I think that any of the readers of this article no longer considers the words “Operating system” and “Windows” to be synonymous, because. knows at least one or more other systems. For many it will be Android, Windows Phone and iOS are also known to a significant circle, a little less people have heard about OS X, FreeBSD and Ubuntu. All these operating systems are developed by Western (mainly American) organizations. At first glance, there is nowhere for a Russian person to cast his eyes ... but no. We also have our masters.
We have already become accustomed to the fact that information technologies for Russia are not a subject of creativity, but a subject of passive study. Yes, we know the world-class antivirus from Kaspersky or the currently best text recognizer FineReader is also from a Russian company. Someone will remember Dr.Web. But in the general context, this is, if not a drop, then a small puddle in the sea that makes up our computer horizons. This illusion is erroneous, because not all active members of the IT community are evaluated, but only those who actively promote themselves through advertising or sales managers. And who is outside our horizons? Yes, tens of thousands of domestic developers of different levels of professionalism and different areas of tasks to be solved.
It's no secret that the most important component of any computer (except for the pieces of iron inside the case) is the operating system. But do we have here something to look after ourselves from the domestic? It turns out there is. Here is a short list of real projects that have been launched and have been working for more than a year:
I decided to consider the first one (ROSA), because I assume that it is the most convenient for former Windows users from all I have tried. More precisely: the editorial office "for the people" - Fresh (i.e. "Fresh" ROSA).
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The main problem for the user of the new operating system is mastering the new logic of working with a computer (after all, ROSA is not a clone of Windows, but a completely different OS). For example, a person who decides to switch to Apple's OS X will have to strongly reject the habits of Windows, down to the "hot keys". Here, the Russian operating system has a minimum of problems: the bottom panel resembles the usual “Vendovaya” in terms of the logic of operation, and the menu device (let's conditionally call it “START”) will please with its simplicity and functionality.
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But this is only external "cosmetics". Inside there are all the necessary tools even for a fairly advanced user: built-in players for a huge number of formats, a full-fledged office suite (similar to MS Office), graphics, audio and video editors, an email client, two (!) Browsers for fans from different camps (Firefox and Chromium) , a client capable of connecting to ICQ and QIP, utilities for burning bootable flash drives and disks. If necessary, we install Skype, TeamViewer and other useful programs through a convenient and concise program installer (most programs are installed and updated through this one tool without the need to update manually).
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And even with all the massiveness of the pre-installed set of programs, ROSA manages to load and shut down faster than the products of the Redmond corporation. And the problem of viruses will only bother those who purposefully install them in the system. “Suddenly” they cannot appear on the computer.
With all this, the system has many unique features for the Windows user. What is worth only the ability to distribute WiFi Internet from your laptop in two clicks or the ability, after turning on the “freeze mode”, to mock experiments on the system, and then, after rebooting, see the system in a “pre-frozen” state.
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In general, the benefits are many. You have to touch them to understand it. To do this, just boot into a full-fledged operating system directly from a CD or USB flash drive without installing the system (unusual, right?). And if you like it, then install the system and browse the Internet during installation or write an interesting article.
Another advantage of the Russian OS is an active and accessible Russian-speaking community
These groups have been waging an almost equal struggle for market monopolization for a long time, and this struggle is expected for a long time - it is difficult to single out a favorite in it. Let's try to figure out which product is the best quality.
Windows
At the moment, there are three current versions of the OS of this corporation - 7, 8, 10. Windows XP has already gone out of fashion - now it is installed mainly on old computers. The newest version is Windows 10, but not the most popular version from the company. Windows 7 is firmly in the ranking of the most used systems: 52% of personal computers in the world are served by it.
Windows operating systems are optimized, their work is stable on most computers, with older versions of XP and 7 being the most preferred. The Windows product is not the most secure, so if you use the Windows OS, you need to take care of installing licensed security software.
Many users compare operating systems by interface. Windows does not lose to its competitors - a large selection of data visualization themes, window animations and translucency create a pleasant contrast. Newer versions of Windows have retained elements of the very first systems from this manufacturer, which beckons the user.
