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Technology Stocks : LINUX -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JC Jaros who wrote (1980)	12/19/1999 12:11:00 AM
From: Rusty Johnson	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2617

Red Hat to Release Versions Of Linux in Chinese Markets By CONNIE LING THE WALL STREET JOURNAL INTERACTIVE EDITION HONG KONG -- Red Hat Inc., one of the largest commercial providers of Linux operating system and services, plans to release its simplified-Chinese version of Linux next month as the company expands aggressively in the Asia-Pacific region. The simplified-Chinese Linux product will be Red Hat's second Asian-language Linux system, after the Japanese version, said Mark White, Red Hat's newly appointed Asia Pacific general manager. A traditional-Chinese system, for the Hong Kong and Taiwan markets, as well as a Korean version, will be launched soon after the simplified-Chinese Linux, he said. "There are already hundreds of thousands Linux users in China," he said, noting that engineers in China already possess strong skills in Unix -- an older operating system that is similar to Linux -- and they can easily transfer the skills to Linux. Red Hat plans to open offices in most Asian countries next year, following the recent opening of its Australia and Singapore offices, Mr. White added. Linux, developed by Finnish programmer Linus Torvalds, is a free, open-source operating system that is constantly expanded and improved by programmers. It is seen as a great threat to Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating systems, particularly Windows NT, which powers the computers of corporations and business users. Although Linux is a free system, companies such as Red Hat hope to make money by providing support and services for Linux-based computers. Mr. White said Red Hat will initially provide support to its Asia Pacific clients through its Australia office. However, as the company grows, he said he expects customer support to be provided both through the growing number of local offices as well as distribution partners. Red Hat's partners in the region include Dell Computer Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp. However, Red Hat and other Linux service providers may have a hard time catching up with Microsoft's leading position in the region. Microsoft's Windows NT currently has a nearly 60% market share in Asia Pacific outside Japan, followed by Unix with 16%, according to market-research firm International Data Corp. Asia Pacific. Industry analysts estimate that Linux should have between 5% and 7% market share in Asia Pacific. But Linux's free nature makes it difficult for analysts to track its actual market share, said Avneesh Saxena, IDC Asia Pacific's manager of systems and servers. "People use Linux [now] more on an experimental basis" due to the lack of support, he pointed out, adding that the entry of companies suc Hat should help Linux gain market share among corporate users. Windows NT "is still very dominant and will remain dominant next year," he predicted. NT's market share in the region grew to 58% so far this year from 1998's 52%, according to IDC. Write to Connie Ling at connie.ling@awsj.com.