According to CCTV13 news channel, my country’s first desktop operating system developer platform “openKylin” was officially released recently. In the past few years, domestic reports about domestic systems have been coming one after another. Earlier, there were , Galaxy Kirin, , Ubuntu Kirin, Winning Kirin, Tongxin UOS, Red Flag Linux, etc. However, to this day, the vast majority of ordinary users still I have never experienced any domestic systems.
Source: CCTV13
The operating system with the largest number of domestic users is Windows. A small number of users are using macOS, and very few people use domestic systems. Regarding the importance of domestic systems, I believe everyone knows it. Even those who are not clear should understand after seeing the recent news that Russia cannot download Windows 10 and Windows 11 normally.
Only by having our own operating system can our privacy and security be guaranteed, and we will not be afraid of being stuck in an emergency. Domestic systems have always been difficult to popularize, and all manufacturers should think about how to change the current situation.
Domestic systems, the ecology is really a big problem
As a former Tongxin UOS user, Xiao Lei is well aware of the problems existing in domestic systems. When he first came into contact with Tongxin UOS, Xiao Lei obviously felt that the operating logic was not used to it. This was not a big problem. Compared with macOS, Xiao Lei adapted to Tongxin UOS much faster. But when I tried to use Tongxin UOS for office work, I discovered more problems. Many of the software I commonly used were not compatible with the system, let alone games and entertainment. After experiencing Tongxin UOS for a few days, Xiaolei finally decided Switched back to Windows.
Not only Unison UOS, but also other domestic desktop operating systems have the same problem. With the support of relevant departments, domestic systems have been launched one after another in recent years, with the total number exceeding 15. Although there are many domestic operating systems, none of them can provide a perfect experience. The reason is that there is no unified standard.
Picture source: Screenshot of Tongxin UOS official website
Most of the domestic operating systems we have seen are based on Linux, but the software is not universal, and the operating logic is very different. Every time you change an operating system, it takes a while. adapt. Domestic system developers have tried their best to build the ecosystem, but they were already alone, but they failed to use their efforts in one direction, so the ecological construction speed was very slow.
The large number of domestic systems has also caused software developers a headache. Before the system developers find them for adaptation, the software developers may not even know that this system exists. This situation causes software developers to take too long to adapt their applications. Sometimes, in order to rush the work, they do not have enough time to polish the product. The software has poor quality and may even have many serious bugs.
The significance of the open platform is to speed up the efficiency of developers, shorten the application development cycle, and improve product quality. Open platforms can also promote the influx of more partners into the industry, speed up innovation, and promote the formulation and implementation of unified industry standards.
Only when the cost for developers to adapt software for domestic systems comes down, will more developers be willing to join the family of domestic systems. Only when the software ecology is enriched, the software quality of and improved, will ordinary users be willing to accept domestic systems. Therefore, the importance of opening Kirin is self-evident, and it is likely to be a milestone for future domestic systems.
It is precisely because IT and technology practitioners have realized the importance of open platforms in the future that we have seen many companies announce open platforms in recent years to attract developers and partners.
Open Qilin, wants to become a standard setter?
The Kirin operating system has been around for a long time. The birth of the open Kirin platform is to promote the sharing and innovation of domestic basic software and hardware technologies and form a unified industry standard. Kirin Software is one of the earliest domestic system development companies. The Ubuntu Kylin open source operating system launched has many users and supports the X86 instruction set and RISC-V instruction set.
Open Kylin has been launched on the openKylin official website. It also supports both X86 and RISC-V instruction sets, but it is not yet available for download. It may take time to polish. The special thing about Open Kirin is that it is not the effort of Kirin Software alone. It is just Kirin Software, and it is impossible to formulate unified standards and rules that all domestic enterprises will abide by.
Picture source: openKylin official website screenshot
Open Kylin is the National Industrial and Information Security Center, Puhua Basic Software , Zhongke Fangde, Staring Software, ZTE New Pivot, Yuanxin Technology, Jide System and more than ten domestic companies A community jointly created by enterprises, many domestic system developers participate, and the goal is to develop unified standards.
System developers who have participated will inevitably abide by the unified rules jointly formulated by them. Domestic system developers who have not participated are likely to lose the support of users and software developers due to the lack of interoperability in the ecosystem, unless they can spend heavily. Talk to software developers about cooperation. Considering the popularity and cost of domestic systems, Xiaolei believes that the vast majority of domestic system developers will join the open Kirin platform in the future.
From the perspective of consumers, it is absolutely beneficial and harmless for domestic system developers to formulate unified standards. The time for software developers to develop software for it will be greatly shortened. Major domestic office, browser, social networking and other software will quickly adapt to domestic operating systems. When the popularity of domestic operating systems reaches a certain level, there may be game developers Adapt games to domestic systems. By then, the ecology of the domestic system will become extremely rich, and the usability will also be greatly improved.
Source: pixabay
However, Xiao Lei also noticed that some netizens are opposed to domestic operating systems. They believe that Linux is originally an open source system, and it is obviously unreasonable to charge for changing the UI. In fact, although most domestic operating systems are based on Linux, there are many improvements of their own. It is difficult to make a profit by developing Linux. It is unrealistic to expect developers to use their love to generate electricity. Xiaolei used CentOS a lot when he was in college. It has been confirmed that all versions will stop maintenance and updates one after another, and the server will be shut down.
The domestic system is based on Linux and has undergone a lot of localization adaptations. It also constantly seeks cooperation with software developers to enrich the application ecosystem. All of these require a lot of costs, and the charges are understandable. In addition, many domestic systems will have free quotas during the public beta phase or when they go online. For example, if you send Unicom UOS to three WeChat friends for help, you can use it for free. You can purchase three system activations for 9.9 yuan in the initial period.
Ubuntu Kylin, a subsidiary of Kylin Software, is completely free. Even if Ubuntu Kylin changes to a paid model in the future, Xiaolei will support it.
The rise of domestic systems requires support from all walks of life
Nowadays, domestic systems are mainly deployed in departments where data needs to be kept confidential to prevent information leakage. The user base is the decisive factor for the healthy development of domestic operating systems. If it cannot attract more users to choose, it will not be able to continue to grow bigger and stronger. Therefore, the development of domestic operating systems requires support from all sectors of society.
software developers can strengthen cooperation with domestic system developers and actively develop adapted software for them. Enterprise-level users can install domestic systems on company computers while meeting their own needs. PC manufacturers should also cooperate with domestic operating system companies to produce some computers with domestic systems pre-installed. In fact, domestic e-commerce platforms already have a small number of computers with pre-installed domestic systems, such as Galaxy Kirin, Ubuntu Kirin, and UOS. However, the prices are generally expensive and the hardware configuration is not high. They are mainly targeted at enterprise-level users or government departments.
Picture source: openKylin official
I hope that the prices of domestic software and hardware will drop in the future so that consumers can afford them. Only when the price is no longer a burden will the public be willing to support domestic CPUs, GPU and operating systems. In the future, domestic operating systems will also develop overseas. For example, in Russia, where Windows cannot be used normally, domestic operating systems will be a good choice for them. We also hope that Russian developers can join the open Kirin platform and work together for the future of domestic systems.
Today, domestic operating systems cannot compare with Windows and macOS, but as more and more software developers join, domestic operating systems will surely rise one day.
cover image source: openKylin official
