A few other devels versions will arrive soon

Dec 21, 2014 16:36 GMT  ·  By

Ubuntu Kylin, a Chinese Linux distribution based on Ubuntu and developed in collaboration with Canonical, has been promoted to version 15.04 and the first Alpha in the series is now ready for download and testing.

This official Ubuntu flavor is making a real impact in China. The country's reliance on Windows systems is still a problem and a solution hasn't been found yet. The Chinese government is analyzing various alternatives and it's more than certain that Ubuntu Kylin is being considered. Any upgrade to this distribution is always a good sign and it sends a powerful signal that the OS is being worked and improved on constantly.

The Chinese government is also looking to build its own Linux distro and they have tried twice so far, but neither OS really took off. With this new Ubuntu Kylin version out, the competition is getting fierce. There is another excellent Chinese distro in the making, Deepin, and a few other projects are already playing catch-up.

Ubuntu Kylin is designed for the Chinese culture

If you were to pick up Ubuntu Kylin right now and you don't speak Chinese, it would be impossible to use it properly. Besides the language, things are done a little differently. It's also worth noting that it's an official Ubuntu flavor that uses Unity. The operating system is built by China Software and Integrated Chip Promotions Centre (CSIP), the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), and Canonical.

"The objective of the Ubuntu Kylin project is to create a variant of Ubuntu that is more suitable for Chinese users. We are committed to provide you with a delicate, thoughtful and fully customized Chinese user experience out-of-the-box. For instance, by providing a desktop user interface localized in Chinese and installing common software that Chinese users commonly use by default. Ubuntu Kylin has been a formal member of the Ubuntu family, since Ubuntu Kylin 13.04. Now, we are working on 15.04."

"We are glad to announce the Release of Ubuntu Kylin 15.04 (codename Vivid Vervet) Alpha 1. In this pre-release, we have fixed many localization bugs and bugs in software written by the Ubuntu Kylin team. This is an alpha pre-release, which is not suitable for normal users, but for Ubuntu Kylin developers and users who want to help us test by finding, reporting, and/or fixing bugs," said the devs in the official announcement.

You can check the release notes for more details about this version. You can also download Ubuntu Kylin 15.04 (Vivid Vervet) Alpha 1 from Softpedia. Please don't use a production machine to test this version.

Ubuntu Kylin 15.04 (10 Images)

Ubuntu Kylin 15.04 desktop
Ubuntu Kylin 15.04 launcherUbuntu Kylin 15.04 apps
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