Microsoft produces cheap machines for China

Citation

(1999), "Microsoft produces cheap machines for China", Asian Libraries, Vol. 8 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/al.1999.17308gad.002

Microsoft produces cheap machines for China

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Microsoft produces cheap machines for China

Bill Gates has unveiled a new operating system designed to bring Internet access to people in China at less than one fifth the price of a typical PC. The Venus operating system allows Chinese electronics firms to combine a Web browser, low-end PC and video compact disc player in a single box attached to a television. Microsoft identified the huge popularity of the VCD in China, then compared it with the low uptake of PCs and thus identified a gap in the market. There are 40 million VCDs, 320 million television sets, but only 11 million PCs and two million Internet users. Venus is a version of Microsoft's Windows CE and Web TV products. It is expected to be ready for release late in 1999. The entry price is set low enough to attract Chinese consumers into the home computer market and to get on to the Internet, with Venus products set to cost as low as 1500 Yuan, compared with about 10,000 Yuan for a typical PC.