Few people pay attention to the emergence of new generations of operating systems. But the release of Tizen OS with the GNU Linux license has become a real landmark event in the world of computers, mobile devices and even household appliances. The combined efforts of Samsung and Intel Corporation allowed us to create a completely new OS based on the monolithic Linux kernel. So far, the Tizen operating system has not received much distribution (except in devices manufactured by Samsung), however, it has a great future. But first, it's worth figuring out what this OS is and where it can be applied.
Tizen operating system: the first acquaintance
The origin of the name of the new OS, as respected Internet resources make clear, is based on an abbreviation of three English words. Tie means “connection” or “binding”, Rise means “ascent” or “resurrection”, Zen is the name of the eastern Zen philosophy (probably, the simplicity and flexibility of concepts or the superiority of understanding of intelligence over intelligence are implied).
The Tizen operating system ("Taizen") is open source. Therefore, anyone can make their own changes to it. Under the same GNU Linux license, the system is freely available. But many users are still very cautious about the new product, despite the fact that Samsung has begun to actively introduce it in its devices since 2013.
Supported Devices
Initially, it was believed that the new development should become the basis for mobile devices as opposed to the existing Android OS. Over time, the development was continued. Smart TVs with a new integrated operating system have become quite popular around the world.
Today, you can find several basic modifications, including support not only for television panels or mobile gadgets, but also for tablets and even laptops. We are not talking about stationary PCs, although, apparently, this is not far off. The fact is that initially the system was focused on ARM and x86 processors. Based on this, it is easy to figure out that creating a version for the x64 architecture is practically a matter of time. However, in terms of competition with Windows, Linux or Mac OS X, Samsung Tizen’s position is clearly losing.
Another thing is that the above systems are not used in household appliances. Here, development has occupied a free niche. The use of Samsung Tizen in Smart TV devices was truly a revolution, since the new system was quite independent and autonomous.
History of creation
The history of the creation of the new OS says that it became the heiress of not only the Linux kernel, but also of systems such as MeeGo, Bada and LiMa (not to mention the fact that many compare it with Android-development).
This system was first discussed in 2011, when the Linux Foundation and LiMo Foundation presented their open source development in the form of Tizen OS. The project was led by monsters of the computer world - Samsung and Intel. The second, by the way, judging by the statements, intends to seriously reorient one of the market segments specifically to this system, including car systems.
And it is not surprising that at the moment, the Tizen operating system, which is constantly being improved and tested, has twelve companies as developers and manufacturers of supported devices, among which the most significant are Nissan, Land Rover, Toyota, not counting such giants as Fujitsu or NVIDIA .
System version
Constantly released versions of the new OS could not unite the developers. So, the newly created Tizen Association included developers on the staff of other companies. But the first announcement of the system is dated September 27, 2011. Version 1.0 is called Lacspur. She officially came out in 2012 (April 30). The OS was distinguished by the fact that it supported HTML5, W3C, OpenGL and WebRTC. In addition, a special package for developers in the form of SDK was released.
The second modification 2.0, called Magnolia, received updated support for the Web Framework and could use additional API tools that allowed access to wireless modules (Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth), calendar, contacts, call logs and other settings on mobile devices. Later it was modified in version 2.1 of Nectarine, which differed mainly only in the extension of API tools and was supported only by Samsung RD-PQ and RD-210 systems, intended exclusively for developers.
Then followed versions 2.2, 2.2.1 and 2.3. The latter was used in the “smart” watches of Samsung Gear series and became available in the form of Smart TV Tizen for television panels.
And only the release of version 3.0 of 2013 was the breakthrough that everyone was looking forward to. Although initially the system was focused on Galaxy S4 mobile devices, the announced version nevertheless had the advantage that it could be used on netbooks, laptops or tablets.
Android was not here and there
Samsung Tizen on mobile devices, some skeptics compare with Android-systems. Indeed, at first glance it is difficult to notice the differences. But here you need to be clearly aware that all Linux-like systems (by the way, based on UNIX code) have an almost identical interface.
First of all, the differences that this, open operating system has, are that absolutely all the drivers for the intended devices were written, as they say, from scratch. In addition, unlike Android, the Tizen operating system is deprived of support by the order of a boring Java machine, but it can work with JavaScript. In a sense, this can be called a minus, but there are a couple of trump cards in the sleeve.
The fact is that the system was originally conceived as a tool in the form of WebOS. Such attempts were made by many developers (Google Chrome OS, Firefox OS). But this system has moved much further, thanks to the fact that any developer can use application programming based on a combination of CSS / JavaScript / HTML5. In addition, a real find for many programmers was a set of native development tools based on the C ++ language.
Key features
As for the system itself, it can be considered on the example of launching on mobile devices. The first thing that catches your eye is a greeting, which is made in the form of a simple menu where you can select a specific setting item or function used.
On smartphones there is a special application Tizen Store (application store). Of course, while it is still being improved in terms of adding the same multimedia content, nevertheless, for developers there are means of monetization and even placement of their own mobile developments in the form of paid publications with support for embedding into other official applications from Samsung. True, some users may perceive this as the presence of advertising, but, alas, this is not going anywhere.
Smart TV Tizen
Special attention should be paid to television panels. Compared to the previously used Smart HUB technology , when the main menu occupied the entire screen, and you had to interrupt viewing the current program to access the functions, the new system became more flexible.
The new menu is presented in the form of icons, and to access a specific function you do not need to go to different sections. Everything is, as they say, at hand. But what is the whole “trick” - management can be carried out in several ways.
The classic way is to use a remote control. But, thanks to the cameras installed on some models of smart TVs, the user can quite simply use navigation using gestures or voice commands. And the menu entry itself can be blocked by the face recognition system. Thus, the Tizen operating system in the TV plays a dual role - both the control tool and the tool are protected. And if you synchronize the panel with a smartphone, in general, the advantages are more than enough. Smart TVs of the Smart TV standard perceive the corresponding devices even as ordinary control panels, apart from using other functions.
Additional Support Issues
Unfortunately, this OS has not yet become widespread, although the declared capabilities are much higher than other systems of this rank.
So far, the deadlock is only due to the fact that, despite the declared support from eminent manufacturers of hardware, this type of software is implemented only by Samsung and only on its devices. Therefore, it is skeptical at best to refer to the fact that in the near future devices in which the Tizen operating system will be used as the control platform will be used.
But it is in it that there are several interesting functions. On the TV panel, you can use the Quick Connect function to transfer data from a smartphone or tablet to the panel, split the screen into parts (Multi-link Screen), use the Smart HUB platform with games and applications, and also - GameFlyStreaming - passing games without using console in general.
Is everything all right?
All of the above advantages seem to be in favor of the new OS. But it is not known for certain whether it was tested for the effects of viruses and malicious codes. It’s not worth considering that, like any Linux system, it is initially protected. Firstly, this operating system is open source, and no one will stop a third-party developer from making changes to such an extent that they can access confidential information. The same user location can be determined quite simply.
In addition, even the developers themselves point out that on some models of TVs the system may “freeze” due to instability of work. And “reflashing” the old models of TV panels from Samsung is impossible in any way.
Use the system or not?
However, if you weigh the pros and cons, you can use the new software platform, despite the fact that it is (so far) not widespread. Given the fact that Samsung will implement this system everywhere, it is very doubtful that it is isolated from the global community of hardware manufacturers and software developers. Therefore, with a fairly high degree of probability, it can be argued that in the near future some giants in the market of mobile devices, computers and software products will have to, to put it mildly, move (of course, if they do not create anything new).