Asturix is attracting attention in news media and whole page of La Nueva España has been dedicated to a newspaper article: http://www.lne.es/oviedo/2009/11/29/asturix-frente-windows/840521.html (in Spanish) and at the bottom of this article (in English).

(Only available in Spanish). It has also appeared on Onda Cero Radio, for an MP3 and an OGG (recommended) with the interview: OGG y MP3

Asturix up against Windows

Luis Iván Cuende, a boy from Oviedo aged 14, develops and promotes a free operating system on the internet.

David ORIHUELA

Youth has got it when a lad aged 14 years old does not want to conform to received norms or accept impositions. This is what happened over more than a year ago to Luis Iván Cuende, an Oviedo lad studying the third course at the Colegio Auseva in Oviedo, and who is now standing up to the Microsoft giant.

While the giant Microsoft was presenting its new operating system, Windows7, Cuende was busy working on his own system, Asturix.

There are many differences but the most important is that the system developed in by the Ovetense is free software. Although this does not always mean free of charge, in this case it does.

Cuende has developed a new operating system both“to set himself a personal challenge”, and “so that Asturias could have a free, secure and easy-to-use system, as in other parts of Spain.”

The system is based on Ubuntu, which is itself a development of Linux. Cuende has created “an upper layer” called “Asturix” and there are now three versions available which can be downloaded free of charge on the internet: A “desktop” version for home use, a “business” version for professionals and a “lite” version suitable for older computers and mini-laptops which are so much in use these days.

Yesterday, Cuende held an “install party” in the Casa del Pueblo, the HQ of the Socialist Group in Oviedo where all the computers already work with Asturix. He installed the system on the computers of whoever asked him to. The goal is to make his project more widely-known and is open to all those wishing to improve it.

The term “free software” refers to the freedom of users to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. It is based on four freedoms: the freedom to use the program for any purpose: to study how the program works and adapt it according to ones needs, to distribute copies which can help others, improving the program and publishing the improvements so that the whole community may benefit.

None of the preceding can be done with proprietary software as in the case of Microsoft`s Windows system where one has to conform to the parameters set by the manufacturer and, of course, pay for it.

Desktop: For home use and environments where stability is not the most important aspect.

Business: Aimed at companies, offices and production environments. It is the most complete since it includes some 1,500 software packages

Lite: For PCs with few resources and mini-laptops.