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Linux supported by 40 companies

Some 40 Taiwanese information technology manufacturers signed up to form an association to promote Linux yesterday, including heavyweights VIA Technologies (威盛) and Micro-Star Internation-al (微星).

The Taiwan Linux Consortium (Linux, 促進會) intends to build Linux into a Microsoft Windows rival and moreover, bring together software under one platform so systems can share information more easily.

"I wish I could put a [Micro-soft] Excel spreadsheet on my Palm [PDA]," said Peter Griffith, aTaipei-based investment analyst frustrated with software incompatibility. With a Linux system in both devices, people could transfer files without errors or system crashes, according to the Linux consortium.

The group plans to bring software developers and other computer manufacturers on board to promote the Linux platform for all systems. Being an open source software -- the recipe for Linux is posted free on the Net -- makes Linux unique among operating systems. Its developers want no money for their trouble, they simply hope it will become software's lingua franca, so all programs work on all computers.

The battle for supremacy is on between Windows, which holds over 90 percent of market share, and other companies, to develop the best system for smaller electronic goods like PDAs which threaten to leave consumers stranded with devices unable to communicate with one another. In Griffith's case, the inability to use Microsoft spreadsheets on his Palm means he cannot access client portfolios or company expense sheets while out of the office.

"When I find a spreadsheet program in Linux I'm going to learn how to use it and get rid of Palm and Microsoft," he said. With the computer world pushing to get Linux systems installed in gadgets of all sizes -- cell phones, PDAs, computers and servers -- Griffith and other consumers hope to be able to transfer information between such devices with ease in the future.

With the new Taiwan consortium promoting Linux in Taiwan, such seamless transfers may come sooner than expected. As the world's third-largest producer of IT products in the world, Taiwan's manufacturers specialize in electronics like PDAs, cell phones and Net appliances.

According to government estimates, local manufacturers will produce 34 percent of the world's Net appliances this year. If the consortium has its way, these devices will run on Linux.

Last month the Industrial Development Bureau (經濟部工業局) established a task force to promote Linux.
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