Economy - Wuxi software company takes on Microsoft

Wuxi-based software company Evermore has appeared as a shining star at the US software sky. Its CEO Cao Zhong (see picture) is presenting his company succesfully as the alternative for Microsoft's Windows.
Zhong is for a presentation of his Linux-based replacement of Window's Office on Sunday in Phoenix and got a favorable reception by the opinion leaders in the IT-media, like columnist and weblogger Dan Gillmor.
Microsoft and other larger companies with monopolist tendencies are out of favor. "What he demonstrated struck me as more advanced in some ways than the Microsoft product. EIOffice 2004 puts a word processor, presentation package and spreadsheet into a single application, not a collection of programs. The integration is smooth and deep, and there's a natural feel to the way it all works together. Overall, the product looks slick and capable of handling serious chores," writes Gillmor. "Evermore's pricing, moreover, tries to reflect real-world reality."
Gillmor sees large problems on the way ahead, but remains positive: "As I said, you have to be optimistic to be an entrepreneur in this market. We need people like Tsao and his team. Maybe they're onto something big. Maybe they'll fail. But at least they're trying. In a marketplace where the deadening grip of a monopolist has stifled so much innovation, we should thank them for that."