4 ms·

Here's hoping Haiku gets more momentum. BeOS was a little less UNIX-like, I think.

BirAdam 4y ago
However, Haiku is gaining a ton of GNU/Linux software. It becomes less interesting to me when people are just porting the same junk to it. Serenity is far more interesting.
- d_tr 4y ago
  Serenity is still a very Unix-like OS though.
  - BirAdam 4y ago
    It is, but it doesn’t use any of the existing open source software, which makes it fun, different, and interesting. Heck, just having a non-blink/non-webkit/non-goanna/non-gecko browser is cool.
    - d_tr 4y ago
      Agreed.
    - actuallyalys 4y ago
      Their ports system (which they didn't invent, of course) offers a pretty nice compromise of continuing their "everything from scratch" ethos while letting people have fun porting. And who knows, maybe the ports will allow it to be a practical OS someday.
- nomdep 4y ago
  I think Haiku biggest mistake was to try to be a regular desktop OS instead of focusing on a specific hardware like RaspberryPi.
  - jackvalentine 4y ago
    In their defence they’ve been at it since 2002 before any of those fun little pieces of hardware existed.
    - rcarmo 4y ago
      Well, they were also quite hostile to the idea of targeting the Pi. I remember being involved in a forum discussion where it was dissed as a toy, another around ARM never being a relevant platform, and another about the Broadcom bits being proprietary. To this day, Haiku has been dragging its feet on the Pi (and yes, I know it’s a community effort, that it requires sponsorship, suitable volunteers, etc. - I’m just pointing out that they dropped the ball in even acknowledging the need for a port).
      - jackvalentine 4y ago
        ‘Need’ is a big word to use for something voluntary.
- anthk 4y ago
  Most of the Linux crap it's QT based, which looks good enough in any OS. For the rest there are some interesting native tools such as video editors. But Haiku needs 3 things to get more real life use cases: - GL/Vulkan for older Intel (both old and new) - Async USB - UVC webcams
wsc981 4y ago
I kinda feel a modern System 7 [0] like OS could be neat. But with a terminal included. It was kinda easy to get your head around the OS just navigating through the system folder. The UI was also more consistent than anything we have these days. ——— [0]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_7 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_7
- jsrcout 4y ago
  System 7 was so awesome. I was still developing Macintosh GUI software when it came out. It was great to use, and visually pleasing. And as you say, the user interface was consistent, also discoverable, and things did what you expected. Attributes I miss as GUI software inexorably moves into the browser.
  - ralphc 4y ago
    I have some PPC macs that have OS 9 on them, I love the UI. I look for excuses to use them whenever I can.
- guenthert 4y ago
  Not sure if that's old people painting the past rose, but System 7 was not awesome. Cooperative scheduling and lack of memory protection were anachronisms already in 1991. I think we're talking about different things here. The UI might have been superior in MacOS, but the technical foundations of Unix clearly were. Something OSX tried to (belatedly) reconcile. Nothing stops you from adding an awesome UI on top of Linux (although I'd say UI will always be a matter of personal taste and prior experience).

However, Haiku is gaining a ton of GNU/Linux software. It becomes less interesting to me when people are just porting the same junk to it. Serenity is far more interesting.

d_tr 4y ago
Serenity is still a very Unix-like OS though.
- BirAdam 4y ago
  It is, but it doesn’t use any of the existing open source software, which makes it fun, different, and interesting. Heck, just having a non-blink/non-webkit/non-goanna/non-gecko browser is cool.
  - d_tr 4y ago
    Agreed.
  - actuallyalys 4y ago
    Their ports system (which they didn't invent, of course) offers a pretty nice compromise of continuing their "everything from scratch" ethos while letting people have fun porting. And who knows, maybe the ports will allow it to be a practical OS someday.
nomdep 4y ago
I think Haiku biggest mistake was to try to be a regular desktop OS instead of focusing on a specific hardware like RaspberryPi.
- jackvalentine 4y ago
  In their defence they’ve been at it since 2002 before any of those fun little pieces of hardware existed.
  - rcarmo 4y ago
    Well, they were also quite hostile to the idea of targeting the Pi. I remember being involved in a forum discussion where it was dissed as a toy, another around ARM never being a relevant platform, and another about the Broadcom bits being proprietary. To this day, Haiku has been dragging its feet on the Pi (and yes, I know it’s a community effort, that it requires sponsorship, suitable volunteers, etc. - I’m just pointing out that they dropped the ball in even acknowledging the need for a port).
    - jackvalentine 4y ago
      ‘Need’ is a big word to use for something voluntary.
anthk 4y ago
Most of the Linux crap it's QT based, which looks good enough in any OS. For the rest there are some interesting native tools such as video editors. But Haiku needs 3 things to get more real life use cases: - GL/Vulkan for older Intel (both old and new) - Async USB - UVC webcams

wsc981 4y ago

I kinda feel a modern System 7 [0] like OS could be neat. But with a terminal included. It was kinda easy to get your head around the OS just navigating through the system folder. The UI was also more consistent than anything we have these days. ——— [0]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_7 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_7

jsrcout 4y ago
System 7 was so awesome. I was still developing Macintosh GUI software when it came out. It was great to use, and visually pleasing. And as you say, the user interface was consistent, also discoverable, and things did what you expected. Attributes I miss as GUI software inexorably moves into the browser.
- ralphc 4y ago
  I have some PPC macs that have OS 9 on them, I love the UI. I look for excuses to use them whenever I can.
guenthert 4y ago
Not sure if that's old people painting the past rose, but System 7 was not awesome. Cooperative scheduling and lack of memory protection were anachronisms already in 1991. I think we're talking about different things here. The UI might have been superior in MacOS, but the technical foundations of Unix clearly were. Something OSX tried to (belatedly) reconcile. Nothing stops you from adding an awesome UI on top of Linux (although I'd say UI will always be a matter of personal taste and prior experience).