Red Hat, the leading provider of open source solutions to the enterprise today launched Red Hat Enterprise Linux v.4 - Tamil at a press conference. This latest release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux will enable the Government to speak to its citizens in their own language. Apart from localization support, this version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux puts Linux ahead of all other proprietary UNIX systems in features & functionality. Its security, performance and manageability make it the perfect choice for any kind of deployment – be it enterprises, academic institutions, federal departments or the telecommunications industry. Red Hat also demonstrated Red Hat Enterprise Linux in Tamil at the conference. Red Hat is leading Linux and open source solutions into the mainstream by making high-quality,, low-cost technology accessible. Javed Tapia, Director Red Hat India, prior to the launch quoted that, “Red Hat continues to believe that choice is invaluable to the customer. The launch of Red Hat Enterprise Linux supporting local languages will be a major development in bridging the digital divide in the country and provide a cost-effective alternative to proprietary platforms.” The Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 4 - Tamil includes productivity applications such as office suite with a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool as well as a Web browser and an e-mail client. With the availability of these applications users can share digitized text in Tamil across platforms. The installation guide will also be in Tamil. The Tamil Linux desktop has the potential to change how education and e-government work. In education, teaching school children will be easier through computer user interfaces that are in Tamil. In e-Governance, the use of Tamil Linux will enable users to access and/or create information in their own language. Citizens can access Government services in Tamil. Localization also expands business opportunities of Independent Software Vendors developing applications for education, e-Governance, Rural Banking, Community Information Centers (CICs) etc. Sachin Dabir, Head – Enterprise Sales, Red Hat India said “Local language desktops will play a significant role in increasing open source and Linux adoption in India, crossing over language barriers and ensuring that the benefits of technology are available to millions of Indians, who otherwise have no access to expensive proprietary desktop systems that have interfaces in English. To further this goal, we have set a target of localizing Red Hat Enterprise Linux to 13 Indian languages this year.” Source: Redhat.com
