中国制造 - Made in China

金山软件 – Kingsoft vs. Microsoft. China’s Answer to the Black-Out Strategy

By GCB_China ⋅ Oktober 25, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

Gold Mountain Software, better known as Kingsoft (金山软件) – the “Chinese Microsoft” has now commented on its US rivals’ recent anti-piracy measures in China. Though Kingsoft is harmed by piracy itself it will not turn to a ‘turning black strategy’ as initiated by Microsoft China three days ago. Many Chinese users are outraged by ‘Microsoft’s invasion’ – this may be a chance for another great revival of the Chinese brand and its free WPS Office product as it continues its ‘no force strategy’…

Commenting on the desktop anti-piracy measure recently launched by Microsoft in China, Kingsoft says that although they too are harmed by pirated software, China-based Kingsoft will not copy Microsoft’s mode and promises to continue to offer free WPS Office software to individual users.

Microsoft has initiated an anti-piracy action which targets pirated Windows XP and Office users. Once confirmed as a pirated Windows XP users, the computer’s screen will suffer an hourly episode of turning black, and for users of unauthorized Microsoft Office software, their Office programs will be marked with an obvious pirated software sign. The genuine advantage measure was formally started on October 21, 2008 and many Chinese users say Microsoft’s measure amounts to little more than injecting malware into their computers.

In regards to Microsoft’s anti-piracy action, Kingsoft’s president Qiu Bojun says they support the genuine advantage of software, but the means used by Microsoft are open to question. Qiu says that Kingsoft will never force its users to use authentic software by using technological means and he promises to continue to offer free WPS Office software to individual Chinese users.

As a major competitor of Microsoft’s Office software in the Chinese market, Kingsoft’s WPS Office offers free downloads of its individual edition and its profits are mainly made by providing value-added services to corporate edition users.

As one of the major products of Kingsoft, WPS Office is mainly used in Chinese government departments and large state-owned companies in China.

WORTH KNOWING: Since Kingsoft Office 2005, the user interface bears resemblance to the Microsoft Office products, and the suite reads and writes the files generated by Office just like its native documents. The 2009 personal edition is free for download HERE.