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The Case for Hebrew Open office

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:00:00 +0000

Who’s afraid of OpenOffice? Not the government of Israel, which will once again fund development of the Hebrew OpenOffice project. But to judge by some of the online comments reacting to this news, there are lots of Israelis who are afraid of Oo!

OpenOffice , as everyone knows by now, is the free open source office suite, an alternative for many people (including yours truly) to Microsoft Office. Writing in English as I do, I work mostly with the U.S. English version of Oo (and its Mac brother, NeoOffice), generally using the word processor component of the suite, and occasionally building a Powerpoint-style presentation using Oo’s Presentation component.

Now, this not a story comparing the abilities, plusses and minuses, or other competitive aspects of the MS Office/OpenOffice issue – you can find reams of data about that in your friendly local Google search box. For most of those who have worked with both programs at one time or another, that battle was resolved a long time ago – depending on individual experience, need, disposable income (can you afford MS Office) or level of ethical commitment (do you refrain from pirating expensive software, especially if several perfectly good alternatives are available). For me, Oo works great; I haven’t compatibility issues for years, with everything I produce in OpenOffice readable and editable by those using MS Office, and vice versa. As far as I’m concerned, the war is over – and I (and my wallet) won!

But because I work mostly in English, I had the luxury of choosing Oo – or other office suites, such as StarOffice (which used to be free), as alternatives to pricey MS software. For those who need to work in Hebrew, though, there was no choice – until 2003, when the Finance Ministry made a commitment to developing a Hebrew language version of OpenOffice, in order to give Israelis a choice; the government’s antitrust authority was very close to declaring Microsoft a monopoly for refusing to include Hebrew support in a number of products (http://tinyurl.com/5lk5vc) , and the Treasury in fact suspended its upgrade and purchase contracts with MS for a time (http://tinyurl.com/5utz66). In addition, the Ministry wanted to promote the development of a lower cost office suite to help close the “digital gap,” between the haves that could afford Microsoft Office license, and those who couldn’t (Note that there was once a free Hebrew version of StarOffice, but that has been superceded by OpenOffice).

Version 2.2 of the Hebrew version of OpenOffice is currently available for free from http://openoffice.org.il). Development is funded by the Ministry of Finance’s government ISP, called Tehila, via developers TK Open Systems, which has been working for years to ensure full integration of right to left Hebrew text and fonts in the general left to right version of Oo, as well as translating menus, etc., based on the original work done by Sun Microsystems. It should be noted that the general versions of OpenOffice have Hebrew support packs, and I haven’t had a problem reading or writing Hebrew (although there are the usual on-screen quirks users of English-oriented word processors typing in Hebrew notice, like the jumping cursors when switching between languages, or the sometime backwards orientation of numbers). The Hebrew version of OpenOffice is for people who have a Hebrew language operating system, with menus in Hebrew and installed basic system Hebrew fonts. Interestingly, the Hebrew Oo also has an English support pack!

Earlier this year, the Treasury informed OpenOffice’s Hebrew development team that it had run out of money for further development (the current version seems to be mostly done, but there are always bugs to work out), but this week, the government told the developers that money had been found for further development, after all; work should get back into gear in about a month. There are currently versions for Windows and Linux, but further development will only be made on the Windows version, in order to ensure better “quality control” (actually, since Oo is open source and the code is readily available, an adept programmer should be able to port the changes to Linux). And, as part of the mission entrusted it by the government, the Israel Oo team plans to conduct workshops and seminars for users in outlying areas in the North and the Negev, as well as in the Arab sector – in order to ensure that even those without resources to attend training courses get the basics on how to use an office suite that works just like (yes, I know, not ‘exactly like’) the basic office productivity suite in use today, thus helping to connect them to the world of modern business – something they may not have thought they would have the opportunity to ever be a part of.

Thwarting a potential monopoly, ensuring choice, helping have-nots become haves – what could be wrong? You’d think Israelis would embrace OpenOffice, even if they weren’t fans themselves, preferring the tried and true path of MS Office. But somehow, politics, security, and good old mud slinging gets into the mix when the subject comes up on local web sites. The level of vitriol slung by some “talk-backists” to the news that the government is committing more money to OpenOffice was overwhelming!

Accusations of corruption, government waste (“why don’t they use the money to help the poor?”), kickbacks, and even appeals to national loyalty (“if everyone uses OpenOffice, hundreds of people at Microsoft Israel will lose their jobs!”) – the reactions I read ran the gamut, with about sixty percent for resumed funding, and forty percent against. The most cogent (and level-headed) arguments of the naysayers revolved around the inappropriateness of government getting involved in funding a project that is supposed to compete with a commercial product. And they have a point, of course; but the reason you have regulators in government is to make sure that there is real competition, and to prevent monopolies in the first place. Seen that way, the government’s funding of OpenOffice is a salute to democracy and freedom of choice – and exactly what maintaining a free market is all about!

