Red Star OS
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The desktop of Red Star OS 3.0, localized with North Korean terminology and spelling | |
| Developer | Korea Computer Center, North Korea |
|---|---|
| OS family | Unix-like |
| Working state | Current |
| Latest release | 3.0 |
| Marketing target | Workstations, servers |
| Available in | Korean (North Korean standard) |
| Platforms | i386 (x86) |
| Kernel type | Monolithic (Linux) |
| Default user interface | KDE 3 |
Red Star OS (Chosŏn'gŭl: 붉은별; MR: Pulgŭnbyŏl) is a North Korean Linux-based operating system. Development started in 2002 at the Korea Computer Center (KCC). Prior to its development, computers in North Korea typically used English versions of Microsoft Windows.[1] Version 3.0 was released in the summer of 2013, but as of 2014 version 2.5 continues to be more widely used. It is only offered in a Korean language edition, localized with North Korean terminology and spelling.[2]
Specifications
Red Star OS features a modified Mozilla Firefox browser titled Naenara used for browsing the Naenara web portal on the North Korean intranet network known as Kwangmyong. Other software includes a text editor, an e-mail client, audio and video players, and games.[3] Version 3, like its predecessor, runs Wine, a piece of software that allows Windows programs to be run under Linux.[4]
Red Star OS 3.0, like its predecessors, uses a KDE 3 desktop. However, 3.0 more closely resembles Apple's OS X whereas previous versions more closely resembled Windows XP; current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was seen with an iMac on his desk in a 2013 photo, indicating a possible connection to the redesign.[3][5][6]
Media attention
The Japan-based, North Korea-affiliated newspaper Choson Sinbo interviewed two Red Star OS programmers in June 2006.[1] In February 2010, a Russian international student at the Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang purchased a copy and posted about it on his LiveJournal account; Russian television station RT then picked up his LiveJournal post and translated it into English.[3] English-language technology blogs, including Engadget and Osnews, as well as South Korean wire services such as Yonhap, went on to repost the content.[2][7] [8] In late 2013, Will Scott, who was visiting the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, purchased a copy of version 3 from a KCC retailer in southern Pyongyang, and uploaded screenshots to the internet.[4]
See also
- Nova (operating system), a national operating system for Cuba
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kim, Chi-yong (2006-06-21), "〈민족정보산업의 부흥 -상-〉 《우리식 콤퓨터조작체계(OS) 》의 개발과 도입", Choson Sinbo (in Korean), retrieved 2006-03-03
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Nam, Hyeon-ho (2010-03-03), 北, 독자적 컴퓨터 운영체제 '붉은별' 개발, Yonhap News (in Korean), retrieved 2013-01-23
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "North Korea’s “secret cyber-weapon”: brand new Red Star OS", RT, 2010-03-01, retrieved 2013-01-23
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Williams, Martyn (January 31, 2014). "North Korea's Red Star OS Goes Mac". North Korea Tech. Martyn Williams. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
- ↑ "Apple's Mac OS X imitated in latest North Korea system". BBC News. 2014-02-05.
- ↑ "North Korean computers get 'Apple' makeover". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
- ↑ Holwerda, Thom (2009-03-04), "North Korea Develops Its Own Linux Distribution", OSNews, retrieved 2013-01-23
- ↑ Flatley, Joseph L. (2009-03-04), "North Korea's Red Star OS takes the 'open' out of 'open source'", Engadget, retrieved 2013-01-23
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Red Star OS. |
- "OS "Red Star" - линуксоиды всех стран, соединяйтесь!" (in Russian). 2010-02-27.
- 北 컴퓨터운영체제 붉은별 첫 분석 (in Korean).