One of the key advantages is the ability to install programs to perform a wide variety of tasks. This applies to office programs and gaming applications, as well as other applied areas.
linux
Here, manufacturers have decided to release many versions that have a special purpose. The most widely accepted Linux product is Ubuntu. It has become popular with Linux, as it is the most optimal for home use.
The Linux product is unique in that you can change everything in the system settings in such a way that the system will be completely rebuilt taking into account the parameters of the PC. This fact provides the highest performance, and in this component, Linux is the undisputed leader among OS manufacturers. Linux also has the advantage of being highly reliable and secure, as distributions provide many mechanisms to restrict access to user information.
As for the appearance, it can be customized in any way. Linux has a lot of options for choosing an interface - from simple and strict to complex and colorful, with a lot of effects. One of the most important details for Linux is that in order to effectively manage it, the user must learn to work on the command line.
Many professional programming applications are written on the Linux kernel. But as for the choice of applications for performing applied tasks, everything here is not as rich as that of competitors.
macOS
macOS desktop The "OS" itself occurred along with the appearance of the first products from Apple, respectively, is used on these devices. Now the most recent edition of MacOS is version 10.
MacOS are oriented to a certain hardware standard, so their performance is the highest among all available operating systems. It is worth noting that the high performance of systems for MacOS is a distinctive feature - all products of this manufacturer are characterized by very stable and productive work. MacOS systems are very reliable, the cumulative number of viruses for this platform is not very high, and you should not worry about installing additional security software.
Most users are sure that MacOS is the most convenient and attractive operating system, judging by the user interface. The manufacturer pays a lot of attention to this component, and it is not surprising that they are superior in this component over their competitors. Developers use a huge set of technologies that are aimed at harmonizing and improving the appearance of controls. Interestingly, the company regularly requires developers of third-party software to use the most similar to the standard "Mac" style of application design, so that users work in the new program in the same way as in the familiar one before.
DOS
FreeDOS desktop There are few users left who remember these operating system developers. It must be remembered that they became innovators in the field of OS development, inventing the whole operation of the operating system. Yes, competitors have gone further, having improved all the developments of DOS, but the developers of the first OS have now begun to come up with innovations for previous developments. Since the early 2000s, DOS has released a couple of OS emulators for PCs, but they were not recognized by users due to low performance and the lack of most of the necessary features for modern OSes.
However, DOS remains necessary for many users. DOS software is the best option for those users who want to use old computers with new applications. To do this, the developers launched FreeDOS and DJGPP, which included several programs that are popular today - a file manager, a text editor, a web browser, an email client, etc. In other words, DOS products are still usable on older PCs.
Safety and reliability
In general, Windows, Linux and MacOS are competing for the title of the best OS group - DOS has already ceased to compete with more modern developments. In the field of reliability and safety of work, the most optimal products are Linux and Apple. The best distribution in this component for Linux is Ubuntu. Experts believe that systems with a Linux kernel are preferably used as a custodian of critical information, since protection against unauthorized intrusions to the information stored in the system is very strong. By the way, users themselves need to be very careful when assigning passwords and long paths to their desired files - otherwise you can lose them.
Unlike Linux and MacOS distributions, Windows clearly loses in reliability and security. The Windows product still remains with the title of the most unreliable operating system. Third-party security software is released regularly, but system protection is at its lowest level, and if you value the security of your information, Windows should not be chosen as the OS for your PC. As for MacOS, the security here is also at the highest level.
The most gaming system
As mentioned above, in terms of the number of programs in different areas, Windows is the leader, and in the gaming component, this developer is the undisputed leader. Quite a lot of gaming applications are also released for Linux, since these "OSes" are also quite popular in the world, for example, here you can find everyone's favorite Steam. But in the end, in the total volume of gaming applications, Windows will give odds to both Linux and MacOS combined. The system itself has good enough characteristics for uninterrupted and error-free operation of gaming applications on any computer, but, however, this rarely happens.
If you look at Windows distributions, so far users are very cautious about calling Windows 7 the most preferred for games, despite the fact that three new versions of the system have already been released! Of course, the "seven" is a proven system, and therefore it is given more preference by users. But this is not for long - in a year and a half the whole world will start talking about the fact that the eighth and tenth versions of Windows are much better than the seventh in terms of gaming.
