Na'vi Rosetta Stone possible with some help

[Ezy Ryder]

Sure. Open-source is a good idea. Adding new lessons? I'll try. And about the pictures, if You can't find anything about copyrights of a photo or sound, (even if it is copyrighted) it shouldn't be wrong to use them (as long as the owner doesn't want You to stop it). If You know that something is copyrighted and use it then You'll have problems.

[donjoe]

I don't know why there's all this talk of powerful and complicated languages like C++ when the project would be a breeze to implement in Javascript and to present in HTML (or HTA for Windows users). Why not use the simplest tools that get the job done?

[Ezy Ryder]

Not always simple means better. You want to help? We need the word-bank, picture-bank and audio-bank. Besides C++ is not only using the processor, HDD and Ram but also the pre-processor. It's like buying a car, You can buy a cheap one, which will probably broke in few months or You can buy a more expensive one but unfailing. Java-script just isn't as much compatible as C++, which can work with almost everything.

EDIT: I've got an idea. Maybe the people should decide? So alright who thinks that we should do it in C++ and who thinks that we should do it in Java?

C++: Multi-paradigm, compiled programing language, using high-level language features, created in '83. Works on many platforms, one of the most popular languages since the '80s. I can write the Rosetta Stone-like program in about 2-3 hours and I'm sure that it will work.

Now somebody should write something 'bout Java-script. All I know is that it was created in '95. Then let people decide.

Ps.: I'm a Polish programmer. I heard that we're good.

[donjoe]

Multi-platform? You're joking, right? C++ has to be compiled separately for each platform before it actually works. Javascript is an interpreted language - any respectable browser should know how to run the same program in the same way, right out of the box, no special actions or versions needed. Plus its HTML interface can be made to look much sexier with much less work than anything you could imagine doing in C++.

But anyway, programmer availability is probably a deciding factor here, so if you're available to actually do the project, do it with whatever tools suit you. I know I don't have the time to do it myself, not even in Javascript. I was just making a technical comment.

[Ezy Ryder]

If it was only a comment, sorry for writing a little off-top. By the way, in C++ You can make everything that will work on a platform. If You can make something from zero, it means You can make it look just as You want. But still, I can write only the algorithm 'till someone will upload audio, words and pictures.

[Mithcoriel]

And about the pictures, if You can't find anything about copyrights of a photo or sound, (even if it is copyrighted) it shouldn't be wrong to use them (as long as the owner doesn't want You to stop it). If You know that something is copyrighted and use it then You'll have problems.

Ah, crap ^^ In the pictures I sent you I didn't check if the site said anything about copyright or not... (cause I was originally just gonna use em for personal use)

So are you guys talking about Java or Javascript or both?

Well, I know C++ is good, but I'm gonna vote for Javascript I can help with that much better. And quite frankly, it's all we need! I was thinking of making this kind of program before, and I would have gone with Javascript. You need some pictures to appear on the page (-->HTML. But needs Javascript for them to be random), a soundfile to be spoken (-->HTML, but needs Javascript for it to be random), and for the program to realize if you got it right or wrong (-->Javascript), basically. Then a link to the next lesson (-->HTML).
What's better suited to implement something like that?


I mean, if you do it in C++, what do you have to do? Build the whole GUI (Graphical user interface, the window and the buttons) first?
(Someone correct me if I'm wrong.)

[Ezy Ryder]

I already wrote the GUI. It's simple. I can implement audio and pictures in stuff like Allegro, SQL, OpenGL or DirectX. If You want pictures to be random, for me it's half line of code. Believe me it's much more simple to write in C++. Besides, we all should write who's doing what. I'll write the program.

Ps.: I didn't had to write the GUI. You can do it with a QT library in 15 simple and short lines of code.

[Mithcoriel]

Sure, if you know your stuff, it's no problem. I just kinda got the impression that in Javascript "The GUI is already there" and you don't even have to make it, just tell it how to interact.

But whatever. So, how can we help?

[Ezy Ryder]

But whatever. So, how can we help?

Well, as I already said (probably too many times):
Word-bank
Picture-bank
Audio-bank
Menu project
Basic idea

[Tìrsiyu]

Wow, this is an amazing idea, I am just getting into the language myself, but this would be awesome to help me as I have learned Italian (fluent) and Portuguese (intermediate) via Rosetta Stone and I am very familiar with that method.

Also, I am in the computer security field and I have alot of experience with many different scripting languages (python, perl etc.), if there is any need for that please let me know, as a fellow linguist I would love to be able to help with this project. 

