Freescale Makes Linux Move in China

Electronic News ^ | 2/28/2005 | Suzanne Deffree

[Dat Mon]

Linux got a leg up from Freescale Semiconductor Inc. and the China Ministry of Information Industry (MII), which announced this morning plans to jointly establish a lab based in Beijing to develop complete evaluation systems for the open operating system (OS) and PowerPC core.

Advertisement Freescale is not a stranger to China. The company has similar labs established there on the automotive and wireless sides. This time around, they take aim at China's growing embedded space.

"We obviously feel that PowerPC, given its architecture and scalability from low performance to high performance, is an opportunity for us to participate in this market in much bigger ways than we have before," Glenn Beck, director of marketing for Freescale's computing platform division, told Electronic News.

"With this announcement, they [the MII and China] are now embracing microprocessor technology, specifically the PowerPC architecture, as well as the Linux operating system," Beck said, noting that the MII was "very willing to start a dialogue" about the lab.

Tom Halfhill, senior analyst with In-stat's Microprocessor Report, further noted that with its high importance in the global market, companies cannot afford to miss out on China. On the Linux end, however, he believes it's the China players who don't want to miss out.

"Most of the things I've been hearing are that the Chinese are not too thrilled with paying royalties for foreign intellectual property," he said. "So there's been a lot of talk about the Chinese jumping on the open source bandwagon."

Halfhill further said China may even develop its own OS to avoid IP issues all together.

"I think generally what the Chinese are going to do is move toward developing their own technology or use an open source technology, so they won't need to have a lot of currency flowing out for royalties. They realize they are going to be a big enough market that they don't have to be second fiddle. They could eventually lead the way on some of these things."

In this collaboration, Freescale and third-party companies will equip the lab with PowerPC processor-based development boards and workstations, as well as development tools, such as Freescale's CodeWarrior Development Studio. MII's China Software and Integrated Circuit Promotion (CSIP) Center will staff the lab and conduct system evaluation testing for benchmark suites of Linux products. It also plans to engage Chinese software companies in these projects, which are expected to provide application software porting for the PowerPC architecture and Linux OS.

"It is a very meaningful move to establish evaluation systems for Linux products," said Ni Guang Nan, Academia of China, said in a statement. "Considering the proliferation of Linux products in the embedded space in the future, there is an urgent need for these scientific and effective evaluation systems. This collaboration between CSIP and Freescale will be very helpful in promoting the application of Linux products in China."

In addition to establishing the joint lab, Freescale and CSIP are planning a joint PowerPC Linux Developers Forum in Beijing, scheduled for Q2. The forum will provide Chinese OEMs, software companies, universities and government entities hands-on training with PowerPC processor and Linux OS technologies, and it will also update the participants on the PowerPC architecture and Freescale product roadmap

[Dat Mon]

Note one paragraph... "I think generally what the Chinese are going to do is move toward developing their own technology....."They realize they are going to be a big enough market that they don't have to be second fiddle. They could eventually lead the way on some of these things."

[Dat Mon]

Note form article..."and the China Ministry of Information Industry (MII), which announced this morning plans to jointly establish a lab based in Beijing to develop complete evaluation systems"

Every venture operation in China involving technology rollouts requires a joint operation with a government ministry...read Communist party front organization.

The Chinese plan is simple...for every business deal, they require the technology transfer as part of the deal.

As Ive said over and over...look for the Chinese to develop their own proprietary versions of wireless and multimedia, along with the computer operating systems to run them, all dedicated to the burgeoning Asia and third world markets.

[KoRn]

(waits for some idiot to make the communism / Linux link)

[mazack]

(waits with KoRn, while working away in bash)

[Dat Mon]

and listening to KORN? (techno joke)

[Cyber Liberty]

I have my passport ready...

[Dat Mon]

Actually, IMHO, the Chinese are working long term towards a propietary closed system...sorta like a Chinese Windows LINUX bastard child...that they would use to exclude US software and products sold in the Asia market.

[ShadowAce]

Chinese / Linux ping!

[Golden Eagle]

waits for some idiot to make the communism / Linux link

You don't have to go far. You can start right at www.communism.org

[Golden Eagle]

"Linux in the Red"

http://linuxtoday.com/it_management/2005022802226NWBZDT

"Linux is quickly becoming a familiar sight on desktops across China, where many influences have led the government to strongly push Linux as its preferred operating system..."

[mo]

"that they would use to exclude US software and products sold in the Asia market" ....IMHO nothing to do with markets...everything to do with their military hardware!!!!!!

