[ Thanks to ll for the
links. ]
A pair of news stories relating to Linux and China:
- The Straits Times ‘China
dumps Microsoft for local software firms’“A report by the Chinese Academy of Sciences pointed
out that if all government organisations adopted Microsoft’s
products, the government would have to shell out US$21.7 billion
over the next five years.But if homegrown Linux systems and software were used, the total
cost would wither down to just US$1.96 billion.More importantly, the report warned that Microsoft’s operating
system features a ‘back-door’ security flaw which rendered the
system vulnerable to hackers.” - And a research perspective from IDC, ‘Linux and China
drive tech 2002’.“Linux was perhaps the most interesting of the points
mentioned by the man in the know. Having experienced a year, 2001,
when things could have gone either up or down for Linux, now, says
IDC, it seems the O/S is definitely a viable option for firms.
Gantz suggested that this year could be Linux’s finest yet as more
and more organisations seek to incorporate it into their
infrastructure plans.Linux is apparently continuing to have a great deal of success
in China, which as a nation looks set to prove a considerable boom
to the tech sector. IDC said that an awful lot of new systems in
China are running Linux. Further to this, it is expected that
China’s recent admission to the WTO will boost its expenditure on
technology – possibly taking it up by 25%, said IDC.None of this means that Microsoft will flounder however. IDC
reckon it will shift some 75 million licenses this year. Although,
it notes, it’s unlikely that this will drive hardware expenditure
as it has in the past.”