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Red Hat Software Businesses Government Operating Systems Software Linux News

Russia's Operating System May Be Fedora Based 242

Posted by timothy from the if-the-hat-is-red-wear-it dept.
Glyn Moody writes "Last month, a story about Russia producing its own national operating system based on GNU/Linux started circulating. Now there's some confirmation, and details of how the plan might be put into practice. Red Hat had a meeting with the Russian communications ministry, which announced that the development of free software in Russia was one of its priorities. One concrete idea they talked about was using the Russian Fedora project as a step towards creating a national operating system."
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Russia's Operating System May Be Fedora Based More

Russia's Operating System May Be Fedora Based

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  • RED Hat, come on ppl (Score:5, Funny)

    by cwrinn ( 1282510 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @11:34AM (#26797775)
    Well, Duh, it's Red. :D

  • In soviet russia... (Score:3, Funny)

    by meist3r ( 1061628 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @11:36AM (#26797805)
    Source opens you ... sorry I couldn't resist it. But why Fedora? Is it because they'd rather be "Dead than Red(Hat)"?

    • Re:In soviet russia... (Score:5, Funny)

      by dotancohen ( 1015143 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @11:48AM (#26797959) Homepage

      But why Fedora?

      Because only in the Russian language are there enough curse words to accurately describe yum breaking X.org, the video drivers, and itself after downloading 450 MB of updates because you didn't update in two weeks.

      That was FC6, and F7 would not install on my Inspiron (driving me to Kubuntu). I love Fedora to death, but it is _not_ for your daily driver! Unless you happen to speak a language where every tangible noun can be made into a curse word. Pizdyetz!

      • FC6 was what? Two years ago? Don't get me started on the issues I had with kubuntu 7.04 man...

        • FC6 was what? Two years ago? Don't get me started on the issues I had with kubuntu 7.04 man...

          I know that Ubuntu isn't perfect, but Fedora is just too bleeding edge for a production environment in my opinion. Ideally I would go with Debian but *buntu packages the video drivers that I need better.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Jurily ( 900488 )

        Because only in the Russian language are there enough curse words to accurately describe yum breaking X.org, the video drivers, and itself after downloading 450 MB of updates because you didn't update in two weeks.

        "Any Hungarian word can also be used to substitute for the english word Fuck as it can in Polish, Russian, Canadian and Martian. The Hungarian language is exceptional, having the most swear-words of them all. An average, well-mannered hungarian is able to curse for more than 3 minutes without repeating a single phrase. Not to mention the agressive idiots, who can twist and turn these wonderful words for hours, which has become an art-form in this small country."

        http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Hungarian [wikia.com]

        I

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by pmontra ( 738736 )
      I dissent: in Soviet Russia the National Operating System produces you! But I agree on the irony of choosing a distribution derived from a Red one :-)

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by brainologist ( 1249264 )

      But why Fedora?

      Seems like the perfect OS for use in the Russian Fedoration...

  • Too perfect that it's based on RED Hat. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Nimey ( 114278 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @11:39AM (#26797829) Homepage Journal

    Don't know why they'd pick the unstable beta distro to do it, though. Ought to use the Russian version of CentOS or Ubuntu LTS.

  • Dostoevsky warned of this (Score:3, Funny)

    by BadAnalogyGuy ( 945258 ) <BadAnalogyGuy@gmail.com> on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @11:39AM (#26797833)

    Consider that Raskolnikov was only an outlaw because he believed himself to be such. If he hadn't had the guilty conscience, the authorities never would have caught up with him. They believed that the painters had done the crime, and had the confession to prove it.

    But all men who are good at heart love honesty, and though Raskolnikov was able to commit murder, he was unable to maintain the lie which he had constructed.

    In much the same vein, Javert was able to break his case against Jean Valjean because though a criminal, Valjean was never the hardened criminal he was portrayed to be.

    In short, Russian Linux is likely to suck.

    • You are a continuing source of inspiration to our entire team. Just like when Cartman was tricked by Scott Tenorman, and got back at him by killing his parents, processing them into chili, feeding it to the boy, and then humiliating him in front of Radiohead.

  • You are kidding arent you? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @11:45AM (#26797907)
    Are you saying that this linux can run on a computer without windows underneath it, at all ? As in, without a boot disk, without any drivers, and without any services?

    That sounds preposterous to me.

    If it were true (and I doubt it), then companies would be selling computers without a windows. This clearly is not happening, so there must be some error in your calculations. I hope you realise that windows is more than just Office ? Its a whole system that runs the computer from start to finish, and that is a very difficult thing to acheive. A lot of people dont realise this.

    Microsoft just spent $9 billion and many years to create Vista, so it does not sound reasonable that some new alternative could just snap into existence overnight like that. It would take billions of dollars and a massive effort to achieve. IBM tried, and spent a huge amount of money developing OS/2 but could never keep up with Windows. Apple tried to create their own system for years, but finally gave up recently and moved to Intel and Microsoft.

