China Embraces Linux Desktop, But Caution Prevails in the U.S.

The deal calls for Sun to provide China Standard Software Co. with as many as 1 million seats per year of its Java Desktop System. China Standard
Software is a consortium of Chinese technology companies that executes government initiatives.
Sun Microsystems Inc. landed the largest Linux desktop deal in history with an agreement announced last week involving a consortium of technology
providers in China.

But while Sun’s China deal will raise the visibility of desktop Linux internationally, it isn’t likely to speed U.S. adoption, said analysts and even
users who have already made the switch.

“This is a trend, not a fad,” said Scott Testa, chief operating officer at Mindbridge Inc., a Philadelphia-based intranet development company that has
implemented a Linux desktop strategy. Although he’s not expecting accelerated adoption in the U.S., “at the end of the day, there are working
environments where Linux on the desktop makes a lot of sense,” Testa said.