Haiku Could Change the World
Linked by Razvan T. Coloja on Mon 3rd Jan 2011 23:30 UTC
BeOS & Derivatives To understand what the BeOS and Haiku operating systems are, we first must remember that BeOS was developed with the multimedia user in mind. BeOS wanted to be what OS X has become today: an easy to use, attractive operating system. However, BeOS was a niche OS, destined for the media-hungry user. The percentage of audio and video applications available for Haiku is greater than the one in Linux, OS X or Windows, and the inner workings of the operating system were created in such a way, that the same multimedia passionate would find it easy to work with the user interface and files. Each application can interfere with other applications of its kind. A WAVE file selection can be dragged from a sound editor and onto the desktop, to create an audio file. Audio applications can interfere with each other via the Haiku Media Kit -- the corespondent of a Linux sound server. Applications like Cortex are a perfect example of how BeOS and Haiku deal with multimedia files: you can have more than one soundcard and use each one of those soundcards independently or separately. You can link one soundcard to the Audio Mixer, start a drum machine application and link that software to the Audio Mixer. If you want to output whatever you create with the audio application, all you have to do is drag the microphone and link it to the application's icon in Cortex.
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RE: The horse is dead
by Thom_Holwerda on Tue 4th Jan 2011 19:04 UTC in reply to "The horse is dead"
Thom_Holwerda
Member since:
2005-06-29

X) No multi-user


When was the last time you actually USED this on your desktop box?

At least here in The Netherlands, we stopped using multiple logins like ages ago - when people need their own account at home (where Haiku is targeted at), they generally get their own computer. I'd hazard a guess that 95% of home computers sold last year have only ONE user account - that of the owner.

X) No real existing application base


Chicken/egg. Not Haiku's failing.

X) The OS is barely used on the desktop


Chicken/egg. Not Haiku's failing.

let alone the fact that there this thing is not running on any mobile platform in any capacity


Nor is Windows NT.

X) It has no server functionality


And?

X) Its limited to the Desktop only currently


And?

Reply Parent Score: 2

RE[2]: The horse is dead
by Bit_Rapist on Tue 4th Jan 2011 19:53 in reply to "RE: The horse is dead"
Bit_Rapist Member since:
2005-11-13

When was the last time you actually USED this on your desktop box?


This morning actually, but I wasn't thinking 'home use' when I raised this complaint, but use within a business context.

Chicken/egg. Not Haiku's failing.


It may not be Haiku's failing but how is this OS going to 'change the world' when it brings nothing ground breaking to the table vs. what is already there?

At least with a heavily used existing application base it would have some existing value and it could be argued that a foundation exists which it worth extending.

Nor is Windows NT.


To a degree yes it is, MS is at least attempting to position Windows 7 as a tablet OS and is working to provide options for developers when it comes to moving applications to the Phone platform.

You also have Windows Embedded which may show up in various devices in the near future.

Not that I think MS is going to survive the mobile explosion or really take us anywhere in the future. They have proven that they don't 'get' where computing is going quite well at this point.

X) It has no server functionality


And?


The world is moving to 'the cloud' (*yeah I hate the buzzword too*) and mobile computing.

Haiku has no server presence, it provides no application hosting abilities on the internet.

It has almost zero vendor support for any commercial software.

It is not running on any mobile devices.

This OS is going to change the world!??!?

Beyond a few 'cool' design ideas under the hood it has nothing going for it as a mainstream OS let alone a game changer!

That Netherlands bud you are toking sounds like it may change the world more than Haiku ever will! Ship me some of that sh*t!!!

Reply Parent Score: 2

RE[2]: The horse is dead
by toast88 on Tue 4th Jan 2011 21:39 in reply to "RE: The horse is dead"
toast88 Member since:
2009-09-23

"X) No multi-user


When was the last time you actually USED this on your desktop box? "

I use that _all_ the time. The argument "I don't use it, so it isn't useful to anyone." was NEVER a valid argument!

A operating system which doesn't support multi-user in 2010 is useless. Period.

"X) No real existing application base


Chicken/egg. Not Haiku's failing. "
Agreed. But when you're talking about changing the world you should somehow also be able to attract developers.

"X) The OS is barely used on the desktop


Chicken/egg. Not Haiku's failing. "
Well, it currently lacks a lot of essential features and hardware support. So, yes, it's Haiku's problem!

"let alone the fact that there this thing is not running on any mobile platform in any capacity


Nor is Windows NT. "
So are Linux and MacOS!

"X) It has no server functionality


And? "
Nothing "and". Any modern operating system nowadays has server capabilities. Again, the argument "I don't use it so the rest of the world won't need it either" is not a valid argument. That's just stupid. Don't tell other people what they need and should do.

"X) Its limited to the Desktop only currently


And? "
Which reduces the possible user base and, thus, reduces the amount of applications developed for it.

Seriously. I see that Haiku is really a nice project and I actually already knew BeOS from release 3.1 (I once ordered a LiveCD from Be back in 1998 to test it). But it lacks so many essential features and applications that it won't be any serious competitor in near future.

All these claims that it's so superior when it comes to multimedia over Linux, MacOS and Windows might have been true for 1998, but not for 2010. Seriously.

Adrian

Reply Parent Score: 2

RE[3]: The horse is dead
by Thom_Holwerda on Tue 4th Jan 2011 21:47 in reply to "RE[2]: The horse is dead"
Thom_Holwerda Member since:
2005-06-29

I use that _all_ the time.


Humour me. In what way?

The argument "I don't use it, so it isn't useful to anyone." was NEVER a valid argument!


The argument "I use it, so it is useful to everyone" was NEVER a valid argument!

operating system which doesn't support multi-user in 2010 is useless. Period.


Yet another person who parrots the party line without actually providing any reasoning as to WHY this is supposedly the case. I used to be in your camp, but over the years, my position has shifted. Nobody truly USES multiuser on their machines, since at least where I live, if you're old enough to need your own computer, you just GET YOUR OWN COMPUTER. This is further validated by Microsoft's data (still looking for that damn link).

As computers are moving towards unique devices, instead of shared ones, the additional overhead and complexity multiuser adds becomes a burden, not a necessity or even a blessing. Security can be achieved in other, less intrusive and less taxing ways.

Reply Parent Score: 3

RE[2]: The horse is dead
by zlynx on Wed 5th Jan 2011 16:14 in reply to "RE: The horse is dead"
zlynx Member since:
2005-07-20

"X) No multi-user


When was the last time you actually USED this on your desktop box?
"

The recent Christmas holiday when my brother was home. He didn't have a desktop machine so he used mine. I didn't want him to have access to all my stuff so he has his own account.

Any of my friends that visit have their own accounts.

I don't mind letting friends and family use my computer but I don't want them to use my SSH access, update my Facebook profile or send out email under my name.

Yes, I think some of my friends might do that as a joke. I'd think it was pretty funny to do it to them.

Therefore, I am very careful with my destop and laptop where I have email and web passwords stored and SSH agents running.

Edited 2011-01-05 16:15 UTC

Reply Parent Score: 2