mauricegold

Just imagine if you were working in a large printing company, to whom clients would send some advertising-work for editing and finishing and finally printing. Now imagine that these clients could use just about any version of any software they saw fit and those which were unfit (Microsoft Publisher.. I'm looking at you). So in a former life, I'm responsible as Pre-press IT manager for ensuring a pro-active response to any, usually large clients like high-street supermarket chains (with deep pockets), at any time, with any software, with any fonts (all necessarily legally licensed if not saved as PDF subset). So there was always a need for liaison, and an ongoing need for a pro-active ability to have software that could open the clients' files, and have the correct font-versions, so as not to have kerning and layout issues. I would have running battles with the Financial Department in order to get Quark upgrades. I would request 20, but he would only allow 10, usually. So there would be piecemeal disparities in software versions, making future upgrades more tricky, with only part of the Pre-press able to do certain tasks. I would also request that we get a copy or 2 of say, InDesign for evaluation and training, because, sure as hell, a client would be sending us InDesign files, and we had better be ready and able to work with them. Font licences, when clients don't embed them. So there is a necessity to have a range of software available, and staff trained to use it, when the clients could use anything, and could be able to fund new hardware platforms better than your own accounts department gave a damn about. In the UK, Quark prices were pound for dollar plus, and we hated them with a vengeance. Plus we needed Quark add-ons, which were also version-dependent and expensive. Needless to say, the Accounts department seemed to think it was just my department's or just my, wish-lists to justify retaining them, and the Accounts Department and the company  would be much better off without Pre-press. They just lived in a bubble, using numbers with pound-signs in the front, and that was their existence. On-topic, this is still a nightmare. Big printing houses with big clients need to be au fait with all available software: the Adobe Suite, Quark Xpress, and just about anything and everything. If you can liaise with your client ahead of time to 'suggest' that they should use software you 'strongly recommend' that is fine. 

There is indeed a huge population in Indonesia. There are estimates of over 50 million earning 2 dollars a day, so these can be ruled out as potential customers, with a likely 100 million more barely able to afford housing, food and education. Corruption is widespread and runs up to high echelons in the government and civil service. The education system is poor, with cheating rampant, the Education Ministry  year on year posting false data about 97% or so pass-rates, and churning out graduates who are illiterate, innumerate, and unable to criticise, analyse, or complain. There is an obscene amount of money spent on Muslim 'education' centres, which eat into the rest of the education budget. There is widespread purchasing of degree certificates from Indonesian universities. And these universities are no way comparable to Western counterparts, neither allowing freedom of thought, nor being centres of educational excellence. The Indonesian government makes up the so-called 'rules' as it goes along. In addition many Muslim staff require to be allowed to pray 5 times a day. Looking at this and looking at how many other companies have quit Indonesia, are quitting Indonesia, or contemplating leaving all because of investment insecurity, makes one really wary of throwing good money after bad. Now if Apple really wishes to join this slow-motion train-wreck, it better keep its eyes wide open. I live in Bali, and have been here about 11 years, so my perspective is not that of looking from afar.