Two new releases for the two of the three “really” alternative operating systems. SkyOS now includes some basic debugging capabilities, while the beta version of MenuetOS now has more appearence options. Expect soon a comparison/review article of the “big three” of the really alternative hobby OS scene: AtheOS, SkyOS and MenuetOS.
New Versions for SkyOS and MenuetOS
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
can’t wait for the review/comparison.. i have yet to try either of these OS’
there is another OS called chaos, what about it??? how come it is not getting any coverage??
MenuetOS is 100% assembly i think, what about the rest??? i bet they are all in C right???
Do these OSes contain groundbreaking development platforms? What is the draw to use them? I understand that most “alternative” OSes have specific purposes and/or are targetted at developers, but it seems to me the only development you might do on these OSes is for the OS itself. I definitely respect anyone who, for the sake of experience, wants to write an OS, but what do these OSes offer other than fragmenting a already minority community?
Hobby OSes is not about making a community or developing a user base.
It is about knowledge.
So, your question “Worth it?”
The answer is a big YES. It worths the knowledge the developers gain.
These “minority” OSes are never targetting users. Plain users should be using Unix, BeOS, Windows or MacOS. These OSes are just a playground for developers.
Please do not mix or confuse the issues here.
Understandably some people see criticism towards hobbyist-tyoe OS’s but in a sense just because they were only designed for the designers interest. That doesn’t mean that they can’t eventually get a userbase. Linux started out as just a project for it’s creator. Most hobbyist OS’s quietly die, but one or two might have some future beyond the enjoyment of their creators. Most people writing OS’s write them for the intellectual discovery and nothing more.
Eugenia, this question/answer comes up on a very regular basis here at OS News, and I understand the idea of value to their creators. I’m not asking do they have ANY value, clearly they do. I’m asking what they do DIFFERENTLY. I’d like to read an article – one I’m not able to write myself – on what makes SkyOS special. What does MinuetOS offer that makes it’s creators even keep developing it other than for the sake of completion?
I think “Hobbiest OSes” are great, but if I had the skill to write one, I’d be making damn sure everything I did was intentional and trying to avoid known issues that rest at the foundation of existing OSes.
Comment was not a criticism at all, just a question of overall merit…
Can’t wait for your comparison! I have tried all of the 3 myself, however I somehow “stuck” with AtheOS.
Interessting OS, nice community, what more can one ask for?
@Adam:
Worth it? Definetly! I’m using AtheOS for further developing my C++ skills. Sure, I could do this with any other OS, but AtheOS is still “basic” so it’s not bloated and it has a nice API.
http://select.riscos.com/
Hasn’t development stopped on that?
These OS’s don’t have to be differant. If your just trying to learn how an OS works or trying to do it for fun and whatnot theres no reason to be differant. Infact doing it the same as another OS could be helpful in that you can see if how you did it is right, as in you don’t know how the OS your mimicing works so your guessing and seeing if you get it right. Not saying don’t be differant, but for many being differant may make learning more stressful.
I think the idea that such things fragment a developer community, or pull people from other projects is off base. The people who write these may very well being doing this as their first and only project, they had nothing to do with other projects. Maybe after playing with their own works they might join other projects and bring their own unique experiance. Or maybe they want nothing to do with orther OS’s or projects. Also I don’t think there is a developer community. The world is just a bunch of people doing there own thing and sometimes get together on things. There is no community to fragment.
AtheOS is a very impressive OS all round.
SkyOS has had some impressive progress made.
Menuet is distinctly unimpressive: a lot of people writing a lot of nice assembly demos, but not what I’d call a real OS.
OK, but what is new in this release of MenuetOS? I can’t find a “news” link on their page, neither do they have a changelog or anything.
Menuet seems like a promising project. The only worth my time, anyway.
They have the changelog in the download page.