The simplest OS
If we take into account all the operating systems available in the world and choose the simplest of them, DOS systems will be the absolute champion here. But if we talk specifically about the three giants of the OS release at the present time, then again, Windows will be ahead of everyone in simplicity. Simplicity can be different - the banality of development, ease of use, etc. We are more interested in what systems it is more convenient for users to work in. And most of them believe that Windows is the simplest "OS", and starting from its very first versions.
Indeed, Windows is the easiest system to use, but very difficult to develop. MacOS ranks second in terms of usability, as noted by experts. Linux, on the other hand, are the most complex systems, but once you get used to it, you will never go back, for example, to the Windows family.
For weak PCs
Of course, here it is worth giving preference to DOS! However, DOS is quite difficult to find now, therefore, Linux distributions with a lightweight desktop environment (LXDE, OpenBox, MATE, Xfce) are most suitable for weak PCs.
The most optimal distribution for use in weak PCs from the Microsoft family will be Windows XP. In fact, this OS is quite good in that it has good performance and an attractive interface. It is simple enough and quite suitable so that even on a weak PC you can play your favorite classic games.
The downside is that XP is no longer supported by the manufacturer, and by installing this system, you run the risk of picking up a lot of viruses and trojans.
This means that if you actively use the Internet, without additional security software, your PC will not be able to work for a long time. So, think carefully about choosing an "OS" before installing it on your weak PC.
Availability of software installation
And again, the undisputed leader here is Windows! Still, the products from this developer appeared on the market very first, and therefore it is sold instantly. Now only the lazy is not developing programs and applications for Windows, which means that the software will always be available for these operating systems. But it is important to remember: due to the low degree of protection of the Windows OS, you must be extremely careful when installing software on a computer. Of course, you need to use licensed software, and if there is none, then you should know that you are taking risks by installing unwanted programs on your PC with a low level of protection.
Which system to choose in the end
Recently, system developers have done a great job of improving OS versions. Of course, the minimum market share and popularity will be occupied by MacOS, since it is a relatively new product. According to the characteristics, it is not inferior to Windows and Linux. If this product will be in great demand in the future, MacOS may soon become a sales leader.
Linux is a great system for office PCs and for computers that are used for programming and administration. They have high performance, are as safe and reliable as possible in use, but they are too narrow-profile, because these "OSes" are not widely used.
Windows is the undisputed winner in almost every respect among its competitors, and the popularity of the product is understandable. For modern computers, it is Windows that will be the optimal OS, everyone chooses the version on their own. It depends on the user which OS to install - if a computer is needed for work, it is better to install Linux, if for games - Windows. It is necessary to determine all the parameters that you want to receive to a greater extent from the OS - and in this case, you can make the right and informed choice!
According to Roskomstat, Windows has 84% of popularity among Russian users of personal computers. Linux is ahead of MacOS by 3% - 9% versus 6%. This will change if there are strong reasons for attractiveness among users, and system developers are constantly working in this area.
We continue to try to switch to Russian computers and software. In the first part we searched and failed. This time the task is much easier - to find and test the domestic operating system.
In search of a domestic OS
The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications maintains the Unified Register of Russian programs for electronic computers and databases. In the Operating Systems category, it offers 47 titles. Most of them are designed for government agencies and corporate applications, but there are several options for home use.Exclusive rights to the programs presented in the Unified Register belong to citizens of the Russian Federation or companies controlled by citizens of the Russian Federation, and payments to foreign companies, if any, do not exceed 30% of revenue. But to call most of them Russian can be a stretch - operating systems, with a few exceptions, are built on the basis of Linux.The Linux kernel can be used without restrictions thanks to a free license, but in fact it will not be a development, but a modification. The main components of the systems are also not developed on the territory of the Russian Federation by domestic specialists, but are only borrowed and adapted for the next assembly.
There are several systems developed in Russia from scratch, but they are not widely used. One of the most famous projects is ReactOS. This is a free and open source operating system, which, according to the developers, should be fully compatible with Windows applications and drivers. 20 years after the start of development, ReactOS is in alpha testing and is not installed on computers without dancing with a tambourine.
Another well-known domestic OS, developed without using any third-party code, is called "Phantom". Its main feature is persistence. This is a kind of hibernation mode, which is characterized by the fact that even if the work is completed, the data does not disappear. The next time you start the machine, the system continues to work from the place where it was at the time of shutdown.
