http://www.osnews.com/story/15921/SkyOS_Gets_Printing_Support Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2009, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:38:07 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif http://www.osnews.com http://osnews.com/thread?164275 http://osnews.com/thread?164275 Make use of FOSS software to improve their proprietary software without voluntarily releasing any modified software/feedback.Edited 2006-09-21 15:40 Thu, 21 Sep 2006 15:31:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (champ) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164281 http://osnews.com/thread?164281 Did you actually confirm that Robert isn't realeasing the modified CUPS source code, or are you just jumping to conclusions? Thu, 21 Sep 2006 15:49:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (adamk) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164283 http://osnews.com/thread?164283 Awesome, I see you've already downloaded the next build and saw that. Are you sure he just hasn't written a wrapper for his part and left CUPS alone? Then his wrapper is a seperate work and doesn't have to be released under the GNU General Public License. Thu, 21 Sep 2006 15:51:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sardonic) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164287 http://osnews.com/thread?164287 Yes, I know. If you "pay" for SkyOS Beta CDROM. It will include all source code for all third-party open source applications.

http://www.techimo.com/articles/i148.htmlEdited 2006-09-21 15:58 Thu, 21 Sep 2006 15:55:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (champ) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164303 http://osnews.com/thread?164303 He is a jerk so i don't use skyos and anyways its UI sucks Thu, 21 Sep 2006 16:35:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (CuriosityKills) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164309 http://osnews.com/thread?164309 Yes, I know. If you "pay" for SkyOS Beta CDROM. It will include all source code for all third-party open source applications.


....which is all the license requires. Nowhere does it state that the src must be supplied to anyone and everyone for free over the internet. Thu, 21 Sep 2006 16:45:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (anevilyak) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164320 http://osnews.com/thread?164320 Then someone can take those sources and redistribute them. The GPL isn't rocket science. Robert is only required to provide the modified code in machine readable form upon request and if you request, he will give them to you. Thu, 21 Sep 2006 17:05:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (zizban) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164344 http://osnews.com/thread?164344 What exactly is SkyOS? How is it different from Windows and Unix? What problem are they trying to solve? Why should I care? Thu, 21 Sep 2006 17:47:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Don T. Bothers) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164364 http://osnews.com/thread?164364 I haven't been able to figure that one out yet.

Substantially different threading model?
Broad compatibility across platforms?
System architecture based on reusable components?
APIs that are a programmer's wet dream?

I don't mean to dump on SkyOS, but at this point if I have to pay for an OS that doesn't have a piece of fruit or a 4-color window on it, there'd damn well better be a really fascinating reason to do so, and an OS which just yesterday stapled someone else's printing architecture into it isn't convincing.

"Different" != special. Thu, 21 Sep 2006 18:28:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (snozzberry) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164365 http://osnews.com/thread?164365 "How is it different from Windows and Unix?"

It supports less hardware for one Thu, 21 Sep 2006 18:29:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Isolationist) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164394 http://osnews.com/thread?164394 Every so often this exact comment recurs. Which is just puzzling, considering you're at a *swear* OS News site.

What exactly is SkyOS?

Googling would probably give you a quicker and more succinct answer than waiting for people such as myself to answer you.

How is it different from Windows and Unix?

The above reply could apply here too, but an easy answer is, it's just not Windows or Unix.

What problem are they trying to solve?

Running software on a computing device ?

Why should I care?

I'll point you back to the top of my comment, you're reading an OS News site. If you don't care about OSes, what the hell are you doing here ?
Why you were given + points, I couldn't guess.Edited 2006-09-21 19:57 Thu, 21 Sep 2006 19:54:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Beta) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164400 http://osnews.com/thread?164400 SkyOS started in the mid 1990's as a hobbyist operating system. Today, while maintaining it's hobbyist roots, it has grown into a full blown commercial endeavor.
When compared to *nix/Windows/BSD/Whatever it isn't much different, in the sense that it is an operating system built to run on the x86 architecture. However, from the file system up to the GUI layer, it is unique; even though it does resemble other operating systems in structure.
Since it is, at heart, a hobby operating system the only problem being solved is simply getting the system to work, even though this task has been accomplished before; and likely will be accomplished again in the future.
Finally, as to why you should care, SkyOS, is your peaceful future operating system. Well aside from that, there is the unique features (OS-Based gestures for example) of the operating system and the ease of which you can talk to the developer.

Edit: spelling.Edited 2006-09-21 20:07 Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:05:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (GregV) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164415 http://osnews.com/thread?164415 I think his point is directed more at the fact that they're actually selling it with its rather limited featureset. Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:54:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (bytecoder) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164418 http://osnews.com/thread?164418 >I think his point is directed more at the fact that they're actually selling it with its rather limited featureset.

