Submitted by SkyOS Beta build 6753
has been released. The installation procedure is now provided through a Live CD session thanks to BranchFS. This build includes the new C++ API, which makes development much easier. It also comes with three new services (PowerMonitor, SpellChecker and Registrar) and support for 45 more ATA/SATA chipsets. It also offers initial support for GNU classpath, Kaffe and Wine.
SkyOS Beta Build-6753 Available
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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You did a great job !
Once again… ^_^
1) The Live CD public (free to download) demo release is currently unscheduled.
2) We’ll be releasing more often from now on, once a fortnight.
3) Initial support means that e.g. Wine still needs a Wine/SkyGI backend, but you can run commandline applications already.
4) No, it’s closed source, no, it’s not another linux distro, it’s written from scratch, and no, we’re not violating the GPL.
Congrats to Robert and the people on the Alpha Team (struggled through ~17 alpha builds to get to this point).
Edited to add third and fourth point.
Edited 2007-06-21 21:39
And by sweet, I mean totally awesome.
I’m going to go get my copy now!
EDIT: Twice a month? I thought asking for regular seasonal updates (every 3 months) would be asking for a lot. @_@
Edited 2007-06-21 22:00
This is a landmark release for sure, downloading at the moment, can’t wait to try, well done to robert and the alpha team!
great news. i am wondering why, now that java is open source, not simply port over java (not simple i know)?
is there a licence conflict or something?
They are working on basic OS functionality still, I think. Then they can start porting over third-party software.
And ‘simply’ port over Java? It’s much to big for ‘simply’… many of the biggest ports, unfortunately, may have to wait until after SkyOS goes commercial.
“(not simple i know)”
I guess you missed that part then
I’m happy no one have come and said that Linux is better, open-source is better, blablabla….
Robert is having fun with this endeavor, this is the most important thing. And SkyOS turns out to be taking shape pretty nicely. I’m all for diversity on the OS ecosystem. Go SkyOS! 🙂
Then let me be the first to say that Linux is better and so is open source. Since Linux is open source, it will always get more attention from programmers, than any proprietery software. Everyone will have the opportunity to work on and learn from it. You can always fork it and roll your own if you don’t like the way the project is going. We schould also learn from the prominent example proprietary software has taught us. Why can’t I run photoshop on linux/beos/your favorite os. Why do I have to run a buggy os( http://it.slashdot.org/it/07/06/22/139247.shtml ) to run my games. This problem would not be an issue if either windows or photoshop were open source. Since I am a programmer, i could contribute and port photoshop or create a windows layer and run it on top of any os I choose. Why do I have to let some CEO shove down my throat a new os, that I dont’t need, jut to use newer software (DX10), it feels like a lock-in to me. I dont’t mind paying for software, but I am also spoiled by open source and expect the source code with the product I buy.
To sky os authors: Today are not 90’s and software ecology has changed very much. How are you supposed to compete against software that is free, has more features and is more advanced than yours. Even if you port open source application, why should people run the same applications on skyos opposed for example linux/bsd/windows. SkyOS is not as well designed as haiku or as innovative as plan-9, so the great question is: why bother?
Edited 2007-06-22 15:59
It seems all the downloads have taken down the server, because now I can’t get to the bug tracker.
That’s called being “osnews’d”
Call me old fashioned, but I preferred it when it was called “slashdotted” regardless if it had anything to do with slashdot or not. Now we have “dugg” and woe-betide “reddited” and “farked” >.O
Don’t forget “wanged” (penny arcade)
But yeah, slashdotted is the classic
The webiste is currently unavailable.
I wanted to download the ISO so I could test it out in VMware Fusion. Oh well…
A SpellCheck server! Love to see one in Haiku.
Presently in BeOS I use:
ASpell for text files,
GoBe Productive for formal documents,
FireFox for web-based forums,
and they all have their separate user dictionaries! Add in the spelling dictionary in /boot/beos/etc/word_dictionary and I have four spelling dictionaries that are not in sync.
The robster has done it again!
Yeah, Robert is one *GREAT* developer. Does he sleep???!
for the test team of SkyOS.
It may be a buzz about a step forward for SkyOS, but people outside of their “Beta Center” have nothing to with this information I am afraid.
I fail to see how the title is misleading.
The beta centre is open for anyone to join (albiet for a small one off fee to non-developers).
It’s for a certain team only (whatever the way is to become a member of the team), it’s not available for everyone. That’s a small difference, but still is difference.
But it’s still available. Misleading you would be to say it’s available to you when it wasn’t. You completely missed my point when I said /ANYONE/ can become a member of thier team. It only costs $30 and the fee even entitles you too the full final product when it’s realsed.
It really isn’t any different to articles about Haiku being available or even article announcing Windows Service packs when not everybody has Windows installed to download the service pack on.
Sorry, Laurence, I really did not want to go into this kind of word-by-word thing. All I said is that it was not mentioned that the access was limited, so one could think (just like I did) that it was available for him/her, but it was not. (Anyway, unfortunetaly, 30$ is not something that means nothing for everyone, PayPal is not available everywhere, etc.).