    Its just not possible that a freeware like the Linux could be extended to the point where it runs the entire computer fron start to finish, without using some of the more critical parts of windows. Not possible.

    I think you need to re-examine your assumptions.

  • USSR (Score:4, Funny)

    by MazzThePianoman ( 996530 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @11:45AM (#26797909) Homepage
    Great, Linux was doing so well until it caused the 2nd rise of the USSR.

  • Fedora not a good choice (Score:4, Interesting)

    by messner_007 ( 1042060 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @11:48AM (#26797957)

    I am using Fedora from the start and I like it very much, but I don't think its philosophy is suitable for a "national" distribution.

    Fedora is created for testing, not for everyday usage for normal people (not neerds). I think even using Fedora qualify you as a nerd. OK, it gets even worse if you are using alpha's.

    Using Fedora will cripple their productivity and they will start to hate Linux.

    If they want to use Linux for serious stuff, like "national distribution", then they should chose another distro.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by UberMorlock ( 1391949 )
      Fedora is not created for testing. My mother-in-law (who has brain damage from brain surgeries) uses it without any trouble (Yes, I set it up but I have not had any maintenance to do since I set it up almost 2 years ago). I know, I know - "Don't feed the trolls". I couldn't help myself this time.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by j1mmy ( 43634 )

      Fedora is the basis for Redhat Enterprise Linux and CentOS, both widely-used operating systems. It's a great choice as a starting point, not necessarily an end product.

      Using Fedora will cripple their productivity and they will start to hate Linux.

      Developing a national distribution will cripple their productivity. The effort would be better spent producing something the Russian people actually need, rather than what some Russian bureaucrats think they want.

      • Fedora is the basis for Redhat Enterprise Linux and CentOS, both widely-used operating systems. It's a great choice as a starting point, not necessarily an end product.

        Why not use CentOS or RedHat then ... that is what I wanted to say with my post. That Fedora is only useful as a testing platform.

        Developing a national distribution will cripple their productivity.

        I agree with you. In my country the government also tried to sponsor some kind of a national distribution. It was based on RedHat and it wa

  • They should call it... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Thelasko ( 1196535 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @11:50AM (#26797989) Journal
    Ushanka. [wikipedia.org]

    • Ushanka must be weared by russian hackers in the service for government ;) it's grey, you know..
      And used by russian cosmonauts of course, comes with a wrench..

  • Obligitory (Score:4, Informative)

    by FireStormZ ( 1315639 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @11:52AM (#26798011)

    Its not a Russian OS, its a Russian Distribution...

  • No Files (Score:3, Funny)

    by tripmine ( 1160123 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @11:57AM (#26798069)
    I was hoping Russia's OS would be based on not having files :(

  • this is basically fedora (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    except that it kills journalists, right?

  • Of *course* it's the OS for the Russian Fedoration (Score:3, Funny)

    by mujadaddy ( 1238164 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @12:03PM (#26798151)
    Thank you, I'll be here all week!

  • Computer programs you!

  • Already Done? (Score:2, Informative)

    by JoeSixpack00 ( 1327135 )

    As is often the case, the key advantage that would flow from the creation of such a "national OS" is the control that it would give the Russian government - something it doesn't have with Windows, say, or even generalised free software produced elsewhere:

    Not only is ALT Linux [linux.com] already around, but ASPLinux has been certified by the government. [linux.com] Are we re-inventing the wheel here?

  • For the sake of god! (Score:4, Informative)

    by Sam Lowry ( 254040 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @12:11PM (#26798269)
    Guys, there is a dozen of Linux distros is Russia. AltLinux [wikipedia.org] is the most known, but there are also ASPLinux [wikipedia.org], Linux XP [wikipedia.org] and a military classified . All the distro developers and lots of system integrators are in the battle for the state funding right now, so do not expect to know now what will the Russian national OS be tomorrow.

  • Let's start a Sputnik-like race! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by openfrog ( 897716 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @12:13PM (#26798281)

    First, I would like to see comments on Slashdot cease referring to "the Reds" as if the USSR was still in existence. Are some Slashdotters actually young enough to have no memory of 1989-1990??? However and that being said, if Russia goes ahead with this project, it would be clever to agitate for a Sputnik-like panic and suggest that America must beat them to the goal of free software, as the thing that will propel humanity into the future.

  • Why would they base their OS on somebody else's distribution? I thought Russia didn't need help, weren't invalids and didn't have limited mental capacity? I figured that a bare chested, gun totin' Putin would write the OS from scratch himself after using his mad Judo skills to teach a bear why nobody should talk wise to the past and future President of Russia.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by daveime ( 1253762 )

      I thought Russia didn't need help, weren't invalids and didn't have limited mental capacity

      Well at least not until they open that third lunchtime bottle of vodka ...

    • It doesn't take a lot of mental capacity to buy computers from Taiwan. Which is what Dell does...

  • In Soviet Russia... but does it run Linux? Russian overlords... MEME OVERLOAD*(&$*(%&*#$*(%&NO CARRIER

  • I wonder if they'll honor the open source license requirements and publish derivative code. Isn't Fedora GPL?