Keeping (And Spreading) the Faith

Tue, 22 May 2007 13:38:23 +0000

Imagine getting in on the ground floor of what could be a significant technological revolution – an opportunity to change the way people look at and use technology. Sounds like a great opportunity, right? Any of us would take on such a challenge in a minute! But think again; this is no job for mere mortals.

Technology is a lot like politics – people go with what they know, fearing to tread on new ground. “My operating system, right or wrong” is the attitude many people have when it comes to trying something different. Just see what happens when you march into the boss’s office and suggest that your organization replace its expensive Microsoft Office licenses with the free to download OpenOffice suite. OO does the same thing as MS Office – if not performing better than the Microsoft product – and it’s a lot cheaper (as in free). Free vs. expensive – who wouldn’t go for a deal like that? But don’t be surprised when the boss turns you down cold. S/he’ll agree with you that there’s no logical reason not to make the jump – but still…

As tough as that battle is, it’s much harder to convince people to abandon the hardware and operating system they’ve gotten used to using over the years. Logic doesn’t always work in these cases either. Lots of PC users, for example, agree that Macs are easier and more fun to use, but they just can’t see themselves switching – at least based on the straight facts. Moving between platforms, for many people, means taking a leap of faith. And if you need to make believers out of customers, you need to be out in the field, showing them why your “way” is better than the other’s. In other words, you have to “missionize” – go from door-to-door, from heart-to-heart, selling people on why your system is superior – in the hope that that they will chuck their old ways and agree to take a chance on what you’re offering. Like you would with an unknown political candidate.

In other words, you’re not selling just a computer or an operating system – you’re selling an “experience,” a “digital lifestyle.” If you have that kind of vision, then you really have a shot at moving minds and hearts – and convincing a hesitant public that they will be doing the smart thing, the right thing, by taking a chance on what might sound, to them, like a downright radical idea.

Fortunately for Apple and the Mac-loving public in Israel, the man now responsible for convincing Israel’s almost solidly PC computer users to look at Macs as an alternative has just that vision.

It’s all about promoting a digital lifestyle, says Eran Tor, general manager of iDigital (http://www.idigital.co.il). For Tor, it’s a matter of bringing the choices to the public – once PC users see what they’re missing in the Mac, they will without question make the switch.

“We see it as our job to reach out to PC users,” he says, in order to educate them on Apple products – because, he adds, “once people see what Macs can do, they go for them – the system sells itself.”

iDigital, run by, of all people, Chemi Peres (son of you know who) took over the Apple concession from Yeda Computers several months ago. Yeda was the authorized Israeli distributor for Apple products for 25 years, and its departure from the Mac scene has not been mourned by Mac users, to put it lightly. Yeda received, at best, mixed reviews from Mac owners on service, and the idea of the company putting on a public mass demonstration of Macs in Dizengoff Center, like iDigital did last week, was all but inconceivable.

But for Tor, who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of iDigital, the show (in cooperation with the Handy computer store in the mall’s lower level) was a matter of course. The company set up an Apple-store style display, with plenty of iMacs and Macbooks on display for people to play with. Along with the hardware were product demonstrations, training sessions and open discussions of Apple and Mac products – such as how to make movies using iLife’s iMovie software (which you get free when you buy a Mac) or how to use iPhoto to maximize your digital photo collection.

“Part of our job is to reach out to the computing public, and the Dizengoff Center event was a resounding success,” Tor says. “Over 2,000 people registered for follow-up information, and we plan on reaching out to each and every one to show them how a Mac can help them.”

Tor expects to have to work at it – but the product does most of the selling. He’s got the facts down pat: “Just show iLife to anyone, at almost any age and in almost any profession, and they immediately go for it,” Tor says. “With an Intel-based Mac, you can have the best of both worlds, running Mac OS and Windows (with Parallels or Vmware virtualization software) on the same machine. And Leopard (the new Mac OS) is far superior to Vista.”

But Tor knows that facts aren’t always going to do the job. “The Dizengoff event was a template of many future events we are going to be running. We want people to see what we have to offer, to feel it. When they do, they will begin to understand that the Mac is their ‘digital friend.’ It won’t happen overnight, and we realize that. But we want them to be to see the Mac as an alternative, one they might not have known about otherwise,” he says.

Make no mistake – Tor is a businessman, and a good one, from what I know of him (he was until recently head of the Middle Eastern division of household products giant Reckitt Benckiser). But it takes a real businessman to know that sometimes it’s not just about business – it’s about vision. Part of that vision, Tor says, will be the setting up of US style-Apple Stores here in Israel, complete with Geniuses, training sessions and a whole range of Apple products not yet available here (like Apple TV). The first stores will likely be in Tel Aviv and open in the course of the coming year, but Tor wants to see stores all over the country.

“We want to give customers the same experience they would get in an Apple Store abroad, geared to local needs,” he says.

If Tor does succeed in bring Israel firmly into the Apple “loop,” there is no doubt sales will follow, as they have abroad – according to a slew of new polls (http://tinyurl.com/3xtzed), US consumers are moving to the Mac in droves. And I have no doubt that Tor knows what he is doing – the first thing he did in our interview was ask me “Do you use a Mac?” (the

answer is yes)7