MICROSOFT AMHARIC LANGUAGE PACK: AN EVALUATION OF WINDOWS INTEGRATED KEYBOARD AND USER EXPERIENCE

This paper focused on Microsoft language pack for Amharic. It has examined Windows integrated keyboard for Amharic. It involved a thorough analysis of Amharic characters and punctuation marks, culminating in the suggestion of a standardized solution. The paper has identified various challenges encountered when using the Windows integrated keyboard, particularly with the utilization of sequence of some keys to encode a single character and the unreliability of the current sorting order, which often fails to adhere to its own guidelines. Furthermore, the analysis has delved into shortcomings within the Microsoft-prepared Style Guide for Amharic, including instances of misinformation, typos, and grammatical errors. Based on these findings, the paper has suggested ways to revise the style guide and the keyboard assignment.