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No Russian Operating System, At Least For Now
Elektroschock writes "The project by 27 Russian parties to develop a National Operating System for Russia has not taken off, yet (Russian). Ilya Ponomarev, the responsible technology committee chair in the Duma, received a negative response from the government. The government argues that the project and Open Standards would not impact the society and economy. Parliament members regret the setback for Russia's digital independence. Ponomarev wants to find other interested partners in the Government now." The Google translation makes it tough to tell whether this project is actually dead, or just shelved for the moment. Any Russian speakers out there who can parse it with greater clarity?
I would, but then I would have to kill you, comrade. Our national secrets are safe from your translations of the Google.
In Soviet Russia...
The system operates you!
Thanks for an old-school troll.
The article title is: "Russian Windows will not exist." So probably not. One of the quotes says how he would like a repository of open-source stuff for the benefit of society, but now, such a repository will not exist. So it seems dead.
According to the article, a russian congressman send a letter to the russian FCC analog asking approval (i.e. money) of "national OS". Letter has been supported by 19 unnamed organizations.
Considering price tag on the proposal and probability of success Russian FCC shot it down. For good.
Nothing there move along.
I recently read an autobiography of a Chinese fellow who was in high school at the time of the Cultural Revolution. Frankly, this sort of wild hyperbole in accusations against others was the order of the day.
WARNING!!! don't click that link1!! it's a disgusting picture of a guy stretching out his asshole!!!
You must be new here!
Smivs on the intertubes!
The government argues that the project and Open Standards would not impact the society and economy.
No NSA backdoors, a patriotic/nationalistic project, no licence fees (or less piracy, at least), software that wasn't originally created in America...
Yep, absolutely no impact on society or the economy.
that the government refused to support the "national software platform" but it still plans to stimulate development and use of FLOSS software. This is a point of view I personally agree with. Why reinvent the wheel once again when you can just pick a linux distro and tweak it according to your needs? :)
From what I can tell from the article, the proposal was forwarded to the Communications Ministry, which replied with a rejection letter, citing the expense involved and lack of clear success metrics. There were also concerns over ghettoizing Russian IT industry away from the international mainstream.
Ponomoarev is not giving up, though, and is seeking direct dialogue between his parliamentary committee and representatives of the Ministry, and also considering discussing his proposal with other government agencies.
Maybe the Russian government has realized that any operating system produced by Russian hackers would come loaded with 13 different viruses, rootkits, and spyware. Hell, that would be one hell of an end-run to hacking a government :P
Original Russian text says that Government supported the idea of using open source software, but declined to support National OS.
So the project is dead.
http://www.google.ru/search?hl=en&q=popil+babla
Christ. Dude looks like he gave birth to sextuplets from his ass, it's so stretched out. Scary part is the wedding ring, what does his wife fist... err, knee him for pleasure?
Okay, but the scariest thing, I know a lot of you haven't clicked that link for a very long time, but there's something new now, prepare to vomit, because Goatse claims to be pursuing merchandising opportunities. So, get ready to see punks wearing Goatse t-shirts strolling through your local mall in no time, dammit!
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Dear Sir,
for posting a lame meme joke to whore karma, the united coalition of trolls awards you this video of a turtle having intercourse with a shoe.
There will be no "Russian Windows"
Deputy Ilya Ponomarev's letter to President Medvedev about the creation of a "national software platform" was redirected to the Ministry of Communications. According to CNews sources, the Ministry's reply letter to the deputy supports the orientation towards domestic and open-source software, but criticizes the deputy's main point - Ponomarev's "national software platform" proposal.
The authors of the reply (CNews has obtained a copy) agree that "supporting domestic developers is of strategic importance" and "stimulating the creation and use of open-source software is one of the government's priorities in the area of IT policy". However, they argue against the creation of a national software platform, believing that such a measure will not be a solution for the domestic IT sector's problems. The ministry writes that "the creation of such a combination of operating systems, software tools, software applications and open standards will not give a return to the economy and society".
The text directly mentions the high cost and risk of the project from the corruptibility point of view, due to the uncertainty of the criteria for project success. The authors also see a danger in the separation between the domestic and world IT industries that would result from the choice of such a development policy.
The Ministry of Communications proposes an orientation towards the possibilities that are enabled by the open-source model of software development. It proposed to direct the nation's limited resources towards the development and modification of "world leading solutions in cooperation with the world's best specialists".
They basically suggested ditching the ambitious from-scratch "national software platform", or the infamous vapourware "Russian OS", and instead focusing on contributions to existing Free Software projects.
The key sentence from TFA:
"The communications ministry has instead suggested to use the possibilities offered by the Free Software development model. The limited national resources should be put to further the development of "the best internationally-created solutions, in cooperation with the leading specialists from around the globe".
