Newsmaker: The business of Linux in China

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The availability of developers is also a problem. There is a shortage of developers who understand Linux. The center is trying to address all these problems.

Why is there a shortage of Linux developers? What is being done about this shortage?
Hu: Unfortunately, the curricula in many Chinese universities teach developers about Windows only. From last year, the Ministry of Education has laid down a policy for universities to include Linux in their curricula.

Universities are working on solving this problem, but there is a shortage of teachers and materials, so they are now developing materials and training teachers. I believe Linux training in the main universities will be available by the end of 2006.

The Chinese government has dictated that government agencies must buy only China-produced software, so why are organizations still using Microsoft?
Hu: In general, the Chinese government supports Linux and open-source solutions. We're a developing country with a huge population, and the government thinks that open source is a good way to lead the population into IT literacy.

There is a government purchasing policy across China that says if local software is available, it should be top priority But there are so many people using Microsoft Windows that it is not feasible to say, "Tomorrow, everyone must use Linux." It would result in chaos. The migration must be step by step. During this process, I believe that Microsoft may also develop a counterpolicy--it may open up some of its products.

What is your perception of Microsoft? Do you want people to stop using Microsoft software?
Hu: I am not necessarily against Microsoft. It also provides a product, which has its own benefits, such as ease of use. Many people are still using Microsoft products, and it's their choice whether to use it. The only role of the government in this is to ensure they respect intellectual property.

The purchase of software within the government is different. If they have a choice of local and homemade software, it should be top priority to use (the latter).

How many Linux distributions are there in China? How important are standards within the Linux platform?
Hu: There are around 10 Linux distributions. Standards are very important. You need to have a development standard, a user-interface standard and a documentation standard. A standard must be international, but take into account local needs. Linux Standard Base (an international standard that has been adopted by vendors across the world) is a very important standard.

What are your predictions for the next five years? Do you think Linux on the desktop will take off?
Hu: In the coming five years, the Linux desktop market in China will grow substantially. To make this growth healthier, we will have to work with international organizations like the Open Source Development Labs, and the Chinese development community must work in a more extensive manner with the international community, such as the GNOME and KDE projects. The development of the Linux desktop will also grow to be more systematic--distributions will become more standardized.  

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[FutureGuy]

How about US mandating...

...locally produced goods???

[Captain_Spock]

The "US mandating locally produced goods???...

... no, that would not be necessary since we are operating within a global economy (village) and it will be that freedom (of choice) loving 90% world market share (that control the wallets) that will be making this determination about the entire question of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Just ask yourself this question; which do you prefer easy to use software for which you do not pay for services or free software for which you you have to figure out months after the services costs whether or not the system/s is/are working for you?

[rcrusoe]

Right, like that's going to happen.

U.S. corporations are grabbing their ankles at the slightest possibility of Chinese dollars.

If it's still they way it was a few years ago, most of the police cars (Ford) used in the U.S. are imported from Canada with only the "final assembly" aka attaching mirrors done in the U.S.

Heck, 80+ percent of all the merchandise sold by Wal-Mart is made in China. That whirring sound you hear is Sam Walton spinning in his grave.

No way the U.S. government can mandate locally produced goods when most of the goods "produced" by U.S. companies are actually made elsewhere.