Open-Source Windows: ReactOS 0.4.5 Now Available

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Open-Source Windows: ReactOS 0.4.5 Now Available

The newest version of ReactOS is now available, the open-source operating system seeking binary compatibility with Windows...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=ReactOS-0.4.5-Released

[lunarcloud]

is it WannaCry compatible?

I feel like that was written in jest, but I'm actually very curious how susceptible this is to the various malware. I find Wine to be more compatible with old Windows applications that Windows 10 is, but I don't worry about viruses, because I only use Wine for one or two games / programs ever and hosing a Wine setup isn't a big deal.

But this is running it *as* your OS, and hosing it is a bit bigger of a deal.

[Min1123]

Um, it doesn't appear to actually be available. All of the files on that SF page are missing, and their homepage hasn't been updated. Even the RC1 that was in the directory seems to be missing now, and there have been downloads of it. Maybe they pulled the release?

[droidhacker]

Ok, so I would kind of understand something like this 20 years ago, but for TODAY...... WHY?

[TheOne]

Ok, so I would kind of understand something like this 20 years ago, but for TODAY...... WHY?

They have been developing it for almost 20 years, that should explain it to you.

[microcode]

Cool! ReactOS is a very compelling way to run certain kinds of windows application, and clearly there are people who need that.

[Min1123]

Ok, so I would kind of understand something like this 20 years ago, but for TODAY...... WHY?

So, let's say that in 1996 a company made a piece of software that targets a specific niche industry. They made it using https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FoxPro or something similar. They went out of business, let's say 3 years after that, but the entire industry revolves around this software still.

They need to run Windows, and they need it to be stable, and they need it to support some ancient stuff, but they've upgraded their computers several times due to failing miserable old hardware (e-Machines or somesuch).

They need to force this old stuff to play nice with Windows 10. They can't retrain their employees to use non-Windows, so attempting to do Linux/BSD + WINE is a no-go. This would let them use the software without licensing to MS and without trying to use XP/2000 with no security patches.

Niche case. Alternatively you could spin up lots of VMs with no MS licenses, or you could play games/programs that no longer work well with modern Windows.

[waxhead]

As Windows gets stupider, slower, invasive, less confgurable ReactOS is needed more than ever. Not just for people like me who like to pop it in a VM and do certain tasks, but eventually also as a decent replacement for Windows itself. In my oppinion the last good move Microsoft did was Windows XP (excluding that stupid theme crap) and it has gone downhill ever since (especially regarding performance). There is a ton of software for Windows and a free replacement for WinXP and/or Win7 is very welcome. ReactOS needs to be a bit more reliable for bad shutdowns etc, but except from that it is a good start. Let's just hope it will catch up a bit.

[commodore256]

Ok, so I would kind of understand something like this 20 years ago, but for TODAY...... WHY?

Ok, even if your logic is "Using Windows XP whenever the hell ReactOS hits 1.0 will be like using DOS is now", that's still a valid reason for ReactOS Development because there are people that spent $50,000 for a Vinyl Printer than never had NT 6.x Drivers (Vista or later) and they need a Windows XP compatible implementation of WDM. The same thing happened with DOS, there are industrial CNC Machines that run DOS to this day. That legacy support can also benefit Gamers, there are Games you can download from Steam made between 2001 and 2005 that don't have all of their features working with NT 6.x like EAX.

Now, here's a stretch for ReactOS: It can evolve! If they hit 1.0 with XP Compatibility and just as stable ore more so than XP was, they can add more features, they could aim for Windows 8.1 features while having the Win 7 UI and have it's own open source drivers that's also compatible with windows or they could spin off into their own thing and be a Server OS. As Linux users, we forget how secure NT was designed. Sure there's wannacry, but Linux has exploits too like using 6502 ASM to gain root access to a Linux Machine. But, there permission systems in NT is actually better than Linux because you can't login as the most powerful user in NT without jumping through hoops.

I feel ReactOS is the next GNU Project. GNU was a clone of UNIX V, but UNIX X was the last version of UNIX. ReactOS is GNU Technology

[nomadewolf]

Ok, so I would kind of understand something like this 20 years ago, but for TODAY...... WHY?

Today is even more justified!
As M$ further invades our privacy by collecting more and more data automatically and without our consent.
As M$ further pushes their own store and apps to get more more and more info on us.

An open source alternative could mean alot and is very relevant IMO...