Pixart
Encyclopedia
Pixart SRL is a company
based in Argentina
dedicated to the development of free software
, particularly the Rxart computer operating system
, which is based on Debian
.
in Latin America
. When Corel discontinued their operating system product, Pixart decided to continue the project, receiving technical and legal support from Corel.
Corel gave the English
version of their operating system to Xandros
, and agreed to give the Spanish
and Portuguese
versions to Pixart.
These products, coupled with many sales agreements, have made Pixart one of the largest Linux-related companies in Latin America.
developed in Argentina
and based on Debian
. Due to the amount of computers sold with Rxart pre-installed, Rxart has become a very popular Spanish language
distribution in Latin America, reaching an installed base of 350,000 units in 2005.
Its origins date back to 1999, when the founder and CEO of Pixart, Gabriel Ortiz, decided to develop a user-friendly distribution intended mainly for hardware
assemblers. After an agreement in 2007 between Lenovo and Pixart, Rxart version 3.2 was made available pre-installed on desktop PCs in Argentina.
The distribution is available in English
, Portuguese
and Spanish
.
, Jumbo
, Megatone
, Sicsa
, Pcarts, New Tree, and Compumundo. Basing the distribution on Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 (Sarge), the company added proprietary software
components.
Pixart has contacts with Sun Microsystems
, IBM
, Intel, AMD, PChips, Smartlink
and Biostar
, among other companies.
In August 2006, Rxart was chosen as the operating system for the Intel Classmate PC in a pilot scheme by the government of Venezuela
. From June 2007, AMD started distributing components to various countries around the world with Rxart preloaded for their demonstrations. Also in June, Pixart signed an agreement with Sun Microsystem to bundle StarOffice
with Rxart.
In Pixart laboratories, several companies collaborated by sending hardware for the development of device driver
s. Among them were Lexmark
, Epson, Intel, AMD, PCtel, Miro
, HP and Dell
.
Rxart is named after one of the collaborators for the MANCOOSI
project in the European Union
.
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
based in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
dedicated to the development of free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
, particularly the Rxart computer operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
, which is based on Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
.
History
Pixart started in 1998 as a regional representative of CorelCorel
Corel Corporation from the abbreviation is a computer software company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, that specializes in graphics processing, similar to Adobe Systems...
in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. When Corel discontinued their operating system product, Pixart decided to continue the project, receiving technical and legal support from Corel.
Corel gave the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
version of their operating system to Xandros
Xandros
Xandros is the name of both a line of operating systems and Xandros Corporation, the company which creates them. Xandros Desktop was a Linux distribution. The name Xandros is derived from the X Window System and the Greek island of Andros....
, and agreed to give the Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
versions to Pixart.
These products, coupled with many sales agreements, have made Pixart one of the largest Linux-related companies in Latin America.
Rxart
Rxart is a Linux distributionLinux distribution
A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...
developed in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and based on Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
. Due to the amount of computers sold with Rxart pre-installed, Rxart has become a very popular Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
distribution in Latin America, reaching an installed base of 350,000 units in 2005.
Its origins date back to 1999, when the founder and CEO of Pixart, Gabriel Ortiz, decided to develop a user-friendly distribution intended mainly for hardware
Hardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
assemblers. After an agreement in 2007 between Lenovo and Pixart, Rxart version 3.2 was made available pre-installed on desktop PCs in Argentina.
The distribution is available in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
Development
Pixart began being sold as pre-installed in Argentina, in numerous wholesale channels, including Garbarino, Fravega, CarrefourCarrefour
Carrefour S.A. is an international hypermarket chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world...
, Jumbo
Jumbo
Jumbo was a large African Bush Elephant, born 1861 in the French Sudan – present-day Mali – imported to a Paris zoo, transferred to the London Zoo in 1865, and sold in 1882 to P. T...
, Megatone
Megatone
Megatone is a collaborative album between Merzbow and Japanese experimental doom band Boris, released on Inoxia Records in 2002.-Track listing:# "It Continues Waiting for a Headronefish" – 23:26...
, Sicsa
SICSA
SICSA is an acronym which can refer to the following:*Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism - a research center on antisemitism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem...
, Pcarts, New Tree, and Compumundo. Basing the distribution on Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 (Sarge), the company added proprietary software
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
components.
Pixart has contacts with Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, Intel, AMD, PChips, Smartlink
SmartLink
SmartLink was the trademark name for a proprietary technology by Sharp Corporation for wireless transmission of television signals. The system involved two devices, each a little bit bigger than a paperback book: one attached to a television screen and the other was hooked up to a TV tuner, DVD...
and Biostar
Biostar
Biostar or Biostar Microtech International Corp, is a motherboard manufacturer based in Taiwan, designing and manufacturing of computer hardware products such as motherboards, video cards, barebone computers and industrial PCs, to meet the demands of market development by providing more integrated...
, among other companies.
In August 2006, Rxart was chosen as the operating system for the Intel Classmate PC in a pilot scheme by the government of Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. From June 2007, AMD started distributing components to various countries around the world with Rxart preloaded for their demonstrations. Also in June, Pixart signed an agreement with Sun Microsystem to bundle StarOffice
StarOffice
StarOffice, known briefly as Oracle Open Office before its discontinuation in 2010, is a proprietary office suite. It was originally developed by StarDivision which was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 1999...
with Rxart.
In Pixart laboratories, several companies collaborated by sending hardware for the development of device driver
Device driver
In computing, a device driver or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device....
s. Among them were Lexmark
Lexmark
Lexmark International, Inc. is an American corporation which develops and manufactures printing and imaging products, including laser and inkjet printers, multifunction products, printing supplies, and services for business and individual consumers...
, Epson, Intel, AMD, PCtel, Miro
Miro
Miro may refer to:* Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization, a reformist Iranian political organization* Prumnopitys ferruginea, an evergreen coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand.* Miro Technologies, an MRO supplier from California...
, HP and Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
.
Rxart is named after one of the collaborators for the MANCOOSI
MANCOOSI
The consortium MANCOOSI is a project financed by European Union that it has as primary goal, creating a solid and flexible structure for handling packages, controller and library in operating systems based on Unix and standardizing the packages dominated by Advanced Packaging Tool for DEB and...
project in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.