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How Microsoft Beat Linux In China

Posted by kdawson on from the always-did-know-the-value-of-being-the-standard dept.

kripkenstein notes an analysis up on TechRepublic detailing how Microsoft beat Linux in China, and the consequences of that victory: "With the soon-to-be largest economy standardized on Windows desktops, desktop Linux does seem to have an uphill battle ahead of it." "Linux has turned out to be little more than a key bargaining chip in a high stakes game of commerce between the Chinese government and the world's largest software maker... The fact that... Linux failed to gain a major foothold in China is yet another blow to desktop Linux. After nearly eight years of being on the verge of a breakthrough, Linux seems more destined than ever to be a force in the server room but little more than a narrow niche and an anomaly on the desktop."

7 of 313 comments (clear)

  1. Whistling past the graveyard by baomike · · Score: 2, Funny

    You can almost hear the author whisper to himself; "I hope this article turns out to be right.

  2. Re:What about RedFlag Linux? by sakdoctor · · Score: 3, Funny

    It exists, and it is more than GPL violating too.
    When I saw it running a few years back (Chinese version) it was an extreamly shoddy red hat fork with KDE as the desktop and blatantly ripped-off windows 2000 icons. It was trying hard to pass off as windows 2000, but also there was no root password, user ran as root by default, and it seemed that some services...actually most of them, were running by default.

    The whole thing was just so communist. As opposed to Linux.

  3. Re:Uphill battle by modecx · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, you're saying it's a Good Thing some Penguins love to climb up very steep, snowy hills.

    --
    Constitutional rights may be respected, repealed, or modified; but they must never be ignored.
  4. Re:Uphill battle by rustalot42684 · · Score: 3, Funny

    So, you're saying it's a Good Thing some Penguins love to climb up very steep, snowy hills. Duh! Only then can they race down the other side!
  5. It's a DoD move... by l2b · · Score: 1, Funny

    With the Chinese military devoting huge amounts of time to rebooting WinDoze clients, there will be no time to train and wage war.

  6. Re:Slow down, cowboy! by thegnu · · Score: 2, Funny

    a Rosencrantz to Microsoft's Hamlet.
    This, of course, is from the beloved children's story, "Rosencrantz's Web."

    --
    Please stop stalking me, bro.
  7. Re:Slow down, cowboy! by grcumb · · Score: 2, Funny

    a Rosencrantz to Microsoft's Hamlet.
    This, of course, is from the beloved children's story, "Rosencrantz's Web."

    Actually, it's a reference to "NetCraft Confirms It", the online version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

    --
    Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.