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ReactOS Updates

reactos.org

31–40 of 142 posts

Re: ReactOS Updates

#31
post #9

A bit off topic, but I'm glade to see a project like this running there own instance of matrix instead of the usual centralized/proprietary/censurable solutions.

On the contrary, I'm sad to see them moving towards "slack clone" solutions rather than sticking with simple chat, a la IRC. I don't think adding stickers and emoticons to a conversation makes it any better.

Re: ReactOS Updates

#32
post #24

ReacOS is a testament to how solid were Windows 2000/XP's UI for everyday tasks. I wouldn't mind being back in a Windows env/shop with ReactOS.

It's a real shame that Microsoft has seen fit to try to hide the ability to use the classic theme in Windows 8/10. There are ways to enable it again, but they tend to break on every update... The classic Windows 2000 theme has just the perfect balance of looking good, being totally usable, and not being overtly flashy.

The classic theme doesn't use DWM sadly (at least it didn't in Windows 7, I assume it still true in 10). So it doesn't just change appearance but also how it performs: DWM offloads compositing from the CPU to the GPU.

Re: ReactOS Updates

#33
post #9

A bit off topic, but I'm glade to see a project like this running there own instance of matrix instead of the usual centralized/proprietary/censurable solutions.

On the contrary, I'm sad to see them moving towards "slack clone" solutions rather than sticking with simple chat, a la IRC. I don't think adding stickers and emoticons to a conversation makes it any better.

Emoticons absolutely make it better, just by saving chat traffic for simple acknowledgements. Emoticons are also used as a simple way to poll, which is very useful.

Re: ReactOS Updates

#34
post #28

From Wikipedia [1]: > ReactOS is a free and open-source operating system for amd64/i686 personal computers intended to be binary-compatible with computer programs and device drivers made for Windows Server 2003 and later versions of Windows. ReactOS has been noted as a potential open-source drop-in replacement for Windows and for its information on undocumented Windows APIs. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReactOS

Lofty goals.

Re: ReactOS Updates

#35
post #24

ReacOS is a testament to how solid were Windows 2000/XP's UI for everyday tasks. I wouldn't mind being back in a Windows env/shop with ReactOS.

It's a real shame that Microsoft has seen fit to try to hide the ability to use the classic theme in Windows 8/10. There are ways to enable it again, but they tend to break on every update... The classic Windows 2000 theme has just the perfect balance of looking good, being totally usable, and not being overtly flashy.

Maybe I'm a minority here, but I already used an alternative color scheme with beige backgrounds and dark red title bars (I think it was called "Brick") on Windows 95 because the various shades of grey looked too dreary for my taste. So I was happy to see that Windows XP kept the beige background and never looked back. Plus, under Windows XP an application that popped up with the "classic" styling was a red flag indicating that the developers didn't know how (or didn't care) to include a manifest file/resource to activate the "XP-style" controls...

Re: ReactOS Updates

#36

When I followed this link via Chrome, a tool tip popped out of my address bar ("Did you mean reactjs.org?" with some warning about attackers using deceptive URLs). I wonder if there's a way to whitelist URLs with Google to prevent users from seeing this message. Especially since I believe ReactOS has been around long before ReactJS

> Especially since I believe ReactOS has been around long before ReactJS

More than 3 times longer. ReactOS was started in the 90s (in fact I might have even used ReactOS before I first used Linux. There certainly isn't much between it). Whereas React.js was started in 2013 (ref: Wikipedia).

Re: ReactOS Updates

#37

When I followed this link via Chrome, a tool tip popped out of my address bar ("Did you mean reactjs.org?" with some warning about attackers using deceptive URLs). I wonder if there's a way to whitelist URLs with Google to prevent users from seeing this message. Especially since I believe ReactOS has been around long before ReactJS

Chrome user here - I didn't get any notifications or popups like that. Do you have a third-party Chrome extension installed? I know a lot of AV vendors love to auto-install their own cyber-security browser extensions that report stuff like that, so it could be that?

No*, but I visit reactjs.org regularly, so this could also be due to Google tracking me. In full disclosure, I clicked the article thinking it was about ReactJS. I've never used ReactOS, though I've been aware of the project (and visited their webpage) before ReactJS was even a thing.

Edit: This could very easily be from AdBlock Plus as well, but the tooltip was under the address bar (and it doesn't reappear when I visit reactos.org)

Edit2: I got this when navigating to https://goggle.com also (that's goGGle, not google). Turned off Lastpass and Adblock Plus to confirm it wasn't from them.

Re: ReactOS Updates

#38
post #25

There was some Quora answer according to which ReactOS is derived from an proprietary MS research code. Doesn't it mean it would have legal issues if ever they decide to use it in anything close to real scenario? Edit: reference to the question https://www.quora.com/What-do-you-think-about-ReactOS?share=...

This is false. There was an issue when there was a leak of windows source code to the internet, and ReactOS effectively had to shut down development for months while all code was audited to make sure no helpful folks had used any of it to 'help' the project. That's the only MS IP controversy they've been involved in (and I've been watching the project for waaaay too many years now) (That issue answer reads like someo…

The specific issue is;:

> Many internal data structures and internal functions, not exported anywhere and not part of the public symbols, have the exact same names as they appear in the Research Kernel (which, by the way, is quite obsolete). There is an almost surely zero probability that this happened, at that scale, by accident.

Unfortunately I don’t think anyone who doesn’t have access to the research kernel is capable of answering.

Re: ReactOS Updates

#39
post #28

From Wikipedia [1]: > ReactOS is a free and open-source operating system for amd64/i686 personal computers intended to be binary-compatible with computer programs and device drivers made for Windows Server 2003 and later versions of Windows. ReactOS has been noted as a potential open-source drop-in replacement for Windows and for its information on undocumented Windows APIs. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReactOS

Lofty goals.

Indeed but it does provide direct value to the open source community even when it fails in the more ambitious end goal. For example the ReactOS and WINE devs do collaborate a fair amount.

I've also read that a fair number of ReactOS developers have been recruited by Microsoft over the years. So even if the project itself never reaches feature parity, it's still a strong advert to put on ones CV.

Re: ReactOS Updates

#40
post #25

There was some Quora answer according to which ReactOS is derived from an proprietary MS research code. Doesn't it mean it would have legal issues if ever they decide to use it in anything close to real scenario? Edit: reference to the question https://www.quora.com/What-do-you-think-about-ReactOS?share=...

This is false. There was an issue when there was a leak of windows source code to the internet, and ReactOS effectively had to shut down development for months while all code was audited to make sure no helpful folks had used any of it to 'help' the project. That's the only MS IP controversy they've been involved in (and I've been watching the project for waaaay too many years now) (That issue answer reads like someo…

The guy seems to point to the reasons for his opinion, that's why I'm asking. I'm not so invested to check symbol names in the reactos repo vs the leaked code.
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