    And yes, the almighty FSM does use Debian.

  • Finally, an OS that has files on YOU. (Score:3, Funny)

    by gandhi_2 ( 1108023 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @12:37PM (#26798673) Homepage
    rm -rf /political_dissidents

  • Ahhh...but will Vladimir Putin obey the GPL and submit changes back to the worldwide community....

    I would say probably NOT

  • I can't help but think that the U.S. dependence on Microsoft is ever more dangerous.

    We have a lot of great computer scientists in the U.S.A. but there is no capitial investment to make companies that compete with Microsoft.

    How many have tried and fallen because of Microsoft's dirty tricks? How many "Go Computing" scenarios have there been?

    The only alternative the computing world has for commodity computers is Free and Open source software. Don't get me wrong, I use Linux, I have done so exclusively since 19

    • This is one of the stupidest things I have read on Slashdot. Is this more anti-MS FUD, are you a troll, or do you really not understand anything you wrote about?

      Microsoft is not the U.S. economy. It isn't even the biggest mover the U.S. economy. It is however, one of the better parts of the economy because it creates an exportable product and provides many high paying jobs.

      You draw comparisons between MS and large banks, such as AIG, that have no basis in reality. One of the biggest problems with that compa

      • This is one of the stupidest things I have read on Slashdot. Is this more anti-MS FUD, are you a troll, or do you really not understand anything you wrote about?

        The sign of a weak mind is to assail those with whom you disagree. A reasonable debate does need ad hominem.

        Microsoft is not the U.S. economy. It isn't even the biggest mover the U.S. economy. It is however, one of the better parts of the economy because it creates an exportable product and provides many high paying jobs.

        This is true on the surface,

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by nasch ( 598556 )

          I think your mistake is in believing the software industry means making money from selling copies of an OS. They're not the same. The OS vendors are a small part of the commercial software development happening in this country.

  • russian point of view (Score:4, Interesting)

    by anjolio ( 1291498 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @01:20PM (#26799381)

    Hey guys, here is my point of view from Russia:

    1. First of all jokes about communism and Red OS are not funny (here), we fed of them a lot, really. It was finished 18 years ago, maybe enough?
    2. Really "red" meant "beautiful" about 2 centuries ago in russian. Borsch is very tasteful! (:
    3. Russian linux community has a lot of discussions about this theme. A lot of people think that most effective action is spending money on current russian open source developers to improve international software. Of course we need better localizations in some cases. In my point of view it's the best way, but..
    4. Government need to see a real result, such as rusisian OS, so as I think, they would not spend money on current developers and try to create new team with it's own distribution, or, maybe, to spend money on one of current russian distributions (ALT Linux is the likely one, as I see).
    5. Windows is really looks like free OS now here, about 95% of home users have pirate version. I think something should be done and linux is the best way.
    6. Actually nobody knows here (except government :) what this OS will look like: will it be just another linux distro, or will it be OS based on linux, but with closed sources. Everybody understand it will not be a new OS, it's really impossible.
    • Why so many "In Soviet Russia" jokes? You can bet it has something to do with the country's political climate.

      Slashdotters aren't just beating a meme by a third-rate comic to death, there's a definite and unsubtle political jab at a country who seems to have made very little headway in civil liberties and openness since the Soviet Union collapsed those 18 years ago and Russia supposedly became a democracy.

      Be it about the fact Vladimir Putin is clearly still running the country after "stepping down" as presi

  • I've been waiting for India, China, and Russia to take charge and really develop linux/Open Source for their own markets. Each country could cripple us if they could just cheaply get the bulk of their population online and using their language on the net.

    What if we had to learn Russian, Chinese, or Indian, to really use the nice/good version of Linux? It'll happen. The question is when.

  • Maybe they associate Fedora with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedor_Emelianenko/ [wikipedia.org].
  • In the West, you use operating systems. In Soviet Russia, system operates you!

  • Cyrillic letters (Score:3, Funny)

    by Max_W ( 812974 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @02:15PM (#26800269)
    I think Fedora could be a starting point among others. But no Linux distribution suits.

    Our national OS should be written in Cyrillic letters. Not a single Latin letter or word should be present in the code.

    Certainly there should be a possibility to switch to a Latin keyboard, if necessary, but the OS should be in our letters, in our language.

  • Hunt for the RED October (Score:4, Funny)

    by w0mprat ( 1317953 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @03:49PM (#26802235)
    No one has anything particularly insightful to say therefore we end up with lame checkbox humour.

    Checkbox humour? I'm glad you asked, you know what I mean like:

    Slashdot Posting Form

    [ ] TFA is a troll
    [ ] Get off grass
    [ ] Did anyone else read that as...
    [ ] _______ ^H^H^H^H^H ________
    [x] In soviet russia ...
    [ ] IANAL, but...
    ...

    Somehow we got on to Quantum Poultridynamics, Chicken entrail entanglement is interesting however, may lead to a method of predicting future.

    Seriously, this article is a masterful slashdot troll!

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