Perapera kun 2.0

[jbradfor]

Adobe Reader (???) gave me a message that the file was corrupt because of something that didn't even seem to apply (???).

Provide more detail on the steps you tried, and maybe someone can help....

[animal world]

Thanks for the offer of help. After i downloaded yesterday the "corrupted" version of the dictionary, i deleted it from my Downloads file. Just now, i tried to download it again (i.e. per the link in post 3) but now i get the message from Box.net that says, "This user is out of bandwidth. If this is your file, please upgrade to add more bandwidth credits to your account." I don't mind paying for something but only after i have been allowed to test the merchandise for a few days at least.

Actually, it turns out that i have not been using Perapera kun but Mandarin Popup. I had some problem installing Perapera when i read about it in a thread a few months ago. In that same thread, someone mentioned another application, presumably Mandarin Popup, that i installed and that works fine. It has a caption of "Mandarin Popup:Enabled" with a yellow star. Until yesterday i hadn't particularly noticed that caption; it had become part of the desk top decor. And yeah, it was indeed a popup for mandarin.

Have no complaints about Mandarin Popup but that Save Entries function in Perapera kun sounds tantalizing.

[Hobbes828]

Just to update people:

He has now moved the dictionaries so that they are hosted on Mozilla's site, so no box.net worries...

and you know how I know... Wordpress is unblocked!!!!!!!

[xianhua]

I don't really want a Chinese flag on my browser, especially as I'm currently working on a USA government project, it might give some the wrong idea.

It seems you weren't alone and the flag is therefore going to be removed from the next version. You need to get your alternative suggestions in by Friday:

Perapera Kun's Chinese flag to be revised

[jbradfor]

I'm not alone!

Funny, the #1 vote there seems to be 漢 , which is what I already changed mine to.

To me, the Chinese red flag is just fine. It's used in many other tools. I don't suffer from "communist phobia". The flag represents the modern state of China, like it or not.

It's not "communist phobia", it's due to a serious dislike of the CCP. To me, the flag reflects the CCP, not communism in general.

And, as other have said, Chinese is used in way more places than PRC.

[atitarev]

It's not "communist phobia", it's due to a serious dislike of the CCP. To me, the flag reflects the CCP, not communism in general.

What you describe, to me it IS "communist phobia" They talk much less in China about communism and politics than they do in the US about China and the CCP. If China is mentioned it's Red or Communist China, not just China. China has this flag and they are proud of it, even if you don't like it. It happens that China is ruled by CCP but the flag represents the country, not the party. I saw your comments in wordpress.com as well.

And, as other have said, Chinese is used in way more places than PRC.

Yes, but China is where it started, not Taiwan, Hong Kong or Malaysia.

It's up to you, Jbradfor, of course but I think the anti-Chinese/Communist propaganda is affecting you a lot, if such a small thing as a tiny red icon in your browser bothers you. BTW, I am neither a Communist or anti-Communist, I don't approve what CCP did but the country, its symbols and the party should not always be mixed.

Edited December 10, 2009 at 04:43 AM by atitarev

[gato]

They talk much less in China about communism and politics than they do in the US about China and the CCP.

That's because the PRC is more authoritarian than communist, and authoritarian government likes to talk about authoritarianism.

It happens that China is ruled by CCP but the flag represents the country, not the party.

It's a bit more complicated than that because there's is the Republic of China (ROC) government in Taiwan, and their flag and their claims to China and Chineseness, though of course, when there's the independence element in Taiwan, too.

[numble]

The CCP flag is different from the PRC flag. Should China ever transition to liberal democracy, they'd probably keep the PRC flag, and the CCP flag would become more prominent as representing the party. You'll see tons of Chinese citizens express their dislike for the party in China, but still express nationalism, nationalism that's often linked to the flag--they'll feel pride when they see Yao Ming carry the flag in the Olympics, or when the flag is raised when a Chinese person wins an Olympic event.

The ROC flag is clearly linked with the KMT flag, a group that also practiced authoritarian government for some time (AKA 40+ years of "Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion"). The DPP practically ban the flag from their events and former (pro-independence) President Lee Teng-hui has called for abandoning the flag.

