[Ubuntu Chicago] Fwd: Semi-blind, 7-language ret.professor in Chicago needs help with Ubuntu, after trying 3 days

[Richard A. Johnson]

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the cross-post to the lists, but I was hoping you all may be able to 
help out here. I received the following message which I have forwarded 
inline. It is a very touching story only because you really don't hear of 
things like this. The gentleman who emailed me is a retired professor, 85 
years old, and needs to setup Ubuntu on his new laptop where he can type his 
book with Hebrew/Arabic letters. I am ignorant when it comes to anything 
other than English and a little bit of Spanish (enough to order more Tequila 
and Cervesa, and to cuss you out when you cut me off in Little Village). 
Anyways, I am hoping that someone from these lists may be able to either help 
me out, or to help this gentleman out with what he is trying to do. 

If anyone is able to help out with this, please contact me or reply to the 
list. I do not know exactly where he is in Chicago just yet, but I have 
requested that information so we can place somebody close to help him out. 
Once we can get this setup and it is a successful job, I can promise you that 
this story will be large and will make Chicago look good! Thanks ahead of 
time for anyone that would be able to help.

----------  Forwarded Message  ----------

Subject: Semi-blind, 7-language ret.professor in Chicago needs help with 
Ubuntu, after trying 3 days
Date: Tuesday 21 August 2007
From: "חביב אבירזי" <xxxxx at xxxx.com>
To: nixternal at gmail.com

Dear Mr. Johnson:
Kindly excuse my perhaps for you oversized characters, but, being
visually impaired, I cannot see the customary mini-sized letters at
all, thus have no choice - therefore, also, would appreciate your
reply, at your very earliest convenience, in like manner, if at all
wthin the realm of possibility.
If, as I was told, you are, indeed, located in Chicago, where I happen
to reside, then perhaps it might be significantly more practical to
discuss this matter - of how to install the Ubuntu CD just bought by
me before the weekend, together with an Acer laptop computer - a job
for which I
may or may not have been qualified to accomplish same prior to my
eighty-fifth birthday and before becoming afflicted with disability,
plus the aforementioned semi-blindness, but which, in any event I was
unable to perform, even with the attempted help by both my wife and
son, given those dire circumstances, except to a rather minimal extant
- to do so by telephone - however, I hasten to add that, due to my
unfortunate disability, i cannot be called at all, only call out. I am
now on the verge of returning both the said Acer computer and the
Ubuntu book and disk to the store - where they decline to set it up,
not even for extra payment - unless, hopefully, I can perhaps get some
help from you. My main concern is to write IVRIT (Hebrew), i.e. from
right to left, keeping all punctuation marks in their proper places,
and that with large characters - see above - both of which my
otherwise excellent "Apple" fails to perform. Hence my first and
foremost - but by far not only - question to you: Can, in Ubuntu,  the
Hebrew language, the right to left direction of the writing, the
Hebrew characters, as opposed to "encodings", the Hebrew vocalization
- mostly not required in most  prose
texts, but needed mainly for poetry, which is also part of my writings
-  and the big and bold letters, too, be made the default? I
definitely need all that in conjunction with e-mails to be sent to
prospective publishers of my new book - which would be "warranteed" to
miserably fail if the recipient would therein face questions preceded
by the question mark - rather than the other way around. As to me: I
am a retired professor of Semitic & European languages, essentially
Hebrew and Arabic - the latter, of course, likewise moving right to
left - plus such additional languages as French, German, Italian, and
Spanish, all of which I have taught for some sixty years or so, mostly
in this country. In this respect, I may perhaps also, occasionally, my
advanced age,
visual impairment, and disability notwithstanding, be of some meaqsure
of help to your favorite cause, to wit: "Ubuntu". One never knows.
In the hoped-for expectation of your early word, I remain,
Yours multi-lingually and, moreover,
Yours truly,
Xaviv (the "X" in international phonetics signifies the guttural,
characteristic for, inter alia, both Hebrew and Arabic, a sound not at
all identical with the entirely non gutteral, German "ch" or Spanish
"jota"!). The same (also known as Professor) ...

-------------------------------------------------------

-- 
Richard A. Johnson
nixternal at ubuntu.com
GPG Key: 0x2E2C0124
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