Yay, there are sane people in our government.
Considering the above, the reply proposes to "harmonize Russian normative regulations with international law, including the Civil Code and a number of federal laws". Among the other proposed measures are the development of a list of prescriptions to ensure the compatibility between government IT systems, pilot projects for switching government agencies to open-source software, the creation of a repository of such software, and legislation to counteract monopolies in government IT purchases.
Ilya Ponomarev, chairman of the Duma technology development subcommittee, has not received the reply so far, but agreed to comment on the text that is in CNews' possession. "All of the Ministry's proposals on the one hand are directly listed in our letter, and on the other hand contradict the argument given in the reply", the deputy says. "I can only welcome the creation of a repository for domestic open-source software, if it will be created. At the moment there does not exist such a repository."
The MP is is sure that the Ministry of Communications does not want to engage in investment activities in the IT sector, but simply wants fo stimulate them within the framework of economic liberalism. "All successful large-scale high-tech projects have been completed with the indirect participation of the state. The Internet, Unix -- these are all indirect results of government programs. We will not succeed purely by market stimulation measures, such a development is possible only given an established market, and we do not have one," Ponomarev told CNews. "I am happy that the Ministry has realized the necessity of legislative initiatives, and I await Ministry representatives to present their proposals to our committee. If the Ministry of Communications does not want to deal with the national software platform, we can partner with other government agencies."
I live in Russia, and my understanding of the government's Linux usage is this:
A few projects are being written using FOSS software, and depending on the outcome Linux will be either considered for other uses or will be abandoned completely. Corruption is a big problem because some companies (mostly Microsoft) bribe the people deciding which software will be installed.
Police raids searching for illegal software only accept a receipt or a license with a hologram. These are mostly directed at companies and, recently, individuals who install or troubleshoot software for a living. Even if you use Ubuntu you'll probably be considered a pirate 'cause you won't be able to show valid proof that the software is legally purchased. Some companies sell an Ubuntu DVD plus a license certificate for a nominal fee.
Another problem is the so-called "otkat" bribery: when a manager buys Windows for his company for $200, he may ask the store to sell it for $300 (and print a receipt for $300), and split the $100 difference between himself and the store's manager. Linux costs less or is even free, so less money may be extracted from its purchase.
OTOH, I was recently applying for a new passport and the whole system was running on Linux. It automatically OCRed the forms and extracted stuff like signatures, placing them in a database. The system was very simple to use, the computer booted and the app started automatically, it was written in QT3; the OS was some kind of custom Linux distribution based on AltLinux (which itself was forked from an old Mandrake release).
And, Microsoft started suing organisations using pirated software, the solution is either switching to Linux and spending money on training employees, or spending about the same amount on Windows+Office. If enough companies choose the first option, it may actually become the year of Linux on the desktop. Especially since the recent crisis lowered salaries and increased prices of foreign goods by nearly 30-40%.
Article say that Russian government is committed to supporting Open Source initiatives however direct involvement in development of "software platform" (Operational system) in other words is not something government should be involved in. It is same question US government trying to solve right now - shall we support banks or go as far as starting to nationalize them. One of concerns raised is that if big funds would be committed to development of such software it would be impossible to measure it success - it is free so no sales or any other direct way to measure success. As result they simply afraid that investing funds into project that will be hard to control may cause corruption in this industry maybe even killing any competitive edge it has acquired in last years.
Sane people in government! Endangered species in need of protection.
The parent's post is a great example of what happens when a communistic / one-party rule gets complete control of a nation.
Mao was a mother-fucker, first off. He was a mass murderer. Over 20 million chinese died when Mao tried to communize the farms. Kinda funny how Communism always breaks down at the farm level, huh - idiots. Then he covered it up for decades.
If the minds that China is producing are rife with uncritical beliefs like this guy we really do need to be worried about China, because it would then be full of people whom are bat-shit crazy. Luckily, we owe China too much money right now for it to attack us, lol.
They should use some Russian Linux distribution. And use Russian Tux as their mascot.
Ezekiel 23:20
When Gazprom decides that it's time to monopolize the Russian software market, we'll see what happens.
Russia made an Apple // Clone with no troubles. How come they cannot fork a Fedora clone from the open source code? I think even China was able to do that with Red Flag Linux. Maybe they can license Red Flag Linux from China? I am sure it has all of the Communist customizations for spying on their citizens built into it. :)
Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
They feel they owe you no respect for your comment, and so I will copy it for you to eleven other sites.
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
I'm from Russia and it's obvious that the project wasn't aimed to provide a really good alternative platform but to make a buzzword and PR for initiators. The people who really do something, like Alt Linux or ASP Linux or Mandriva Ru get no support ever. And so is true for most independent russian companies that try to develop free or open source based products.