Edited December 10, 2009 at 10:18 AM by numble

[gato]

The CCP is the big star among the five stars in the PRC flag. The CCP party flag is just the hammer and sickle you see for Communist parties everywhere.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China

The flag of the People's Republic of China is a red field charged in the canton with five golden stars. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in a semicircle set off towards the fly. The red represents revolution; the five stars and their relationship represents the unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of Communist Party of China (CPC). Sometimes, the flag is referred to as the "Five Star Red Flag" (simplified Chinese: 五星红旗; traditional Chinese: 五星紅旗; pinyin: wǔ xīng hóng qí).[2]

According to the current government interpretation of the flag, the red background symbolizes the revolution and the golden colors were used to "radiate" on the red background, which is considered to be more beautiful than white. The five stars and their relationship represents the united of Chinese people under the leadership of Communist Party of China. The orientation of the stars shows the unity should go around a center.[6] In the original description of the flag by Zeng, the larger star symbolizes the Communist Party of China, and the four smaller stars that surround the big star symbolize the four social classes (the working class, the peasantry, the urban petty bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie) of Chinese people mentioned in Mao's "On the People's Democratic Dictatorship".

The five stars that formed an ellipse represent the territory of China (includes the Outer Mongolia) which shaped like a Begonia leaf.

[numble]

I still would argue that Chinese citizens have come to regard the flag as a whole as representative of their country, regardless of what symbolism was supposed to be embodied in its design, and will only become more so over time. The Union Jack was supposed to represent British rule in the flags that are still used in Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and a whole host of other places, but it no longer represents British rule.

Chinese have become an extremely nationalistic and flag-waving bunch, but can and often still dislike the CCP itself. On the other hand, ROC flag-waving in Taiwan is explicitly connected to support for the KMT.

[gato]

Well, the question was whether it is reasonable for jbradfor to feel that the flag represent CCP rule, and the flag's history shows that it is reasonable.

What you are talking about with Taiwan is the battle between the unification-minded KMT and the independence-minded DPP. The ROC flag is connected with KMT and China, so the Taiwan independence supporters don't feel so hot about it.

If one day there's democratic election in China, maybe they'll replace the five-star flag with something else, too.

[jbradfor]

@atitarev

What you describe, to me it IS "communist phobia" They talk much less in China about communism and politics than they do in the US about China and the CCP.

Wow. What a totally clueless statement. You have absolutely no idea what my dislike of the CCP is due to, but yet you continue to claim it is "communist phobia". I don't want to get into it in this thread, if you want to create a new one I'll be glad to discuss, but in summary let me say it has to do with 50 years of destroying Chinese culture, 30 years of destroying China's economy leading to mass poverty and starvation, and currently caring more about staying in power than about being a good government.

There are plenty of other communist governments, most of which I don't I don't hate. I do think that in general communist governments haven't been very beneficial to their populace, but that's anther issue.

@gato

Well, the question was whether it is reasonable for jbradfor to feel that the flag represent CCP rule, and the flag's history shows that it is reasonable.

Thank you.

The flag was created by the CCP when the CCP took power. The biggest star represents the communist party. If the flag represents the country and not the party, then why did the CCP create a new one when they took power? Obviously, they wanted a flag that represented them.

[atitarev]

If the flag changes, I will welcome it but at the moment we have what we have. To my Chinese friends - the flag represents China, not the CCP and I don't argue with them. Call it brainwashing if you wish, the brainwashing happens on all sides.

I don't wish to continue to argue about it either. There are more interesting things to talk about. I just wanted to say that I am tired of this "destruction of the Chinese culture" talk, which doesn't help anyone.

[jbradfor]

Perapera 2.1 has now been released, and is now available via the standard firefox plugin method (i.e. tools -> add-ons -> get add-ons). [One of the changes is the ability to change the icon!]

HOWEVER, it didn't work for me. I ended up uninstalling 2.1 and went back to 2.0. And, judging from the comments left on the firefox plug-in page, it isn't working for a lot of other people either. Just a warning. [To find version 2.0, you need to follow the link in post #3, by mrtee. The link in the first post is now changed to version 2.1]

[ABCinChina]

Yes, it doesn't seem to be able to upgrade to 2.1 by itself. I'm not gonna bother upgrading due to your comment.

[flameproof]

Is there a mirror for the dictionaries? Wordpress seems blocked in China...

[jbradfor]

Look at the links in post #3.

[flameproof]

Thanks! It worked.

1. D/L the XPI file

2. Open the XPI file with Firefox

3. Restart Firefox

Ready to use!

[flameproof]

Just a side note to the developers:

Perapera kun does not differentiate between traditional and simplified characters?

Would be good if would/could show if there is sister character on the other side of the fence.

[jbradfor]

You can configure Perapera kun to show both traditional and simplified for each character. That is an easy way to know if it is traditional or simplified, and to show the other one.