Microsoft Rebuffs Glo

There is no 'Bintana,' says Microsoft Philippines execs

Erwin Lemuel Oliva eoliva@inq7.net
INQ7.net

IT might be a just simple case of misunderstanding when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared on the 10th anniversary celebration of Microsoft Philippines that the software company is coming out with Bintana , a literal Filipino translation of Windows.

Two Microsoft executives have both denied there will be a Bintana operating system.

In a local Microsoft Philippines forum, an executive finally put speculation to rest and denied that the local subsidiary was coming out with Bintana, a Filipino-version of Microsoft's Windows operating system, priced differently from the English version of the software.

Jojo Ayson, Microsoft Philippines senior product manager for platform security, this week doused all speculations and reversed previous news of a Filipino version of Microsoft Windows. "Speculation is always the stuff of legends. Let me put this issue to rest...THERE IS NO SUCH PRODUCT AS 'WINDOWS BINTANA.' Microsoft is committed to providing the tools and technologies required to develop local IT economies and enable language groups to participate in this growth.

"One of these is our global initiative called the Local Language Program that fosters the development and proliferation of regional language groups, enabling them to preserve and promote their language and culture while benefiting from continuing IT advancements. Right now, we are working very closely with our colleagues in Redmond to bring this program to the Philippines," Ayson said in a post he made on August 30.

At the 10th anniversary celebration of Microsoft Philippines, the local media and executives from Microsoft Philippines were shocked after Arroyo herself thanked the software company for coming out with Bintana.

Mae Rivera, marketing communications manager of Microsoft Philippines, was first to clarify that Arroyo might have misconstrued another initiative Microsoft had with Redmond during the event.

Several reports have come out, however, citing Microsoft Philippine Managing Director Antonio "TJ" Javier as the person who had briefed Arroyo about Bintana.

In a separate interview, Javier denied he briefed Arroyo about Bintana.

"There is no [Bintana] product but there is a local language initiative that we're working on," Javier said in a separate telephone interview. He said that Microsoft had briefed Arroyo about the local language program, which was cited by Ayson in his online post in a local forum. But Microsoft did not in any way tell her about a lower-cost Filipino version of Windows, which Arroyo termed "Bintana" in her speech at the anniversary celebration.

"We have always told everybody that we cannot bring down price of Windows because everyone will [come] here and purchase Windows," Javier continued, referring to possible parallel importation of lower-cost Windows sold in the country.

He stressed that he had briefed Arroyo on the current initiatives of the software company to help the economy, the poor, abandoned children, and overseas Filipino workers. He also mentioned the Filipino computer vocabulary Microsoft is working on with local academicians.