India News | KITE Brings out New FOSS Based Operating System

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 21 (PTI) The state-runKerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) hasreleasednew customisedFree and Open Source Software (FOSS)based Operating System, the K'ITE GNU-Linux Lite2020,for the benefits of computer users in the state.

The same Operating System (OS)suitwould feature in lakhs ofthe student laptopsthat are beingprovided as part of the Vidyasree project of the state government, an official statement said here.

Completely based on an Ubuntu free software platform, the new version of the OS comes pre-loaded with a bunch of software ranging from office packages, language input tools, Database applications to DTP- Graphics Image Editing software and so on.

In addition to internationally acclaimed educational software such as GeoGebra, PhEt and GCompris,the OSsuitalso features several utility packages like G-Image reader which provides theimage to text conversion, it said.

Further, to boost Malayalam Computing, a vast collection of Malayalam Unicode Fonts and a dedicated English-Malayalam dictionary is also included in the lite version.

"Unlike commonly seen Ubuntu based packages, the new LIiteversion OS has been developed in such a way that it can be even installed in computerswith less computing powerby effectively utilizing its storage space and thereby providing all packages integrated in it,"said K Anvar Sadath, CEO, KITE.

The KITE GNU LINUX LITE-2020 can be freely downloaded from the website www.kite.kerala.gov.in, he added.

The availability of a variety of educational and utility based software in the Operating System makes it useful not for the students but for DTP centers,Common Service Centers (CSC), software developers, college students and general public as it is freely downloaded and can be shared without any restrictions.

By having installed the FOSS based Operating System in over 2 lakh Laptops deployed in state schools as part of the Hi-Tech projects, KITE had earlier provided an estimated savings of Rs 3000 crore for the state exchequer.

More than the financial savings part, the adoption of Free Software proved as a crucial element to strengthen digital education in the State.

All the First Bell Digital Classes broadcast through the KITE VICTERS channel, throughout the Covid-19 pandemic period and which is still continuing, used the FOSS based video- editing applications even at KITEs District Offices as part of regional content development process.

All these facilities are now being extended to the general public free of cost through KITE GNU-Linux Lite 2020, the statement added.

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