andypaxo.net

Work

I got moved out of IT and back into software development where I belong near the start of this month. My work on the low power computers for the developing world is over for now, and I have transitioned over to the main ‘meat’ of my placement here at Wycliffe. The Fieldworks port.

The what port?

Fieldworks is a set of software tools used by translators in Wycliffe. It covers gathering cultural information, exploring new languages, and of course – writing translations in many different scripts. You can find out more details at the Fieldworks website.

The Fieldworks what?

One issue with Fieldworks, however – is that it is only available for Microsoft Windows, which is an expensive piece of software, and has tight restrictions on copying and distribution. ‘Porting’ means moving computer programs from one system to another. In this case, we are moving Fieldworks from Windows to the free operating system called Linux.
Linux has virtually no restrictions on copying, so Wycliffe will be able to, for example, make a special edition of Linux with all the translation tools already installed and send it to all the translators for free. Or to anyone we wish to demonstrate the software to. In fact, anyone who gets a copy will be able to make copies of the whole system themselves and send them to whoever they want to. Cool eh?
(As a side note, Wycliffe has already done something similar with a ‘Complex Scripts’ enabled word processor for Linux)

Play

I’ve had a chance to see some more of the sights and sounds from in and around Calgary.
Last weekend, myself and a couple of guys I met through Wycliffe took a canoe from Banff to Canmore, Northwest of Calgary. It was some kind of ecological mission, involving stopping every so often to eliminate patches of invasive foreign weeds threatening to take over this corner of the ‘frozen north’. But just gazing at the scenery was the main event of the expedition.

Also, I’ve had a chance to visit the world famous (?) landmark of Calgary - the imaginatively named Calgary Tower. Another little adventure that yielded some fantastic vistas.