Ubuntu To Become The Official OS Of China

Canonical, the makers of Ubuntu have announced that they will be officially affiliated with the Chinese government to bring a new Ubuntu based OS to the Chinese population.

In a recent blog post on the Canonical blog, they went on to explain that Ubuntu Kylin (the official name of the new OS) will go way beyond just a version of Ubuntu with Chinese language packs installed. The blog post went on to say:
“Ubuntu Kylin goes beyond language localisation and includes features and applications that cater for the Chinese market. In the 13.04 release, Chinese input methods and Chinese calendars are supported, there is a new weather indicator, and users can quickly search across the most popular Chinese music services from the Dash.”


This isn’t just a one off release, it’s going to be a completely separate version of Ubuntu that is designed specifically for the Chinese market. Much like Kubuntu, or Xubuntu, Ubuntu Kylin will have on going development separate from the core Ubuntu build. The blog post goes on to say…
“Future releases will include integration with Baidu maps and leading shopping service Taobao, payment processing for Chinese banks, and real-time train and flight information.
The Ubuntu Kylin team is cooperating with WPS, the most popular office suite in China, and is creating photo editing and system management tools which could be incorporated into other flavours of Ubuntu worldwide.”

This is a very big move for Canonical and Ubuntu as a whole. We all know how huge China are, and for the Chinese government to push an official Ubuntu build onto the population can be nothing less than an amazing bonus for the Linux world.

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Ubuntu Mobile OS Announced

Ubuntu's developer Canonical has announced their entry into the smartphone business with first public glimpses and features of upcoming Ubuntu for Phones. The Linux-based operating system will offer users an seamless experience on Desktop, PC and Mobile with some exciting features and an "android compatible kernel" so existing Google Android users can simply install and use Ubuntu on their phones. While Ubuntu for Phones will be available in 2013 for users to install on existing hardware, handsets powered by the OS will hit shelves in 2014.

Canonical released an extensive video preview and this looks really promising.

Take a look below;

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500 days left for Microsoft to say goodbye to Windows XP

The countdown clock has been ticking on Windows XP for a couple of years now, but the end is coming into view. There are only 500 days to go before Microsoft ends its extended support, and that means no more patches and no more security fixes. Given that XP is not exactly famous for its security, this represents a significant risk.

Once the end of that countdown is met, Windows XP will cease to receive patches and other security updates. The operating system will therefore become dangerous for consumers, and anathema to the enterprise, for whom security is paramount.

Windows XP is coming to an end, and to fully migrate its user base – which won’t happen – the market would need to shift 1 million users a day to a more modern operating system.

However, a security breach might not be the worst of it. Journalists will be only too keen to write up the first few stories about companies whose defenses are penetrated because they are still using an obsolete operating system, so the damage to their brand and reputation could be unusually large. And rather than the polite sadness that sometimes colors such stories, victims can expect a well-deserved splattering of glee.

Still, there is no pain without gain. As well as profits for law firms, the end of XP could mean big bonuses for suppliers of cyber-liability insurance. With security breaches typically costing companies thousands of dollars/pounds a time, hefty insurance premiums would increase the already-high cost of sticking with Windows XP.

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