China to Invigorate Software IndustryThe Ministry of Information Industry and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) will join forces to encourage strengthening of the nation's software industry in a bid to pry the computer industry from the grip of operating systems giants like Microsoft.The ministry will invest in research and development of Red Flag Linux software, the operating system brainchild of tech-heads at CAS' Software Research Institute. The system will reportedly be written in Chinese and feature changes that will make it easier for Chinese users to understand. Linux software is a basic operating system like Windows that serves as an organizing platform for specific application software. "The ministry's financial contribution represents a major move on the part of the government to encourage the country's software industry," said Vice-Minister Qu Weizhi, quoted by the paper. Without its own operation software, China has been left behind in the international software race, Qu added. About 7.4 billion yuan (US$893.7 million) worth of operation software was sold in China last year, and most of that money flew directly into the pockets of overseas companies led by Microsoft. China's software makers are in danger of being completely controlled by foreign big firms, said Qu. |
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