The main problem of Phantom is the lack of application software. The OS is being developed by Digital Zone, which does not have the funds to create programs. It turns out a vicious circle: while there are no programs, there is no distribution of the system; without the distribution of the system, no one wants to write programs for it. The distribution package also failed to download. On the official website, the level of readiness is designated as proof of concept - "workable code, but stability and completeness are insufficient for industrial use."
As a result, after a long search, we tried only two systems: ROSA Fresh and Astra Linux Common Edition. The rest are either unavailable for download or belong to the corporate segment. Theoretically, for a home computer, you can also download Calculate Linux Desktop, but in terms of the composition of pre-installed applications, this assembly is more suitable for solving office tasks. We want not only to work, but also to have fun.
Rosa fresh
Rosa Fresh is a system for home use from the ROSA Linux family, developed by STC IT ROSA LLC. The products are based on developments of CentOS, Mandriva and Red Hat Enterprise Linux with the addition of components from Russian developers. Specifically, Rosa Fresh is a continuation of the Mandriva project.Download and install
You can download the distribution kit for installation on a home PC on the official website of the developer. It weighs about 2 GB and is distributed as an ISO file. For writing to a USB flash drive, there is a "native" Rosa Image Writer utility.
The program is available on Windows, Linux and macOS. The process of creating a bootable USB flash drive in it is as simple as possible.
- Download the Rosa Fresh distribution kit and the recording software.
- Connect a flash drive to your computer.
- Start Rosa Image Writer.
- Specify the path to the distribution.
- Select flash drive.
- Click "Record".
Installing to disk is standard for Linux builds. You can allocate disk space automatically or create partitions manually. The initial setup of the system will also not raise any questions: you only need to select the language, keyboard layout and time zone.
Usage impressions
The first impression - the next assembly of Linux. Offers several versions with different desktop environments: Plasma, KDE, Gnome, Mate. The basic package of ROSA Fresh has everything you need for a typical home computer:
- LibreOffice application package for working with documents.
- Firefox and Chromium browsers.
- A few simple games and Steam.
- Video player ROSA Media Player.
- GIMP for working with images.
- Clementine for playing music and listening to the radio.
There are several own developments. For example, Freeze is a technology for a quick return to working condition. If you understand that during the current session the system may break, then turn on the "freeze mode", in which interceptor directories will be mounted over the top-level system directories. They will save any changes you make to the frozen directories. When the system is rebooted, the contents of the interceptors are deleted, and the system remains in its previous working state. At the same time, the "freeze mode" does not stop working until you turn it off.
SimpleWelcome - a kind of analogue of the Start menu, consisting of three sections: "Welcome", "Applications" and TimeFrame. The last section is also a domestic development that allows you to track the work with files in the system.
Rosa Media Player is a Russian video player that, in addition to the usual playback, offers built-in tools for cutting video and saving an audio track, as well as YouTube search and IPTV support.
This is not the end of domestic components, but it is still difficult to call the system itself Russian: in fact, this is a Linux assembly, for which an interface was made in Russia and several applications were added.
If you want to try the system, choose to install ROSA Fresh R8.1 KDE - this is a stable version of the OS. For enthusiasts (or rather, for fans of extreme sports) there are versions of R9 and R10. So far, only stable crashes and freezes are guaranteed in them.Vkontakte has Group, in which developers and users of ROSA Linux OS apply. Enough cheerful community where you can quickly get help. It is very good for popularization of the system.
Astra Linux Common Edition
A Linux-class system that includes free software components and authoring developments by RusBITech specialists. In fact, it is a certified Debian with a domestic window manager.Astra Linux has another version - Special Edition. It is a special purpose operating system with data protection components. Astra Linux Special Edition is certified by the FSTEC, the FSB, the Russian Ministry of Defense and is designed to process restricted access information up to the “Top Secret” level of secrecy. Free distribution of the special version is prohibited. Only the Common Edition can be installed on a home computer.
Download and install
You can download the distribution kit on the official site Astra Linux. The Common Edition weighs in at over 4GB, but loads quickly enough. You can use a flash drive to install. Unfortunately, the installer does not have the ability to start without installing the system, so you won’t be able to try it - you have to install it.
