CHINA DAILY
By Chuan Dong
09/05/1999
Beijing Software firm challenges Microsoft

Beijing Software firm challenges Microsoft

Beijing Hopen Software Engineering Co (SEC) last week joined with Motorola to develop China's own embedded operating system and help millions of Chinese families surf the Internet via television.

The move was seen as a challenge to US-based Microsoft.

With introduction of locally-developed cheap alternatives and access to personal computers, SEC combined its Hopen operating system with Motorola's Power PC microprocessor.

"The co-operation with Motorola creates a concrete basis for Hopen to better cater to the software market," said Zhong Xichang, President of SEC.

SEC in troduced its Nuwa Project in April to compete with Microsoft's Venus Project which was announced by Bill Gates in Shenzhen.

The Nuwa project, named for the ancient Chinese goddess who bravely mended a worn-out sky, is an embedded operating system which can be incorporated into a set-top box or video compact disc(VCD) player to support television Internet-surfing.

The systems software development, which has resulted in several failures in China, is widely regarded as one of the most risky categories to invest in, especially because of the dominance of Microsoft's Windows series and the older Unix system.

"The Hopen system will not be limited to set-top boxes, but will encompass personal data assistant (PDA) technology, mobile phones, intelligent engineering controls and intelligent cards," said Zhong.

Industrial experts said systems software is the dragon head of the whole industry, therefore, China must seek new marketing opportunities in the post-PC era to achieve a breakthrough in this field which analysts believe possesses huge market potential.

But, compared with Microsoft's Venus, which has gained the support of China's leading computer and home appliance makers, Nuwa has no apparent advantages in related technologies.

"The Hopen OS on Power PC is a win-win alliance, which will help China's enterprise gain a leading position in the future information appliance age," said P.Y. Lai, president of Motorola China.

Statistics from the Ministry of Information Industry indicate that China has 317 million television sets, 40 million VCD players and 25 per cent telephony density. These figures create a sound basis for the development of so called "set-top boxes", given the hefty prices of personal computers in China.