Stylized as deepin; previously known as Linux Deepin and Hiweed Linux, is an open source operating system. It is a Linux distribution based on the Debian architecture. It runs on personal computers and servers, on x86-64 architecture.
It is focused on “providing an elegant, user-friendly, stable and secure operating system”. The development is led by the Chinese company Wuhan Deepin Technology Co., Ltd., which generates revenue by selling technical support and other Deepin-related services.
This operating system was born in 2004 as “Hiweed Linux”, based on Ubuntu and the XFCE low-power desktop environment. Due to its success, in 2009, it changed its name to Deepin. And, in 2011, the organization went international with WuhanDeepinTechnology.
Deepin Features
The system uses the desktop environment called DeepinDesktop Environment or DDE. It was initially developed with the GTK library, which provides Gnome Shell functionalities. At the end of 2014, the Qt5 library had to be incorporated to replace the HTML5 rendering used in the 2014 version. From this transition, the software is rewritten in DTK (DeepinToolKit) for the interface and interaction with the system.
DDE includes a configuration center that unifies system settings, themes, and system updates. In 2016, The Package Installer was developed as a complement to dpkg for the installation of deb packages and dependency autocompletion.
It uses its own applications for everyday tasks. Among them, DeepinFile Manager (file manager based on Nautilus), DeepinStore (application store), DeepinTerminal (command console), DeepinMusic (music player), Deepin Movies (video player), Deepin Cloud ( network printing system), Deepin Screen Recorder (application to record the screen), Deepin Screenshot (application to take screenshots), Deepin Voice Recorder (application to record audio) among others. All this software is aimed at a simple system for the user.
The default web browser is Google Chrome. They also include Thunderbird (email client), Crossover (whose base is Wine, to interpret Windows applications), WPS Office (office suite), Spotify (music streaming service) and Steam (video game store). Until version 14 they included a Translator (own application), Remmina and Brasero.
The requirements for Deepin 15.11 are:
▸GPU: Intel Pentium IV 2GHz or higher (compatible with 64-bit architecture)
▸Memory: 2GB or higher (4GB recommended)
▸Hard Drive: More than 25 GB of free space
Deepin starts from a USB or DVD boot device. Plus, the setup wizard is easy to navigate. You can choose a clean install to the entire hard drive or by selecting a partition. Then, enter the time, user and language.
It maintains its simplicity since its installation. You have a dock (which you can call as an application bar) and notification icons. Go to the launcher to access your favorite shows and pin them to the dock for quick access. Or use notifications to see the time or adjust the network connection, among other things.
