[iwar] Finance Ministry Weaning Israel Off of Microsoft

From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net>
Date: Tue Dec 30 2003 - 08:02:02 PST

Finance Ministry Weaning Israel Off of Microsoft
19:48 Dec 28, '03 / 3 Tevet 5764

Israel has joined what has increasingly become a worldwide crusade to break
free of the Microsoft Corporation and their perceived monopolistic
constraints.

The Ministry of Finance announced Sunday it will begin distributing Open
Office, which is a package of basic software programs similar to Microsoft
Office, for free starting this coming week. The ministry plans to distribute
thousands of Open Office programs on CD-ROM at public computer centers and
eventually community centers across the country throughout the coming year.

Open Office suite includes all the functions supplied by Microsoft Office B-
a word processing program, a spreadsheet program, and a presentation manager
similar to PowerPoint. The programs can be downloaded for free at
www.openoffice.co.il. The programs are for use on the Linux operating
system, which is a free alternative to the Windows operating system.

Over the past year the programs were translated into Hebrew by Sun
Corporation and IBM with the assistance of the Finance Ministry. The
ministry said its goal is to lower the price of a computer in a bid to
reduce the technological gap between the rich and poor in Israel. The offer
is also believed to be an attempt to break Microsoft's monopoly on the
Israeli software market. Microsoft Office, which can cost up to 2,000 NIS,
is currently installed on almost every personal computer sold in Israel,
greatly increasing the price of a personal computer.

The Ministry of Finance is about to propose that government ministries use
the free Linux open operating system as well. If the decision is carried
out, the government will save millions of shekels a year in licenses, but
could face much higher costs in other areas.

Ministry of Finance sources told Globes that the decision could be reversed
if Microsoft Israel shows willingness to compromise on its pricing policy
for tens of thousands of computer stations at government offices. The
ministry is aware that despite the substantial savings accrued by not buying
Microsoft licenses, there would also be considerable installment costs.

The Ministry of Finance says the Account General supreme inter-ministerial
tenders committee had instructed IT managers at government ministries to buy
PCs without Microsoft operating licenses from January 2004.

-- This communication is confidential to the parties it is intended to serve --
Fred Cohen - http://all.net/ - fc@all.net - fc@unhca.com - tel/fax: 925-454-0171
Fred Cohen & Associates - University of New Haven - Security Posture

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Received on Tue Dec 30 08:03:13 2003

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