An operating system designed by North Koreans is now available in Pyongyang for about five dollars. This may not seem like a lot of money. Consider, though, the fact that most people in North Korea don’t have computers or Internet access. There is much speculation flying about as to whether the operating system is designed solely to monitor every move of the people in that nation. A South Korean government institute has stated unequivocally that the os “is aimed at monitoring user activity.”

The Red Star operating system plays a Korean folk song for the start-up music, and is only available in the Korean language. It reportedly installs in approximately fifteen minutes.

One detail that strikes me as strange is the way the calendar and dates are set up. The first date counted is that of the birth of state founder Kim II-sung. That means that 2010 is only the 99th year in “history.”

The operating system is Linux-based, but you’ll find some touches of Microsoft thrown in. There are variations of the Office suite included, as well as several games you’ll find familiar.

The email system is called Pigeon… and the browser is Firefox. The home page, however, isn’t set to the Mozilla start page. Instead, users logging on to the Internet for the first time will find themselves at the North Korean government website.

While it’s impossible to tell from these details whether or not the os is designed to spy on (and control) those who use it, it is quite obvious that once again North Korea is attempting to prove how self-sufficient they are.

The next time any of you want to gripe about the United States, keep things like this in mind. We may not have a great economy sometimes, but we sure have freedom. That’s one thing that I value more than nearly everything else I could possibly have or want.