The installation process itself is typical for Linux. Of the features - a view of the city of Oryol, after which the user assembly of the system is named. The installation process takes about 20 minutes. The official website has a link to a manual with a detailed description of all installation options.
Usage impressions
The workspace looks decent. Almost all Windows hotkey combinations work on Astra Linux in the same way, so you don't have to get used to different controls. This simplifies the possible migration to the domestic system from American OS, if they fall out of favor. There were no problems with the drivers: the Internet connection was established immediately, the camera works, the sound too.
The system is pre-installed with applications that a simple user may need for work and entertainment. To perform office tasks, the LibreOffice package is used. There's a PDF viewer, Kate's simple text editor, and a Goldendict dictionary.
To work via the Internet, a standard set of applications is installed: two browsers (Chromium and Mozilla Firefox), Thunderbird mail client, qBittorrent. There is even a Psi + messenger.
With applications for working with graphics and multimedia, everything is also in order. There are several players, tools for working with audio and disc burning, vector and graphic editors, a good built-in screenshoter.
There is a section with mobile applications, including another browser, a gallery, a contact list, mail, SMS, and a dialer. Even the developers have not forgotten about the games: in addition to Solitaire and Minesweeper, there is the Warzone 2100 strategy and the Xonotic shooter with multiplayer mode.
Among the author's developments is a file manager, which is very similar to Windows Explorer. Simple, convenient, with standard copy, paste, move functions.
In general, the system makes a good impression. The developers abandoned the monstrous design with a red star, which was used three years ago, and made the interface a little more modern. Pre-installed applications are enough for office tasks and a minimum level of entertainment.
conclusions
So far, import substitution in the field of software is based on the use of borrowed source codes, for which domestic components are added. There is a clear bias in favor of the military-industrial complex, corporate and government segment.Systems for ordinary users, if they are created, are rather stripped-down versions of special assemblies for military needs, such as, for example, Astra Linux Common Edition. Domestic developers do not hide the fact that it is impossible to compete with Windows and macOS. According to Dmitry Zavalishin, CEO of the DZ Systems group of IT companies (it includes the Digital Zone studio, which is trying to launch the Phantom OS), all Russian projects are focused on certain niche applications that are ready to provide funding. Therefore, already at the stage of creation, developers are looking towards the industrial application of the system.
There is no time to think about the civilian needs of ordinary users and it is inefficient - in any case, the costs will not pay off. However, unlike domestic PCs, Russian operating systems offer users at least a minimal choice. Therefore, if software from American companies is suddenly banned tomorrow, we will definitely not be left without operating systems - although it will not be very convenient to use them.
Recently there was information that soon on all computers intended for government agencies, there will be no "traditional" Windows operating system. Instead, there will be a Russian OS. It is planned to begin its testing next year.
Optimistic forecasts
The most popular project that can claim such a significant role is Synergy. This system has a Linux kernel. Not so long ago it was decided to start its development. This was decided by a joint commission and the Russian Federal Nuclear Center, located in the city of Sarov. It should be noted that it is at the Synergy enterprise that the operating system should be intensively tested. It is necessary that it be brought to mind so that it can be used in user database management systems.
I would also like to note that such an undertaking is an initiative of Rosatom specialists, because imported software is of great importance in the nuclear power industry. It's time to pay attention to Russian products. Experts promise that the new operating system will be reliably protected from hacking, not inferior to its foreign counterparts.
Last straw
The speed of making this decision was influenced by the release of the next update package for Windows 7, which happened in August 2014. Ironically, thousands of computers around the world abandoned them. This is due to the fact that the updates had critical errors. In addition, there were malfunctions in Windows RT, Windows 8 and 8.1 systems, which greatly aggravated the situation.
What is it for?
It is worth noting that recently the issue of the release of the Russian operating system has often been discussed. True, it happened in an ironic way. However, users are not to blame for the lack of patriotism. As practice shows, often domestic projects are able to offer only “non-boring wallpapers” and a new Ubuntu design theme. It is necessary to take into account what requirements a promising Russian operating system must meet before deciding to invent it. It is also important to provide for the basic principles laid down in it. You can turn on your imagination and imagine which areas should be paid attention to during development.
