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ReactOS 0.3.16 released
- yangyang 13y agoI just downloaded and installed in a virtualbox VM. It feels ridiculously snappy compared to windows. Runs Firefox with the odd crash. Impressive to see how far it has come but there is still some way to go.
- Touche 13y agoLast time I tried it it ran an old version of Firefox (version 3.something) but if you downloaded Firefox stable it would not even install. I think having a working web browser should be the most important point of the project. Overall I'm a supporter of the idea.
- yangyang 13y agoYou can install Firefox 26 from the ReactOS Applications Manager. It crashed on first startup but has worked since then for me.
- webjprgm 13y agoA working web browser is hardly that important. If you just want web you can use any OS, like Linux or ChromeOS. If you want IE 6 for a legacy application that's a different matter. The browser is just another test case to see if Windows apps will/won't run. The killer feature is the ability to run legacy Windows apps that are not easily replaced on other platforms.
- andrewflnr 13y agoIf you're using ReactOS, you don't "just" want web, but you probably also want web. So yes, a browser is important.
- pizza234 13y agoI love the idea of ReactOS, but my guess is that, in the current conditions, either it will get nowhere, or it will take an extremely long time to get anywhere significant (that is, not a niche product). I've followed all the newsletters and it feels like the development it's always a somewhat working rewrite on top of a somewhat working rewrite on top of a somewhat working rewrite. The way to go, while it appears small, it's the last 10% which is a 200% in practice. It's pretty clear from the development that is's an excessively large project for a small, changing, group of hobby developers. Obviously, I hope things will change. I'd really like a free Windows XP in virtual environments.
- vxNsr 13y agoI bet in about 10 years Microsoft will release XP as a free product, without support, kinda like what adobe did with cs2
- zokier 13y ago> I'd really like a free Windows XP in virtual environments. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Virtual_PC#Windows_XP_Mode http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Virtual_PC#Windows_XP_M... "Windows XP Mode is available free of charge to users of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate"
- pizza234 13y agoI understand this "offer" from Microsoft, or maybe "strategy", but that's not a replacement for an ideally stable ReactOS. As somebody else pointed out, security is a primary concern. Once Windows XP support is phased out, the product is gone. Installing it is going to be a serious security risk, unless very specific cases, e.g. machines disconnected from internet. Of course, that's not the only reason; Microsoft will stop selling licenses, then what about installing it in VMs on a Linux host? An O/S is part of an ecosystem. Once it's phased out, if it's closed source, it's dead unless it's taken over by a third party (see O/S 2).
- frik 13y agoOffice 2003 works now too: http://www.reactos.org/node/771 http://www.reactos.org/node/771 Some screenshots of ReactOS: http://www.reactos.org/screenshots http://www.reactos.org/screenshots and http://old.reactos.org/en/screenshots.html http://old.reactos.org/en/screenshots.html
- BrainInAJar 13y agoIt's too bad all the screenshots are of open-source windows ports of stuff, and stuff that's otherwise going to be really well-behaved (ie, not use secret API's)
- doughj3 13y agoNotepad++ isn't a windows port, and is in fact so dependent on Windows APIs that there is no Linux version of it.
- frik 13y agoCheck out the second link, and scroll down. A lot of proprietary Win32 application work just fine. From 3D games like Unreal Tournament to Adobe Photoshop, Screensavers, XEmacs... like in Wine plus apps like CD burning apps and similar that require NT drivers. As driver support is still an issue on desktop Linux (3D graphics, HD audio, proprietary hardware cards, etc), ReactOS has a great advantage over *nix operating systems.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- troymc 13y agoThey're also doing a kickstarter for Thorium Core: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thorium/thorium-core-cloud-desktop https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thorium/thorium-core-cl... "Thorium Core is an attempt to build a commercial operating system and cloud services platform, based on ReactOS, which is an Open Source implementation of the NT architecture seen in modern versions of Windows."
- twocows 13y agoI really like the idea of ReactOS in concept, so I'd pitch in if their Kickstarter wasn't so blatantly what I didn't want. Cloud services? Come on.
- km3k 13y agoSame here. I can't get behind that cloud services idea. If they really wanted to just improve ReactOS and do something like was done with Mesa/OpenGL ( http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-improve-opengl-support-for-the-linux-graphics-drivers http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-improve-opengl-suppor... ), I'd be happy to pitch in.
- slacka 13y agoNothing is stopping anyone from only supporting the core ReactOS project. They take bitcoins, paypal, and wire transfers. http://www.reactos.org/donations http://www.reactos.org/donations
- omh 13y agoI can see a possible market here, competing with Microsoft's licensing for cloud/virtual desktops. MS licensing is at best confusing, and in some cases quite horribly expensive. And obviously keeping the software open source but charging for cloud services is a relatively straightforward way to monetise free software. If a non-cloud version comes out as a side effect then that's good for everyone.
