ReactOS just released version 0.3.0 RC3 of their Windows compatible operating system. Their code audit is now 94.3% complete. You can get it from their download page.
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Member since:2006-04-21
Maybe I just took it the wrong way. To be clear, I have no problem with an Open Source Windows OS; in fact, despite my doubts about the quality of the platform, if an alternative Windows-like OS liberates us from Microsoft, (a company I consider to be only one or two steps away from the lowest of the low), then, whether open- or legal, closed-source, I welcome that alternative.
Edited 2006-08-21 21:03
Member since:2006-05-29
Member since:2006-01-16
Nobody is going to liberate us from Microsoft. They are so entrenched there is just no way they are going away. Look at IBM, it was "The Evil Empire" once, MS pulled some of its teeth but couldn't kill it.
What interests me more is what niche will Reactos use to get into the enterprise? With Linux it was LAMP and similar web server setups. My best guess is file server of some sort.
Member since:2006-08-02
we also work with WINE very closely and share a lot of the same code base
That was in the past. WINE is now staying clear of ReactOS, not even accepting patches ported from it. ReactOS's collaboration with the tinykrnl project has ruined its reputation.
From the wine mailing lists, taken from http://wiki.jswindle.com/index.php/Coding_Hints :
A developer wrote: This patch bases on reactos [xxxxx].dll.
A. Juliard [Jun 06]: No ReactOS-derived code will be accepted in Wine at this point.
M. McCormack[Jun 06]: [...] This is not simply a problem of what is legal and not in different countries. We don't want to be associated project that is perceived to be pushing the edge of what's legally (or even socially) acceptable. Doing so would encourage FUD about Wine and that's a good way to lose developers and users. [...] Using test cases to determine the behaviour of Windows provides a way to verify both the code that's written today, and code that will be written a year later. It's not just legally better, it's easier to do, easier for others to understand, and gives us a way to verify our code.
Member since:2006-01-27
Member since:2006-07-26
Member since:
2006-01-27
We actually use a lot of code that we ported from Linux(usb driver, crt stuff) and we also work with WINE very closely and share a lot of the same code base. We arent saying Windows is better then Linux. We are just saying that we want to make a free operating system which runs Windows programs.