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MS Plans To Cooperate With Chinese TV Maker

Posted by timothy on from the match-made-in-heaven-with-stars-and-report dept.

zhangyong writes "Microsoft has signed a strategic cooperation pact with China's top television maker Sichuan Changhong Electric Appliances (which claims to be the world's number-two maker of colour TVs, OEM for APEX, etc.), the official Shanghai Securities News (in Chinese) (in English) said on Monday. 'Changhong would receive advanced IT technology and software from Microsoft to develop digital TV sets and other high-technology products.' What will happen when low-cost labor in China is combined with Microsoft technologies?"

7 of 213 comments (clear)

  1. Government DRM by DigiShaman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Let me guess

    Oh..oh I KNOW! Pick me.. PICK ME!!!

    Would it have anything to do with Government sponsored DRM so the CCP can control all that you see, hear and download at a more manageable level?

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    Life is not for the lazy.
    1. Re:Government DRM by qtp · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Doesn't really matter if it's government mandated DRM, or if it's an industry wide agreement. Either way there is a group with a vested interest in controlling what news, ideas, and history we are exposed to controlling what we watch and what we can pass around freely.

      The interest of the two groups (government and industry) are remarkably similar (they depend on each other to remain in power) and dissenting voices will be quieted no matter who is at the reigns of DRM.

      I would not be surprised if the Chinese government is welcoming of this development. Government control over media content there seems to be commonplace there, and DRM appears to be a natural choice to further enforce control over the dissemination of ideas.

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      Read, L
  2. Good question by Dark+Lord+Seth · · Score: 3, Insightful
    What will happen when low-cost labor in China is combined with Microsoft technologies?

    Symantec and McAffee stock go orbital?

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    Hate me!
  3. It's obvious by Yurka · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Massive quantities of hardware-based DRM, of severely crappy quality, which breaks in a couple of days. But at least it's going to be cheap.

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    I can assure you, the best way to get rid of dragons is to have one of your own.
  4. Jeanne Dixon, stand aside... by mr.+methane · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I predict:

    * People will keep buying microsoft products because they like the products.

    * Slashdotters will continue to rant about the evils of microsoft (or whatever company happens to be doing well at the time)

    * Linux will continue being a useful and robust platform that's too complex for the average consumer and incompatible with popular applications.

  5. Re:What will happen... by Stevyn · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How about rather than joining 3 million other slashdotters in bitching about the rich guy down the street you actually contribute. If you think you can do better, than help an open source project. All of the programs you listed have an open source counterpart that in ways don't measure up to microsoft's "crap clones" as of yet. I'd rather you use your talent to help or at least donate to open office. Spreading FUD about microsoft's programs isn't going to help shit.

  6. Watch This Carefully by ewhac · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It seems Microsoft is performing an end-run around the free market again.

    Not so very long ago, during the dawn of the x86 PC, machines were sold without operating systems. You had to buy your own copy. You were likely to ask friends or consult magazine reviews as to which OS was the best buy. As such, there was a possibility that you would buy, for example, CP/M-86 or Concurrent CP/M and not MS-DOS. In fact, there was a very good chance you wouldn't buy MS-DOS, because it was junk, and everyone knew it.

    Bill Gates knew it, too. He knew he couldn't win a fair fight on the retail shelf. So he did the same thing he'd done with BASIC: He took the choice out of the consumers' hands and made deals with PC manufacturers to bundle MS-DOS with the machine. Today, as a direct result of such deals, Microsoft is an oppressive illegal monopoly, and industry innovation has been provably stunted.

    It seems Microsoft intends to repeat the process, this time with in-TV software, in a country not yet familiar with their felonious behavior.

    Watch this carefully. Microsoft has proved repeatedly that they don't give a damn about the end-user, because that's not their customer -- the OEM is, and Microsoft has shown that they can bend OEMs over at will without repercussions. Personally, I don't think this bodes well at all for the future of TV receivers.

    Schwab

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    Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions