> Don't forget three active user groups, an exploding > university program > via Joey/Teresa and Co, and a Sun engineering center > in Beijing. The > portal and the programming contest are just the > latest editions to the > China OpenSolaris community portfolio. I think we > have just as much of a > shot at community building in China as anyone, > actually. On my trips > there, I've heard consistently that the Linux > penetration is not nearly > as great as some have been led to believe and that > it's basically a > Windows world there. And every time I go I see > significant interest in > OpenSolaris. Generally, there is huge opportunity for > open source in > China. I'm looking forward to making China a key > component in the > Advocacy Community. > > Jim > -- > Jim Grisanzio, Sr. Program Manager, OpenSolaris > Engineering > http://blogs.sun.com/jimgris > _______________________________________________ > opensolaris-discuss mailing list > opensolaris-discuss@opensolaris.org >
I have heard so much about Joey, Teresa, Sun's Beijing team & the wonderful work they have been doing, next time I am in Beijing I will try to make a special effort to visit them, probably bringing along a couple of my friends from the MOST. Regarding Linux in China, there are a couple of my personal observations that may or may not worth a penny. First, many officials I know are interested, not in Linux per se, but actually in what's represented by its concept (i.e., open-sourced kernel and free initial cost, etc). However, Linux has been around (& pushed) for so many years but is going nowhere. A new "species" which embraces similar concepts but offers a more workable/manageable approach (I don't know whether this is the right descriptive phrase), such as Sun's Solaris, may pump fresh air and reinvigorate new interests. Not to be overlooked is the fact that Solaris can be easily packaged (i.e., marketed) to resonate with java (now also JavaFX). Everyone loves java (I guess worship is too big a word). In Taiwan, I have observed that almost everyone is buying US mutual funds ($11.2 billion USD this year alone). In China, over a quarter million new brokerage accounts are being opened PER DAY. What these numbers represent is a market that has been largely untagged. Windows (especially the pirated editions, which are prevalent especially in China) is too insecure to be entrusted for on-line financial transactions. OTOH Linux companies are all too small to be able to convince the brokerage firms to release their client software, which are all java-based, that will run under Linux. Sun/Solaris may be able to provide the most desired alternative. Again, one quarter million new accounts a day is a market that should make everyone drool. This message posted from opensolaris.org _______________________________________________ opensolaris-discuss mailing list opensolaris-discuss@opensolaris.org
