IBM taking open source on world tour

(continued from previous page)

owned by CNET Networks, publisher of News.Com). Notable companies in the country include Yandex, a search company that's like the Russian Google, and PIK RFID, which makes chipless RFID tags.

Esther Dyson
editor-at-large,
EDventure

At the same time, governmental, legal and social instability have prompted most Western investors to shy away. So far, Westerners in Russia have put most of their money into natural resources. Both sides of the coin will be discussed at the U.S. Russia Technology Symposium, which is taking place at Stanford University later this week.

The start-up concept remains somewhat vague in Russia, too.

"Entrepreneurship is not the way you think about technology," Clark said of the mindset there. "You work for the government or a quasi-governmental body." Nonetheless, he added, "Russia is kind of the unrecognized treasure."

To better familiarize themselves with the situation, IBM executives in Clark's group participated in a tour of Russian start-ups last year in order to identify promising ideas and individuals. They also recruited venture firms Landmark Capital and Draper Fisher Jurvetson to help them in Russia.

Western investment in local Russian companies, which is still a trickle at best, will likely follow the model pioneered when Israel was emerging as a technology center. Employees will stay in Russia, but the financing, corporate headquarters and some top executives will relocate to safe harbors like the Cayman Islands or Delaware, which enjoy pro-business laws and conditions.

"This is a governance model that is more suitable to investors," Clark said; "99.9 percent of the company is in Russia, but the risk is lower."

More developed emerging nations pose problems, too. In Latin America, for instance, standard contracts are somewhat rare, Clark said. As a result, parties getting involved in deals do not have as clear an idea of their risks and potential liabilities as in the United States.

[iqula]

The best way for IBM to promote Linux is...

The best way for IBM to promote Linux would be to help the CosmoPOD.com project in any way, this effort can easily put Linux in front of everyone for nothing and familiarize the world with a Linux desktop.