Intel Helping Asia to Use Linux

sameerdesai writes "Seattletimes is carying this story on Intel helping major countries like China and India to help build Linux machines as an alternative to Microsoft Windows. It definitely looks like both Microsoft and Intel are using the big potential market in Asia to establish a foothold. Microsoft is using its scare tactics to warn of possible lawsuits because Linux violates about 228 patents. What do fellow slashdotters think on trends of OS and hardware in Asia will be?"

Comments

Dunno other parts of Asia, but in China

[lxt518052]

Linux isn't as popular as in the west partly because pirated Microsoft products are so easy to get. For example, you can probably find a set of pirated WinXP + Office XP CDs for 8 RMB, or US$1. Almost everything you need for a Windows machine can be find at a low price. As far as I can remember, this has always been the case since the mid-90s. Rumors said that MS itself promoted pirating Windows and other its products secretly to boost its userbase and reap the profit later by intimedating corporate user into buying licenses through lawsuits.

The reason for MS to help pirating its own software is the price. While a typical Chinese family in Shanghai earns RMB4000, or US$500, a month. A copy of MS WinXP Home OEM(supposedly cheaper than non-OEM, the reason why OEM is for retail is beyond me) is labeled RMB 880http://www.federal.com.cn/shop/game/productintr oduce.asp?productno=10ABBMIC343, or about US$100. That's about one fifth of the family's income. And MS Office 2003 Standard Chinese Simplified costs RMB3000http://www.federal.com.cn/shop/soft/product introduce.asp?productno=10CBEMIC382, or US$370. These prices are from an online retailer. They used to be much higher when people earns much less in the mid-90s. Paying a month's earning for only the basic operating system sounds just insane. But this was, and largely still the case in China if you want to stay with MS leagally. And there is no alternative to MS, since MS has virtually destroyed everyone who dare to challenge them by every means possible, including promoting pirates.

I know Microsoft's practices are the same globaly, but it is extremely effective in locking in users of developing countries like China. Unlike the west, there was virtually no base of unix users. To most people, computer = PC = Windows. The shortage of unix gurus makes Linux extremely hard to approach in the early days.

Now the situation has changed somehow, but language barrier still exists. Good linux documentation and forums are almost all in English or more obscure languages to a common Chinese. One has to be fluent in English to master Linux. There're not many people can do so, even among the youth. Translation helps, but not much, partly because of the quality. The community-driven model itself demands users and developers to communicate in common language, and the core developers are, inevitably, mostly English speaking or prefer to communicate in English.

Having said that, I still believe Linux is the way to go for Chinese, not for some national security reasons, but the freedom and openness.

Re:Whoa there.

[Mysticalfruit]

Firstly, those would be American patents I'm pretty sure. Which, since their going to be using the product in their country doesn't really apply.

Secondly, China and India have a long standing and storied history of ignoring patents all together.

So, ultimately Microsoft is just tooting its own horn.