Wouldn't disagree with that as a general principle at all. Modern operating systems have simply become huge. Just the Linux device drivers would be an immense job to replicate. Then there are how many different file systems? Filesystems are not easy to develop. Then there's all the GNU user space stuff, X11, KDE etc etc etc. It might not be that much of a big deal to knock together a bit of a kernel, but to replicate the broad functionality of Linux in all new code - the job would be just huge.
Just a thought - if you wanted to get some sort of handle one the cost of a wholly new OS, it would be interesting to find the number of person years spent on something like Symbian and then recognize that it is bound to be a lot smaller than Linux or Windows.
You can swag it: 100k/yr x number of developers/engineers/managers/QA x number of years. Easy to get over 50 million USD for an OS.
Reasons: * Developers - By directly sponsoring a complete distro, they have their own developers who are both actively engaged within the greater Linux community, know the kernel cold (there certainly are Russian programmers who can be and are even now developing software currently in the kernel), and have their loyalties to the Russian society even if not directly to the Russian government. This means Russia has the developer base to keep up with the rest of the world in a critical area. * Security - If there is anybody paranoid about security, I don't know who is worse than the Russian government. The only way to have a genuinely secure operating system is to review each and every line of code that goes into that OS by somebody both with the skills necessary to properly evaluate the software, and the loyalty to the organization necessary to fix things that seem out of place. See also the above point, which is even more critical here. * Meeting local needs - by having a group that is embedded within the Russian culture that certainly is not a part of the Silicon Valley culture, they have a much better grasp of what is needed for their own local society. While working with Cyrillic characters isn't that much different from Latin characters, this is but one situation where local support is desperately needed. Interfacing with older Soviet systems is certainly an issue as well... I can only imagine some of the compatibility issues that would have to be worked out there. * National pride - There is also a little bit of national pride on the line here as well. Having something "made in Russia" is powerfully attractive for a number of reasons... at the very least to show that your country is able to keep up with the best and the brightest on the planet. Of all the reasons I've listed, this really is the least significant, but the one most head-smacking obvious and ultimately the one that would best sell to a legislative body that has to pay for any significant expenses to get this project going. I certainly doubt that Russian citizens are going to be upset with a modest expense being directed in this fashion through their tax dollars. http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/01/23/1450224