NoOOXML

For any Romanian user to know: here are the CT210 comitee members at ASRO that kindly decided for all of us:

1. Institutul de Lingvistica (The Institute for Languages)
2. ARIES (The Romanian Association of Businesses in Electronics and Software)
3. CIMEC - Institutul de Memorie Culturala (The Institute for Cultural Memory)
4. IBM Romania
5. Institutul Bancar Roman (The Romanian Banking Institute)
6. Magic Fox Media
7. MCTI (The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology)
8. Microsoft Romania
9. Prosoft
10. S & T
11. Softwin
12. Universitatea Bucuresti (Catedra de Limbi Slavice) (The University of Bucharest, Slavic Languages collective)

For Romanian readers, details about this discussion can be found at:

http://www.mail-archive.com/tic-lobby@agora.ro/msg00395.html

Ha, Ha, HA!!!

Da' ce naiba a avut de a face Institutul de Lingvistica si Catedra de limbi Slavice cu un format atat de tehnic precum OOXML? Banuiesc ca au folosit Gramatica ca sa spuna daca OOXML prezinta un standard open? :)

Se vede treaba ca avem si noi romanii tradatorii nostri. Falitii nostri trebuiau cumva sa se bage in seama la banii pe care i-au incasat de la coruptii din Microsoft. Rusine lor,nemernicilor.

I'm feeling ashamed knowing how things work here in Romania. Most of the members who voted in favor of the Microsoft format didn't even have a clue about it. It is just that annoying way of thinking that Microsoft is a great company and everything that comes form Redmond is simply perfect. Most of the Romanian computer users that also have a decisional statute are used to using Microsoft solutions. They've probably never heard of the alternatives. They reject software such as OpenOffice.org without even trying it first. They won't use Linux for the simple reason that Linux is for "geeks" without trying to understand that there can be a system for both geeks and beginners. Another excuse is that "I don't want to use that command-line thing". If you tell them that Linux has a fancy X-Window architecture they look at you like at some kind of freak…

Now how's that Microsoft Romania has to decide for it's own Microsoft format!? That's just stupid.

Open Source is great. And there is one thing people usually don't understand: You don't make money by selling open source, but by using it!

Cristian-Doru Pop