Irayo,
Tìrsiyu

[Numeyu92]

I'm very interested in this idea, I'm not good in flash but can help with the layout perhaps. I even have the newer version of rosetta V3 in spanish, that I can use to somewhat create a similar design but with na'vi culture. At least sketched out.

[Txonä Tìranyu]

Sorry for the Necro but, this should still happen.

[Stxeli Te Sempul]

Does anyone know if this project is still being worked on? 

[Tìtstewan]

Seems the thread starter [Pxi] has deleted his account... I didn't read this whole thread, but probably somone have took over this project.
Unfortunately, here is happening nothing since three years, so I guess this project is death.

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

There have been several attempts to start this, all of them in the 'time of the first songs'. Taking the initative to restart one of these projects, or start a new one, would likely be in order (and IMHO needed) at this point. Project Ngaynume was a giant attempt at this and failed, perhaps because it was too ambitious, and the people that very seriously want to master Na'vi are relatively few and far between. But an individualized learning tool like a Rosetta Stone or Pimseuler clone (that works cross-platform and is easily updatable) would be exceptionally useful to many casual learners, and may encourage them to work for mastery.

I'm not a good enough programmer to create such a thing.

[Sìkat]

There have been several attempts to start this, all of them in the 'time of the first songs'. Taking the initative to restart one of these projects, or start a new one, would likely be in order (and IMHO needed) at this point. Project Ngaynume was a giant attempt at this and failed, perhaps because it was too ambitious, and the people that very seriously want to master Na'vi are relatively few and far between. But an individualized learning tool like a Rosetta Stone or Pimseuler clone (that works cross-platform and is easily updatable) would be exceptionally useful to many casual learners, and may encourage them to work for mastery.

I'm not a good enough programmer to create such a thing.

I have the source code for this app sitting in one of my VMs, although if I remember correctly it's in Visual Basic 6.  I'll check into it and let everyone know.  The functionality would be great to have in the LN iOS/Android apps, though.

Aside from porting to a more modern language, what else would need to happen to make this take off again?

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

Aside from porting to a more modern language, what else would need to happen to make this take off again?

Kaltxì, ma Sikat!

Above all, active Na'vi learners!
An app that is cross-platform, easy to use both at home and on the go, and automatic updating would make this a 'killer app'. So would the ability to adapt the tool to other languages, like Dothraki.

[Sìkat]

An app that is cross-platform, easy to use both at home and on the go, and automatic updating would make this a 'killer app'. So would the ability to adapt the tool to other languages, like Dothraki.

From taking a look at the code, I'm 99.9% sure it's VB6, and it's not terribly complex.  The most complex part of it is that it hooks into the Windows multimedia subsystem (for playing MP3) and Winsock (for lessons downloading); this sort of functionality is nowadays trivially provided by .NET, Java, and the iOS and OS X runtimes. 

As much as I'd like it to be a cross-platform, "one code base for all"-type deal, I don't think it's (initially) feasible.  The best hope of cross-platform compatibility would be to use Monotouch or a similar system, but that's extremely expensive (Monotouch is $400 a seat, last time I looked) and I don't know how well that would work (if at all) for Android devices.  Aside from that, the code is simple enough that separate lines of development for the separate languages (.NET, Objective-C and Java) should not be difficult to maintain; this isn't some 2-million-lines-of-code commercial software package we're dealing with. 

As for adapting it for Dothraki?  Easily doable.  We just ensure that in the rewrite process, we do nothing that would cause it to be specific to one language (i.e. hardcoding grammar rules), and abstract out anything that's language-specific.

Personal time permitting, I can certainly help at least as far as .NET and Objective-C are concerned (which takes care of Windows [including on mobile devices], OS X & iOS).  I've been racking my brains trying to think of something to put into the LN iOS app, anyway

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

Eltur tìtxen si, ma Sikat! I have to admit I am not much of a programmer. But having something like this you could run on your phone when you have a spare moment would be really nice! So, if you have some ideas on how to make this work, go for it. I'll back you any way I can!

[Sìkat]

Eltur tìtxen si, ma Sikat! I have to admit I am not much of a programmer. But having something like this you could run on your phone when you have a spare moment would be really nice! So, if you have some ideas on how to make this work, go for it. I'll back you any way I can!

In fact, why not kick things up a notch: while we're adding ToV functionality to the mobile apps, let's add dictionary search functionality to the desktop apps & get the best of both worlds