ReactOS 0.3.5 alpha the “Windows like” OS
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I remember when the ReactOS first started a number of years ago. The mission was to take a RedHat distribution and modify it to run, at the time, NT specific applications and devices. They are still in the alpha stages but I find it very interesting that this project still exist.
ReactOS® is an advanced free open source operating system providing a ground-up implementation of a Microsoft Windows® XP compatible operating system. ReactOS aims to achieve complete binary compatibility with both applications and device drivers meant for NT and XP operating systems, by using a similar architecture and providing a complete and equivalent public interface.
When GNU Linux started GNU software was a collection of programs that were coded in C and based on “like” programs found in UNIX and early systems. When the Linux kernel was release the two merged to form a complete OS. GNU provided the programs and Linux provided the software to manage and communicate with the hardware. It was a perfect fit.
Windows on the other hand is a very different system. Almost 100% gui driven and propriety. UNIX was considered “open architecture” which basically meant you could see what the code was doing but anything like it or could be interpreted as like it was illegal due to copyrights. Window’s is closed architecture and with all the attorneys on retainer in the early days if they even thought you were a threat you could find your self in a lawsuit.
So I find it very interesting that this project has lasted this log and that they have achieved so much. If your a Linux hobbyist you might want to pull down the latest alpha copy for a trial. Think about it some day we might have a stable working “Windows(r) like OS” I wonder how many would leave MS for an Open Source version. Would it be the same numbers or users that left UNIX for Linux? I don’t know but its fun to think about.
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