China bans the installation of Windows 8 on government computers

[glenfordwilliams]

China believes that Windows 8 poses enough of a future security risk that it's banning government agencies from installing the operating system on any of its new computers. In a statement issued last week and picked up by China's official news agency today, the Central Government Procurement Center has dealt Microsoft a massive blow by stating that all desktops, laptops and tablets must now run an OS other than Windows 8. Consumers aren't affected, as it'll only focus on computers used by government offices. It's a curious decision, given the fact a reported 70 percent of Chinese computers run Microsoft's 13-year-old Windows XP platform, but it's believed officials are trying to stop agencies from being left in the cold should the company pull official Windows 8 support in the future. The government will now focus its efforts on its own Linux-based OS, which is an idea it's been flirting with for a while already, firstly by promoting its use in an official capacity and then by attempting to persuade consumers in China to switch too.


source

[NOKIA 3650]

The government will now focus its efforts on its own Linux-based OS

The government of China can decide anything they want, but until there is an increase in the development of (more useful) applications for Linux, it'll stay stuck exactly where it is now. It would be great if this article could elaborate on the "future" security risk so that it would seem more credible.

Edit: time to put on my flame suit before the flame-wars begin.

[jamrock]

Linux development has never really focused on desktop applications. Linux is used primarily on servers and in mobile devices.

You will find Linux on web servers, email servers, etc. It is as stable as Unix and much, much cheaper. If you check the company that hosts your company's email server or web server, you are likely to find Linux.

No doubt you know that Android is a Linux based operating system. In recent years, Android has been quietly replacing Windows as the operating system of choice.

I tend to see more interest in desktop Linux applications when Microsoft puts out unpopular operating systems. I assisted friends with Ubuntu installations on their laptops during the time of Vista. The demand disappeared when Windows 7 came along.

We will have to wait and see what happens when Windows 9 is released. If it is as unpopular as Windows 8 or Vista, we could see increased demand for alternative operating systems. If it is as good as Windows 7, there will be no need to look elsewhere.

[glenfordwilliams]

The government of China can decide anything they want, but until there is an increase in the development of (more useful) applications for Linux, it'll stay stuck exactly where it is now. It would be great if this article could elaborate on the "future" security risk so that it would seem more credible.

Edit: time to put on my flame suit before the flame-wars begin.

The linux ecosysystem is filled with alternatives that are just as good if not better and pretty much open for scrutiny code wise. Imho the problem lies in

1. Consumers are stubborn to change
2. Because consumers are stubborn to changes hardware vendors refuse to release drivers for platforms that not much of their customers are using

[gW33Zy]

Seeing the reach of the NSA/DoD/CIA/FBI when it comes to American produced hardware and software, it is only prudent for a country like China to protect its IT infrastructure from outside access/tampering. Why would they want to use a closed source solution like Win 8? You would think that a likely 'future' security risk would be easy to mitigate from today by building their own UNIX based systems from the kernel up. Using an open source system means you are able to walk through the code, audit every line bit by bit. That's has always been the advantage of an open sourced solutions over a closed ones.
Remember this is China, not a little backwards banana-republic comfortable with running vital government systems on an back-doored copy of Windows.

[Powpow]

I'm surprised China even uses Windows OS in the first place, but I suppose that's one way of them testing out the flaws so they know what to stop their people from doing.

Frankly I for one think they should stick to the open sourced OS, or just build their own as someone stated.

Still why on earth is China using Windows?

[gW33Zy]

I'm surprised China even uses Windows OS in the first place, but I suppose that's one way of them testing out the flaws so they know what to stop their people from doing.

Frankly I for one think they should stick to the open sourced OS, or just build their own as someone stated.

Still why on earth is China using Windows?

Because there are some things Windows does right, e.g. MS Office and Active Directory. Then there is hardware support, large(st) user base and large(st) software library. Then there is compatibilities for the sake internationalization, China wants to do business everywhere and everywhere is dominated by MS.
When China emails your local minister of * , they need to make sure the attached document containing the buyout contract is compatible with the local OS.

[jamrock]

they need to make sure the attached document containing the buyout contract is compatible with the local OS.

I have seen incompatibility issues between different versions of Office. For example when Office changed the Excel format from xls to xlsx. People on older versions had to download and install a patch in order to read the new formats. They were unable to modify the xlsx files until they upgraded. The new version also changed the Word file formats from doc to docx with similar results.

The various Office suites are very compatible with Microsoft Office by the way. Also Samba on Linux does Active Directory.

[glenfordwilliams]

Because there are some things Windows does right, e.g. MS Office and Active Directory. Then there is hardware support, large(st) user base and large(st) software library. Then there is compatibilities for the sake internationalization, China wants to do business everywhere and everywhere is dominated by MS.
When China emails your local minister of * , they need to make sure the attached document containing the buyout contract is compatible with the local OS.

most of the linux alteratives i've used if not all are backward compatible with their windows alternatives its just for the user to understand

[gW33Zy]

...alternatives its just for the user to understand

This is the hard part... this is where MS is winning. The steep learning curve the familiarity with MS OSes imposes on new Linux users. Its hard to switch, but not impossible for the average user. I switched because i needed to but i still need Windows because of software such as Photoshop and Illustrator

All said and done, it is a very wise decision China has taken to mitigate future security issues. For proof, look at the current situation with ATMs still running on WinXP, an EOL product from MS.