Red Star OS
Encyclopedia
Red Star OS is a North Korea
n Linux-based operating system
. Development started in 2002 at the Korea Computer Center
. Prior to its development, computers in North Korea typically used English versions of Microsoft Windows
. , it is on version 2.0. It is only offered in a Korean language
edition, localised
with North Korean terminology and spelling
.
desktop system, Red Star OS features a modified Mozilla Firefox
browser titled Naenara used for browsing the Naenara
web portal on the North Korean intranet
network known as Kwangmyong. Other software includes a text editor
, an e-mail client
, audio and video players, and games.
The system requirements
to run Red Star OS are as follows:
-affiliated newspaper Choson Sinbo
interviewed two Red Star OS programmers in June 2006. In February 2010, a Russian international student
at the Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang
purchased a copy and posted about it on his LiveJournal
account; Russian television station RT
then picked up his LiveJournal post and translated it into English. English-language technology blogs, including Engadget
and Osnews
, as well as South Korean wire services
such as Yonhap
, went on to repost the content.
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n Linux-based 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...
. Development started in 2002 at the Korea Computer Center
Korea Computer Center
The Korea Computer Center is the leading North Korean government information technology research center. It was founded on October 24, 1990....
. Prior to its development, computers in North Korea typically used English versions of Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. , it is on version 2.0. It is only offered in a Korean language
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
edition, localised
Internationalization and localization
In computing, internationalization and localization are means of adapting computer software to different languages, regional differences and technical requirements of a target market...
with North Korean terminology and spelling
Korean language North-South differences
There are a small number of differences in the standard forms of the Korean language used in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea , due to the length of time Korea has been divided.-Overview:Korean orthography, as defined by the Korean Language Society in 1933 in the...
.
Technical details
Based on the KDE 3.xKDE 3
K Desktop Environment 3 was the third series of releases of the K Desktop Environment . There were six major releases in this series.-K Desktop Environment 3.0:...
desktop system, Red Star OS features a modified Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
browser titled Naenara used for browsing the Naenara
Naenara
The Naenara, literally "my country" in Korean is the official web portal of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea . The portal's categories include politics, tourism, music, foreign trade, arts, press, IT Industries, history, and "Korea is One"....
web portal on the North Korean intranet
Intranet
An intranet is a computer network that uses Internet Protocol technology to securely share any part of an organization's information or network operating system within that organization. The term is used in contrast to internet, a network between organizations, and instead refers to a network...
network known as Kwangmyong. Other software includes a text editor
Text editor
A text editor is a type of program used for editing plain text files.Text editors are often provided with operating systems or software development packages, and can be used to change configuration files and programming language source code....
, an e-mail client
E-mail client
An email client, email reader, or more formally mail user agent , is a computer program used to manage a user's email.The term can refer to any system capable of accessing the user's email mailbox, regardless of it being a mail user agent, a relaying server, or a human typing on a terminal...
, audio and video players, and games.
The system requirements
System requirements
To be used efficiently, all computer software needs certain hardware components or other software resources to be present on a computer. These pre-requisites are known as system requirements and are often used as a guideline as opposed to an absolute rule. Most software defines two sets of system...
to run Red Star OS are as follows:
- Pentium IIIPentium IIIThe Pentium III brand refers to Intel's 32-bit x86 desktop and mobile microprocessors based on the sixth-generation P6 microarchitecture introduced on February 26, 1999. The brand's initial processors were very similar to the earlier Pentium II-branded microprocessors...
800Mhz - 256MB RAMRandom-access memoryRandom access memory is a form of computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order with a worst case performance of constant time. Strictly speaking, modern types of DRAM are therefore not random access, as data is read in...
- 3GB hard disk space
Media attention
The Japan-based, North KoreaNorth Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
-affiliated newspaper Choson Sinbo
Choson Sinbo
The Choson Sinbo is a newspaper based in Japan, published in both Korean and Japanese. The name literally means 'Chosun Newspaper'. It is published by the General Association of Korean Residents, a pro-North Korea representative body for Zainichi Koreans, who also run The People's Korea , an...
interviewed two Red Star OS programmers in June 2006. In February 2010, a Russian international student
International student
According to Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development , international students are those who travel to a country different from their own for the purpose of tertiary study. Despite that, the definition of international students varies in each country in accordance to their own national...
at the Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
purchased a copy and posted about it on his LiveJournal
LiveJournal
LiveJournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free and open source server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community....
account; Russian television station RT
RT (TV network)
RT, previously known as Russia Today, is a global multilingual television news network based in the Russian Federation run by the state-owned state-run RIA Novosti....
then picked up his LiveJournal post and translated it into English. English-language technology blogs, including Engadget
Engadget
Engadget is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. Though on appearance Engadget functions much like a blog and may be defined as such, much of its editorial content takes the form of an online magazine...
and Osnews
OSNews
OSNews is a computing news web site with a focus on operating systems and their related technologies that launched in 1997. The content is managed by a group of editors and the owner. The managing editor of OSNews is Thom Holwerda . David Adams is a publisher for OSNews, and also contributes...
, as well as South Korean wire services
News agency
A news agency is an organization of journalists established to supply news reports to news organizations: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. Such an agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire or news service.-History:The oldest news agency is Agence...
such as Yonhap
Yonhap
Yonhap News Agency is South Korea's largest news agency. It is a publicly-funded company, and based in Seoul, South Korea. Yonhap supplies domestic, foreign news and other information to newspaper, TV broadcast and other media in South Korea.-History:...
, went on to repost the content.
External links
- Download Red Star OS 2.0 via BitTorrent
- The Russian LiveJournal post on which RT based their report
- RT report
- BBC article
- Engadget article
- 北 컴퓨터운영체제 붉은별 첫 분석, Yonhap article about in-depth look of Red Star OS