- webjprgm 13y agoSo ... is this like Citrix + Windows? Replacing licensing costs of both Windows and Citrix would be a huge cost savings. It also would allow unlimited users. It says Thorium Core is a commercialization. But ReactOS is open source. So is the cloud services part going to be proprietary? (Thus foiling my idea of a free Citrix replacement.)
- gum_ina_package 13y agoThese guys have been working at this for almost a decade (maybe longer), and they finally got Office 2003 to work... year of the linux desktop cometh! Guys, let's be honest here, even the "disastrous" Windows 8 in all of it's horror has sold more copies than OS X has since the very first OS X shipped. ReactOS isn't going to make any meaningful impact on the average computer user's life.
- avis 13y agoIs Alex still heading reactos?
- userulluipeste 13y agoIf by Alex you mean Alexey, then yes!
- codeflo 13y agoIf ReactOS were "ready" right now (i.e., could run 99% of all Windows 7 software unmodified), with all the bad press that Windows 8 gets, it might even have a chance to steal some market share. However, I don't think they can catch up before Microsoft manages to release another "good" version of Windows, and then the game of catch-up will start again. I hope I'm wrong. I'd really like to see this succeed.
- jjindev 13y agoIf you believe in technological plateaus ... it's possible that ReactOS has all the time in the world.
- riffraff 13y agoweren't they targeting winxp? I think windows 7 would require a lot more work.
- mkingston 13y agohttp://www.reactos.org/about-reactos http://www.reactos.org/about-reactos "Free and Open Source replacement for the Microsoft Windows NT® family [...] with its latest iteration being Windows 8"
- copx 13y agoIf ReactOS every became a thing (i.e. more than a hobby exercise) Microsoft would sue them off the planet. I am sure Microsoft has countless patents covering Windows technology.
- hansi23 13y agoThey got a 50 btc donation in december. ;)
- cookiecaper 13y agoYep. Microsoft allows WINE and ReactOS to proceed unchallenged because they're aware of the Streisand Effect. If it ever became a legitimate threat to Windows' dominance, they'd be lawyered out of existence lickety-split.
- coreymgilmore 13y agoVery cool project. You see new Linux distros but this if the first I've heard of someone "forking" off of a Windows system. Potential in the Windows 8 world -> very high.
- ahomescu1 13y agoIt's not really a fork in the development sense (they didn't start from Windows code, they completely rewrote it), unless I'm missing something and they did fork GPL/BSD code. They are sharing a lot of libraries with Wine though.
- ComputerGuru 13y agoA review I wrote back in 2006 of ReactOS: https://neosmart.net/blog/2006/reactos-the-next-windows/ https://neosmart.net/blog/2006/reactos-the-next-windows/ The roadmap has changed considerably since then, esp. as there were several major setbacks and snafus pertaining to the legal status of some reverse engineered components. However, neither the appeal nor the readiness of the OS have really evolved much since then.
- ChikkaChiChi 13y agoThis has always been an admirable project; I just fear that the world has moved on. A competitive kernel alternative to Windows seemed like a necessity 6 years ago. Today, everyone I know who would be interested in ReactOS is OS agnostic and can exist without any one operating system in particular.
- graylights 13y agoI disagree, the future of windows is why ReactOS is important. For the same reason DosBox is important, to run legacy apps. 10 years from now, how are you going to run those XP apps that aren't compatible with even windows 7, let alone three more cycles of ugprades.
- TillE 13y agoThat's what Wine is for; ReactOS borrows a ton of their code. I do wish there were more progress with Wine on Windows for 16-bit apps at least. Wine can't run Windows device drivers, but that's a pretty narrow use case.
- sdegutis 13y agoI've been very interested in ReactOS for several years now, as I've wanted to replace WindowsXP on my desktop with something more open and extensible. Unfortunately, I have since upgraded to Windows Vista, Windows 7, and now Windows 8. So I am not sure that ReactOS is going to be a viable option for me anymore. But now I think that I am not in the target audience of ReactOS at all. But rather, it is intended for businesses which for some reason are stuck using WindowsXP but would like to switch to an open alternative that is still being patched with security updates regularly. This is a reasonable and generous plan, and I applaud the ReactOS team for their work towards this effort.
- tokiwarthoot 13y agoFor the people that said things like "I'd pitch in if their Kickstarter wasn't so blatantly what I didn't want. Cloud services? Come on" "I can't get behind that cloud services idea." You guys have a really short vision. The idea of thorium is 2 things: -Making cloud services applications is really not difficult at all. The thing you need is a working os with working network services. The idea is that Thorium would help ReactOS mature as 90% of the hard work, would benefit ReactOS also. -If Thorium becomes reality, the ReactOS people could start providing cloud services. This means steady income. If thorium were to get big enough, they could conceivably keep on going without even needing donations. Thorium is an excellent idea. Thorium is what ReactOS needs. If the kickstarter gets funded, apparently it won't which is a shame, but if it does, those 120k are easily converted into 240k in some months, by selling cloud services to more people. Look a little farther than your noses.