[tgs]

I don't know about "prevailing", but in my own experience the better the programmer/computer scientist the worse the opinion on Sun's technologies. Not only in Europe. In the past week or so, I have asked several people and did not get quite as strong an anti-Java statement as you have here, but I did find a consensus (more or less) that it is becoming less significant. I did not ask anyone who is currently working as a Java developer, though, and in the past those I have known tended to be enthusiasts.

Which means that a rise of the shekel rate, generally a positive sign, could have far-reaching negative consequences - making Israel a sort of Third World economy, making employment in the US and other countries with strong currencies more attractive to qualified Israelis, creating a "brain drain" etc. ... Indeed. So what is the solution? Of course this is not just Israel's problem, but that of many countries in the global economy.

[TorryJens]

Originally posted by cerulean
This is also a great example of a puff piece for Sun Microsystems (good PR work on the part of Sun).

In short, Israel proportionately has a very high number of Java developers and Sun is moving to capitalize on this.

http://www.jpost.com/NASApp/cs/Conte...=1023716451669 Isn't Java supposed to be a programming language whose glory days are past? Same goes for related Sun technologies. The Jerusalem Post article on this point sounds like a marketing text from Sun. But then, if getting a MOUS certificate is considered a staggering accomplishment worth being reported world-wide...

[radikal]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/39/25742.html

Microsoft's Mac Hebrew snub prompts Israeli AntiTrust complaint
By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco
Posted: 17/06/2002 at 07:20 GMT

Microsoft's refusal to provide Hebrew support in its Macintosh Internet Explorer browser or Office suite has prompted a complaint to Israel's antitrust department.
...
It's a reminder of how much market power a monopolist holds in shaping a culture. Microsoft's Hebrew support in Windows is considered excellent - and there's no question that they'd be endangering the cultural heritage by refusing to support Hebrew on the Mac. But it does ensure Hebrew speakers buy Windows. That's thing about globalization - every part of the world ends up looking the same … or at least, using the same system software.
One world, and one OS to type on?
========

I should point out that article points out that this problem is not not restricted to the Hebrew language, but also affects Arabic, Korean, and Russian.

I just checked what StarOffice supports - it looks like it supports most major European languages in Latin script, plus Russian.

[Peptobismol]

Thanks, this is a great article. Did you see the ISRAEL21c piece on drip irrigation technology? I don't think most Americans realize what a profound effect Israeli technology innovation has on life in the US.