DPRK Creates "Red Star" Operating System

[VILemon]

Comrades,
I just wanted to share this tidbit with you. Whatever your thoughts on the DPRK, it is at least a curiosity.

Here are pictures taken by a Russian who apparently bought the operating system for ~$5.

Pictures: http://ashen-rus.livejournal.com/4300.html

Article on "Red Star": http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8604912.stm

Hmm...

[chegitz guevara]

It's not April Fool's Day anymore. :cool:

[VILemon]

Yeah, I know. :laugh: But I'm pretty sure that this is real.

[scarletghoul]

Interesting, I hope they make it available in english. Still havn't tried out that Cuban OS yet

[Morgenstern]

Bit of a conspiracy theory but what if the operating systems are merely part of one big bot net? I mean think about it. They need processing power to carry out a very powerful cybernetic preemptive strike. If the OS has a backdoor that saps some CPU cycles if they distribute this to 500,000 people that is quite a punch.

[chegitz guevara]

Exactly what I was thinking.

[cska]

Bit of a conspiracy theory but what if the operating systems are merely part of one big bot net? I mean think about it. They need processing power to carry out a very powerful cybernetic preemptive strike. If the OS has a backdoor that saps some CPU cycles if they distribute this to 500,000 people that is quite a punch.

Cybernetic preemptive strike? er what? You mean a computer-controlled war? You wouldn't need a botnet for that. A couple of PCs have enough computing power for anything you would be able to program...

btw, as far as the spying allegations go, did the DPRK not release the source code to the OS? It is GPL licensed, so they are supposed to...

[mykittyhasaboner]

Interesting, I hope they make it available in english. Still havn't tried out that Cuban OS yet

Details? I've never heard of this.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Surely this should be in OI;)

[Red Commissar]

Details? I've never heard of this.

I only get this article from reuters,

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE51A77S20090211

It's based off a Linux build and is called "Nova". The Cuban government developed it with the purpose of trying to convert their computers from using Windows to Linux. Cuban government feels Windows leaves them open to US intelligence agencies and their linux build allows them to have more sovereignty. They're trying to roll out this OS with the new computers which have been opened up for sale to the public.

As for the North Korean OS, I don't even think NKers have computers to use so I'm not sure what they'll be used for beyond government offices. They may be planning to roll out public computer stations, and these OS's probably have ways to let them easily monitor what people are doing on them, like the BBC article mentioned.

Edit: Nova OS in action.

uTXIzaxfox4

[Q]

I'll stick with Ubuntu.

[Nolan]

Surely this should be in OI;)

?

[Invincible Summer]

Surely this should be in OI;)


?

I think El Granma is referring to how this thread is talking about technology and whatnot, similar to the Technocracy threads which RED DAVE is all up in arms about and wants to send to the OI

[Paul Cockshott]

looks like a modified Gnome desktop

[Tablo]

Looks interesting. Would like to get my hands on a copy of it.

[InuyashaKnight]

Looks great, but all stick with what i got.

[Q]

looks like a modified Gnome desktop

It looks like KDE 3.x and Wikipedia confirms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Star_OS). This is a bit strange really, as KDE 4.x has been out for a few years now and is generally considered to be a huge improvement over the 3.x platform, with stuff like Plasma (http://kde.org/workspaces/plasmadesktop/) for example.

Anyway, this is just a Linux distro and as for distro's I recommend Ubuntu (which has a Gnome desktop) or Kubuntu (with KDE 4) as it is simply geared towards ease of use and making this Just Work.

And one other thing: Red Star Linux has been around since 2002 already, there is nothing new about it and given that they still use ancient software (KDE 3.x) I guess it lacks real development.

[Red Commissar]

And one other thing: Red Star Linux has been around since 2002 already, there is nothing new about it and given that they still use ancient software (KDE 3.x) I guess it lacks real development.

Well, this is North Korea we're talking about.

Don't kill me :(

[tornwarriorx]

Interesting. I have a thing for Linux operating systems. Red Star appears to be Linux based, atleast it's desktop does. Gonna try to get that.

[bcbm]

I think El Granma is referring to how this thread is talking about technology and whatnot, similar to the Technocracy threads which RED DAVE is all up in arms about and wants to send to the OI

that doesn't even make sense. i think it was a jab at the dprk.

