China has been among the most active in trying to develop a locally made operating system. Most recently, it has been pushing development of Red Flag Linux, a Chinese-version of the Linux operating system, the only viable contender to Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. Analysts say that percentage could double this year. National security is one reason China is pushing Linux. Some government officials fear that Microsoft's software could enable the U.S. company, or the U.S. government, to peek at what Chinese software users are doing.
Price is another factor.
Linux is free or very low cost. The author of Arise and Challenge the Hegemony of Microsoft is one of Microsoft's most vocal Chinese critics. Microsoft contends that its prices are in line with the value of its products. It also says that Linux, while being tested by more users, falls far short of Windows. We're very comfortable with our position.