[Am-info] East Asia plans Windows rival

[Erick Andrews]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3090918.stm

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East Asia plans Windows rival  [BBC News]
 
China, South Korea and Japan are to boost joint research into a
new computer operating system to rival Microsoft Windows.

The project, expected to be open-source software, was proposed by
Japan and is intended to give a helping hand to Windows rivals,
such as Linux.

The Japanese Government has already earmarked one billion yen
(US$85.5m) for the project.

"Japan does not have the intention of rejecting a certain
product," a spokesman for Japan's Minister of Trade, Takeo
Hiranuma, said.

"However Microsoft Windows dominates everywhere, although people
also want to test different products.  Therefore it is important
to work on alternatives."

Software alternatives

The official added that top officials of the Ministries of Trade
from Japan, China and South Korea will come together for a further
meeting later in September.

An open-source software forum will then be set up by major
Japanese electronics companies such as Hitachi, Matsushita, NEC
and Fujitsu, to establish what they need from the alternative
software.

The philosophy behind Linux is one of providing an operating
system for the people and by the people Bill Thompson, technology
analyst

However, Japanese officials confirmed that they planned more to
work with current Windows alternatives than building a new system
entirely from scratch.

"The idea is to get existing non-Windows operating systems, such
as Linux, to be more broadly used, rather than developing a
totally new operating system," said ministry official Takashi
Kume.

He added that it was hoped development of a Windows alternative
would allow manufacturers more choice.

Recent problems regarding viruses that attacked Windows software
have shown to the three countries the risk of relying on a single
software product.

Elsewhere in the region, Malaysia's technology minister has given
his country's endorsement to Linux, which can be copied and
modified freely.

The open source system is significantly cheaper than Windows as it
is what is known as "free software", although it does require
money to be spent on support installing and running the system.

Fixing Windows

"It's that version of Linux which is starting to worry Microsoft,
which is why they're so concerned when national governments start
endorsing Linux, start offering money to develop mew Linux
programmes," said technology analyst Bill Thompson.

National governments, Mr Thompson added, were realising the
benefits that come to them of using Linux-type systems, not only
in terms of cost and reliability, but also because they have
control.

"The philosophy behind Linux is one of providing an operating
system for the people and by the people," Mr Thompson told BBC
World Service's East Asia Today programme.

"It's developed by a team of dedicated developers, it's given away
for nothing, so anyone who wants it can use it.

"If you are the Japanese Government and you're installing
Microsoft software on all of your systems, if anything goes wrong
with it it's up to Microsoft to fix it, you have to rely on them
and their programmers.

"If you've installed Linux, your programmers can actually get in
there, find the problems and fix them themselves."
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-- 
Erick Andrews