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Israel's Finance Ministry To Distribute OpenOffice

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the free-things-are-good-things dept.

dudeman2 writes "Israel National News reports that The Israel Finance Ministry said Sunday it will begin distributing Open Office for free as of next week. The ministry said that it would begin to distribute thousands of Open Office CD-ROMs at public computer centers and later on at community centers throughout the country, 'in a bid to reduce the technological gap between the rich and poor in Israel'."

2 of 521 comments (clear)

  1. The technological gap is a wealth gap by js3 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    giving people free cds is like giving them free gasoline. it is almost useless to anyone without a car.

    --
    did you forget to take your meds?
  2. Not just for Linux by Milo+Fungus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The programs are for use on the Linux operating system, which is a free alternative to the Windows operating system.

    OpenOffice is a cross-platform suite. It's not just for Linux. I use the Windows version all the time.

    Free software for the win32 platform is (I think) an important front of the F/OSS movement. Most people are unwilling to take the plunge straight into Linux. Using free software on win32 is a way to wade in and test the waters before jumping in. The win32 port of The GIMP was the first thing that got me really excited about free software, and I have since migrated to more free and open source applications and operating systems. For those of you running windows who would like to check out some free software, follow the links below: