Slashdot Mirror


Beijing Snubs Microsoft For Municipal PCs' Software

jsse points to this Gartner article which says "that on 28 December 2001, the Beijing municipal government selected among seven vendors to provide operating system (OS), office automation (OA) and antivirus software for government PCs. Beijing selected six bidders, including Red Flag, but rejected the seventh bidder, Microsoft -- the only one that was not selected. Gartner listed several reasons why Microsoft lost the bid, but missed out the famous rumor that Microsoft has built a bad relationship with China since the first Chinese Windows 95, which was written by Taiwan programmers, contains Easter eggs carrying anti-communist messages."

7 of 393 comments (clear)

  1. XBox also will not come to China by frostgiant · · Score: 3, Offtopic

    The Microsoft XBox, as popular as it may become, also will not be sold in China. As you may know, Microsoft looses money on each XBox they sell. With the realization that piracy is highly rampant in China and they will not sell much software, the console will not be sold there.

    Go here if you want to read up a little more on it... http://www.lik-sang.com/catalog/news.php?artc=2380

  2. Re:Communists choose Linux? I'm shocked!!! by PoiBoy · · Score: 2, Offtopic
    The group of pirates would hack into the phone company, and charge enormous phone bills to unsuspecting Republican professors.

    Berkeley has Republican professors? Get out of here. No way in hell.

    --
    Sig (appended to the end of comments you post, 120 chars)
  3. funny... by Cinematique · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    funny... in a not-so-funny, painfully-ironic way... how americans love to shake our finger a the chinese, yet we have had our own 1989-style tienemen square...

    may 4th 1970 - kent state university

    this summer i hear the drumming... four dead in o-hi-o...

  4. Re:How business is done in China by Red+Eyes · · Score: 1, Offtopic
    In this circumstance, the presence of Jiang in the bidding process was absolutely, positively of influence.

    And you know this how? Or did the magical fairy tell you last night?

    Jiang's company entered the bidding, Jiang's company won the bidding. The relative merits of Linux, Windows, Open Source, or green tea were immaterial. That's how business is done in China.

    And how is this more controversial than Enron being one of Bush's biggest contributers? Or do you mean this, or this, or this? What about Cheney? I personally think you have a chip on your shoulders by your suggestion Jiang should be prohibited from having business ties while Bush and company can. And by the fact a lot of people know this doesn't mean they were hiding it (or trying to). Like you said, "matter of public disclosure and public record."

  5. Re:FUCK THE USA!! by hazem · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    hmmm... I just looked out my window...

    No bums or junkies. Just a couple of kids waiting for the bus.

    I think you watch too much TV.

  6. Re:And Rumors are always true.... by screwballicus · · Score: 1, Offtopic
    That's a pretty funny rumor, whether it be true or not is of course another story....

    Wow! I just have to take a moment to applaud you, sir, for being the first person in a long, long time I have seen use a verb in the subjunctive mood on the web. "Be that as it may" and a couple other intact subjunctive expressions aren't all that uncommon, but a use of the verb 'be' in its subjunctive form, independent of any familiar expression is remarkable.

    The subjunctive may be dead in English, much as differentiation between the nominative and accusative cases in pronouns (e.g., who/whom) is currently going the way of the dodo, but its still nice to see linguistic traditionalism popping up here and there. To a grammar geek like me (if I, like many people, acknowledged the imminent death of the nominative/accusative noun cases, I would have awkwardly said "To a grammar geek like myself") a rare appearance of a verbal mood largely dead now for at least a century is a point of real interest.

  7. Re:Open Source != Communism by sheldon · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    I'm curious if you realize just how bloody ignorant you are of the United States?

    "But seriously, have you ever been to these European countries? "

    I would have to ask if you have ever been to the States? If so which ones, and do you realize how large the US is?

    I was speaking with someone from Sweden one day, he commented on the WTC attack and whether I felt safe or not. I had to point out to him that New York City is further away from me than he is from Bosnia. He couldn't quite grasp the concept of it taking several days by car to drive from one side of the country to the other.

    If you have been to the US, do you seriously think to presume you understand the country because you have visited New York? Do you know what Texans are like, what about those from Iowa? Nebraska? Montana? Indiana? Have you ever had a three-way in Cincinatti? Do you know what a good pork tenderloin from Iowa is like? What about a Philly steak sandwich? Or a Italian roast beef from Chicago?

    In the future before you presume to question the ignorance of Americans it would be best if you instead focused on your own opportunity for learning.

    BTW to aid in your education I would like to point out that the three-strike laws would not apply to someone stealing jeans. Shoplifting is generally a misdemeanor offense(unless we are talking about stealing a truck load of jeans), and three-strike applies to felonies. The person would have had to been convicted on three felonies, things such as armed robbery, rape, aggravated assault and so forth.