Stan Beer
Monday, 05 February 2007 05:07
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
In what must have been a side-splitting moment for open source advocates and an equally embarrassing one for Bill Gates, The President of Romania has effectively praised Microsoft software piracy in a public meeting between the two men.
According to a
Reuters report,
President Traian Basescu last week told Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates
that pirated Microsoft software had helped Romania build its IT
industry.
At a time when Microsoft has implemented tough anti-piracy measures
such as its Windows Genuine Advantage program and sponsors
organizations such as the BSA (Business Software Alliance) to bust
companies suspected of using pirated software, President Basescu's
words must have been anathema to Gates.
However, Gates, who was at the Bucharest meeting for the opening of a
Microsoft technical center, was reportedly forced to grin, bear it and
keep his mouth shut.
Like many emerging economies in both Eastern Europe and Asia, Romania
is undergoing an IT led economic renaiscance. In the joint news
conference with Gates, President Basescu indicated in no uncertain
terms that the development of Romania's IT industry was originally
spurred on by the still rampant piracy among the younger generations.
Although software piracy is now officially illegal in Romania,
President Basescu's speech to the media provided an indication of the
true state of affairs in a country where pirated software is still sold
openly.
