phoNIX

JILetters

Asked by ScorpFromHell

How different would phoNIX be from JILetters?

Can we not try & make JILetters run on Ubuntu more easily?

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Andy Finch
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ScorpFromHell (a.premkumar) said : 		#1

JILetters is a phonics based alphabet tutoring software, that has also been endorsed by the Department for Children, Families and Schools in UK.

It could be included by default in Edubuntu. However, it has dependency on python-pygame package which is not available by default in Ubuntu.

JILetters Homepage: http://jiletters.sourceforge.net/
Entry in FSF: http://directory.fsf.org/project/JILetters/

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Andy Finch (fincha) said : 		#2

Hi,

I haven't tried JILetters, so can't say how different the two projects are. I will try and take a look at JILetters in the next few days. When I was googling for phonics/linux I couldn't find anything, but it looks like JILetters has been around a while.

phoNIX doesn't use pygame, it uses Gstreamer for the audio side with a standard GTK interface. It also has a 'plugin' system for simple word games. This should mean it would run on Ubuntu without installing extra packages.

Development isn't yet complete, but the core framework is in place. What needs to be completed is getting the audio samples and grahpics together.

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ScorpFromHell (a.premkumar) said : 		#3

Hi Andy,

Thank you for the clarification. I too got shocked when I found JILetters on Googling a couple of days back when it wasn't visible earlier & even more shocked to find it has been around for some 5 years now!

I haven't yet been able to get it running on my Ubuntu Hardy. Since am not comfortable with Python am unable to figure out the issues.

I like your plan for phoNIX. Makes sense to use Gstreamer on (ed)ubuntu. However, would that make Gstreamer a dependency on other distros?

Could you not try reusing the audio samples from JILetters? Just a thought.

I would like to help you in any which way possible for me, though I am not a Linux coder/developer. I need it badly for the schools here. :)

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Best Andy Finch (fincha) said : 		#4

Thanks for your offer of help.

It's not a problem if you're not a developer - perhaps you could do some testing? I have included two simple games so far, so ideas for more would also be welcome. I will try and get a usable version up as soon as I can, then perhaps you can take a look.

From what I understand, Gstreamer is included in most other major distros, so hopefully that will not be a problem.

I'll try and check out the JILetters audio samples this weekend.

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ScorpFromHell (a.premkumar) said : 		#5

I will be glad to be of help. I will surely help testing it & what's more, I will get my 3.5 yr old son to test it too! :)

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Andy Finch (fincha) said : 		#6

Hi,

There is an Alpha preview version available to download at http://phonix.org.uk. I used the JILetters audio samples, but these will be replaced in the final release (they don't match the graphics).

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ScorpFromHell (a.premkumar) said : 		#7

Thanks Andy. I did give it a try over the weekend. Looks cool.

Also, having the sounds in OGG would be a great idea. Looking forward for more testing.

BTW, where can I submit my suggestions?

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Andy Finch (fincha) said : 		#8

Please submit any suggestions using the Bugs tracker in Launchpad. OGG format is a good idea, I'll keep that in mind when doing the new audio samples.