China has developed a Desktop Operating System (OS) named “NeoKylin” (and ‘Kylin’ in Chinese), as a substitute to Windows XP.
NeoKylin is developed by Shanghai-based China Standard Software Company and is already running on at least 40% of commercial units sold in the country by U.S based computer company, Dell.
NeoKylin has become a perfect replacement for Windows XP as it has many features similar to the latter.
The complete user interface and essentials like Window’s control Panel, XP’s classic start button and folder’s icon are same. The names of the folders used are also same like Recycle Bin, My Computer and Control Panel among others. The Microsoft office has been replaced by NeoShine Office which offers the same functions.
The classic rolling-hills-and-clouds desktop background has also been replaced with a mythical chimera-like beast that the OS is named after namely Qilin.
Apart from this, the Linux OS has additional features too like the Linux terminal also exists where commands can be run, and information about the OS can be captured from it.
The OS comes with some pre installed applications like web browser, Firefox, a music player, an open-source image editor, GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) and a calculator. Besides this, the version on Dell systems is packed with more applications and games.
At one time, Windows held around 91% of the total market share of China as compared to Mac OS X and Linux was stuck with just 1% and it was a big jolt for the country when Microsoft had announced to end the official support for Windows XP.
As China was neither interested in paying for extended support for Windows XP nor for switching to Windows 8, so it decided to develop their own Operating System. NeoKylin has long been a part of the Chinese government’s hopes for the emergence of a successful domestic OS.
There were speculations that the country did not pay as it doubted America would spy on it. China has always been cautious about the Information Technology (IT) infrastructure of their country.
The enterprise market is becoming more difficult for U.S software makers after whistle-blower Edward Snowden disclosed the US National Security Agency's mass surveillance programs in 2013.
China has always believed in accepting things on their terms and conditions and its plan to eliminate all foreign Technologies and Services by 2020 like Google and Facebook may become a reality for the citizens of the country.
In coming years, it would be an entirely independent IT economy by building homegrown Mobile and computer devices, Operating Systems, Applications, Browsers, etc. but or now it’s new OS needs to be accepted largely by the masses as it is still widely used even after updates and supports are closed, Windows XP is still in use in the majority of the systems in the country.
If NeoKylin were being graded on originality, it would fail. But for the purpose of recreating a domestic OS that the majority of the country wants to stick with, it passes.