At last it was misleading for me for a minute before I realised what the situation was.
But really, you are also right, it’s published, so it’s available for everyone fitting for the requirements.
But appending a few words (like “for the beta testers”) to the title costs nothing and it would be more clear.
Sorry for going in to this little thing so deep.
Since when does “Available” equal “Available for free”?
Modded up for informative, and most replies modded down for ‘spam or advertisements’ because I too happily clicked the link thinking I’d finally be able to see what the fuss was about only to discover there was no link for (non Beta Center people who have prepaid for the privilege) to try out the system.
I will keep modding those types of comments as spam or advertisements until there is a beta to try that doesn’t require me to fork out cash to do free Quality Assurance work.
–bornagainpenguin (tired of the ads)
How is a SkyOS news any different from a Windows news?
Only the number of users is different, but that doesn’t change the fact they you also have to pay for Windows, and if you don’t, the Windows news is just as irrelevant as the SkyOS news.
If you think the SkyOS news is irrelevant, because you don’t have SkyOS, then why do you read it anyway?
As long as you also mod down anyone who says “Vista is now available” or “Leopard is now available” as an ad, OK.
I usually do!
–bornagainpenguin
You still can see what all the fuss is about. You just need to paypal in a pittance.
“pittance”
You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.
Face it, not everyone on this site has thirty dollars to blow on software that may or may not ever see public release. To some of us the “pittance” of thirty dollars is our entire week’s spendable income–and we tend to find somewhat more important things to do with it…like say eating?
Just because we don’t have thirty dollars to toss away at the feet of the vaporware* programmer of the month doesn’t make us less geeky, or less interested in Alternate OSes. It just makes us a little more cagey about where our money goes. Given recent events (Zeta anyone?) I’d think more people would have developed an appreciation for such caution…
–bornagainpenguin
*It’s been HOW long exactly since this OS went version 5.0 Beta without a public release? Umm… yeah, vaporware seems to fit…
Face it, not everyone on this site has thirty dollars to blow on software that may or may not ever see public release. To some of us the “pittance” of thirty dollars is our entire week’s spendable income–and we tend to find somewhat more important things to do with it…like say eating?
If you only have $30 a week in income, that’s not even $1600 a year. Naturally, at that level, you couldn’t afford SkyOS.
And if your budget doesn’t set aside the cost of food as untouchable… *shakes head*
It’s been HOW long exactly since this OS went version 5.0 Beta without a public release? Umm… yeah, vaporware seems to fit…
I think by ‘public’ you mean ‘free’. I’ve spent my $30 and it’s running on my machine now. Heck, if I could get some closed-source alternatives to the open-source shovelware on the retail version (things like Firefox, GRUB, CUPS, et al), I could probably switch to it as my main OS.
As soon as it gets to that point, I’ll be switching over for a 30-day marathon to see if I can do everything I want to do in it. And I’ll write up the results here.
looking forward to trying this one out when the public livecd is released.
about the new c++ api, I remember looking over the c based api long time ago and it reminded me alot of win32 and I was wondering if the new c++ api is more or less c++ wrappers for the c api or if the actual functionality has been rewritten in c++?
also, for OS testing purposes I use an old 1.333ghz with 512mb ram, I recall reading that SkyOS required alot of ram in order to function, is this still the case?
The new C++ API is not a wrapper but a complete new object orientated implementation of the GUI. (Similar to QT from the developers point of view).
For system functions like Desktop Communication, Device Access, Network, etc. it uses the same native libraries as the old API did.
Edited 2007-06-22 16:48
How about the swap? Is it implemented yet? If not, will it be soon?
Edited 2007-06-22 16:56
512MB is more than adequate.
Due to the LiveCD system you need at least around 300MB.
The new C++ api has been rewritten for the biggest part. Some parts are based on old code. You can check out the new api here and see for yourself if it resembles anything: http://www.skyos.org/documents/skygi/html/classes.html
At least not very win32 like since it is object oriented now.
New SkyOS release. I’ll give it a try next week. Still busy with some school stuffs this weekend. So, next week I’ll upgrade my SkyOS to the new version, and test some stuffs out. Good work Robert
Looking good. Excellent progress indeed
I just hope they change that god awful ‘skin’ before final release. It’s so depressing.
Know what’s funny about that? That skin was the winner of a contest held right here on OSNews. It sure looked good then but hasn’t aged very well.
Is there a JMicron support for SkyOS?
Consider this.
Amiga Inc. is a company with millions of dollars to spend (like $10M for getting their name on that one stadium) with many people in their employ.
SkyOS is run by essentially a two-man operation, which has not had even $50,000 total in revenues (I think there have been a total of 1600 purchases at $30 each).
Now how is it that SkyOS has beaten Amiga Inc. to market?
@Almafeta
SkyOS is beta software (imo, more like pre-alpha), and still can’t even run on the most basic of hardware.
Edited 2007-06-30 21:41