Microsoft Office2000 in Basque language
Elhuyar Fundazioa
It has been four years since we translated Windows 95 and Word 6.0 between Elhuyar and UZEI. Throughout these four years these computer applications have been renewed, but there has been no new version in Basque. As a result, many of the Euskaldunes continue to work with the old Word 6.
Last year, thanks to the agreement reached between the Basque Government and Microsoft, UZEI translated Euskera Windows 98 and Internet Explorer 4.0, available since last year in the Basque market. On this occasion the turn of Office 2000 of Microsoft itself has arrived. For a year we have been translating into Elhuyar this set of Microsoft applications, which has already reached us the time to see them in the market. The pack that we will have in the Basque market will be called Microsoft Office 2000 Standard. It has five applications, four of them in Basque: Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and Internet Explorer 5.0 will be in Basque in this new Office. The pack will include the latest version of PowerPoint, but the latter in Spanish by Microsoft's will.
What is Office?
I would dare say that in 90% of the PCs currently on the market there is an Office pack. Therefore, this group of programs does not need much presentation. Microsoft's Office is made up of a large number of programs, but in our Basque version only five of them fit: Word 2000 is a program that does not need presentation. This word processor a few years ago ridicules the conventional text processors we knew. Outlook 2000 can be used primarily in agenda mode and to manage email Internet Explorer does not require presentation: This 5.0 is the latest version of the well-known Microsoft Internet browser. PowerPoint comes in Spanish, but it is a very used program today. It allows to perform presentations and work graphics in a simple and pleasant way.
In this group of programs in Basque the lack of a program of the Office package is detected: Access 2000. This well-known database of mass use should be included in the package that is now marketed, at least in Spanish as PowerPoint.
What's new in the news:
You have already read in any computer magazine the novelties of this new Office, as well as the reasons for its acquisition. Although since Office 97 is not an incredible innovation, it should be taken into account that in the Basque market this new version is an obvious novelty. Knowing that the last version in Basque we had was Word 6.0 and taking into account that Word 2000 is version 9.0, we will realize that we have gone two other versions. However, the first question regarding Office 97 is what else does Office offer to innovate every two years? The truth is that little can be added already, but Microsoft does. More than new opportunities, this new Office incorporates systems and tools to facilitate work. In addition, of course, it offers a greater link with the Web.
And the others?
The agreement of the Basque Government with Microsoft has translated into Basque the most used operating systems and applications: Windows and Office. However, there is another market that has not been taken into account and has special relevance in the Basque Country: I refer to non-dependent Microsoft systems: Operating systems and applications for Macintosh, or the increasingly widespread Linux itself, for example. It should also be taken into account.
We have translated Office 2000, but we can't stay there. You can't repeat what happened with that Word 6.0: you have to continue translating new versions so that Basque users don't stay lost in this continuous computer renewal. We cannot stay without stopping and we must keep the current challenge of getting used to using computer science in Basque and for this we need opportunities.
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