MS sold DOS, and SkyOS is cheaper and more featureful. Thu, 21 Sep 2006 21:01:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mallard) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164419 http://osnews.com/thread?164419 It's more of a pre-order of the full featureset, with the added benefit of being able to participate in the "closed" beta program. Thu, 21 Sep 2006 21:04:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (JustinF) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164425 http://osnews.com/thread?164425 DOS was featureful compared to the OSes, or lack thereof, on old mainframes from the 50s and 60s. Thu, 21 Sep 2006 21:22:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (bytecoder) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164449 http://osnews.com/thread?164449 Make use of FOSS software to improve their proprietary software without voluntarily releasing any modified software/feedback.

Have you ever asked for the sources?

most packages are currently made with a primitive portage like application which patches and builds apps from source so all necessary patches are included with the skyos CD which is all GPL asks (as long as these applications or libs are not linked to closed source stuff)

If you want them I can just give them to you so no big deal...

if bugs are found during porting, they are reported.

about the driver issue, from looking at the initial ddk and some linux drivers, it seems to me that the skyoskernel-driver interface is much more consistent. Thu, 21 Sep 2006 22:40:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Darkness) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164453 http://osnews.com/thread?164453 sardonic... that approach isn't legal. The wrapper itself would become GPL and through that everything linking against the wrapper. Thu, 21 Sep 2006 22:43:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (dylansmrjones) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164454 http://osnews.com/thread?164454 Robert don't have to release the sourcecode to anybody but those who have legal access to SkyOS. Thu, 21 Sep 2006 22:44:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (dylansmrjones) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164456 http://osnews.com/thread?164456 What about the modulariry of SkyOS (the same modularity can be found in Haiku/BeOS, Syllable and the Amigaish platforms - and OS/2) ? Thu, 21 Sep 2006 22:46:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (dylansmrjones) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164457 http://osnews.com/thread?164457 Yup. And SkyOS is more featureful than those AND msdos combined Thu, 21 Sep 2006 22:48:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (dylansmrjones) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164474 http://osnews.com/thread?164474 And yet it's less featurefull than even some of the lesser used alternative OSes, e.g. FreeBSD (not saying it's bad, just saying not as many people use it as linux). Thu, 21 Sep 2006 23:13:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (bytecoder) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164483 http://osnews.com/thread?164483 """DOS was featureful compared to the OSes, or lack thereof, on old mainframes from the 50s and 60s."""

IBM was shipping VM in 1966. Don't let the green screens fool you. It was the UI that was primitive in the 60's. Not the mainframe OS technologies.

In some ways, like virtualization, PC's running "modern" OSes are just catching up.

With Multics, in the event that a memory cabinet needed to be serviced, processes using memory in it could be migrated to another memory cabinet, so that the first could be taken off line. Can you yank a stick of memory out of your PC in 2006 without crashing your OS?Edited 2006-09-21 23:39 Thu, 21 Sep 2006 23:32:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sbergman27) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164493 http://osnews.com/thread?164493 Well, what I was trying to reference were the very early computers without an OS, e.g. think punchcards. Of course, I'm assuming those have no OS--I wasn't around at the time, so I'm just guessing. Thu, 21 Sep 2006 23:48:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (bytecoder) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164505 http://osnews.com/thread?164505 """e.g. think punchcards."""

You make me feel very old.

I remember clearly back in college, standing in line to hand the sysop the stack of cards I'd keyed in on the keypunch, so that they could be put in the queue to be fed into the System/360. At the end of the "turnaround time" I would get back a printout of my program's output. (Syntax error!!! Dang!!!!)

Turn around times varied from 10 minutes to 3 hours or so, depending on the volume of students submitting, and how much time the sysop spent chatting, studying for exams, or having one or more of the several lunches they seemed to have per afternoon.

The windows were small and mirrored (and locked!) so that it was extremely difficult to make out what was going on in there.

But I digress.

I assure you that our System/360 was running OS/360. ;-)Edited 2006-09-22 00:25 Fri, 22 Sep 2006 00:23:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sbergman27) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164565 http://osnews.com/thread?164565 Well, I believe FreeBSD has more users than SkyOS

I don't consider FreeBSD as an alternative OS, in the meaning "obscure".

The *BSD's are great OS'es with full functionality. Fri, 22 Sep 2006 06:22:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (dylansmrjones) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164781 http://osnews.com/thread?164781 I was just watching the SkyOS presentation videos...I wish my Linux was like that! The index feeder thingie seems to work like a charm, it's pretty, well-thought..Basically, sweet =) Gotta try it sometime! Fri, 22 Sep 2006 16:13:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (WereCatf) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?164869 http://osnews.com/thread?164869 Well, I believe FreeBSD has more users than SkyOS

I know, that was the point. Fri, 22 Sep 2006 20:52:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (bytecoder) Comments