Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> Goodbye MS Office, hello OpenOffice
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | OpenOffice, a multiplatform and multilingual office suite, gives
> | users the chance to be Microsoft free -- at last!
> `----
>
> http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1595038.cms
Frankly, it sounds great but isnt actually the situation back in India
*as far as I know*. Sadly, I doubt this article would be read often by
people in South-east Asia. Read on.
People are very used to Office products from Microsoft and they get it
for real cheap or free (you know what I mean, and please dont start the
deal about high seas and injury stuff). Alternatives remain
alternatives. Computer assemblers preload most software that people are
used to. To get OSS on user's desktop, revolution has to begin from
*assembly point* - where/who assembles the computers [most home users
and small businesses buy assembled computers]. I am working on that
right now. Word of mouth is the best way to get going. I, personally,
do not think users in India would change their mindset reading
IndiaTimes (especially Economic Times). Windows heavily dominate homes
and offices (several several are unpatched/unlicensed). Not only
OpenOffice, but also Linux could benefit from the market available in
India if proper marketing/advertising is applied. Publishing articles
on the web is not the best way to market OSS. Audience that can make a
difference is current Linux/OSS users and computer assemblers.
Internet is not a significant resource of information, yet.
Emails/chats/jobs/matrimony/local newspapers etc are the main things
people use the Internet. Folks in big companies might be interested but
the concept of using other better OSes has not spread effectively. If
someone uses Linux, he/she is a champ in computing - thats what is the
general philosophy. It is difficult, but not impossible, to make
changes rapidly unless the right market is targetted.
I couldnt emphasize more that if a new Linux user from India visiting
groups like these gets pissed off, he/she might pull *several* other
friends away from Linux. I have seen that happen a few times. Lets not
lose any more prospective Linux users.
The Ghost In The Machine said:
>> Where the hell have *they* been? OO1.1's been superseded by 2.0 for a
while now. :-)
It could as well be possible that people back in India think OO1.x is
the latest version, and not 2.x. Dont be surprised if someone mentioned
about their latest RedHat installation of version 9 and not RHEL3/4. My
cousin experimented with RH7.x and a hard time until a year back when I
sent him FC1 (or higher, dont remember).
Just my 2 cents.
Chirag Shukla
|
|
