Microsoft Windows - Pinoy Version?

August 30, 2005

Have you seen a Windows interface displaying system messages in Tagalog? ;-P

I’ll share with you an article about the possibility of a Tagalog-language version of Microsoft Windows.

By the way, even before Microsoft thought of this idea, a Tagalog-language version had been already existing in certain distributions of Linux, particularly Mandrake/Mandriva Linux. (GNU/Linux is the strongest competitor operating system of MS Windows. It’s also one of the operating systems installed in my computer at home. )

Here’s the article:

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Microsoft readies ‘Pinoy Windows’

(Aug. 22, 2005, Manila Standard)

By Chin Wong

Marking 10 years in the Philippines this month, software giant Microsoft is eyeing the launch of a low-priced Filipino version of Windows XP as another milestone in its efforts to make computing more accessible.

In an interview with Standard Today, Microsoft Phils. general manager Antonio “TJ” Javier said a product team in Redmond is working on a localized version of Windows that they hope will be completed before the year is out.

The localized version builds on the Filipino glossary of computing terms put together earlier this year by a third-party software developer and national artist and poet Virgilio Almario, dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of the Philippines in Diliman.

Starter Edition?

Javier did not say which version of the Windows XP operating system would be localized, but in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand that have such programs, Microsoft uses a limited-function version that it calls the Starter Edition.

Windows XP Starter Edition is not sold separately but bundled with low-cost PCs that use Intel Celeron or AMD Duron processors. It doesn’t support networking and limits users to running only three programs at a time.

Microsoft last month said it has sold 100,000 Starter Edition copies, after expanding the number of countries in which it bundles the operating system with new PCs to Brazil, India, Mexico and other Latin American countries.

Starter Edition costs about $30, as opposed to Windows XP Home Edition, which sells for $80.

“A cheaper, localized version of Windows will be good because it will convince people in the low end of the market to go from Linux to Windows,” said Hans Dee, president of Microsoft reseller Mannasoft Technology Corp., who said a number of small companies, caught between the high price of Windows and the crackdown on pirated software, opt for free alternatives such as Linux.

Other companies, he added, have taken to running Windows and Linux machines in parallel to save on costs.

On the other hand, some observers say if the low-cost version turns out to be the Starter Edition, it won’t make much of a dent among small- and medium-sized enterprises because of the lack of networking support.

Decade of changes

Reviewing Microsoft’s history in the Philippines, Javier said the local office has grown from two people to 72.

In that time, he said, the company has also expanded by offering enterprise products under the Microsoft Business Solutions Suite that enable corporate customers to automate their sales, manufacturing, distribution, accounting and financials, and even human resources department.

“We now have folks in the enterprise group that walk the walk and talk the talk of the industries they cover, and who are able to talk about the benefits of what Microsoft technology can offer to specific industries and specific accounts. We never had that before, so that’s a major thing for us,” Javier said.

The company has also gone from just Windows and MS Office, to a wide range of products, including the Xbox entertainment system, the MSN portal, the enterprise suite and services.

Next year, he said, the company will be gearing to introduce Windows Vista, the next major upgrade to its flagship operating system. It will also launch Office 12, which will emphasize group rather than personal productivity.

Commitment

In terms of corporate directions, Javier said Microsoft had two major commitments.

The first, he said, is to help the local economy become globally competitive.

“If you are serious about having a long-term relationship with any country, you have to make sure that your products and company benefit that country’s economy. That’s our approach to the market. We’re here to make sure the software industry is supported.”

Javier said part of these efforts is the appointment of almost 250 partners who are trained and certified to sell, use and support Microsoft products.

Just recently, too, the company commissioned a study on the Philippine software industry and plotted a map of where it should be and how the country can get there.

The Software Economic Development Plan, Javier said, was presented to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo last June.

A second commitment, Javier said, focuses on community activities that respond to the needs of the financially challenged sectors. In this respect, he said, Microsoft has consistently carried out programs aimed at helping teachers and overseas workers — two groups that are major contributors to the economy but who need support.

To support overseas Filipino workers, Javier said, Microsoft has set up IT training centers in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, and two local centers, in Manila and Cebu.

“We want to make sure the OFWs that fly out or come back have more skills than what they had when they left the country,” Javier said.

Source: Digital Life

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