[Dat Mon]

I hear ya.

Remember one thing though...for China, economics and military hardware are both part and parcel of another bigger plan. So the two go hand in hand.

[Codename - Ron Benjamin]

q.e.d.

[FLAMING DEATH]

I would guess that you don't find Communists as credible sources of information. At least not if you feel the same about them as you do foreigners in general. I have personally witnessed you deride others for using foreign based sources to document the information they use to refute you.

Now, you're posting a Communist site as a credible source of evidence that "Linux is communist".

Hmmm...let's think about Linux for a minute. Lots of independent individuals donating their time and efforts and money to contribute to something that they enjoy, and from which others will profit. And those individuals don't ask for one penny in return.

Sounds a lot like...Freerepublic.

[GeorgiaFreeper]

independent individuals donating their time and efforts and money to contribute to something that they enjoy, and from which others will profit.

Sounds a lot like...Freerepublic.

Actually, Freerepublic is more like a bunch of friends / acquaintances getting together to discuss current events and throwing in a little money for the room rental and refreshments.

Face it, the communist web site points to Linux as

An example of communist work relationships is provided by the Linux computer operating system--the core of which was created by many thousands of people--all working for free. A 2nd example is the "work" involved when people post to this board. No one gets paid to post here--but people do so--because it is an expression of their principles and convictions.

I would think that communism's fanboys recognize it when they see it.

[kezekiel]

An example of communist work relationships is provided by the Linux computer operating system--the core of which was created by many thousands of people--all working for free.

I pulled the weeds at my church for free. Have to go confess to the pastor that I'm a commie.

[GeorgiaFreeper]

confess to the pastor

You have to perform 5 hail Stallmans and reflect on the seriousness of your trespasses.

[Nick Danger]

Are there no Freepers who have faith in capitalism? I would think that after the fall of the Soviet Union and the liberation of Eastern Europe, people would stop fearing this stupid, loser ideology.

Sure, there are a few jerks left, like Castro and the Chinese leadership, who still think they can make it work. But they are on the losing side of history. The problem they have is that communism does not work.

I refuse to get my panties in a wad over some aging Chinese poobahs who think they are running a country that has gone capitalist and left them standing at the gate. They will soon enough meet the fate of Mr. Gorbachev, in charge of a government that no longer governs.

We either believe that capitalism is a superior system that wins out in the end, or we don't. The boneyard is now full of wrecked communist regimes that once looked oh-so-scary. But it turned out they were all one big façade rotting from the inside. We know Cuba to be the same. Why does anyone imagine that the Chinese "leadership" is presiding over anything but an elaborate charade?

What we know about communist regimes is that they are a giant pain in the butt. But they are a lot weaker than they look. Their hold on their countries can only be maintained by thuggery; not once have we seen the consent of the governed. The more restive the governed become, the sooner they hang the thugs from the lampposts.

Sure, the Chinese government talks a big game. It's going to be "oceans of blood, and seas of fire," just like Mullah Omar and Baghdad Bob. But we heard the same crap from the Soviet Union. And then one day — pffft! — it was gone. Not a shot fired; it just disintegrated from its own inner rot.

Why does anyone worry that communism is going to work this time, in China? It's not. It's a failed ideology that does not work. All we have to fear is an aging cadre of thugs in Beijing who are riding a tiger that will throw them off and eat them before they know what hit them. The more the population sees how capitalism compares, the sooner that will happen.

[FLAMING DEATH]

Wait a minute...in your quote from the Communist site, they alluded to their OWN message board and referred to the way it works as communist as well...

"A 2nd example is the "work" involved when people post to this board. No one gets paid to post here--but people do so--because it is an expression of their principles and convictions."

Gee...again, sounds a lot like Freerepublic. Thanks.

So, which statements by commies are credible, and which are hogwash? It sounds to me like you're picking and choosing to prove a point.

By the way, I, as a rabid capitalist, can modify my OS, make copies of it, and sell it if I wish.

The whole "Linux is Communist" thing is a really, really silly. Using Linux doesn't make you a communist any more than using Windows will make you want to spy on your customers, neglect personal hygeine and get yourself arrested in Albuquerque.

By the way, the creator of Mepis, the OS I'm using right now, has pledged support to our men and women in the military by providing them with free software , invoking the ire of at least one liberal who wrote this article about it.

That doesn't sound like any communism I know.

[Cyber Liberty]

I'm with you, Nick. I think this is a good development, and Linux is a side-issue. It's the private companies starting to work within China that is going to change things in the long run.