Linked by Eli Gottlieb on Wed 28th Dec 2005 13:29 UTC
Right now the situation for developers of minor operating systems seems somewhat bleak. Windows and the Unixes compete in the server world, and Windows and MacOS X compete on the desktop. Linux even gets ported to every embedded device, leaving few niches for the hobbyist or sidelined operating system developer. Some have even gone so far as to say that New Operating Systems Won't Stand a Chance. As anyone who reads OSNews can tell you, however there are a wealth of new systems with new ideas that just aren't taking off. Given all these new ideas some - like capability security from EROS for example - should be good enough to catch on, so why aren't they?
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Member since:
2005-07-06
It would be delusional to think that any new OS is the next windows. The people that are going to try a new OS are the ones that like to tinker. If a person could start up a new OS with Linux/Windows level hardware compatibility, it should be easy to get a few hundred or even a few thousand (if the OS is really good) people to form a community for it. That's plenty to keep an OS going.
I think most people that are developing new OSes aren't doing it to take over the OS market. I think they're doing it because it's fun and interesting and they want an OS that has the features they want.
The best OSes are written by those that write code because they love it. If you're writing an OS to make money, you'll end up like windows. An OK, well marketed, not-very-innovative OS that's just good enough to keep its market share. Where's the fun in that?