But that wasn't karma whoring. He was just whoring mod points. He got modded Funny. According to the Slashdot FAQs, "Funny" moderations do nothing for karma.
Posting "Insightful" posts is how you whore karma.
Let q be a radix > 1. I am in ur base-q, killing 10 d00ds.
That's no shoe...It's a space station!
The Kremlin is wrong to think that the government can pick a winning operating system (OS) and then guide its develop.
The best thing that the Kremlin can do is the following.
In short, create a liberal Western society and a truly free market. Within this environment, Russian engineers will, for reasons of greed or personal achievement, create the best OS that meets the needs of Russian society. If the Japanese can achieve such technological success, I am certain that the Russians can do the same.
I heard the rights to the image are owned by the Getty Museum.
They outbid Time Warner and ABC/Disney.
Hey, if you really want a new experience, check out the goatsi guy in Cooliris.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Dear Sir...the united coalition of trolls awards you this video of a turtle having intercourse with a shoe.
I accept this award graciously and with thanks. It made me laugh! Definitely better than Goatse.
Smivs on the intertubes!
I was so looking forward to trying the 'Stalinux' distro, comrade.
Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
Historically, innovation comes from top to bottom in Russia, not from roots to leaves. I am tired of all those silly government projects, when they see smth good in neighboring nations, and then decide to immediately develop "same thing, but of our own making". Or rather, allocate budget for this and consequently spend it together with their buddies.
Would they really wanted Russian OS, they would fix juridical system first, for judges to have real independence instead of being on government's pay, and for intelligent people to be valued in their own country. Coincidently, it may also convince educated and smart people not to migrate overseas.
That's what this will be (a mandated OS). And it will go the way of Ada. Not that Ada was bad - it is a fine language, but something of that nature done by a mandate, it might not be economical on the long run.
I was so looking forward to trying the 'Stalinux' distro, comrade.
I heard they went with 'Lenix'.
...Russia is like a bear. It eats, it sleeps. It sleeps some more. Then it wakes up and writes ten operating systems!
Kommies only know how to steal shit not make it
Truth it is
Who needs a new OS when there are lots of Linux distributions.
There are some Russian Linux distros and what's good for them is that they don't have some legal issues because Russia is patent free as far as algorithms are concerned. They can add any features they want to make a customer happy :-)
From what I can grab between the lines the guy (Ponomaryov) wants to get a piece of russian bailout pie under pretext of creating "national os." This same line was played many times before in Russia, Ukraine, and China (Red Flag Linux.) Apparently Ponomaryov lacks connections with right officials so he does not know whom to bribe. That explains "lack of interest" from the ministry quite perfectly.
If he eventually finds a bureaucrat who takes the kickback at best he would release CentOS with Russian as default language and modified splash screens featuring russian tricolor. At worst they would embark on translating bash to use Russian words for commands (PDP-11 translated and branded RafOS comes to mind.)
Yo! Dawg!, I heard you like Lenix, so we installed Lenix in your Stalinux , so you could....
Okay, I need a Beowolf cluster of *** to keep this inane meme going....the 'in Soviet Russia...meme seems to be broken', and I can't contact any old Koreans to get Netcraft to confirm it by e-mail...
*Head a splodes*
"rm -rf*" is all I have to say in my defense...unless 'format /s c:\' is more applicable...???*
Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
Well, since the article doesn't say anything about Necraft, I guess its safe to assume the project is not dead yet.
When Ballmer announced that this year Microsoft will spend a lot of money on innovation (the Microsoft way) in Russia I suddenly remembered Russia's serious commitment to its national OS. Now I know my suspicion came true, I knew Microsoft's commitment is there to kill another Linux move, that they would bribe officials which, like in Spain, would result in a sudden drop/lack of interest to move to Linux, and that's exactly what happened. One must have less than 2 brain cells to not understand what's going on.
My friend told me I had an OS from Russia. He said it was called RootKit (tm)
"In short, create a liberal Western society and a truly free market."
Because that worked soooooo well for us now didn't it? Tired stale Libertarian rhetoric, is tired, stale and so 2006. A xenophobic Libertarian wonderful good thing your user id is 666... that ought to be a tip off right there. SIGH!
Tired of all the isms, don't exploit people as an employer, or a government, mmmmK?
For now the Russian government is just a big oil/gas corporation. Sometimes they do some populist stuff, but that's basically all. All they care is their profit, anything else is being viewed from that POV. Why should they care about IT independence or something as complex as that? If they want to please a crowd, they'd better purchase an expensive soccer coach from abroad, or start talking about future space programs. OS development is not something that common folks understand, it's not something that gives them a profit right now (since they don't care about tomorrow either). So why bother?
Don't think I'm bashing the country. I'm Russian, living in Russia. This is just my take on the situation.