| How Linux could solve China's software piracy problem |
Oct. 06, 2005
Could it be true that 90 percent of all software used in the Republic of China is pirated? That's what a recent study by International Data Corp. (IDC) and the Business Software Alliance has determined. Not only that, but "software vendors claim they suffered $3.5 billion in losses last year due to Chinese piracy," writes Maria Trombly in an article at CIO Insight.
If this is indeed true, the door is wide open for Linux and other open source software to step in and combat this epidemic of theft. So, under pressure from the world community and from local technology companies and other industry sectors, China has started thinking about cleaning up its act, Trombly writes.
"In the past, Linux wasn't mature enough, but now the situation has changed," says Shouqun Lu, chairman of the China Open Source Software Federation. "It still isn't a total replacement for Microsoft, but it is an additional choice for users. And the cost to purchase Microsoft products is very high. It will cost much less if you use Linux," Lu adds.
Read the rest of Trombly's CIO Insight article here.
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