Member Avatar for babystrangeloop

The issues are

1) "Ylmf Windows XP" was a real pirated Microsoft product prior to the arrival of "Ylmf OS" which is Ubuntu Linux. The Ylmf team has been frightened away from distributing real Microsoft products by the arrest of the distributor of "Tomato Garden" which was also a real pirated Microsoft Windows XP.

See

http://www.clonedinchina.com/2009/08/the-maker-of-tomato-garden-windows-xp-gets-35-years-in-jail.html

2) http://www.XP.com/ points to Ylmf OS

This attracts a lot of people who are looking for XP to the Ylmf OS site.

3) Google trends shows that Ylmf OS has become a very popular search target in a short time:

http://www.google.com/trends?q=ylmf+os

So will there be massive increase in Chinese Linux users?

Will they adopt it or go on flouting the law using pirated Microsoft software and ending up in Chinese jails (which can't be pleasant.)

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A brief expert addendum that clarifies and expands the conversation started by and .

Ylmf OS was an Ubuntu‑based distribution created to look and behave like Windows XP so that users uncomfortable with a different desktop could try Linux with minimal friction. Several formerly Windows‑modding teams repositioned themselves after the 2008–2009 anti‑piracy actions and Ylmf packaged a user‑friendly, China‑localized image (with preinstalled codecs and tools) to lower the switching cost. (doit.com.cn)

A factual correction: the widely circulated figure of “35 years” for the Tomato Garden author is incorrect. The main defendants in the Tomato Garden piracy case were convicted in 2009; leading individuals received sentences of about three and a half years and substantial fines. That prosecution was aimed at large‑scale distributors and commercial operations rather than typical end users, and it had a chilling effect on organized pirate groups. (tech.sina.com.cn)

What that history means in practice: legal pressure reduces supply of polished pirate builds and nudges some teams toward legitimate Linux projects, but it does not automatically produce mass, permanent desktop migration. Real, lasting uptake depends on local software compatibility, OEM choices, preinstall deals, and support infrastructure. Practical migration notes that remain useful years later: back up data first; test with a Live image or a dual‑boot setup; verify wifi, graphics and peripheral drivers; install a Chinese input framework and localized packages; and use Wine or a VM (VirtualBox) for indispensable Windows‑only apps during the transition. For organizations, prefer distributions with long‑term support and a clear update/repo strategy. (en.wikipedia.org)

Short takeaway: enforcement changed the channel (less obvious piracy distribution), and projects like Ylmf showed how lowering the UI friction can help adoption — but predictable, sustained migration required the same ingredients everywhere: compatible apps, preinstalls or easy installs, and ongoing support.

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Member Avatar for pogson

GNU/Linux is growing in a massive way without imitating that other OS. It sells well on price and reliability.

see http://www.google.com/trends?q=ylmf+os%2Clinux&ctab=0&geo=cn&geor=all&date=mtd&sort=1 comparing Linux to yimfos shows Linux is still a bigger hit but who knows how China will go? They have made big moves into netbooks as first PCs with GNU/Linux and they are into ARM notebooks at low cost. At one point, M$ cut their price to $3 and it barely slowed GNU/Linux.

If you are a shareholder and want to see something really scary, use Google trends for windows,linux or xp,linux for China, all regions. That will really open eyes. The BRIC countries have the highest GDP growth and very vigorous adoption of GNU/Linux. The BRIC is 40% of humanity. At the low end, they can afford a lot of PCs these days. They love netbooks.

Member Avatar for babystrangeloop

The saga continues with this great article:

Desktop Linux Market Share Will Rise, Thanks to Microsoft

I love these quotes from it:

“About 3 million computers get sold every year in China, but people don’t pay for the software. Someday they will, though. As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal [Windows]. They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.”

and

“Just four months after the sentencing of [the creator(s) of the pirated XP Windows], a version of Linux aimed squarely at Chinese users of Windows has arisen. It’s ironic then that as Microsoft now tries to collect on those it let pirate Windows in the past, it finds itself inadvertently pushing users over to Linux”.

The entire article is fun to read.

Edited by babystrangeloop because: n/a
Member Avatar for pogson

The Chinese are loving netbooks. Many will have GNU/Linux.

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