HancomLinux

[Robert Kennedy]

--- Jim Herrmann <b3d at kc.rr.com> wrote:
> Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 00:05:59 -0500
> From: Jim Herrmann <b3d at kc.rr.com>
> Subject: Re: HancomLinux
> 
> They are entering a pretty crowded market
> what with Open Office and KOffice for free, how do 
> they expect to collect money?  They 
> had better be damn good.
> 
> Peace,
> Jim
> >>http://www.hancom.com/en/

Jim,

I'll bet their potential profit is in the Asian
pictograph based languages. Japanese & Chinese have
thousands of different symbols. Word processing is
literally just that. Low cost WP's are probably in
great demand.

<lecture mode>
Koreans tend to be multi-lingual. I spent 1972 out in
the middle of Korea with only a couple of small
villiges nearby. I met one local gentleman who spoke
Korean, Japanese, Chinese, English & Russian. He was
ready to talk to whatever soldier knocked on his door
next!

Koreans are very fortunate concerning their written
language. In 1443 King Sejong the Great invented, or
caused to be invented, a phonetic Korean alphabet.
Look closely at pictures of Korean shopping areas 
verses Japanese or Chinese. It takes me about 3
seconds to pick  out the Korean signs with their
commonly repeated letters. I'd probably need a three
week course to tell Japanese & Chinese apart.

Korean has roughly the same number of characters as
English. Converting WP code from Hangeul to English
must be a no-brainer.
</lecture mode>

It'll be interesting to see where this company goes.

                Best,

                     Bob Kennedy

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