Leader: The East-West Linux-Microsoft divide

The West chooses Microsoft while the East chooses Linux.

It's not that simple, of course, but it is the breakdown for two recent deals.

The London Borough of Newham will deploy 12 different Microsoft software products as well as tablet PCs. Council officials deny faking interest in Linux as a way to get a better price but Microsoft says Newham will pay it £3.2m less over the five years of the deal.

Meanwhile, China, South Korea and Japan are making progress on developing a Linux kernel for the Asian market, saying the first commercial offerings from the project will be available in six months time.

The Chinese have made no secret that they're doing this to avoid dependence on Western technology - and paying Microsoft's hefty licence fees.

In this way, perhaps the Asian countries aren't too different from Newham in seeing price - not security or stability, say - as the deciding factor in their choice of software brand. (Though Newham denies the deal was all about money, it's hard to believe one would choose Microsoft if security were your top priority, given the spate of malware afflicting Microsoft products.)

In another way, though, the deals could be revealing a seismic split between East and West relating to their ideas for the future.

The West may be content to let Microsoft run the show as long as the price is right. Eastern companies, not to mention one major government which is at least nominally communist, prefer to see themselves in the driver's seat - even if it means dedicating considerable technological resources to the cause.