Red Hat delays Global Desktop

Because governments in developing nations want to watch DVDs

Red Hat is tapping the breaks on the release of its Global Desktop Linux operating system to put in more tricks. The company announced today the software's once expected July roll-out has been delayed until at least September.

Product manager Gerry Riveros told Reuters Global Desktop won't be out until Library Card Sign-Up Month in order to investigate adding technology that allows users to view a wide range of video formats on their computers, including DVDs and streaming media.

Global Desktop basically is a thinned down version of Red Hat's Enterprise Linux Desktop 5, made more applicable for desktop and laptop consumption. While RHEL D5 runs about 1,500 applications, Global Desktop has will handle about 700 of them. The OS is targeted at developing countries, primarily in Asia, South America and Africa. There are currently no plans to release the OS in North America or Europe.

Red Hat had previously stated it plans to release a new version of Global Desktop every year. The company has teamed with Intel to install the OS on a limited number of Intel-based desktop and laptop computers, which will be sold to small businesses and government agencies in developing countries. ®