The People’s Post and Telecommunications News’ story cited by Xinhua ran on Thursday, and provided more detail about the domestic OS plans.
Ni spelled out a timeline that could replace foreign operating systems on the desktop in one to two years, then in three to five years expand to mobile devices. Private industry, Ni added, may co-fund development of the home-grown OS.
“Creating an environment that allows us to compete with Google, Apple and Microsoft, that is our key to success,” Ni said.
China has worked on a its own OS before: In 2000, Red Flag Linux, funded in part by the government’s Ministry of Information, was released. Later that year, Red Flag was mandated as the replacement for Windows 2000 on all government PCs. Tensions at the time between China’s government and Microsoft were at the root of that order.
Red Flag never took off, and the company backing it shuttered earlier this year. But Red Flag – the OS, not the company – will be resurrected.
In a 20 August report by the People’s Post and Telecommunications News, the trade publication noted the acquisition of Red Flag Software’s assets by Penta Wan Jing Information Technology Industry Group for 38.62 million yuan (€4.8 million).
That story also quoted Ni, who approved of the Penta Wan Jing acquisition and said a revitalised Red Flag could contribute to the plan to create a domestic OS.
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