8 replies to this topic

[Miles]

Hello,
A few years ago, I heard of an OS in development called ReactOS, designed to be compatible with windows programs. I didn't notice it again until a few months ago, when I downloaded an ISO of it and gave it a try. It didn't work with all windows programs I tried on it, but most worked. Many will wonder why this should be used rather than simply using WINE. Well, Linux was designed to be a clone of UNIX originally, and as such, is not designed to work with windows programs. ReactOS was actually programmed from the core to be compatible, and does take use of some WINE DLLs and codes. The OS is very small, a RARred live CD ISO is only 26MB to download. I suggest several people give this alternative OS a try, it's not done yet, but already quite impressive!

[xboxrulz]

I've tried to use ReactOS but it's still too unstable to run outside a virtual machine environment. ReactOS can become a viable open source Windows compatible operating system. The only problem is that it also doesn't have enough software compatibility with Windows software.

xboxrulz

[Atomic0]

ReactOS is currently still in beta and isn't fully ready for mainstream deployment as a distribution / operating system. In terms of its ability to run Windows applications and programs, it is not compatible with all programs, making it not that useful at the current time.

[cursosdeinglesml]

I think this: if you are going to emulate a whole operational system like windows, ehy not just using it? i mean, there is no point in it. I think that a great project is WINE. I use it a lot, and there is a point in using WINE. I mean, some softwares don't have Linux alternatives, or they are not as good as Windows ones.

But, a fully emulated system???

[wutske]

I think this: if you are going to emulate a whole operational system like windows, ehy not just using it? i mean, there is no point in it. I think that a great project is WINE. I use it a lot, and there is a point in using WINE. I mean, some softwares don't have Linux alternatives, or they are not as good as Windows ones.

But, a fully emulated system???

Because not every program works in Wine, there are still a lot more advanced programs to won't work because they need some things wine can't give them.

[laniczech]

ive been searching for an os that does all i want... doesnt exist im sure but ill give this a try i like to try new things... who knows what one might achieve with opensource

[kpxchunsa]

I've tried it and it is very unstable and not compatible with most of the Windows programs I tried, I guess it's still in development though so I should probably wait.
The idea of an "open source windows" does sound promising.

[wutske]

Tried it myself, it's indeed very unstable and development seems stalled a bit. I don't have high hopes for this project, it took decennia and millions of manhours to develop the OSes like they are now (Vista, MacOS X and Linux 2.9) ... I don't think a small open source OS like reactos has a chance to become stable and fully operation .

[Wiizzard]

It will be everytime a bit behind. So I think it isn't so good. A good point is that you can run it on ARM or PPC. On these plattforms MS Windows can't run.