Sri Lanka association of Printers on the public hearing. 20 odd group incl VKS over ruled us and registered the incomplete set of Sinhala in the UNICODE.(SLSI1134)

   We do have a problem in implementing Sinhala

   Please confirm whther you have a hidden “union” of character table apart from the few characters registered in the unicode = Slsi1134.

   “yes” or “no”

   Even Harsula avoid this question. This was posted last week.(160 and 163 )
   Linux group have proved that there is a”union” .

   Donald Gaminitillake
   Colombo

3. 198 Dharma Gamage on Jul 11th, 2006 at 9:42 am edit
   Harsha,[quote]
   The best people to answer would be people from ANCL, Wijeya, and Upali where there are 2 people from these organizations who were in the Unicode Task Team if am not mistaken. So they should come and highlight why the papers are not Unicode complaint yet.
   [unquote]Yes, the best person to answer this question is Mr. Naveendra Gunaratne from Wijeya Newspapers, who was in the original Sinhala fonts task team and left thoroughly disappointed, because his concerns were never taken seriously by Gihan, Dino and the rest of the team, who had their own agendas. (The ANCL man was only a puppet.)

   However, I do not see any logical reason why any newspaper company should shift to Unicode compatible platform.

   As I said before, if the Unicode supporters want to make Unicode Sinhala, a standard they should first have enough applications to attract users. As long as they do not, the newspapers will use what will bring them better results. The business leaders take decisions based on market.

   Newspapers do not use Oracle or Linux. All they wanted is good font sets to be used in the publishing environment and perhaps relevant applications.

   You cannot force anybody to use Unicode compatible Sinhala fonts sets, if that does not given any advantage over the rest. You cannot hold a gun at the head of a press baron and threaten him to use Unicode.

   Finally, have you seen anywhere that VISTA will support Sinhala? I have not and given what had happened in the past, I have strong doubts about that.

4. 199 Donald Gaminitillake on Jul 11th, 2006 at 12:26 pm edit
   Dear DharmaThe problem is what Sri Lanka registered with Unicode was a limited set of Sinhala characters.The first person in Sri Lanka who made a Sinhala font is Mr Ravi Peiris now at Ingrin

   Since there is no set of full Sinhala characters registered either in SLSI or in Unicode the software developers are deprived to make any software for sinhala.

   Only I have done and published this document with code points. Since this was done by me in private capacity I do have the copyrights and a patent is pending.

   The code points which are outside the unicode registered area is kept under a blanket called a “UNION” and this list was never published. The content in this “union” differ from one font maker to the other.

   As I have previously mentioned in 178
   Quote
   Only a part is registered balance kept inside a unpublished “union”. Who ever hid these codepoints may had a commercial venure –a monopoly — in the mind or deprive the people in lanka of Sinhala IT education. IT only open for the english speaking group.
   Unquote

   Donald Gaminitillake
   Colombo

5. 200 Dharma Gamage on Jul 11th, 2006 at 2:39 pm edit
   Donald/JC,What I cannot understand is, if these guys are so sure about Unicode and SLS 1134, why they waste their time in this forum arguing with you people.Why they have to sell Unicode/SLS 1134 so hard if that is the only solution, as they claim?