[CartCollector]

Cybernetic preemptive strike? er what? You mean a computer-controlled war? You wouldn't need a botnet for that. A couple of PCs have enough computing power for anything you would be able to program...
What I think he's referring to is a Distributed Denial of Service, which is where multiple PCs are used to prevent a web site from being accessible. The usual methods are either to tie up all the connections that a server can have or to suck down all of the bandwidth that a server can handle, preventing anyone else from accessing the site. The more internet connections you have, the easier this is to do. You can see how something like this could mess with a country's Internet infastructure.

[Tablo]

Interesting. I have a thing for Linux operating systems. Red Star appears to be Linux based, atleast it's desktop does. Gonna try to get that.
Definitely Linux based and if you find a copy then please PM me. Based on the little I have read it is a pretty solid build. Would like to see what the North Korean software engineers are capable of.

[cska]

What I think he's referring to is a Distributed Denial of Service, which is where multiple PCs are used to prevent a web site from being accessible. The usual methods are either to tie up all the connections that a server can have or to suck down all of the bandwidth that a server can handle, preventing anyone else from accessing the site. The more internet connections you have, the easier this is to do. You can see how something like this could mess with a country's Internet infastructure.

Oh my bad. :blushing: Yeah, they could use it for a DoS attack. Or they could just pay off some Russian hackers to do it for them :laugh:

[Rusty Shackleford]

i was half expecting the start button to be Kim's face.


either way though it looks alright. if i had a spare computer and a copy, i would contemplate giving it a shot.

[Tablo]

i was half expecting the start button to be Kim's face.


either way though it looks alright. if i had a spare computer and a copy, i would contemplate giving it a shot.
A picture of Kim would make me want the OS even more for the lols whenIi show it to my mates.

If I do get a copy I'm going to see if I can mod a picture of him somewhere into the theme.

[R_P_A_S]

Interesting, I hope they make it available in english. Still havn't tried out that Cuban OS yet

What Cuban OS?

[Tablo]

What Cuban OS?
The OS he is referring to is Nova.
http://www.nova.uci.cu/

[Q]

What Cuban OS?

Nova (http://www.revleft.com/vb/dprk-creates-red-t132548/index.html?p=1713570#post1713570). A Linux distro based on Gentoo.

[entfaltend]

Interesting. I'd love to get a copy to play with, but I definitely would make sure whatever computer it's on is very, very isolated from any other machines on the network.

[Revy]

"It is Linux-based but is heavily influenced by Microsoft with versions of the software giant's Office programmes, including several familiar games."

They say that as if Ubuntu and other Linux distros don't have OpenOffice and "familiar games". Granted, only 1% of the world is estimated to use Linux, so the BBC probably doesn't know what they're talking about.

But Ubuntu will probably take over much like Firefox is (slowly) becoming the norm. Firefox is the default browser in most Linux distros.

Another thing, the choice of Linux-based OS by the DPRK might be influenced by the need for security. There are very few viruses for Linux and the chance of getting a virus in Linux is slim-to-none. I would guess that perhaps it is easier to prevent hacking as well but I am no expert on that, but I do know that as an Ubuntu user I do not need a anti-virus program.

another thing is, of course, Macintosh and Windows are OS marketed by US-based corporations. so the choice of Linux seems clear given that.

[Raúl Duke]

The OS he is referring to is Nova.
http://www.nova.uci.cu/

I checked the link...

after a few clicks they have an international download mirror...
technically you can download it and install it but its in a .iso file so I guess one has to use Daemon tools or something similar to install.

[Q]

I checked the link...

after a few clicks they have an international download mirror...
technically you can download it and install it but its in a .iso file so I guess one has to use Daemon tools or something similar to install.

Or you can just burn it on a cd. The .iso format is the most common way to distribute Linux distro's. Alternatively, if you only want to install it on a virtual machine, such as VMWare, you can just mount the iso image inside the virtual machine. If you already have a Linux distro installed and have a spare partition, you can just mount -o loop the .iso and run the installer from there, but this is somewhat dependent on how the installer is set up.

