Microsoft Opens Windows to China
Microsoft Corp. agreed Friday to let Chinese officials review the source code for its Windows operating systems, demonstrating the lengths it will go to in battling rival Linux software for government business on multiple continents.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates announced the deal in Beijing during a trip in which he sealed a number of contracts with major Chinese companies.
China joins Russia, Britain and the United States in having the right to review the programming that underpins Windows XP, Windows 2000 and other systems controlling personal and network computers. The access will go to a limited number of government technical security experts trusted not to make copies or disclose what they see.
Access to source code -- the programming instructions for a computer’s operations -- has become an issue in countries that want to make their systems more secure from hacking and to ensure that there are no intentional “back doors” that could be exploited by foreign intelligence agencies. The source code is an important deterrent because it can help reveal where a system’s architecture is vulnerable.
Some of Microsoft’s stiffest competition for software that runs large computers comes from the Linux operating system. Linux source code is available to all.
“The open-source community is making the case that people have the right to know what’s in the code that they run,” said analyst George Weiss of Gartner Inc.
Microsoft acknowledged that it was adapting because of competition.
“Transparency of code is a benefit,” said Jason Matusow, manager of Microsoft’s “shared source” procedures for giving big customers a look at its code.
On Friday, Gates spoke mostly about security, an area in which Microsoft often is faulted.
“We are committed to providing the Chinese government with information that will help them deploy and maintain secure computing infrastructures,” Gates said. “We see this agreement as a significant step forward in Microsoft’s relations with the Chinese government.”
The code sharing follows a June alliance that called for Microsoft to invest $750 million in education and training efforts in China for three years. Taken together, analysts said, the steps show that Microsoft is making progress in competing against the rising rate of Linux use by the country’s public agencies.
“There’s a lot of government influence driving Linux,” said IDG analyst Al Gillen. “Microsoft does have a big presence in China, but a lot of it is pirated.”
Several countries have passed or are considering legislation encouraging the use of open-source programs such as Linux, spurred by lower upfront costs, flexibility in dealing with modifiable software and security issues with Microsoft products.
Some governments also see open-source adoption as a potential aid to the local economy.
“By encouraging the development of a software industry around Linux, it creates an opportunity that isn’t there if everyone uses Microsoft,” Gillen said.
As Linux gains users, Microsoft will have to compete with more than code sharing.
“This is some indication that Microsoft has the ability to compete in areas where it was looking ominous for them,” Gillen said. “But price is still going to be an issue.”
