Nova is a Cuban state-sponsored

Linux distribution A Linux distribution (often abbreviated as distro) is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and, often, a package management system. Linux users usually obtain their operating system by downloading one ...

launched in February 2009. It was developed in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

at the

University of Information Science The University of Informatic Sciences ( es, link=no, Universidad de las Ciencias Informáticas; UCI, also known as the University of Information Sciences and University of Informatics Sciences) is a Cuban university research center based in the w ...

(UCI) by students and professors to provide free and open-source software (FOSS) to inexperienced users and Cuban institutions. While the initial version was Gentoo-based, the developers switched to

Ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: ''Desktop'', ''Server'', and ''Core'' for Internet of things devices and robots. All the ...

beginning with Version 2.1. In May 2016 discussions about a new version 6.0 were underway. However, by 2016

Distrowatch DistroWatch is a website which provides news, distribution pages hit rankings, and other general information about various Linux distributions as well as other free software/open source Unix-like operating systems. It now contains information on ...

had marked Nova as discontinued. and its website, www.nova.cu had been taken down. Nova re-entered development later, and version 8.0 was released in January-March 2022. In early 2018 its repositories and download server (repo.nova.cu) was shut down temporarily, with users being told to switch to

CentOS CentOS (, from Community Enterprise Operating System; also known as CentOS Linux) is a Linux distribution that provides a free and open-source community-supported computing platform, functionally compatible with its upstream source, Red Hat En ...

, after which Nova resumed development a couple months later. By early 2019 the distribution website was again active and DistroWatch listed it as under active development.

Goal and adoption

The goal of Nova was to achieve "sovereignty and technological independence" and to have it installed on all computers in Cuba where

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

is still the most widely used

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

. The system was central to the Cuban government's desire to replace Windows. Hector Rodriguez, Director of UCI, said that " e free software movement is closer to the ideology of the Cuban people, above all for the independence and sovereignty." Other cited reasons to develop the system include the

United States embargo against Cuba The United States embargo against Cuba prevents American businesses, and businesses organized under U.S. law or majority-owned by American citizens, from conducting trade with Cuban interests. It is the most enduring trade embargo in modern hist ...

which made it hard for Cubans to buy and update Windows, as well as potential security issues feared by the Cuban government because of the U.S. government's access to Microsoft's source code. Cuba was planning to convert to Nova as its main operating system; once the migration is complete it was intended to be installed in 90% of all work places. In early 2011 the UCI announced that they would migrate more than 8,000 computers to the new operating system. Beginning in 2011, new computers were intended to come installed with both Windows and Nova.

Software

The first version of Nova, called Baire, was based on

Gentoo Linux Gentoo Linux (pronounced ) is a Linux distribution built using the Portage package management system. Unlike a binary software distribution, the source code is compiled locally according to the user's preferences and is often optimized for the ...

, while Nova 2.1 Desktop Edition was based on

. Nova Escritorio is UCI's office suite meant to replace

Microsoft Office Microsoft Office, or simply Office, is the former name of a family of client software, server software, and services developed by Microsoft. It was first announced by Bill Gates on August 1, 1988, at COMDEX in Las Vegas. Initially a marketin ...

. Versions History Nova 1.1.2 (Baire) File:DeskNova1.1.2.png, alt=Nova 1.1.2 Baire Desktop View, Nova 1.1.2 Baire Desktop View File:NautilusNova1.1.2.png, alt=Nova 1.1.2 Baire Nautilus File Manager, Nova 1.1.2 Baire Nautilus File Manager File:CtrlCenterNova1.1.2.png, alt=Nova 1.1.2 Baire Control Center, Nova 1.1.2 Baire Control Center # It uses GNOME, version 2.22. # Entropy as package manager # Compatible with Gentoo and Portage. # Integrated with Windows Active Directory. Nova 2.1 Desktop Edition File:InstallNova2.1.png, alt=Nova 2.1 Installation, Nova 2.1 Installation File:FirefoxNova2.1.png, alt=Nova 2.1 Firefox web browser, Nova 2.1 Firefox web browser File:CompizNova2.1.png, alt=Nova 2.1 Compiz windows effect, Nova 2.1 Compiz windows effect

General Features

Main applications: # Web browser

Mozilla Firefox Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages, which implements current and a ...

. # Instant messaging client

Empathy Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of social, co ...

. # E-mail client

Mozilla Thunderbird Mozilla Thunderbird is a free and open-source cross-platform email client, personal information manager, news client, RSS and chat client developed by the Mozilla Foundation and operated by subsidiary MZLA Technologies Corporation. The project s ...

. # Multimedia player Totem. # Music player

Rhythmbox Rhythmbox is a free and open-source audio player software, tag editor and music organizer for digital audio files on Linux and Unix-like systems. Rhythmbox is designed to work well under GNOME, but can function on other desktop environments. I ...

. # Video editing software

Pitivi Pitivi (originally spelled PiTiVi) is a free and open-source non-linear video editor for Linux, developed by various contributors from free software community and the GNOME project, with support also available from Collabora. Pitivi is designed t ...

. # Images editing program

F-Spot F-Spot is a slowly maintained image organizer, designed to provide personal photo management for the GNOME desktop environment. The name is a play on the word F-Stop. History The F-Spot project was started by Ettore Perazzoli and is maintained ...

. # Torrent client

Transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...

. # Disk burning program

Brasero Brasero may refer to: * Brasero (heater), a heater or an oven * Brasero (software), CD/DVD-burning software for Linux See also * Bracero program {{disambig