"Children's Diseases"
You should always start based on previous experience. It doesn't have to be positive. We are talking about the ancient "Spectrums" with a somewhat rethought DOS, as well as the "fundamentally new" BedOS 2 "Tanya", which appeared relatively recently and was installed in computer clubs. They were redesigned almost beyond recognition of Windows 98. Thus, the operating systems did not act as a separate product. They were just converted tools of the world famous software manufacturer, although they had a new interface.
Tasks of domestic developers
When the development of a truly new Russian operating system for computers begins, its authors face a huge number of tasks.
It is worth dwelling on the main ones:
An operating system designed to perform all tasks must function on Russian-made servers and workstations;
creation of working and functional virtualization tools for OS;
creation, development, and support of the Russian application development environment;
production of tools that can be used to automate testing;
the creation of a Russian "app store" to give a decent answer to the AppStore and the like;
development of an operating system that can function not only on desktop devices, but also on mobile equipment;
release of design tools that facilitate the development of new applications;
behavior analysis of the business sector of the economy, as well as the creation of a special cluster of programs for it;
the Russian operating system must have its own working environment (DE);
development of new tools for installing and debugging created programs;
the possibility of painless migration of business, as well as home users from previous versions of operating systems;
creation of training courses to familiarize users with the Russian operating system for a personal computer, with its capabilities and prospects;
As for the Russian OS for mobile devices, it should become a worthy competitor to iOS, Windows Mobile, Android.
A few words about the users of the new OS It's no secret that today's home computers tend to focus on games. It is worth noting that the PC market is known for a huge variety of computer hardware. The Windows operating system plays a dominant role. It is used by most users. All their habits in this segment are distinguished by inveterate conservatism, so it is unlikely that they will be able to change the concepts. It follows from this that, most likely, the new Russian operating system will initially be focused on state-owned enterprises, as well as corporate segments of the economy and the military-industrial complex.
What are the requirements for the new OS?
1. The relatively low price of not only the system itself, but also the device that supports it and allows it to work stably.
2. Opportunities for "cloud" work with documents.
3. Availability for scaling. It is best if it is tailored to the requirements of a large organization.
4. Maximum speed of information processing.
5. High degree of reliability and security, including the penetration of viruses into the system.
6. The creation and development of the operating system should be carried out in accordance with modern trends in the computer technology market.
It is worth noting the fact that the Russian operating system "Rosa" is well protected from the effects of malware. In addition, it is another Linux distribution. It is also important that it is possible to use the OS on a computer intended not only for government agencies, but also for home work. Thus, you can attract a new audience. Of great importance is full compatibility with well-known common examples of computer equipment and peripherals.
Creating an operating system in accordance with the development of the hardware
To date, processors exceed 14 nm. The light was seen by domestic "Elbrus" 65 nm. At the same time, it is planned to release a capacious memory of a new type ReRam in the near future. It will differ in speed, leaving all the latest SSDs (NAND) far behind.
In other words, the primary task is to create a system that works not only on an existing, but also on a promising device. These are the plans of the leading manufacturers. True, this is not an easy task, because many have doubts that such an idea will succeed. Now it is worth talking about advances in this segment, which are more real.
A few words about "Chameleons" and other
Modern domestic operating systems can go in two real directions of development. First of all, I would like to note the completely justified interest of the military. It is for them that protected domestic software is important. The second way can be noted as "patriotic development". Sometimes on the Internet there are projects that are developed by authors announcing the Russian operating system. It is worth mentioning such an OS as Xameleon.
As for the technological side of the issue, it has a lot of similarities with Mac OS X. This can be seen in the use of the microkernel. The Chameleon operating system uses L4 development, while Mac OS X provides the Mach microkernel. This is the slight difference between the two products. True, the domestic "answer" today does not even have an elementary GUI. As you might guess, we are talking about a graphical interface.
Other candidates
Some people know the Patriot OS operating system, developed by a Russian manufacturer. For a long time now, Boomstarter has been collecting donations for its release. It is planned to raise an amount of 38,500,000 rubles. This is already causing ridicule for many, as you can freely verify by searching for this information on the Internet. The reason for this mistrust among users is that such domestic projects usually gained more than 12 million.
