Chinese government developing national open-source OS

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Chinese government is working with the software company Canonical, which is behind the open-source Ubuntu operating system (OS), The Telegraph reports.

The collaboration is expected to produce a system similar to Ubuntu but tailored for the Chinese user.

The first version of Ubuntu Kylin, as it is being called, is due to be launched next month and is intended for desktop and laptop computers. It will differ from the standard Ubuntu system in its use of Chinese characters and in the way it uses Chinese date conventions. It will also include weather indicators and integration of various Chinese sites such as Baidu maps, the Taobao shopping service.

The move is an attempt to stop China being reliant on Western software and to get more Chinese people the opportunity to modify computer coding themselves.

Ubuntu is based on the Linux operating system and its development and use is governed by an ethic that emphasises the sharing of computer code.

This is in contrast to the closed or proprietary systems of Microsoft and Apple who restrict access to the core code for their operating systems.

"This collaboration will bring local investment and participation to ensure that the platform is relevant for the Chinese market, and close co-ordination with the global Ubuntu project ensures that it is familiar to software and hardware vendors, and useful for export products made by Chinese companies as well," Canonical chief executive Jane Silber said in a statement.