Owusu, a university student at Ghana’s Methodist University College, is the developer of the Anansi Operating system and the Anansi browser, both running on Linux based system.
In an interview with HumanIPO, Randolf said: “I launched the operating system on June 29 and it is less than two weeks old on the Internet. It has since had over 2186 downloads.”
These downloads are only on his server. The OS can also be downloaded from a torrent site. Downloads from that location are approximately 1577, making the total download for the OS in two weeks to be 3763.
Randolf tells of how his online products are spurring him on. “Currently Anansi Operating system is gaining a lot of recognition around the world. Most Linux websites have listed Anansi Operating system as a Linux distribution to watch out for,” he said.
Indeed, Randolf’s software got recognition in a past software conference in Nigeria. “I was awarded by the Free software and Open Source for Africa (FOSSFA) as a Guido Sohne fellow in recognition of my continuous use and support for open source technologies such as Linux and Drupal, and for having a technological vision for Africa just like the late Guido Sohne.”
Guido Sohne was one of the pioneering developers for open source in Africa. He founded the Free Software and Open Source for Africa known as FOSSFA.
So are there any plans to go commercial with this product? We asked. Randolf has major plans in store.
“Anansi Operating system has a premium service that if you want us to tailor the OS to fit the software demands of your business,” Randolf said. “It will be cheaper than paying for license for a proprietary system.”
Randolf tells us that there are added features that users will have to pay up for to enjoy. He doesn’t disclose how much the extra free is but promises that they are “killer features”.
His company is also working on Anansi Web browser which is still under development. With the support he is receiving, we will have to wait and see if the products will make a Pan-African turnaround.
