North Korea's Own OS, Red Star 316
klaasb writes "North Korea's self-developed computer operating system, named 'Red Star,' was brought to light for the first time by a Russian satellite broadcaster yesterday. North Korea's top IT experts began developing the Red Star in 2006, but its composition and operation mechanisms were unknown until the internet version of the Russia Today TV program featured the system, citing the blog of a Russian student who goes to the Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang."
2010: (Score:5, Funny)
The year of the linux desktop has finally come, to North Korea.
Re:2010: (Score:5, Interesting)
And they still had to make it look like Windows:
The Red Star is based on Linux, a free and open software operating system, but looks a lot like the Microsoft Windows on display. It also has a similar user interface.
The desktop display of Red Star is almost identical to that of MS Windows.
A Red Star logo is shown on the lower left corner of the screen where MS Windows has a start button. It has most of the basic MS Windows icons such as a Trash Bin and My Computer. Only, the names of the icons are slightly different from the Korean version of MS Windows.
Application programs such as a Web browser and a word processor which also resemble MS products come in separate discs.
Re:2010: (Score:4, Funny)
As long as there is a grownup OS underneath does it really matter?
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Good point. Do we need to know NeXTSTEP and BSD in order to use OSX? :)
Re:2010: (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, and I'm sure that the cars in N. Korea have a wheel to steer, pedals on the floor for accelerator, clutch and brake, and a lever to shift gears... Just like a Chevy.
So what?
Re:2010: (Score:5, Funny)
All 10 cars, yes.
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And they still had to make it look like Windows:
Doesn't everybody?
Not really a Windows clone (Score:3, Insightful)
Actually, it just looks like a default KDE desktop. I've seen the Chinese Linux that emulates the look of XP, and someone spent a lot of time on that copying the appearance down to the small details. This, on the other hand, isn't very customized.
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Incidentally I have worked in South Korea and engineers there use a local linux distribution which, like this, looks like red hat with different icons and localization. I wouldn't be surprised if this distro is derived from the southern version.
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It is just KDE, it does not look like windows anymore than OSX.
Re:2010: (Score:4, Informative)
It's not intended to copy Windows, it just looks like Windows the same way Gnome and KDE both resemble Windows. http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-03-01/north-korea-cyber-weapon.html?fullstory [rt.com]
Re:2010: (Score:5, Funny)
In Korea, only old people use Windows. Then they get arrested for promoting capitalism.
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Cute I guess, but you've mixed up your Koreas. Joke makes as much sense as claiming America loves watching football while having tea and crumpets.
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[quote]
In Korea, only old people use Windows. Then they get arrested for promoting capitalism.
[/quote]
If that's what it takes to get LOTD, don't kvetch!
Re:2010: (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:2010: (Score:5, Funny)
Communism. My idea!
Re:2010: (Score:5, Funny)
Shouldn't it be GNU/Red Star Linux?
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The unanswered question... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The unanswered question... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The unanswered question... (Score:4, Funny)
It's analog. Since they don't have electricity [flickr.com], the computer in question is hydraulic, with power provided by the operator via pedals. ~
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So, when (Score:2)
can we start expecting contributions to the kernel?
And how will they check them in?
Re:So, when (Score:5, Funny)
Re:So, when (Score:5, Funny)
I hear the patches will be real killers.
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Re:GPL (Score:5, Insightful)
Does it count as fulfilling the obligations required by the GPL if you make your source code freely available and downloadable but your entire country is behind a firewall and no one can access it? :)
A firewall is the least of the problems (Score:5, Insightful)
Does it count as fulfilling the obligations required by the GPL if you make your source code freely available and downloadable but your entire country is behind a firewall and no one can access it? :)
Most of North Korea doesn't even have electricity. I'm not sure they need a firewall.
Re:A firewall is the least of the problems (Score:5, Funny)
Most of North Korea doesn't even have electricity.
Lies! All North Korean citizens have personal fusion reactors to power Dear Leader's triumph over Western aggressors.
Re:A firewall is the least of the problems (Score:5, Interesting)
http://geology.com/articles/night-satellite/satellite-photo-of-asia-at-night.jpg [geology.com] actually shows this best.
The bright portion of the peninsula just west of Japan is South Korea, the dark spot between it and the main land is North Korea.
Re:A firewall is the least of the problems (Score:5, Insightful)
Are they really that fucked?
There are "bright spots" visible by satellite within North Korea. They are believed to correspond to enclaves of the wealthy elites. What's that you ask? How can they have "wealthy elites" within a Marxist utopian state? You may be nearing an answer to your own question.
Re:A firewall is the least of the problems (Score:5, Funny)
A simple "yes" would have been fine.
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They do have electricity, they just basically power down the country at night. If you're looking for a reason, the government probably doesn't want to pay to generate power all night, and the people don't have input on the issue.
