Airyx OS

#1

Post by todsacerdoti » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 1:11 AM UTC

Airyx OS
airyx.org

Re: Airyx OS

#2

Post by azinman2 » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 1:45 AM UTC

It’s hard to tell how far they’re at. No screenshots? No progress bar?

Re: Airyx OS

#3

Post by andrewmcwatters » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 1:47 AM UTC

Cool! Screenshots?

Re: Airyx OS

#4

Post by 3np » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 1:47 AM UTC

More information and motivation in the git repo[0], the link to which I didn't spot easily in the site header.

The main design goals are:

* source compatibility with macOS applications (i.e. you could compile a Mac application on Airyx and run it)

* similar GUI metaphors and familiar UX (file manager, application launcher, top menu bar that reflects the open application, etc)

* compatible with macOS filesystems (HFS+ and APFS) and folder layouts (/Library, /System, /Users, /Volumes, etc)

* self-contained applications in folders or a single file and a (mostly) installer-less experience for /Applications

* mostly maintain compatibility with the FreeBSD base system and X11 - a standard Unix environment under the hood

* compatible with Linux binaries via FreeBSD's Linux support

* eventual compatibility with x86-64 macOS binaries (Mach-O) and libraries

* pleasant to use, secure, stable, and performant

[0] https://github.com/mszoek/airyx

Re: Airyx OS

#5

Post by shortformblog » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 1:56 AM UTC

Airyx’s developer may want to say hello to the developers of Hello, who are doing something very complementary to this with UX—and are quite far along already. https://hellosystem.github.io/docs/

Re: Airyx OS

#6

Post by Drybones » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 2:00 AM UTC

This looks super cool. Reminds me of GoboLinux a bit but with BSD and the goal of being an open Mac environment. This has my interest cause I'm looking into trying to do something similar but using Linux instead (mainly because of hardware and graphics support) but without the goal of being Mac compatible.

I downloaded the preview ISO. I looks a lot like another BSD project I know that aimed to be an open BSD based Mac desktop. IDK if they renamed the project or if this is the same project I was thinking of.

Screenshots from the Live CD: https://imgur.com/a/q3hp0np

Re: Airyx OS

#7

Post by Drybones » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 2:03 AM UTC

Drybones wrote: post #6

This looks super cool. Reminds me of GoboLinux a bit but with BSD and the goal of being an open Mac environment. This has my interest cause I'm looking into trying to do something similar but using Linux instead (mainly because of hardware and graphics support) but without the goal of being Mac compatible. I downloaded the preview ISO. I looks a lot like another BSD project I know that aimed to be an open BSD based M…

Hello is the BSD Desktop project I was thinking of, someone mentioned it in a reply in this thread [0]. Also a very cool project.

0: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28068864

Re: Airyx OS

#8

Post by shortformblog » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 2:17 AM UTC

Drybones wrote: post #7

Drybones wrote: post #6

This looks super cool. Reminds me of GoboLinux a bit but with BSD and the goal of being an open Mac environment. This has my interest cause I'm looking into trying to do something similar but using Linux instead (mainly because of hardware and graphics support) but without the goal of being Mac compatible. I downloaded the preview ISO. I looks a lot like another BSD project I know that aimed to be an open BSD based M…

Hello is the BSD Desktop project I was thinking of, someone mentioned it in a reply in this thread [0]. Also a very cool project. 0: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28068864

Agreed; and to be clear, it’s great if both evolve separately. Building MacOS analogues is a great goal for BSD-based projects, especially given all the old machines that could use them, and I think will attract new folks to that community.

Re: Airyx OS

#9

Post by vzaliva » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 2:19 AM UTC

Projects like these will be always one step behind the thing they are trying to replicate (MacOS in this case). It is better to spend one's creative energy innovating and coming up with better solutions rather than re-implementing what Apple is doing.

Re: Airyx OS

#10

Post by shortformblog » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 2:24 AM UTC

vzaliva wrote: post #9

Projects like these will be always one step behind the thing they are trying to replicate (MacOS in this case). It is better to spend one's creative energy innovating and coming up with better solutions rather than re-implementing what Apple is doing.

Given that there’s 20 years of “behind,” and many of those machines are no longer getting updates, what’s the harm? The dev learns something and the community gains knowledge from the project.

I was once critical of ReactOS for similar reasons, but I’ve realized just how beneficial that project has been to OSS as a whole. Even if they fail they will uncover a lot of interesting stuff if the project continues long-term.