ReactOS, a 17-year quest for an open-source Windows, has a new release candidate

Post by aaronbrethorst » Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 3:27 AM UTC

orionblastar wrote: post #47

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many people migrated to GNU/Linux or Mac because Microsoft had abused their monopoly, some people and companies are stuck with Microsoft because their business needs Windows to run their custom apps. Citation needed. I migrated to Mac OS X in 2000[1] because it was a Unix-like operating system with a usable UI that worked well on a laptop[2]. Also, there were to be two companies, not five[3]. Of course, I might be bi…

How can I cite thoughts in people's heads? Their opinions on why they switched? Apple did a series of commercials about switching to Macs and cited the problems in Windows. The FOSS community has been promoting GNU/Linux as an alternative to Windows for a long time now. This is common sense stuff that I shouldn't have to find a news media source on, because the news media doesn't cover that sort of stuff. Most busine…

    How can I cite thoughts in people's heads?
    Their opinions on why they switched?

Post by easong » Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 3:37 AM UTC

orionblastar wrote: post #39

rasz_pl wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft already kinda went open source, unintentionally :) http://www.opennt.net/ interesting thread documenting start of OpenNT project http://www.betaarchive.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=33250 from broken code base that would not compile to booting ~Windows 2003 compiled from source.

Avast gives me a Win32Evo Trojan warning when downloading NT 4.5 binary or ISO images. Is it a false positive or did they accidentally introduce a Trojan into the code? Anyway Avast won't let me download NT 4.5 due to a Trojan warning. So I can't test it out unless I disabled my AV. Edit: Why the downvote, scan it with Avast yourself if you don't believe me. I refuse to use it unless it is verified to not have a Troj…

Post by ferrari8608 » Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 3:43 AM UTC

dustinupdyke wrote: post #51

A serious question: When will we see a truly new OS built from the ground up? If there is a space where there seems to be little innovation it is in the space of new OS paradigms. Flavors of Windows or Linux - are there really any commercially ready alternatives today or in the very near future?

Post by mindo » Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 3:48 AM UTC

broodbucket wrote: post #10

suprjami wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've thought this as well. I agree there's value in aiming too-high, but the amount of effort which has gone into ReactOS would have served Wine really well.

There's a ton of shared code between Wine and ReactOS. They are rather complementary.

Post by beagle3 » Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 4:01 AM UTC

recursive wrote: post #36

SwellJoe wrote: post #31

I've always been strangely fascinated by this project. I don't understand it. I appreciate the technical skill involved, and the amount of effort expended. But, I can't imagine working on it. From my perspective, Windows is an inferior system to any UNIX-based system on almost every front. It has a very strong application ecosystem, but technically it's unpleasant to work on (for me). So, given that, if there's somet…

Some people (like me) have invested a lot of effort learning how to use Windows. Some of those aren't particularly interested in technical superiority. The just want to use a computer in the sufficiently good way that they already know. Personally, I find Linux difficult to approach, because of the overhead involved in just getting back to my current level of proficiency. If I needed to learn it for a job, I would. I…