Speaking for myself, I really doubt that the stories about MS gaining on Linux in China are accurate. There cost alone just does not jive.

Stories about Microsoft losing ground to Linux in China are overblown, says Tim Chen, chief executive of Microsoft China. Instead, Microsoft likes to cast gains against Linux as evidence that China’s technology industry is maturing and moving toward the proprietary-software approach championed by Microsoft.

China is an important battleground in Microsoft’s competition with Linux and open-source software because of the country’s size, its influence on the tech industry and growing pool of software developers.

Three of Asia’s leading Linux vendors, including Beijing-based Red Flag Software, recently released a new version of their Asianux 2.0 server platform. But Chen asserts that Microsoft is gaining ground in the country’s booming business-software market, and said changes are under way. [Read the rest]