Haiku OS Continues Work On 64-bit Support, Software Updater

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Haiku OS Continues Work On 64-bit Support, Software Updater

Fans of the BeOS-inspired Haiku operating system will see a lot of work going into the open-source OS over the summer...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Haiku-OS-July-2017

[ElectricPrism]

Wouldn't it have just been easier to figure out how to acquire BeOS and just open source it?

I mean -- as IP it's making them $0, wouldn't they benefit from more than $0 by purchasing the IP?

If equivalent amount of time in money was spent, how much would have been saved / lost? It seems like it would have been easier, cheaper, and taken much less time to just try hard to get the IP. I've been following HaikuOS for at least a decade loosly and I'm not exactly sure what benefits, use cases or draws it might have to anyone or any use case.

By all means fill me in.

[cb88]

Wouldn't it have just been easier to figure out how to acquire BeOS and just open source it?

I mean -- as IP it's making them $0, wouldn't they benefit from more than $0 by purchasing the IP?

If equivalent amount of time in money was spent, how much would have been saved / lost? It seems like it would have been easier, cheaper, and taken much less time to just try hard to get the IP. I've been following HaikuOS for at least a decade loosly and I'm not exactly sure what benefits, use cases or draws it might have to anyone or any use case.

By all means fill me in.

Well that didn't happen 10+ years ago so..that point has become irrelevant now that Haiku has far more features than even BeOS had. Granted there are a few rough edges but it is a much more modern OS currently than BeOS was. It is on the verge of receiving hardware acceleration support ( looks like that GSoC project has stalled, but work has been progressing in that direction for years now).

That said... BeOS is a crufty GCC 2.9x based codebase... Haiku is a codebase that compiles on GCC 4.x- at least 5.x while still supporting the GCC 2.9x compiler for backwards compatibility in short the code is well maintained.

Honestly it all comes down to donations of free time is what got us the Haiku we have... and none of the interested parties had the millions to buy BeOS source when that would have been a relevant thing to do.

There are acutally alot of super cool features in Haiku now that BeOS lacked... a fleshed out layout system in the GUI, stack and tile window management, improvements to the media layers, a modern networking API, a functional package management system and build system for supporting libraries and applications, full 64bit and PAE support on 32bit systems, budding support for alternate architectures... the list goes on.

[timofonic]

Well that didn't happen 10+ years ago so..that point has become irrelevant now that Haiku has far more features than even BeOS had. Granted there are a few rough edges but it is a much more modern OS currently than BeOS was. It is on the verge of receiving hardware acceleration support ( looks like that GSoC project has stalled, but work has been progressing in that direction for years now).

That said... BeOS is a crufty GCC 2.9x based codebase... Haiku is a codebase that compiles on GCC 4.x- at least 5.x while still supporting the GCC 2.9x compiler for backwards compatibility in short the code is well maintained.

Honestly it all comes down to donations of free time is what got us the Haiku we have... and none of the interested parties had the millions to buy BeOS source when that would have been a relevant thing to do.

There are acutally alot of super cool features in Haiku now that BeOS lacked... a fleshed out layout system in the GUI, stack and tile window management, improvements to the media layers, a modern networking API, a functional package management system and build system for supporting libraries and applications, full 64bit and PAE support on 32bit systems, budding support for alternate architectures... the list goes on.

GCC5? No GCC7? :O

They need feature parity with other systems and that is gonna be REALLY HARD. They need KILLER APPS, not just a modern BeOS...

But I understand it's extremely difficult to achieve...

[89c51]

The UI looks like something from 1995. Haiku needs work in that area.

[mulenmar]

They need KILLER APPS, not just a modern BeOS...

Most useful programs on non-phone platforms are free software, or have free software alternatives that provide most of the average-user-needed functionality, and can be ported over with relative ease, given POSIX compatibility. They may not be as efficient as a completely-native-protocol reimplementation, but they work. The age of "killer apps", while not over, is approaching a mid-life crisis.

Unless you're asking for robots running HaikuOS and have self-directing assassination programs, in which case your definition of "killer app" is disturbingly literal. :P

[starshipeleven]

Wouldn't it have just been easier to figure out how to acquire BeOS and just open source it?

I mean -- as IP it's making them $0, wouldn't they benefit from more than $0 by purchasing the IP?

Many IPs are kept in a box on a dusty shelf to avoid potential competition somewhere, somehow, or to pull out in case a legal battle ensues over something else. It's not easy to say what is an IP's value even if it isn't currently used to generate revenue.

[torsionbar28]

Most useful programs on non-phone platforms are free software, or have free software alternatives that provide most of the average-user-needed functionality, and can be ported over with relative ease, given POSIX compatibility. They may not be as efficient as a completely-native-protocol reimplementation, but they work. The age of "killer apps", while not over, is approaching a mid-life crisis.

As a general term, killer apps is dead. As you said, free software makes up the bulk of what average users expect. Most everything else is web-based nowadays. The only two things that still fit the "killer apps" moniker are Microsoft Office for business peecees, or AAA games for the gamer crowd. That's about it. And I don't think anyone exploring Haiku is looking for either of those.

[timofonic]

Most useful programs on non-phone platforms are free software, or have free software alternatives that provide most of the average-user-needed functionality, and can be ported over with relative ease, given POSIX compatibility. They may not be as efficient as a completely-native-protocol reimplementation, but they work. The age of "killer apps", while not over, is approaching a mid-life crisis.

Unless you're asking for robots running HaikuOS and have self-directing assassination programs, in which case your definition of "killer app" is disturbingly literal. :P

Oh. Has you been reading my mind? What about targeting those from PalmOS and then the Japanese ones? I have a big list, let's make the "Haiku-Killer: A poem of DEATH"

I consider there's a long road in certain FOSS software to get really useful in certain types: CAE, CAD and other advanced engineering stuff. GIMP needs more work, more up-to-date plugins and a really (improved and) updated PSPI. And there's not a really competitive non-linear video editor, just failed attempts. LibreOffice needs lots more effort, specially in Microsoft Office format compatibility (I know it's a never ending task, but it's the only way to survive... I had to use Office to open certain files didn't get properly showed in LO ) and full RTCE support (like Office 2016 already has...). Wine needs lots of work in having a lot more software compatibility, plus DirectX11 and DirectX12 support. My list could be very long, but I'm tired right now.

I support Free Software, but I think there's a lot more to do. And there always will be a lot more to do. Live free or die