Web site: www.ksi-linux.com (not active)
Origin: Ukraine
Category: Desktop
Desktop environment: KDE
Architecture: x86
Based on: Red Hat
Wikipedia:
Media: Install CD
The last version | Released: 1999
KSI Linux – a Red Hat based Linux distribution from Ukraine.
KSI Linux has been developed in Kyiv since 1997 by Serhii Ivanovich Kubushyn (KSI in the name – the initials of the author), who at that time worked as a system administrator at the Internet provider Global Ukraine.
Since 1997, it has been developed on the basis of Red Hat for the servers of the provider Global Ukraine. Later in 1999, Kubushyn organized his own distribution development and support company, KSI.
Version 1.1 (CyberZOO) was released on November 5, 1997.
Version 1.2 (Tornado) – early 1998.
On January 27, 1999, version 2.0 of Nostromo was announced and released in March. It was the first Linux distribution with the 2.2 kernel. The distribution included the egcs compiler, text editors, graphic editors (including a Photoshop analogue — GIMP), Netscape Communicator 4.5, Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.1, the X Window graphical shell, and much more.
In 1998, the breakthrough of the Linux OS into the desktop OS market began, according to which the package also included the KDE 1.1 graphical shell and the KOffice office suite. The distribution also included everything for connecting to the Internet, creating an Internet server (Bero FTPD, Apache). The X Window System and ghostscript are compiled with support for True Type fonts. The TeX publishing package is Russified using t2. The spelling checker system includes a Russian dictionary. The system also includes the MySQL SQL server, which works correctly with the Russian language. Most programs have a Russian-language interface.[16] There is support for the Ukrainian language. The translation of the reference has been started.
From critical remarks, in particular regarding the support of the Ukrainian language, KSI called other people’s achievements their own, at a speech in Moscow, Kubushyn explained the support of the Ukrainian language as follows: “To live among wolves is to howl like a wolf”.
The distribution supports installation on top of Red Hat 4.1..5.2, as an upgrade from the latter to a new version.
All packages are assembled with optimization for two architectures — Intel Pentium and Intel Pentium Pro, minimum requirements — i486.
The distribution consists of two disks: on the first – binary packages, on the second – initial texts.
The distribution was distributed and supported on the territory of the former USSR and was quite popular, catching up in popularity in 1999 with Black Cat.
The CEC system of Ukraine, which held the 1999 presidential elections and subsequent elections, was based on KSI.
There are plans to expand the use of Linux (creation of a national operating system). According to Kubushyn, the interests of officials in this direction were limited to doing nothing and embezzling funds. Suddenly they come out with sharp criticism of KSI and the prosecution of former manager Kubushin.
In 1999, Kubushyn moved to Las Vegas in the USA, where he worked on other Linux-related casino projects[18] and stopped supporting the project. In 2009, Kubushyn founded his own company, KSI Labs, LLC., which designs and manufactures electronic control boards for CNC machines.
The rest of the developers are trying to hold off until 2002-2003 the development of the next version (which did not come out), which was used by Global Ukraine.
Later, the CEC software supported the MyLinux project, the developers of which claimed that they stood near the sources of KSI and imitated his experience, which Kubushin denied.
Description source: Wikipedia; License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike.