OPERATING SYSTEMS MADE BY FILIPINOS

Bayanihan  Linux OS

Bayanihan Linux OS is a Filipino-made Linux operating system.
It is a complete open source-based desktop solution for office and school use. It is a package that includes an operating system, a word processor, spreadsheet program, presentation software, email facility, an internet browser, and a graphics editor.

The Bayanihan Project began in 2001 as the pioneer initiative towards the creation of an alternative and open source desktop solution by the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI), an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) committed to the research on and development of Philippine microelectronics as well as information and communication technologies. Throughout the years, the Bayanihan Team has yielded several products including Bayanihan Desktop, BLTCM, and BL Server.

Since the project's launch, the Bayanihan Team has also conducted trainings and lectures on their products as well as on the Free/Open Source Software (F/OSS) philosophy, basic Linux concepts, F/OSS applications such as OpenOffice.org, among others. Bayanihan has been and will continue to be promoted primarily for use in the education sector, government, and SME's.

Kahel Linux

A proof that Linux on the desktop is very much alive and is growing in popularity here in the Philippines is the birth of yet another distro named Kahel. In English, the word "kahel" means orange, which explains the orange t-shirt, beak, and feet of its Tux mascot found on the distro logo.

Unlike AMA Desktop and Bayanihan that are both derived from Debian, Kahel is proudly based on Arch Linux and utilizes GNOME for its desktop environment. Kahel adapted the rolling-release model to give its users the most up-to-date FOSS applications without having to rely on a new version of the OS.

At present, here are some of Kahel's features:

* uses the most recent Linux Kernel (2.6.30)
* support for NILFS2 and BTRFS by default
* utilizes Pacman and Package Kit
* GNOME Applications for Office, Multi-Media and Web- Browsing
* applications are optimized for i686 and x86-64

Here's an interesting note from Kahel's project website:

"Kahel OS is not just an Operating System so to speak. IT is not just a Technology Product on a Linux and Open Source Platform added to the thousands of FREE Distros already available in the community. IT does not explicitly want to be different or to be set apart from the rest. However, among others, we simply would like Kahel OS (just like our team) to be the embodiment of our IT Values and Philosophy.

It is also a gift and a manifestation of the collaborating Filipino spirit that believes in the competence of the Global IT Community."

Some screenshots:

AMA Desktop Linux

Another Pinoy Linux Distribution: AMA Desktop Linux - A new Philippine-made Linux distribution is waiting to be included in the official list of distros and Distrowatch.com. Its name is AMA Desktop Linux (ADL), and it is made ​​by AMA Computer University , considered as one of the best and largest computer schools in the country.

The main aspiration of AMA Desktop Linux project is to provide an operating system interface that is comfortable to existing Microsoft Windows users. The OS will also be used on more than 300+ University Campuses around the world, and will be delivered in classrooms where over 1 million students are enrolled.

AMA Desktop Linux 2007 has many different applications and exclusive patches designed to make everything work seamlessly. It's a designer's Linux with a goal to make everything easy to use, attractive, innovative, powerful and above all, simple. It also uses the latest GNOME Desktop . Most of the applications included are:

Welcome Center - aims to provide a brief introduction of the basics of AMA Desktop 2007.
· Personal Proxy Wizard - Set up personal squid proxy server, to make Internet surfing faster.
· Windows Compatibility Tool - a tool to configure Wine and everything related like Windows NTFS and msttcorefonts.
· Consolidators - Those are the applications that consolidates all other applications into a single window. It aims to make the simple menus. (Ie, File Sharing, Network Browsers and Tools, Encryption, Mobile Devices)
· File System Preferences - Make the root file system easy to navigate. This tool offers an option to hide all other directories in the root and provide a symbolic links for them.
· Heat-Desktop - This provides the user with the default directories for AMA Desktop 2007 Face randomly choose a picture if it's not available, and emblemize the default directories.
· Resource Manager - A tool that detects the memory system and disables some services via gconf if the memory is not met.
· Live Chat Support - An interface to create an account in Freenode and to communicate with other users AMA Desktop 2007.
· Local Network Messenger - An interface that helps the user to create Bonjour IM service and provide an option to load them automatically upon boot.
· Draw Anywhere - An interface for Gromit, that provides annotation capabilities even without Compiz. This is intended for presentations.
· Multicast Filesharing - An interface for udpcast, that sends files to a multitude of computers within the network.

To be accepted in Distrowatch, the developers of AMA Desktop Linux must stay focused, as there is a minimum of a 90-day waiting period for new distributions to be listed. This is to discourage the submission of new projects that start with great enthusiasm only to vanish in a few short months. I think this will not be a problem for the ADL as AMA University is overflowing with talented computer programmers to keep it going.

Sources:

•  http://filipinoinventionsanddiscoveries.blogspot.com/2013/06/bayanihan-linux-os.html
• http://www.junauza.com/2009/09/kahel-linux-yet-another-philippine-made.html
• http://www.junauza.com/2007/11/another-pinoy-linux-distribution.html