Taiwan mandates Linux-ready PCs

Taiwan has mandated that all PCs purchased for government use must now be compatible with the Linux operating system.

According to media reports, the new requirement came into effect last month, marking the start of efforts to boost adoption of open-source software in Taiwan. About 120,000 new desktop PCs acquired by the Taiwan government will have to comply with the new mandate, the reports stated.

The Central Trust of China, Taiwan’s government procurement agency, has commissioned the Taipei Computer Association (TCA) to ensure that bids from PC vendors include equipment that are compatible with Linux. So far, about 33 desktop PC models from Acer, Asustek, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard, have been certified Linux-compatible by the TCA, reported Taiwan’s Chinese language newspaper, Economic Times.

It is not known, however, if the certification process involves any specific Linux distributions such as Red Hat and Novell… Source: ZDNet