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ReactOS Updates

by jeditobe on 2/9/21, 9:56 AM with 141 comments

  • by xvilka on 2/9/21, 11:16 AM

    I really hope the integration with QubesOS[1] will be completed in the near future. It will allow to run suspicious legacy Windows software without any hassle.

    [1] https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/2809

  • by johnchristopher on 2/9/21, 11:00 AM

    ReacOS is a testament to how solid were Windows 2000/XP's UI for everyday tasks.

    I wouldn't mind being back in a Windows env/shop with ReactOS.

  • by sradman on 2/9/21, 11:36 AM

    From Wikipedia [1]:

    > ReactOS is a free and open-source operating system for amd64/i686 personal computers intended to be binary-compatible with computer programs and device drivers made for Windows Server 2003 and later versions of Windows. ReactOS has been noted as a potential open-source drop-in replacement for Windows and for its information on undocumented Windows APIs.

    [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReactOS

  • by londons_explore on 2/9/21, 3:18 PM

    What is ReactOS's endgame?

    It seems they will never have enough resources to become more popular than windows.

    And they will never manage to become the desktop OS of choice over Linux or Mac either.

    It seems to sit in an odd place with only a tiny userbase and no real goal, permanently playing catchup.

  • by crb on 2/9/21, 11:13 AM

    The way Microsoft is moving, it's feasible to think that Windows 2000/XP will be open sourced before ReactOS is finished.
  • by GNOMES on 2/9/21, 6:40 PM

    Bryan Lunduke on Youtube and LBRY, has as a wishful hope for the future of ReactOS.

    He imagines if Microsoft with their whole "We <3 Open Source" ideal either open sourced older versions of Windows (he mentions 3.1 for Work groups, or 98 back), or better, backs/contributes code to ReactOS themselves.

    One of his arguments is that either method would take minimal effort from Microsoft, and would show their love of Open Source. The code could be made available as is, and allow the ReactOS project to continue burden of development/support.

    His second major argument is that Microsoft would not take a financial hit from releasing these old versions. The OS's are no longer available for purchase in stores, and MS no longer provides support. Could also convince Embrace/Extend/Extinguish gray beards that Microsoft is "changing", making them more likely to trust MS.

    Ultimately he theorizes Microsoft could only make finical gain from this. This comes from the positive community views (and wallets), and they could be positioned to repackage it as a "Windows Classic". This would allow them to "sell" and support old code again that would be perfect for legacy software, yet run on modern hardware.

  • by qwerty456127 on 2/9/21, 10:41 AM

    Is ReactOS capable of running all the Windows software OK already? I'm curious if I can actually use it instead of Windows whenever I need a Windows VM.
  • by jamesu on 2/9/21, 11:02 AM

    Does any of this translate into actual real-world improved stability yet?
  • by tomcam on 2/9/21, 6:05 PM

    The About page is a model of its kind:

    https://reactos.org/what-is-reactos/

  • by watersb on 2/9/21, 10:57 AM

    NTFS? Impressive.
  • by nexthash on 2/9/21, 8:51 PM

    Out of curiosity - what do people use ReactOS for? Does anybody daily it, or is it mainly used as a testing environment for certain Windows applications? I'd love for somebody who uses it to comment.
  • by deknos on 2/9/21, 11:00 AM

    i'll be glad for the day, when reactos provides an official virtualbox and kvm/libvirt image which can be booted :)
  • by pcthrowaway on 2/9/21, 11:08 AM

    When I followed this link via Chrome, a tool tip popped out of my address bar ("Did you mean reactjs.org?" with some warning about attackers using deceptive URLs). I wonder if there's a way to whitelist URLs with Google to prevent users from seeing this message. Especially since I believe ReactOS has been around long before ReactJS
  • by nurb on 2/9/21, 11:12 AM

    A bit off topic, but I'm glade to see a project like this running there own instance of matrix instead of the usual centralized/proprietary/censurable solutions.
  • by sophistc on 2/9/21, 3:12 PM

    anything like this for Vue?
  • by gostsamo on 2/9/21, 11:19 AM

    There was some Quora answer according to which ReactOS is derived from an proprietary MS research code. Doesn't it mean it would have legal issues if ever they decide to use it in anything close to real scenario?

    Edit: reference to the question

    https://www.quora.com/What-do-you-think-about-ReactOS?share=...