Serious Discussion ReactOS 0.4.14 released - The Open-Source Windows Clone

[BoraMurdar]

Imagine running your favorite Windows applications and drivers in an open-source environment you can trust. That's ReactOS.
Not just an Open but also a Free operating system.

​

Features
Lightweight
500MB HDD and 96MB RAM

From Scratch
This is not Linux mimicking Windows.

9,000,000+ lines of code
And growing!

100+ devs
Have contributed along the years.

Styles
Classical and ReactOS Lautus styles.

Tons of Open Modules
From Games to Drivers: Open Source and Free.

ReactOS is an advanced free open source operating system providing a ground-up implementation of a Microsoft Windows XP compatible operating system.
It aims to achieve complete binary compatibility with both applications and device drivers meant for NT and XP operating systems, by using a similar architecture and providing a complete and equivalent public interface.
ReactOS is a great example of an almost complete working model of a Windows-like operating system available at this time. Consequently, working programmers will learn a great deal by studying the source code and even participating in development.
In short, ReactOS is aiming to run your applications and use your hardware, a free operating system for everyone!

Spoiler: Some screenshots

Download options
Boot CD => http://iweb.dl.sourceforge.net/project/reactos/ReactOS/0.4.0/ReactOS-0.4.0-iso.zip
Live CD => http://pilotfiber.dl.sourceforge.net/project/reactos/ReactOS/0.4.0/ReactOS-0.4.0-live.zip

QEMU PRELOADED
This zip includes a Qemu config file and a virtual drive file with ReactOS installed.

VMWARE PRELOADED
This zip includes a Vmware config file and a virtual drive file with ReactOS installed.

VIRTUALBOX PRELOADED
This zip includes a VirtualBox config file and a virtual drive file with ReactOS installed.

 

[Ink]

It's been many years since I last visited their site, it's finally taking shape (even for an Alpha).

Front Page | ReactOS Project

Does it run malware? @illumination

 

[Dani Santos]

This might be a good windows xp replacement for old machines. I may try it on my pentium 4 machine

 

[Mr.NoName]

hmm if you deploy a server edition i will try it 64bit

 

[SBI-boy]

I think the development cycles of this project are too slow... don't really believe it will play a significative role as alternative of win xp

 

[Dani Santos]

I think the development cycles of this project are too slow... don't really believe it will play a significative role as alternative of win xp

It's just a bunch of people making it on free time for free, what did you expect?

 

[Kate_L]

The idea is good, the development is slow (just like COMODO).

 

[jogs]

If some good organization gets behind this project then its development process will become fast and only then it can become a good alternative. I hope it happens like that, and then it will be real PITA for the MS.

 

[jamescv7]

I've made a review at 'Your Review' category last two years ago, and all I can see that ReactOS has to be potential OS alternative to Windows XP.

However when and how they can do it? Because until now its development is very slow and they rely on the availability source code concepts from Windows Internal plus the employees which are less than 30 of them.

 

[Exterminator]

ReactOS 0.4.2 Operating System Lets You Mount and Read Various Unix Filesystems

The ReactOS team announced recently the release of the second maintenance update for the ReactOS 0.4 series of the free and open-source operating system that based on the design principles of the Windows NT architecture.

ReactOS 0.4.2 is here three months after the release of the first maintenance version, ReactOS 0.4.1, and brings various updated components, among which we can mention Wine and UniATA, and tries to improve the overall user experience of the system by adding various enhancements to the file manager and graphical shell.

However, the most interesting feature of the ReactOS 0.4.2 release is the ability for users to mount and read (write support is not available at this time) data from various Unix and Linux filesystems, including but not limited to EXT2, EXT3, EXT4, ReiserFS, and UFS. More such filesystems will be supported in the next updates.

"Native built-in support for these filesystems should make for considerably easier interoperability than the current out-of-box experience provided by Windows, and there is more to come in the future," reads the announcement. "The project is reaching a point where rapid releases are viable, where disruption from introduction of major components or restructuring has been greatly reduced from the tumultuous early years and even as recently as the late 0.3.x series."

That being said, ReactOS 0.4.2 is now available for download if you want to take it for a test drive on your personal computer, and, as you can see, the development cycle has been accelerated, so we should expect to see more such releases in the coming months, which will bring additional improvements and updated components for a much user-friendly Windows-like computing experience.

 

[jamescv7]

Another major update for that, however since I made as a research project for O.S subject; many vital components which until now suffering difficulties to create the same functionality like in Windows considering the limited resources.

 

[antreas]

This is the fifth release of the ReactOS 0.4.x series, as well as the fifth following the 3 month release cycle started by 0.4.0 itself. Progress has continued steadily, with a great deal of work going on in the background to improve ReactOS' general usability and stability. Many of these improvements were on display at the FOSDEM convention in Brussels that took place on the 4th and 5th of this month. Certainly one of the more notable albeit less visible additions was the incorporation of basic printing support by Colin Finck. At present ReactOS is only capable of sending print commands to a parallel port printer, but this is the first step towards universal support and Colin should be applauded for his effort. A video demonstration of it can be viewed here.

ChangeLog-0.4.4 - ReactOS Wiki

 

[Ink]

ReactOS 0.4.9 released (23 July 2018)

The ReactOS Project is pleased to announce the release of version 0.4.9, the latest in our accelerated cadence targeting a release every three months.​

​

While a consequence of this faster cycle might mean fewer headliner changes, much of the visible effort nowadays comes in the form of quality-of-life improvements in how ReactOS functions. At the same time work continues on the underlying systems which provide more subtle improvements such as greater system stability and general consistency.​

Read more: ReactOS 0.4.9 released | ReactOS Project

The first thing it’s important to note is that ReactOS is not based on Linux. It is an alternative operating system designed from the ground up to behave, work and look like classic Windows.

The latest effort to result from the switch to a faster release cadence, ReactOS 0.4.9 comes packing a stack of smaller changes than previous versions, with focus firmly on improving the overall system stability, usability, and UI consistency.
via ReactOS, the open source Windows clone, has a new release out - OMG! Ubuntu!

 

[shmu26]

Anyone ever try this OS out, or know anything about it?

 

[SumTingWong]

Anyone ever try this OS out, or know anything about it?

Probably not well optimize than Windows.

 

[509322]

Anyone ever try this OS out, or know anything about it?

ReactOS has been around since approximately 2005.

It is supposed to be Windows without Microsoft.

I never tried. All the distros and other alternatives have major annoyances. So it is pick-your-poison, basically.

 

[Windows_Security]

Yes great when you prefer windows 95 like GUI. Lst time I tried it only supported a few wireless cards. Because it is small, it thought to try it in VM, but it is like Lockdown mentions: after installation you think that it seems to look okay, you run into some sort of trouble.

 

[vtqhtr413]

You can download ReactOS in two different flavors. As a Live CD so you can test it without installing into your computer, or as a Boot CD so you can install ReactOS on your PC.

 

[Ink]

Newsletter 102 — Published June 27, 2023​

Hello ReactOS followers and enthusiasts! […] Most of what we are going to talk about is the current situation with releases and overall ReactOS development.

• Why does it take so long to release a new version of ReactOS? Are you guys dead?
• Development status
• ReactOS x64 port status
• WHS test fixes
• Paint & Notepad improvements
• Security Subsystem improvements
• Registry improvements
• IME project
• Other highlights
• Beyond the main tree

ReactOS has always been more than just an operating system. We are a community of people focused around the Windows ecosystem — with various projects to research and document Windows internals, improve Windows support in applications, or otherwise make life easier for the broader Windows developer community.

Source: Newsletter 102 - 2022/2023 news