14 DAY TRIAL // China is the country that hopes to get rid of Windows completely in the next few years, at least on government computers, so local authorities put together a plan that would move 15 percent of all PCs used by state departments to Linux-based platforms.
Citing local media, WantChinaTimes reveals that a plan proposed by Ni Guangnan, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, has already been approved, and the country now wants to gradually replace Windows computers with a locally developed operating system based on Linux.
At this point, it appears that no such replacement for Windows exists, but China believes that by 2020, the date when the transition off Windows is expected to complete, the country would already have a powerful and more secure alternative created by domestic companies.
The question obviously is what’s going to happen with the first computers stepping away from Windows since no alternative is currently available, but the Chinese are actually trying to speed up migration efforts because of security concerns.
Windows 8 already banned in China
Windows 8 was already banned by China in May this year, amid security concerns that Microsoft might be using the operating system to spy on government computers and provide the United States authorities with Chinese state secrets.
Microsoft itself explained that it was very surprised at the decision, but since then no other decision has been made to reverse the ban, so the modern operating system is still unavailable on Chinese government computers.
Interestingly, Microsoft tried to co-operate with local authorities to address the claims, but instead of making Windows 8 available again, the company was pushed into an anti-trust investigation that’s still going on in the country.
Chinese organizations already ordered to dump Windows
The eradication of Windows in China won’t take place only at the software level, as the country also wants to replace servers and chips with alternative solutions, local media reports.
What’s more, it appears that a number of organizations have already been ordered to start the migration off Windows, although it’s not yet clear what’s the name of the new operating system that they shall install.
The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) informed banks to switch to operating systems developed by domestic companies, the aforementioned source notes, so the country might actually give companies the power of choice when it comes to replacing Windows with a different solution.
Microsoft is yet to issue a statement on China’s new plan, but we’ve reached out to the company and will update the article when we get an answer.