China Preparing National Operating System

China is preparing to launch an operating system to end its reliance on imported technologies such as Android, the Mac OS, and Windows. The Chinese Academy of Engineering system should be released in October 2014, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency. The desktop version is expected to be released first, followed by the mobile OS, according to the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The goal is to replace foreign-made desktop OSs within one or two years and mobile operating systems within three to five years. Ni Guangnan, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, heads a government development alliance for the academy and told Xinhua that a lack of research funds and too many independent developers working in different directions have hampered the new design effort and that the government should direct the project. The Chinese government has been pushing the use of domestic technology to avoid what it says are the cybersecurity risks of using foreign technology. In May 2014, it banned the use of Windows 8. (Reuters)(PC Mag)(BBC)(Xinhua News Agency)

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China Wants Extended XP Support from Microsoft

The Chinese government wants Microsoft to extend its support for Windows XP to halt the traffic in pirated Microsoft software. A state copyright official claims the release of Windows 8 translates into higher prices for Windows-based computers, which leads consumers to purchase less expensive, pirated versions of the software. Windows XP is still used by a large percentage of Chinese. Ending the support would also increase security threats to users. (SlashDot)(Network World)

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