And if you get acquainted with the requirements for the new operating system, it immediately becomes clear that the declared amount is clearly not enough. Even if the Russian OS "Patriot OS" will count on at least 1-2% of the software market in this area, much more needs to be collected. Although, this amount may be enough for a preliminary beta version. Having become acquainted with it, one can easily judge the prospects of the project. True, the adequacy of certain characteristics calls into question the entire development as a whole.
A little humor
Thus, the author of the project plans to create a modern Patrionet Network, which is an analogue of the World Internet. It will be available exclusively to those users on whose devices the Patriot operating system, released by Russian manufacturers, is installed. It is planned to lay in its basis unique dynamic technologies, characterized by high speed. However, for the implementation of such an amount, even $ 38 million is negligible, not to mention the domestic currency.
distant prospects
There is an operating system "Phantom", developed by Russian figures in computer technology. Theoretically, it is a product of Digital Zone. In fact, this is Dmitry Zavalishin's "home-made work". Every year he zealously proves the merits of his own development at the HighLoad exhibition and other similar events. It is worth noting that the Phantom operating system, which is the brainchild of Russian production, has nothing revolutionary and new.
The developers don't lie when they say that their product has nothing to do with a Windows/Unix clone. True, they do not mention that the Phantom is an almost exact copy of the KeyKOS / EROS system. It is worth noting that this topic was raised in the distant 80s of the last century. It was during that period that the general principles of KeyKOS were laid.
The article briefly introduced the new Russian operating systems and systems and their possible future prospects in the modern software market.
On the Internet, patriots are trolls in the style of: “Here you are reading this message on a Chinese computer with American programs, this is not Orthodox”. Now, if only we had everything completely domestic… Moreover, now “under this bench” one can easily win a large state contract: for the sake of such a business, many equipment manufacturers have already begun to produce it at contract factories among birch trees dear to our hearts.
Charlatans like a schoolboy who drew a screensaver and announced the creation of the BolgenOS operating system, we do not take into account, but as an expense - but it turns out that Russia is full of serious developments.
Not very Russian ROSA Linux
Here, for example, ROSA Linux (it is not read as “rose”, but as “dew”, which is on the grass in the morning). It can hardly be considered completely Russian, because these are actually further branches of the development of foreign assemblies of Mandriva and Red Hat. The version for home users is called Rosa Fresh; The last build was released in August 2016.
The advantage of this free assembly compared to the same Ubuntu is the ability to choose a graphical interface (KDE or Gnome), the availability of out-of-the-box drivers for a large number of devices, including proprietary ones (say, NVIDIA video cards), and pre-installed software - such as Skype, Java, Flash, Steam, its own omnivorous media player, etc., as well as convenient tools for creating restore points.
Desktop of the ROSA 2012LTS operating system.
Astra Linux
Astra Linux is another Russian Linux build (originally based on Debian) designed for security forces and intelligence agencies. It has the highest level of protection and is certified to work with information containing state secrets. To heighten patriotism, all releases are named after the hero cities of Russia.
Now relevant are "Eagle" - a version for everyday office, sorry, clerical tasks and "Smolensk" for working with information of the "Top Secret" category. Novorossiysk, a mobile version of the OS for smartphones and tablets with ARM processors, is being prepared for release.
From a technical point of view, Astra differs from all other Linux systems in its own patented access control system, and also has a number of other data protection functions - for example, when a file is deleted, it is completely deleted and the place it occupied is filled with random masking data sequences (in other operating systems, by default, only the FAT entry changes, and special utilities are used to prevent the remote file from being read by sector-by-sector reading of the drive).
Astra Linux Common Edition general-purpose operating system.
Software for special services
Zarya is another build of Linux for special purposes (based on Red Hat), it is used exclusively in the Russian army and exists in the form of several builds - for workstations, for data centers, for specialized computerized complexes, etc.
There is also MCVS - "Mobile System of the Armed Forces" and GosLinux - OS for the Federal Bailiff Service (also based on Red Hat). There are statistics on the latter: it is installed on 660 servers and 16 thousand workstations, while the cost of a copy in terms of one computer turned out to be 1,500 rubles. As it is installed on more PCs by the end of 2016 (then it will be installed on half of the FSSP computers), the average cost will drop to 800 rubles. In any case, it is several times cheaper than licenses for Windows and MS Office.
