Pod#156 - Zeerak Ahmed - Revolutionizing Urdu typing while blogging about music!

TPR Pod

Zeerak Ahmed is a #smartguy. We have managed to bamboozle him into coming on the show. The idea was to talk about his great music blog/newsletter and accompanying playlists under the heading of Hamnawa. And we did. But what the main chunk of the conversation turned out to be was about masterplan to revolutionize (my allegations, not his) the Urdu typing interface in the modern age.

Discussions about language, aesthetic obsessions with fonts, the flaws and troubles that are unearthed in trying to fix this and more ensue!

Things discussed in this episode:

00:00 Intro

03:12 We’re going to talk about Zeerak’s WHOLE LIFE LGS JOHAR TOWN

07:24 Why did he choose to study Computer Sciences, the rise of big tech careers

13:23 Was there any culture shock when he moved from Lahore to the US? Big things, small things

20:33 How and why he got into software design

The Urdu Keyboard Idea "Matnsaz"- attempting to refine and revolutionize the Arabic/Urdu keyboard:

• 23:05 What is the idea - autocorrect for Urdu and perhaps more languages
• 26:13 How the idea happened - lack of Urdu on the internet, the Gutenberg Press
• 29:10 Beginning: ALL URDU WRITING ON THE INTERNET IS WRONG, our obsession with fonts, who’s on the team, creating a labelled data set
• 34:18 What the product is, how testing has been going, possible applications
• 36:52 Zeerak’s personal and familial connection to Urdu, Pakistan’s attempts to finalize printing process and insane compromises
• 39:57 Obsessions with fonts and how the region’s languages developed printing techniques, talking about Nastaliq’
• 43:55 Schools & official languages in Pakistan being English vs Urdu - is this related??
• 48:33 Possible and hopeful applications and impacts of the keyboard

Hamnawa, his monthly newsletter on new Pakistani music:

• 54:17 What it is, and how the idea came about
• 59:48 Adding depth to the scene, documenting the participants and progression. Why is it important?
• 1:08:21 Why does Zeerak write about music?

1:14:02 Ali complaining about the podcast not being popular

1:19:15 What tech progress should NOT be made/we are getting old

1:22:50 Outro

LINKS:

His Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeerakahmed/

His Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeerakahmed

matnsaz.net aka The Keyboard Project (he doesn't call it this)

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matnsaz_net/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/matnsaz

hamnawa.net

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamnawa_net/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hamnawa_net

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/gopyek4heuirx7fhapzd86orn

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