The latest ReactOS Newsletter is out. "I've been assured by our release engineer that there are only 2 blocking issues left and that [0.3.1] will be released soon. That said, a kind user compiled the 0.3.1 branch and provided the isos for public trials here. I spoke with our project leader about future releases and he went on to say that future releases (0.3.x) will be made every month or 2."
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Member since:2005-07-06
Yeah, Linus, leave that Minix alone! What a waste!
But seriously, I don't think of ReactOS as a Windows clone. I think of it as a Windows-like OS, just like BSD and Linux are Unix-like OS's. When all is said and done, I believe ReactOS will have areas where it is better than Windows.
All I know is that as a Windows-trained developer and an FOSS advocate, I look forward to a solid ReactOS. I can then use my Windows developer skills with a Free development environment (E.g., DevC++) to create true FOSS software that runs on a Windows-like OS that is also Free.
By the way, Minix 3 rocks!
Member since:2007-01-29
obviously you have no clue and/or are just phishing for flames.
They are not reverse engineering the main parts. They are reimplementing it API compatible. I.e. they look at available documentation for the interfaces and build something that behaves exactly like the original _on the surface_. Show me your speed in creating a new Operating System, hot d00d..
and fyi they are aiming at the Win2K3 kernel which is considered a stable target for years because it means compatibility with XP/Wihsta.
And if MS really could clean room anything they should have done it when there was time. They are pretty fscked right now with nothing competable to Linux/BSD/MacOsX. Vista sux and I bet they know it, they have created it. Look on youtube for Vista BSODing if you dare, same sh1t all over again.
Screw that guys, I'm staying FOSS.
Member since:
2007-02-22
Although it's interesting to see someone follow the Windows style of design instead of just making another *nix-like, you have to call into doubt anyone who would just reverse-engineer someone else's work instead of creating something new from scratch. And reverse-engineering binaries, instead of creating anew from defined goals, by necessity creates code that is bulkier than it needs to be, imperfectly understood, and harder to modify.
And this shows in the ReactOS team's speed.
By the time the ReactOS team is done reverse-engineering Windows 95 (wait -- Windows NT! No wait -- Windows XP!), Microsoft and others will have come out with entire operating systems. Heck, Microsoft could "clean-room" (to use the ReactOS team's euphemism) any Linux distro into a closed-source Linux distro in about two months, as a lark, and still have multiple scratch-built and updated OSs done by the time ReactOS finishes.