China PC maker to push Windows
Founder Technology Group will promote the use of authentic editions of XP in $250M deal
Follow @infoworldChina's second-largest PC manufacturer Founder Technology Group will cooperate to promote the use of authentic editions of the Windows XP operating system and other Microsoft products, Microsoft said Wednesday in a statement.
The deal is worth $250 million to Microsoft over the next three years, as Founder purchases licenses for simplified Chinese editions of Windows XP, the statement said.
The announcement comes amidst a drive by Chinese PC manufacturers to ship genuine Windows on their machines. On April 6, Tsinghua Tongfang Co., of Beijing, China's No. 3 PC maker, and TCL, also agreed to use legitimate Windows XP. China's largest PC manufacturer, Lenovo Group, signed the same agreement with Microsoft in November 2005.
The moves came ahead of and after the meeting of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) in Washington, which was Tuesday. The U.S. side has made intellectual property (IP) issues a top priority for the talks.
