What is so lacking about domestic operating systems?

Recently, the release of Ubuntu Kylin 15.04, a domestic operating system jointly developed by the Software and Integrated Circuit Promotion Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National University of Defense Technology and Canonical, was criticized by the media. This is undoubtedly a big blow to the domestic operating system that we are currently vigorously promoting and developing. So why is it that the domestic operating system has made great efforts (including support from national funds, active participation of enterprises, etc.), but has not achieved good results, at least compared with the investment we have seen. What exactly is the problem?

Here we might as well start with the recently criticized Ubuntu Kylin 15.04 domestic operating system. Since the media has already done a detailed review of this system, we will not go into details about its lackluster features. We just want to talk about some of the commonalities we found in it compared with other so-called domestic operating systems.

First of all, Ubuntu Kylin 15.04 is already a desktop-oriented operating system. People in the industry, including the most ordinary users, know that when it comes to desktop operating systems, Microsoft's Windows will immediately come to mind. It has been working in the desktop operating system market for nearly 30 years, and has also suffered setbacks during this period (such as the poor market performance caused by the bloated Vista system and poor compatibility, and the integration of Windows 8 that violates the usage habits of traditional PC users, etc.). More importantly, every time Microsoft's Windows system has so-called poor market performance, there are always opponents (mainly open source Linux) who stand up and try to take the opportunity to take the lead in the desktop operating system, but in the end it is still thunder and rain. To this day, Microsoft's absolute advantage in the desktop operating system is still unshakable. What we want to say here is that we must insist on investing and working hard in the direction of desktop operating systems, given the unworkable methods and opportunities that have been proven by many manufacturers. Our ideas are not groundless.

In addition, judging from the media's evaluation that Ubuntu Kylin 15.04 is more like the Chinese version of Ubuntu and its graphical operating interface is very similar to Windows and Macintosh, it is obvious that in the development of desktop operating systems, it is difficult for manufacturers to be free from the constraints and influence of Windows and have breakthrough thinking and methods. It is worth mentioning that with the release of Windows 10 next year, Microsoft may adopt a more radical business model (substantially reducing the licensing fee for Windows, and even not excluding the possibility of free). By then, our possibility of making breakthroughs in desktop operations will inevitably encounter more difficulties.

Speaking of the direction of efforts, Academician Ni Guangnan mentioned before that we should start with mobile operating systems to develop domestic operating systems. In fact, this is very similar to the situation of the above-mentioned desktop operating systems. It’s just that in the mobile operating system market, Microsoft’s Windows has been replaced by Google’s Android. Although there have been mobile operations such as Samsung’s Bada, MeeGo developed by Intel and Samsung, Palm’s WebOS, and Sailfish OS_ (Sailfish operating system) that have attempted to challenge the position of Android, except for shutting down or variants, they have not caused any substantial impact on the overall mobile operating system landscape. It should be noted that when Samsung was developing its own Bada, its performance in the Android market was in full swing. It was thought that it could take advantage of the influence and shipment volume of its own hardware platform to occupy a position at least, but in the end it was still helpless. In addition, even Microsoft, the boss of the desktop operating system, has made huge investments, acquired Nokia with huge sums of money, and even adopted the strategy of free system this year, but it has not made any substantial breakthroughs. It can be seen that the water in the mobile operating system market is deeper than that of the desktop operating system, and from the method we publish the mobile operating system, there is no innovation. This has to make us question the direction of our efforts in domestic operating systems again.

Finally, we found that in Ubuntu Kylin 15.04, the three parties that opened it were the Software and Integrated Circuit Promotion Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National University of Defense Technology, and Canonical. In fact, it is not just this operating system. In the so-called domestic operating systems that we opened before, most of the participants were scientific research institutions, and the objects of reference and cooperation were mostly losers in this field (such as Ubuntu developed by Canonical, which challenged Microsoft Windows). I wonder what the industry will find from it? We believe that first of all, cooperating with manufacturers that have been proven to fail or at least unfavorable by the market has laid the groundwork for future failures. Secondly, our scientific research institutes and institutions are often seriously out of touch with market demand and are more inclined to work behind closed doors. It is reasonable that the operating systems they develop cannot meet the needs of the market and users. In fact, it is not difficult to find out with careful observation that almost all successful operating systems in the market are dominated by first-line manufacturers in the market. For example, Microsoft developed Windows, Google developed Android, and Apple developed iOS. In fact, there is already a precedent in China that proves that first-line enterprises have achieved market recognition and success as innovation subjects, and that is Huawei HiSilicon in the current mobile chip market.

We are not denying the necessity and opportunity to develop our own domestic operating system. For example, in the traditional desktop operating system, Google's Chrome OS performs well (at least compared with the previous challenger Linux), but the reason for this is that it has fundamentally proposed a completely different idea and innovation method from Microsoft Windows at the beginning of its development (i.e. the cloud application method). Another example is the wearable device industry, which is hailed as the next industrial opportunity. The big guys have just started to get involved. This is also a new opportunity for our domestic operating system, but the premise is that we must have innovative development concepts, methodologies, and new market cooperation development and promotion methods.

As the saying goes, when you are poor, you must think about change. We think that the reason why the development of domestic operating systems has been unsatisfactory is that there is a fundamental deviation. For example, we always follow the technology of the industry followers, the way of thinking and direction of the industry, and our market development strategy. These may be the real lack of merit in our domestic operating systems. If these cannot be fundamentally changed, the story of Ubuntu Kylin 15.04 will continue to happen, and we will only miss more opportunities in these stories.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.