If Windows and Linux had a love child it would be:

April 19, 2007 by aaron

Winux? No, React OS.

ReactOS is a free and open-sourced operating system based on the Windows architecture, providing support for existing applications and drivers, and an alternative to the current dominant consumer operating system. ReactOS is a replacement for Windows users.

The raison-d’etre of ReactOS is the simple fact that some people, or especially companies, will -never- switch to Linux. No matter how much Linux gets better, or is better, it is not an option for them…With ReactOS, all those worries vanish. -reactos.org

Focus at present is on developing ReactOS to a stage where it is capable of running most Windows drivers and applications “out of the box . Once the compatibility level has been reached, we may even choose to improve ReactOS beyond its Windows roots. -reactos.org

As you can see it has a distinctly Windows 98 look about it while retaining a sprinkling of the display features that makes Linux superior.

Desktop screenshot.

So rather than creating another flavor of Linux, they are attempting to create a bridge from Windows to Linux, and suggest that they have succeeded when “in its final version, [ReactOS can be] secretly install[ed] on a grandmother’s computer, and she [doesn’t] notice the change.” I’ll definetely be keeping an eye on it.

ReactOS is still in the Alpha stages, so it isn’t exactly ready for primetime, but check it out for yourself: ReactOS

Hat tip:tuxenclave

Categorized as:
comments powered by Disqus