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Wow, they have really comprehensive dark sky ordinances.
It would be a great place for astronomy.
Re:A firewall is the least of the problems (Score:4, Funny)
Without electricity they could use the firewall to keep warm in the winter.
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Considering you only need to make it available to your users and all their users are behind the same firewall, it probably does.
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Yeah, and good luck to the FSF when they go over and try to enforce it...
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Does it count as fulfilling the obligations required by the GPL if you make your source code freely available and downloadable but your entire country is behind a firewall and no one can access it? :)
Since North Korea is a sovereign nation, I dont think that they have to abide by US copyright laws...
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Does it count as fulfilling the obligations required by the GPL if you make your source code freely available and downloadable but your entire country is behind a firewall and no one can access it? :)
Isn't this kind of a modified version of one of the thought experiments from the Debian legal team? If you suppose dissidents in dictatorships should be allowed to improve and use the software without the need to put themselves in danger of exposing the fact that they have the software in their possession, then the licenses should only require sending source code and patches to people who specifically request them. (Incidentally, GPL doesn't require you to advertise your forked versions or send your modific
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can we start expecting contributions to the kernel?
Sorry comrade, it is now called "the Colonel".
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Judging by what the system looks like, he's under direct command of General Protection Fault.
Oh... (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm guessing said news program didn't consider the potential consequences for the student? (Especially if a) he's still there and b) If they consider this project to be some kind of 'national secret' which they probably do given security / the likelihood of 'cyber warfare')
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So, not a new operating system, just YAGLD (Score:4, Informative)
Yet Another GNU Linux distro.
With a skin that resembles windows, and rebranded apps.
Here's an article with a bit more of information
http://techie-buzz.com/linux-news/red-star-os-linux-distro-north-korea.html [techie-buzz.com]
The "My Country" browser is just firefox.
Interesting is, they are in violation of the GPL. But then again, It's North Korea ...
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Interesting is, they are in violation of the GPL. But then again, It's North Korea ...
It's kinda hard to violate nonexistant copyright laws. OTOH, we're free to copy anything coming from North Korea as well. Not quite sure how much is worth copying.
Re:So, not a new operating system, just YAGLD (Score:4, Insightful)
OTOH, we're free to copy anything coming from North Korea as well. Not quite sure how much is worth copying.
Our govt is desperately copying their civil rights laws...
Some of our corporate-govt propaganda is about as bad as their govt propaganda...
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They aren't violating the GPL if they aren't distributing it (which i don't believe they are yet)...
Violating the GPL? (Score:4, Informative)
They also aren't violating the GPL if the jurisdiction they are in does not require them to have the permission of the copyright holder to make a derivative work in the first place, since the GPL is merely a license by which the copyright holder grants someone else rights which would otherwise be exclusive under law to the copyright holder.
Since its the North Korean government operating within North Korea we're talking about, here, I'm pretty sure the local laws don't require them to have a license from anyone to do anything they want.
Re:Violating the GPL? (Score:4, Informative)
Its impossible to not violate at least some of that set, since they pose mutually exclusive demands. (In fact, the one you've capitalized, on its own, poses mutually exclusive demands, so its impossible not to violate it alone.)
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Perhaps you should leave Argentina once in a while and actually get to know a few more of the people you're describing.
I might have had something to say but... (Score:5, Funny)
The article in its entirety:
Russian student back from North Korea had purchased a $5 OS disc and a $10 application disc. Based on Linux, looks like Korean version of Windows.
Nothing else.
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crickets
Re:I might have had something to say but... (Score:5, Informative)
Ahh Ha!
An actual article exists!
With photos!
http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-03-01/north-korea-cyber-weapon.html?fullstory [rt.com]
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Thanks a lot for that.
Incredibly enough, I find the logo to be quite spiffy, and the CDs' artwork rather fine - considering the distro generated in a country where large parts of the population live (and die) in concentration camps, and yet other large parts of the population starve to death.
On the box for Red Star Linux they might have just written "Beloved Leader, thank you for using Red Star - we hope you enjoy it!"
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
We have a greater percentage of our population in prison than North Korea does.
Re:I might have had something to say but... (Score:5, Insightful)
We have a greater percentage of our population in prison than North Korea does.
Their entire country is a prison.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:amerika has executions (Score:4, Informative)
Note, by the by, that even if one assumes that all executions in the USA are purely random (as opposed to punishment for a specific crime), the chance of being killed by lightning is about twice as high as the chance of being executed.
Re:I might have had something to say but... (Score:4, Insightful)
Really? How do you know? Most lists I've seen of imprisonment rates have the US with the highest listed, but North Korea with no information, because most are based on government reports and/or reliable NGOs, and North Korea doesn't report data or provide the kind of access from which NGOs could produce anything like a reasonable estimate.