"Elbrus"
Elbrus is an operating system for computers with Russian processors of the same name. Since these processors, although compatible with x86, have their own unique architecture, they decided to develop a special OS - again, on the Linux kernel - that takes into account the characteristics of the CPU and uses their advantages as efficiently as possible.
VK Monocube-PC - a personal computer based on the Elbrus-2C + microprocessor with the Elbrus / MCST operating system.
software from scratch
All of the above operating systems, unfortunately, are not completely Russian developments, since these are various variations on the theme of foreign Linux. However, we also have our own OS called Phantom, developed from scratch.
One of the key features of "Phantom" is persistence, which means that applications work without stopping and do not even "know" that the computer has been turned off or restarted - work continues exactly from the same moment. This is somewhat similar to the "hibernation" mode in other systems (when the contents of memory are written to disk as files and then loaded), but is guaranteed to work without driver and program failures, and everything happens automatically. Even if you suddenly turn off the computer, the data will not be lost, and after turning it on again, everything will be the same as a few seconds before turning it off.
There is only one problem with Phantom: application software needs to be written (or ported from Unix systems) for it, and here the chicken and egg problem arises: until there is at least some penetration of the OS, no one wants to write programs for it, but for now there are no programs - there will be no penetration.
To make both the OS and programs at the same time requires huge investments, which the small company Digital Zone, the author of Phantom, does not have. Therefore, the system exists as an alpha version for 32-bit x86 processors, and the prospects for its further development are very vague.
Actually, programs do not need to be able to write their state to a file, and in general, Phantom operates not with “files”, but with “objects”. According to the creators of the OS, writing programs for it is much easier and 30% cheaper.
Masquerading as Russian software
We should also remember the noise that arose around Sailfish OS after our Minister Nikolai Nikiforov met with the leaders of the Finnish Jolla. A year ago, Jolla was bought by Russian businessman Grigory Berezkin and even won the competition of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications for import substitution in the OS segment for mobile devices.
Since then, nothing has happened, and there is nothing Russian, except for the buyer, in Sailfish yet. Nevertheless, there is talk that in Russia Innopolis will develop a new mobile OS aimed at export.
Many media came out with headlines that this is the creation of a domestic mobile operating system. But a priori, there are no borders on the Internet, all products must be global. On the contrary, we would like Russian developers to participate in the creation of a product that will be export-oriented, and ideally become a platform for the BRICS countries.
Nikolay Nikiforov
Minister of Telecom and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation
And here there is a certain logical trick: Nikiforov considers the Sailfish open operating system one of the possible candidates to become a platform for further import substitution in the IT field. However, nothing is said about the fact that Sailfish will be developed in Innopolis. But it is said that the Open Mobile Platform company, suddenly owned by Berezkin, will only take the foreign Sailfish as a basis and finalize it for ordinary Russian users. That is, this is not another “Linux for the public sector”, but an OS for the mass market.
Let's discard all these streamlined formulations: it is clear that under the guise of a Russian mobile OS, we will be shown exactly the redesigned Sailfish. She, in turn, is a Linux-like successor to the MeeGo and Maemo platforms, which were developed at Nokia and were "killed" by Steven Elop, a misguided cossack from Microsoft, because they were competitors to Windows Phone. One device, Nokia N9, managed to release, however.
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What Sailfish OS 2.0 looks like for users of Jolla devices.Sailfish can run Android applications, so there will be no problems with the software, however, it is difficult for the user to explain why he should run Android applications not on Android, but on a smartphone with a different operating system.
The main advantage of Sailfish is that it does not depend on Google and its services (this is what, for example, Samsung developed Bada and Tizen for). The user is promised a bit of magic, like Apple does, and programmers are promised the ease of creating applications without problems with fragmentation. According to rumors, Yotaphone 3 will be released on Sailfish.
What is the result?
In the bottom line, we have this: all “live” Russian OSes are actually Linux assemblies reworked for specific tasks. They fulfill their tasks of saving the state budget and ensuring the safety of data. The degree of patriotism is raised. Sysadmins and software developers are given jobs. I mean, everything is great.