[Tablo]

The website forum has an English language section too if you guys want to talk with the people managing the site and developing the software.
http://www.nova.uci.cu/website/foros/viewforum.php?f=23&sid=04a6e771369160a85828ba6af59476c7

[ZombieGrits]

Interesting. I have a thing for Linux operating systems. Red Star appears to be Linux based, atleast it's desktop does. Gonna try to get that.

The Reuters article says its only available in the Korean language. Better get learning then eh? :D

I agree that the development of this OS is probably to be implemented in some kind of surveillance scheme later on, but I'd like to point out that NK is by no means alone in this sort of endeavour. In fact I heard Microsoft gathers information from Windows users and offers it for intelligence agencies to peruse :blink:

[Q]

The Reuters article says its only available in the Korean language. Better get learning then eh? :D
In contrast to Windows, open source programs often have extensive language support. KDE is for example is officially supported by 74 translation teams (http://l10n.kde.org/teams-list.php). While the standard install is probably only in Korean, someone who knows the system a bit can add more languages very easily.

That said, I don't see why anyone here would want to use Red Star Linux. As far as I'm aware its only unique feature is the fact it is available in Korean by default (which isn't really that unique, any distro can be installed in many languages). So what's the appeal? The point perhaps that it is developed by a totalitarian dictatorship? Really people, if you want to experience Linux, try Ubuntu (http://ubuntu.com/): a distro that is easy to use, is constantly having the latest features, has two releases a year (the next one coming up at the end of this month in fact) and if you can't download it due to a low bandwidth internet connection, you can even order a free cd (https://shipit.ubuntu.com/).

[el_chavista]

An "aporrea" forum user warns about the confusion between his "Estrella Roja" OS and the Korean one:


Not only did the first Red Star was born in Argentina on the date of 2008. Carried out by me as amateur...

Also it is something "suspicious" that the international press agency REUTERS Latin America has translated into "Red Star OS" of North Korea as "Estrella Roja GNU / Linux" and this has been expanded for all mass media in Argentina, speaking negatively about GNU Linux and socialism.

it may be more or less just a smear campaign and slander towards the original Red Star GNU / Linux http://www.estrellaroja.info so it may be accused of being part of North Korea or "terrorism" or something like that.

The companion Eva Golinger, says: The "George W. Bush Institute" promotes cyber war against Venezuela, Cuba, Iran and Russia. http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=103802&titular=el- "institute-george-w.bush"-promotes-the-war-cyber% E9tica-vs-Venezuela-Cuba-ir% E1n- and-russia-

I've already reported here, and always require for reinforcements, but many people don't back us.

Hope to see you in our trench www.estrellaroja.info (http://www.estrellaroja.info)

[cska]

Slightly off topic, but what do you guys think about BSD vs GPL license? Naturally, the permissive BSD license feels like it is completely free, but the copyleft GPL does have its appeal (don't have to worry about helping corporations make a profit).

[Q]

Slightly off topic, but what do you guys think about BSD vs GPL license? Naturally, the permissive BSD license feels like it is completely free, but the copyleft GPL does have its appeal (don't have to worry about helping corporations make a profit).

This reminds me of the Wine debate. Wine is a Windows API and ABI implementation for Unix (read: you can run Windows apps on Linux or Mac OSX via Wine). Once upon a time they released all the code under the BSD license ("do whatever you want with it, but say we wrote it"). Then a small company came along, called Transgaming, which used the Wine code to make WineX (today called Cedega) which was a version of Wine optimized for games.

So, the Wine developers asked about the code Transgaming used, as it is common to return the code to the community. Transgaming said "fuck you". Wine then had a big WTF and held a debate about changing its license, to GPL ("you can use our code, but you have to make a contribution back to the community").

Cedega hold its edge for years. It achieved its game performance by quick hack fixes to make specific games work. Wine had the superior, but slower, approach by implementing all the architectures (such as DirectX) necessary to run games, all games (more or less). Today Wine works for most games, Cedega now has a hugely out of date codebase (stemming back from the days Wine was released as BSD).

Long story short: I love GPL. BSD is for hippie liberals.

[CartCollector]

Here's what Steve Ballmer (Microsoft's CEO) has to say about the GNU license (which he incorrectly calls "Linux"):

Linux is not in the public domain. Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches. That's the way that the license works.
If Microsoft's CEO hates it, it must be good!