14 DAY TRIAL // It was recently brought to our attention that there's a Linux kernel-based operating system out there developed in Havana, Cuba, by students at the University of Computer Sciences and sponsored by the Cuban government.
The operating system is called Nova OS and the latest available version is 4.0, released March 22, 2013, which is based on Canonical's Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin) and built around the GNOME 3.4 desktop environment.
Yes, that means Nova OS does not use Ubuntu's Unity user interface, providing users with a traditional layout comprising two panels, using GNOME's GNOME-Shell interface, but with a custom design.
At the moment, Nova OS 4.0 is distributed in three editions, Escritorio, Ligero, and Servidor. The Escritorio edition is the main one, also known as the Desktop CD, which provides users with a complete GNOME-based desktop environment.
On the other hand, the Ligero edition offers a more lightweight interface for low-end machines and computers with old or semi-old hardware components. As you might have guessed, the Servidor edition is the Server flavor of Nova OS.
According to its Wikipedia page, Nova OS was created with a single goal in mind: to replace Microsoft's Windows operating system on all computers in Cuba. "The free software movement is closer to the ideology of the Cuban people, above all for the independence and sovereignty," says Hector Rodriguez, director of UCI.
Nova OS 5.0 is currently in heavy development
As mentioned, the current version of Nova OS is 4.0, distributed on its official website as Live CD ISO images that contain software packages optimized only for 32-bit (i686) computers. There's no 64-bit version at the moment of writing this article, but it would appear that a major update, Nova OS 5.0, is in the works.
Talking about software, Nova OS comes with popular open-source applications like the LibreOffice office suite, Mozilla Thunderbird email and news client, Samba for connecting to Windows shares, Nautilus file manager, and Wine for running Windows apps and games.
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