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Why South Korea Is Shackled To Windows

Posted by kdawson on from the monoculture dept.

baron writes with a blog post explaining in detail why 99.9% of S. Korea uses Windows. This amazing tale began in 1998 when Korea decided it couldn't wait for SSL to be standardized (which it was in 1999) and commissioned an ActiveX control for secure Web transactions. At first there was a secure Netscape plugin too, but we know how that story ended. Quoting: "This nation is a place where Apple Macintosh users cannot bank online, make any purchases online, or interact with any of the nation's e-government sites online. In fact, Linux users, Mozilla Firefox users, and Opera users are also banned from any of these types of transactions..." Now that Microsoft has made ActiveX more secure in Vista, every Web site in S. Korea is scrambling to get things working again and the government is advising citizens not to install Vista. At the end of all this work, they will still be a monoculture in thrall to Microsoft, with millions of users sitting behind some of the fattest pipes in the world.

4 of 252 comments (clear)

  1. wait? by Tom · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This amazing tale began in 1998 when Korea decided it couldn't wait for SSL to be standardized (which it was in 1999) and commissioned an ActiveX control for secure Web transactions. Has anyone ever investigate which backroom dealings resulted in this decision? Decisions like this, with a multi-billion profit guarantee to a specific vendor, aren't made for technical merit. If you really believe that neither MS nor someone else with stakes in it (maybe some reseller?) was involved, I have a few bridges for sale...
    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  2. TCO Study? by Mateo_LeFou · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Anyone? I'd love to see a widescale analysis of how much vendor lockin actually costs. When it's this bad I imagine it's disastrous

    --
    My turnips listen for the soft cry of your love
  3. Re:This is MS's fault how? by michaelvkim · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There is no reason the Korean community can't develop a plug-in for other systems. Contrary to what this article is trying to say, there simply is no reason to develop a plug-in for other systems.
    You need to understand the Korean mentality. It wouldn't have mattered if the government made Active-X the standard, or if they outlawed it completely. Hell, it wouldn't have mattered if the government didn't do anything. This would've happened regardless. The reason is that unlike in America where it's cool to be different and unique, the Korean mentality is to be as homogeneous as possible. Anybody "weird" is singled out and alienated. This mindset is embedded in their society, culture, personal and professional lives, and everything else they do.
    The mere fact MS bundles IE with XP pretty much ENSURED that IE would be used by the vast majority of users in Korea.
    Even if standards were opened to allow Firefox, Safari, or Opera access to everything online, I will bet that IE will still have 99.9% of the market. Simply because it's what everybody else is using.
  4. Re:The Anti-Massachusetts by hey! · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Boston: 42 22' N 71 2' W

    Seoul: 37 34' N 126 58' E

    Which explains a lot; 126 58' E - 71 2' W = 198 00'.

    In other words, we're practically 180 apart.

    --
    Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.