what kind of project is this?

It became so recently

that developers from China have adapted the Chinese open-source operating system OpenKylin to work with AI models in a local infrastructure. Unfortunately, no third-party developers have tested this project yet, but as far as we can tell, there is a lot of interesting stuff here. The new product is called Linux OpenKylin for AIPC, some details can be found under the cut.

What is this OS?

Like many other projects from China, the OpenKylin OS is based on Linux. By the way, there is also just Kylin, we also wrote about this project. OpenKylin has a number of different smart functions built in, including both an assistant with artificial intelligence and a fuzzy search system.

All of these components are powered by AI models that are deployed locally — on the machine of the operating system user. In addition, the creators of OpenKylin have announced deep integration between the AI components and the OS user interface.

The Chinese have quite a few other projects based on the Linux kernel. Many of them belong to the Kylin family – the name comes from “Qilin”. This is the name of a mythical creature in China that symbolizes long life, celebration, splendor, joy, famous descendants and wisdom. Symbolism is very important for developers from the PRC, so the names of various creatures and heroes from myths are used for a large number of developments.

Source.

As for OpenKylin, the development of this OS began in July 2022. And a year later, the first stable OS build was released. Then, with the light hand of the project team, the operating system was called “the first open Chinese OS”. OpenKylin runs on x86, and there are also versions for PCs based on Arm and RISC-V.

As for the graphical environment of the operating system, this is the Chinese desktop UKUI (Ultimate Kylin User Interface). It was developed on the basis of MATE, adapted to the Qt toolkit. Among the default applications of the distribution are the Firefox browser and the WPS Office office suite – the Chinese analogue of Microsoft Office, as well as a video player. There is also a Chinese application store that allows you to install missing software.

By the way, the number of users of the project has now reached 1.3 million people. And over half a thousand specialists from different IT industries worked on this open OS. The author of CGTN Digital tested OpenKylin 1.0 and pointed out that the software is very similar to Ubuntu, which was developed by the British company Canonical. The creators of OpenKylin claim that they developed the OS from scratch, combining individual programs with open source code. In this regard, Canonical or other companies will not control the Chinese OS.

It is worth noting that the Kylin operating system has been developed for over 13 years, since 2001. It is based on FreeBSD. The Chinese created it for the public sector, “sharpening” the functions for the needs of the end user. The advantage of OpenKylin is its open source code, users have the ability to change the system as they wish. Windows and macOS have closed source code, which makes it difficult to create modifications of these operating systems.

Source.

What other operating systems does China have?

There are also other projects of Chinese operating systems. For example, UOS (Unity Operating System). It was not created yesterday, the OS is already 5 years old. The UnionTech company is developing an operating system commissioned by China to replace foreign operating systems. The first beta version of the OS was released in December 2019.

It has its own app store, and a catalog of software for students has appeared. In general, the Chinese are trying to develop their own hardware, including processors based on their own architecture. And such computers are also equipped with software developed in the country.

In turn, the Deepin distribution, which is mentioned above, is based on Debian – at least, the first versions of this OS were built on it. Two years ago, the project team decided to radically update the project and rebuilt the OS without using third-party distributions.

Three years ago, the Chinese introduced a new mobile OS, JingOS, which is designed for tablets. Initially, it worked on tablet PCs with x86 processors. Then they released an ARM version for smartphones and tablets with chips on this architecture. Ubuntu 20.04 became the basis.

In addition to refining the system itself, the company is creating a branded application store. It is also planned to add support for over-the-air updates. The OS will feature a new virtual keyboard and modified controls. In addition, the mechanism for launching Linux desktop applications will be optimized.