| Linux Answers Phone Makers' Call |
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In 2001, four Motorola engineers in Beijing faced a daunting challenge. They were developing a mobile phone with a touch screen and a stylus that would let users update calendars and write messages. But it also needed to recognize Chinese characters -- a task that existing software on similar handsets couldn't handle.
They proposed what was at the time a far-fetched solution: Linux, a free operating system that is developed and updated by millions of developers worldwide via the Internet. Companies were beginning to use Linux in servers and PCs, but no one was putting it on cell phones.
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