Posted on 02/07/2006 11:26:40 AM PST by N3WBI3
Microsoft's row with Korean regulators could boost Linux in Asia, the region's first listed Linux developer told vnunet.com today.
"It should definitely have a positive public relations impact for us," said Nobu Okada, chief financial officer at Turbolinux, a Japan-based Linux developer that carried out a successful IPO in September.
Microsoft said that it might stop selling Windows in Korea if regulators demand a rewrite of the operating system's code to remove certain features.
As regulators from the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) met to discuss a ruling in an antitrust case aimed at Microsoft, the president of Microsoft Korea, Yoo Jae-sung, said that if the KFTC urges Microsoft to remove bundled applications from Windows, it would be "difficult for us to do business in Korea".
The comments, reported in the Korea Times, appear to represent a strengthening of Microsoft's position, after a Korean official scolded the company earlier today.
The official told Reuters that Microsoft " should take responsibility for its customers and companies in relation to its business". On Sunday, a Microsoft Korea representative had been more conciliatory.
Mike Davis, senior research analyst with the Butler Group, downplayed the dispute's global significance. "Really, for Microsoft, Korea is small potatoes," he said.
Consumers would be likely to switch to pirated versions of Windows if they could not buy a bona fide copy, he predicted, although this would deny them access to official updates.
Davis believes that any positive impact for Linux is likely to result from the South Korea government insisting that its departments use alternatives to Windows.
With most Linux developers worldwide focusing on English and European languages, Turbolinux is generally recognised as one of the leading Asian providers of Linux, with a version adapted for Asian-language display and input, notably Japanese, Chinese and Korean.
The robust actions of Korean regulators are part of a global trend, argued Okada. "More than 30 countries are shifting toward open source software as a result of government leadership," he said.
If Microsoft really did delay or cease Windows deliveries in Korea, both Linux and Apple would benefit.
"For the desktop PC, the only alternatives are Mac OS and Linux," he said. Linux could see even greater gains in the server market, he added.
However, Okada warned that there is speculation that Korea's tough position could be a negotiating stance designed to win concessions from Microsoft. A decision in the case is expected during the next few days.
Microsoft's regional headquarters has not responded to vnunet.com's requests for comment on the Korean case this week.
While Microsoft can afford to play hardball with smaller nations like Korea, larger markets may not be so easy to push around.
"If China turned around and said 'no' to Microsoft, then they would have to take notice," said Davis.
tech ping?
Got Loot?
"although this would deny them access to official updates. "
well, if you slipstream SP2 on top of a corp. edition then you can...........nevermind, forget i said anything.
Its really too bad that MS just wont offer a more modular product, this could end up hurting both MS and South Korea
Use Apple, fine with me, at least that keeps money coming back to America, unlike Linux, which allows the Chinese government to rename Red Hat to Red Flag, and resell it without a dime back to us.
Shouldn't it be 'Rinux'?
1. fine
2. there are more that don't
3. so you cave in to them, and give it to them legally for free, instead
4. it's called politics, Clinton stopped export controls on software, I want them put back
..and out of date. Red Flag has been based on Asianux for quite a few years now.
Red Flag and Asianux are free copies of Red Hat. The new Asianux is quote "a mirror image of Red Hat enterprise":
http://distrocenter.linux.com/distrocenter/05/09/23/1440254.shtml?tid=127
1) There are fewer percenage wise users of Linux in China than in the USA.
2) No one is "communist" anymore in China. Totalitarian? Sure. Octogenarian rulers? Absolutely. Ruthless dictators? Yessiree bob..... but not communist, and I dont' care what the name says. You can plaster CHEVY CITATION emblems over a Renault all day long and it won't make it any different than what it is, and China is most definitely NOT communist.
3)In fact, if you are not an evangelical Christian (or Falun Gong) in an underground church, a supporter of free Tibet, or some critic of the gov't, you actually have more freedom to start and run a business in China than you do here in the USA. That (and their cynical manipulation of the yuan v. the dollar) is why their economy grew at close to 10 per cent last year.
4) Red Hat has not supplied the kernel for the Chinese version of Red Flag for over 2 years now. Some asian distro of linux does that.
Did your mama throw you into the penguin tank at the zoo when you were a kid, and you just never got over the trauma, or is it something else?
and. you lie. That is not what it says. It says, "From the installation, it looks as if Asianux is a sort of mirror image of Red Hat Enterprise" and then goes on to say " The desktop features My Documents Folder, My Computer, a Start button, a Recycle Bin, and a start menu and Control Panel similar to that of Windows. In other words, Asianux appears to be attempting to copy Windows using open source software, presumably to maximize the ease of Windows-to-Linux migration.
Microsoft. Truth in marketing strikes again.
LOL! Nice cherry picking of quotes.
From the site:
From the installation, it looks as if Asianux is a sort of mirror image of Red Hat Enterprise.At least find a quote that uses an entire sentence.
1 - ridiculous, see here or elsewhere http://www.developerpipeline.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=170700731
2 - call them whatever you want, they shouldn't get free software from anyone over here.
3 - more freedom in China than the US? only if you count their lack of protection for property owners.
4 - asianux and red flag are both based on free copies red hat
LOL at you boys spinning. Check your own "open source encyclopedia" then:
The current release version of Asianux is 2.0 (August 31, 2005), which is based upon Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asianux
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