GadgetNate

Trying to automate the creation of PDFs with the Hindi flashcards for http://www.ISpeakHindi.com.  I am open to anything that can run on Windows or Linux.    I prefer something that would run on Linux so I can put it on the webserver.  So I am focused on looking at solution in PHP or Ruby.

I found a wonderful PDF creation library for PHP, but it does not support unicode:

http://www.fpdf.org/

I found a “not quite ready for PRO” version that has been internationalized

http://acko.net/blog/ufpdf

I could not get it to work with the Hindi characters, i.e. क ख ग घ etc.

I found PDF::Writer for Ruby, but still no luck..

In the process of looking for this, I found this Ruby on Rails screen cast in Hindi:

http://www.fromjaipur.com/?p=4

http://www.ispeakhindi.com/indian-restaurants-japan.htm

I added a English-Hindi dictionary to ISpeakHindi.com that I found in the public domain.  You can see it at: http://www.ispeakhindi.com/dictionary/sa.htm

I compiled this list of Hindi learning resources:

http://www.ispeakhindi.com/HindiResources.html

I’ve started a new project to help people learn Hindi.  It is a daily podcast that covers various Hindi topics.  It was inspired by the wonderful www.JapanesePod101.com podcast.

The new site is www.ISpeakHindi.com

I Speak Hindi will feature a podcast, learning materials that can be downloaded and printed, and online learning tools to help you learn Hindi.  I have been working on it for almost 2 weeks now, and it has been a very, very interesting experience.  Please check out http://www.ISpeakHindi.com and let me know what you think.

The number one page on this site is my “Hindi Resources on the web”

http://www.gadgetnate.com/index.php/hindi/hindi-resources-on-the-web/

And the number one place I get hits from is India.  I find this to be pretty amazing!

I was thinking about doing a daily blog like the http://www.japanesepod101.com/ but around Hindi instead.  My mother-in-law is a Hindi teacher.  It could be a lot of fun.  And I’m already getting a lot of hits for content like this.  Maybe it would be a good way to learn Hindi, provide a service, increase the number of hits my site gets, earn some additional ad revenue (which is really, really nice!), and potentially have some value added services.

In order to learn the Hindi script, I plan to create a program that would display all the symbols in Devenegari.  It would allow for you to “add speakers” and then allow for you to record each symbol’s sound by clicking on it in record mode.

Then it would allow for you to select a speaker, click on the symbol, and hear the sound.  Later, I plan to create quizes around this association of the sound to the symbol.

I had considered writing the program in C#/.Net.  But I can find no easy way to record/play audio.  It seems that it should be built in and simple.

However, I found this article about recording/playing sounds in Access. http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=210067

Check back in a few days, I might have something for you to see
If you know of any program that does this or of an easy way to record sound in C#, please leave it in the comments below.

In order to type in Hindi, you need to follow these steps:

1) Download and install Hindi LIP (Language Interface Pack) for the version of Windows that you are running from http://bhashaindia.com/Downloadsv2/Category.aspx?ID=2

2) Go to the Control Panel

3) Open The “Regional and Language Options” applet

4) Click the “Languages” tab

5) Click “Details”

6) Ensure that you have “Hindi” in the list.  Otherwise click “Add” and find it in the popup list.

7) Click on the “Language Bar” button. Check the following options and hit “OK”: “Show the Language bar on the desktop”, “Show additional Language bar icons in the taskbar”, “Show text labels on the Language bar”.
Click “Key Settings”

9) Select “Switch to English” and click “Change Key Sequence”.

10) Check “Enable Key Sequence”, “left Alt”, and “1″ for Key and click “OK”

11) Select “Switch to Hindi” and click “Change Key Sequence”.

12) Check “Enable Key Sequence”, “left Alt”, and “2″ for Key and click “OK”

13) Click “OK” on all the opened windows.  You will be prompted to reboot.

Now you will have a language bar that will allow for you to switch between the English and Hindi keyboards.  You will also be able to switch to English by pressing “Left Alt” + “Shift” + 1 and to Hindi by pressing “Left Alt” + “Shift” + 2.  This will allow for you to quickly switch between the two scripts which will be key when making studying material, doing translations, and creating Hindi exercises.

 Hindi Keyboard Stickers:

http://www.latkey.com/keyboard_stickers.asp?SubCat=25

http://www.bhashaindia.com/Developers/IndianLang/Typingdnagari/dnpages.aspx?pl=1

You should save the keyboard layout some place easy to refer to for the Hindi script.  Also, you might want to print it out.  You can find it on IBM’s site at: Keyboard Layout

http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/keyboards/kbdinhin.htm

http://emandi.mla.iitk.ac.in/keyboard/index.htm