Exploring the desktops, developers, and communities shaping Linux in China and Russia.
I spend a lot of time around Linux, gaming, and technology. But most of what reaches my screen comes through the English-speaking internet. After a while, that familiar feed starts to feel like the whole picture.
It isn’t.
Looking into Linux communities in China and Russia reminded me that there are entire conversations happening outside my usual view. People are designing desktops, maintaining software, sharing fixes, and figuring out how to make their favorite games work.
That sounds like something worth exploring.
China’s vision for the Linux desktop
China doesn’t have a single operating system that everyone uses. Windows still dominates measured desktop web usage there. Alongside it, developers are building alternatives with their own designs and priorities. Statcounter.
Deepin is an interesting example for a home desktop user. It has its own desktop environment, DDE, with a coordinated approach to the file manager, settings, and everyday applications. It offers another interpretation of how a Linux computer can look and feel. Deepin.
There’s work beneath the appearance, too. Deepin 25 introduced its Solid system, designed to protect core operating-system files and support recovery when updates go wrong. System recovery doesn’t replace a backup of personal files, but making the operating system easier to recover is a practical improvement. Deepin’s explanation.
The related UnionTech UOS product family offers professional, education, and home editions. openKylin is a separate open-source community developing another desktop alternative. These projects serve different needs, from personal computing to supported organizational deployments. UnionTech, openKylin.
What interests me is having more people contribute their ideas about what a good desktop should be.
What about Windows .exe files?
This was one of my first questions: can these systems run Windows programs?
Deepin has its own Wine-based compatibility work, and its developers support gaming tools such as GE-Proton. Wine provides the Windows interfaces a program expects while running on Linux, without requiring a complete Windows installation underneath it. Deepin’s compatibility project.
Some applications can be packaged with the libraries and settings they need, making installation more approachable. Others require adjustments, and some won’t work. Drivers, certain launchers, and anti-cheat systems can still create barriers.
For anyone considering Linux, that work matters. Keeping access to familiar applications can make trying a different operating system much more realistic.
Russia’s Linux communities
Russia’s Linux scene has plenty to explore beyond commercial operating-system announcements.
ROSA Fresh is a community-developed desktop distribution offered free, without registration. The ALT ecosystem includes desktop products, community developers, and the Sisyphus package project. ROSA Fresh, ALT.
The community spaces are where this becomes especially relatable. Linux.org.ru has forums for desktop use, installation, hardware, development, gaming, and multimedia. There’s a desktop gallery, too. Apparently, spending time getting your computer looking exactly right translates pretty well. Linux.org.ru.
The recent Free Software Developers Conference covered subjects including Flatpak, GNOME communities, mobile Linux, robotics, accessibility, and open hardware. Student projects and the cultural side of free software were part of the program as well. Conference program.
That gives us a view of people learning, experimenting, and building things together—activities many Linux users will recognize immediately.
Different languages, familiar interests
Gaming provides another connection. Deepin’s work with Wine and Proton addresses a question familiar to Linux gamers everywhere: can I keep playing the games I enjoy?
I’ve spent thousands of hours in games, and being able to enjoy them on Linux matters to me. It makes me curious about how other communities tackle the same problems, which tools they build, and what they discover along the way.
The same goes for everyday computing. Someone might be improving hardware support, simplifying an installer, or making an application easier to use. Their discussion may happen in a language I don’t speak, but their work can still become useful to me.
That exchange is one of the things I appreciate about open source.
More control over our computers
No matter what country we live in, I think we should be working toward relying on Windows less and less. I’ve reached the point where I jokingly call it malware—the unwanted features, nagging, and constant push toward Microsoft’s services wear me out. Linux gives us more say over our own computers, and I’m glad people around the world are building alternatives.
I don’t need every distribution to become my daily operating system to find value in it. A different desktop might have a feature I want, a design I enjoy, or an approach I hadn’t considered.
For TinkerByteTech, I’d like to spend more time exploring these projects: seeing what works, learning what makes them distinctive, and looking beyond the products that already dominate my feed.
The Linux world is bigger than the part I usually see. That makes me want to keep looking.
Curious? Try a Linux desktop yourself
You don’t need a new computer to start exploring. A spare USB drive can hold a Linux installer, and distributions with a live mode let you try the desktop before installing. Already have a suitable drive? Use that.
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