The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) on Friday approved the Open Document Format (ODF) as an official national South African standard. The adoption of ODF by South Africa opens the way for the businesses and government to adopt ODF more widely in their processes. ODF is already an international standard, approved by the International Standards Organisation, or ISO.

Linux opportunities in the South African market are increasing but skills are still a significant stumbling block. This is according to Michelle Beetar, country manager for Novell South Africa.

South Africa-based mobile provider Vodacom has begun selling an Ubuntu Linux based netbook. The Linkbook, which was developed by a South African company of the same name, is equipped with 16GB of flash storage, HSDPA, WiFi, two USB ports, and an 8.9-inch display.

Microsoft's plans of having its OOXML document format accepted as a national standard were thwarted by the South African Bureau of Standards in a conclusive vote against the move in a meeting yesterday.

Open Document format (ODF) yesterday became an official standard for South African government communications.

Open standards are critical in ensuring that the South African government both avoids vendor lock-in and promotes democracy. This is according to South Africa’s minister of home affairs, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

Two teenage sisters from Boston, along with their family and school, have joined forces with an American non-profit organization to provide laptop computers to underprivileged children in South Africa.

Canada-based Omni Technology Solutions has teamed up with Novell South Africa, Userful, and Pinnacle Micro to provide the Linux desktop computers for the "Let's Play a Million" South African telethon on June 27, 2007. Each of the telethon locations will be equipped with a five-user SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop

Sieging with kindness: South Africa's continued 'gift showers' amid plans to embrace FOSS.