It seems that a few years ago, more than 95% of the software market in China was foreign-sourced. Last year, however, 70% of the software their government was using was open source. That means a market over which western software companies were rubbing their hands with glee in 2003 (presumably awaiting the payout from the first hit that was free) now see the market potentially evaporating.
China is all about control. And perhaps seeing the awful mess that is Microsoft's code, they walked. Good for them! Which also means good for the rest of us!
ReplyDeleteWell, yes - provided they give back any changes they make. It's not yet really clear to what extent they're going to play by the (Western) rules....
ReplyDeleteWe should get an idea of this [openness] on whether China agrees to harmonize UOF with ODF. If so, then that alone is a big step.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's going to be an interesting story to watch.
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