Summary: China may no longer be able to use proprietary software from the United States without paying, which is great news for GNU/Linux and other Free software
LAST WEEK we wrote about Ylmf OS, which is a Ubuntu-based Windows XP clone that we mentioned later on in this post and also this morning. Here is some new coverage.
Ubuntu Linux Clone Looks Like Windows XP
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Now, the next logical question: Do businesses and consumers want an Ubuntu Linux release that essentially looks and feels like Windows XP?
Hmmm… In The VAR Guy’s own home his kids already move seamlessly between Windows XP, Mac OS X and Canonical’s more traditional Ubuntu user interface. The “myth” that desktop Linux has a difficult learning curve is just that… a myth.
And besides, it doesn’t sound like Ylmf OS is pushing beyond China anytime soon. Still… you never can tell how software will potentially go viral across the web.
Microsoft is pressuring China and hinders its use of proprietary software, but Microsoft is not alone. China has just been sued with a price tag of over $2 billion for copyright violation. It used proprietary software against the law, just like Microsoft China [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
An American company has filed a $2.2bn (£1.4bn) lawsuit in the US accusing Beijing of stealing lines of code from its internet filtering software.
There is Free (as in Freedom) filtering software that they can use, but the intent may be considered malicious. Maybe this pressure from West will further push China towards Free software. █
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