Microsoft Finds New Ally (Qihoo) in China After the Windows 8 Ban

[FreddyFreeloader]

China recently banned Windows 8 on government computers and even recommended the authorities in a local province to cancel orders for new devices running this particular OS version, claiming that Microsoft might have installed backdoors that could be then used to spy on users and access secret information.While the company said in a statement that it was working with the government on addressing these issues, Microsoft also continued to look into any other opportunities for the Chinese market.

As a result, Redmond recently signed a deal with Chinese Internet security company Qihoo 360, which is already building several security products, in an attempt to address recent concerns and thus tackle the issues that might be raised by the local government.

Not much has been revealed about this new partnership, but Microsoft and Qihoo say that the deal is supposed to help them cooperate in mobile Internet products and artificial intelligence technologies.

No other specifics have however been provided, so nobody knows for sure whether the two companies are preparing a new product for the Chinese market, or Microsoft is only looking into ways to demonstrate that Windows 8 remains a very secure operating system with the help of a Chinese firm.

In the meantime, the company continues negotiations with the Chinese government in order to try to unban Windows 8 on their computers. The company has told us in a mailed statement that it's still offering Windows 7 to the local authorities, but Windows 8 clearly remains the main option for everyone.

“We were surprised to learn about the reference to Windows 8 in this notice. Microsoft has been working proactively with the Central Government Procurement Center and other government agencies through the evaluation process to ensure that our products and services meet all government procurement requirements. We have been and will continue to provide Windows 7 to government customers. At the same time we are working on the Window 8 evaluation with relevant government agencies,” a company spokesperson told us.

China is one of the countries that asked Microsoft to extend Windows XP support, explaining that it has only recently purchased genuine licenses for the operating system, so migrating to a newer platform once again would be a very expensive process.

Microsoft obviously rejected such a possibility, so people close to the matter say that banning Windows 8 on government PCs was one of the ways to take revenge for Redmond's decision to pull the plug on Windows XP.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Micr...in-China-After-the-Windows-8-Ban-446306.shtml

 

[conceptualclarity]

So Microsoft figured out that the way to curry favor with Beijing was to hook up with Qihoo. That suggests that Qihoo is tight with the People's Republic of China government, despite the strident criticism of Qihoo allowed in the mainland Chinese press. Given the PRC regime's ties with cybercrime, Qihoo being tight with it further increases my distrust of Qihoo.

 

[FreddyFreeloader]

So Microsoft figured out that the way to curry favor with Beijing was to hook up with Qihoo. That suggests that Qihoo is tight with the People's Republic of China government, despite the strident criticism of Qihoo allowed in the mainland Chinese press. Given the PRC regime's ties with cybercrime, Qihoo being tight with it further increases my distrust of Qihoo.

Hope Microsoft knows what it's doing.