How important is the support of the Chinese government to Linux here?
It’s a great leveling effect….a clear [statement] of the government of not wanting to build a critical dependence on one supplier. Linux has broad appeal for government, education, and for private industry. This is one of the few governments to talk openly about advocating open-source [software]. Two nights ago I was at Tsinghua University for a talk and it was packed, with 300 people, to hear about open-source software and its relationship with China. What’s fascinating about this is that when broadband becomes cost-effective and affordable in China, it will really get interesting. That’s what frightens Microsoft (MSFT ). Q: Why should Microsoft be frightened by Chinese getting broadband? A: Right now, most high-speed access in China is [confined to the workplace]. But people [who work on Linux] do it as a hobby. A lot of the growth of open source happens as a social and technical pastime. When low-cost access to broadband Internet [becomes widespread], this will explode and create
