what will they think of next..
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo caught everyone by surprise during the tenth anniversary bash of Microsoft Philippines last August 25 when she thanked in her speech the software company for a lowcost and localized version of Microsoft Windows called "Bintana" that it will roll out soon.
The high-powered crowd composed of the country’s top IT executives who gathered for the celebration, held at the NBC Tent in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City, thought the Chief Executive committed an inadvertent blunder when she announced the software product.
"I thank Microsoft Philippines for taking the initiative to lower down the cost of their products, particularly with "Bintana," the Philippine version of the widely popular Microsoft Windows (operating system)," she said.
Majority of the audience, including Microsoft Philippines officials, wondered if the speechwriter of the president made the mistake of inserting unverified information lifted from the Internet. It can be recalled that an email circulated in cyberspace years back poking fun at the Tagalog translations of Microsoft products.
Mark Yambot, corporate affairs director of Microsoft Philippines, admitted he and fellow employees were surprised when Arroyo uttered "Bintana" at the podium. "We all looked at each other and expressed amazement. I know we have a program called Pinoy PC. And if we do have a project of that kind, it will not be called Bintana."
It turned out, however, that Arroyo was accurate all along as it was Microsoft Philippines managing director Antonio "TJ" Javier who personally briefed the president about the "unheard of" product.
Javier sat beside Arroyo in the presidential table together with Commission on Information Communications Technology chair Virgilio Peña, Trade Secretary Peter Favila, and other top Microsoft officials.
Sought for confirmation, Javier admitted "Bintana" is indeed a real project that will be launched "within the year." "It’s just awaiting approval from the company headquarters in Redmond, Washington," the official said.
The true purpose of "Bintana," Javier said, is to fight off piracy and to bring down the cost of the operating system to an affordable level. He explained the main reason why the Windows OS has remained costly is due to the uniform pricing the company follows around the globe.
"We can’t lower down our price here of Windows because, if that were the case, other countries would just buy the product here. That’s the reason why we have a standard price for Windows all over the world," he said.
Windows XP, the company’s flagship product, is currently being sold for $90 per license.
"But a Tagalog version of Windows cannot be used by other countries since it’s only us who understands the language. It’s only in that instance that we can lower the price."
Put bluntly, Javier said the "Bintana" OS was just a way for the local Microsoft office to go around the prohibition of having a standard price for Windows.
Javier is hoping that even for this reason alone, the Redmond headquarters will give the green light for the project.
"Anyway, computers users don’t really care much about the OS, it’s the applications, particularly MS Office, that they are really concerned with," he said. He did not elaborate how programming commands, written in Tagalog, would be recognized by the computers.
Javier said the company hired the services of National Artist Virgilio Almario, a renowned Filipino linguist, who provided the Tagalog translations of various computer terminologies that were used in "Bintana."
But the Microsoft executive clarified that "Bintana" is a full and complete variant of Microsoft Windows unlike the Starter Edition that the giant software maker has introduced as an entry-level version in developing economies such as Indonesia, Thailand, and India.
He said "Bintana" has all the networking features of Windows lacking in the stripped-down Starter Edition. It is also compatible with all Microsoft applications, including English version of MS Office.
Javier refused to say the retail value of the localized OS, which will be targeted primarily for consumers. "But it will be much lower than the current price," he said.
WTF?!?!