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Why is that relevant. Zend has a nice logo, and they created PHP in a country with similar conditions.
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One cute detail: notice the Juche Era year number (99) in bottom right corner, followed by the usual Gregorian year in parentheses.
If you stop using it, does it threaten you? (Score:2)
Or are you advised by fearless leader to just try and eat it as "food substitute?"
Ironic (Score:5, Insightful)
Ironic how super-strict North Korea uses Free Software, while South Korea is totally in thrall to Microsoft.
Re:Ironic (Score:5, Insightful)
Not necessarily. Free Software can be easily customized to fit the whims of a dictatorship. Proprietary software requires the cooperation of the developer and (presumably) payment to that developer.
Re:Ironic (Score:5, Funny)
Well, the obvious joke would be... "Communist country, communist OS."
Sorry. Couldn't resist. Some jokes are just too easy.
Re: (Score:2)
Easy: yes, Funny: not so much
Re:Ironic (Score:5, Funny)
Well, they both fell for the propaganda that Free Software is communist.
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Does North Korea actually provide any of the software freedoms to its users though?
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Yes, but the north korean government doesn't really fit with communist ideology at all...
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Tue, it actually has a lot of the characteristics of an absolute monarchy.
Glorious Leader has truly given us a blessing (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Glorious Leader has truly given us a blessing (Score:5, Funny)
I'm surprised there isn't a press release telling us Kim Jong-Il programmed the majority of the OS himself in his spare time, it is the type of thing the Glorious Leader usually does.
Only the majority? You don't seem to know Kim Jong-Il very well. Considering he has his people tell us he is a world-record golfer, an avid fighter pilot (in spite of being afraid of flying), and capable of memorizing entire phone books, they wouldn't stop at majority. They would tell us that he gloriously wrote the entire Linux kernel, which he then selflessly shared with Linus Torvalds.
And then they would go back a step further and say that he is also the original author of Unix itself. By the end of the week he would also be the father of the transistor and semiconductor.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Slightly more info... (Score:5, Informative)
mentions that the browser "my country" is actually a fork of FF [techie-buzz.com]
Not at all a surprise (Score:3, Insightful)
After all, North Korea is not known for its high technology or modern infrastructure. Well, as I'm sure the Mozilla team can tell you, developing a high quality modern browser is not a trivial task. Takes a lot of work and a lot of expertise. They have that, and have many years of code to build on. NK doesn't. So, what do they do? Rip off someone else, of course! That way they can have their own high quality browser with a minimum of effort. There's also little risk of their citizens finding out it is a rip
Interesting... (Score:2, Funny)
Do they have the goofy M$ search assistant dog?
Just curious there...
--Stak
It's based in GNU Hurd . . . (Score:4, Funny)
. . . but the only app is Duke Nukem Forever.
Born on a rainbow star (Score:5, Funny)
Falling from the heavens like a rainbow star, the operating system appeared as a spirit of the people, willing itself into being to fight the evil west and spread true communist freedom to all people.
Lots of Screenshots (Score:3, Informative)
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Security?? (Score:2)
Only thing worse would be running Chrome on it!
And best of all.. (Score:4, Funny)
Re:...can't...stop...myself... (Score:5, Funny)
In Democratic People's Republic of Korea, computer back door removes you!
Re: (Score:2)
Or, in that case...
Better Red than Dead!
Re:...can't...stop...myself... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:...can't...stop...myself... (Score:5, Interesting)
I doubt they're going to murder him for leaking information about their non-secret software if that's what you mean. Apparently North Korea still gets a fair number of Russian tourists and would probably like to not piss off the Russian government.
I ran across a bunch of pictures from a Russian tourist a while back with translated captions. I found them pretty interesting.
http://www.enlight.ru/camera/dprk/index_e.html [enlight.ru]
Re:Yes! (Score:5, Funny)
The Red Star is based on Linux
*ducks*
Re:Yes! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Yes! (Score:4, Funny)
Personally I wonder if the Blue Screen of Death is replaced with a Red Screen of Dissention.
No, it's the Red Screen of Death. This is North Korea, after all. "Take that, Hans Brix!"
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I tried clicking your link and all I got was this: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=whoosh
Re:Yes! (Score:4, Insightful)
It is just the smart thing to do. I expect more nations to switch to Linux as their desktop operating system to save the dependency on "Red Mond". I mean, monoculture is dangerous for their national security. Linux is very strong in Latin nations for egovernment purposes. The nation to switch first is able to create a very sustainable Linux eco system and it is able to get the Microsoft political benefits as well. Win!
Re:Yes! (Score:5, Insightful)
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The same year that we can pronounce the Desktop is dead.
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National competetion (Score:2)
Instead of peering at each other through binoculars across the DMZ, the two countries could now clash in an epic StarCraft competition. :)
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Pervert.
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