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Review of AtheOS 0.3.7
MAIC-32 writes: "OSNews features a very informative and detailed review of AtheOS, the promising 32-bit GPL Operating System. The article describes the installation process, the GUI (screenshots included), usage, internal design, developement and much more."
I've always found the AtheOS approach an intriguing one, and quite reminiscent of Windows. They build and optimize for the GUI, rather than the command-line kernel with a GUI built on top (like an X11 + *NIX approach).
It seems that one of the real growing pains for AtheOS is going to be that it's difficult to capture anything but local desktop users. It's not a good model for remote display; just like Windows.
At the end of the day, I think it'll be a great desktop OS, but it will have the same growing pains that Windows did with remote display and cross-platfrom compatibility.
Maybe it's fun to write something for the HELL of it, and not worry about it being useful. I'm sure whoever came up with linked lists back in the 60s was confronted by someone saying "they're so much slower than arrays - what's the point?"
Who gives a rat's ass if it's not useful to you? It's useful to the author, because he's learned a lot doing it, and he doesn't owe you shit. He probably doesn't give a fuck what you think about it, either.
AtheOS has had little to no coverage in the past, so it'll be interesting to see how much development increases over the coming weeks. Its nice to see its came so far with so little, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of this OS in the future.
mailto:<?=implode("@", array("chris", implode(".", array("php", "net"))))?>
Probably the best part about Atheos is that he ported Khtml (the konqueror rendering engine) to his OS for me atleast, and i imagine many others, a good browser is my number uno priority. Its good to see he ported such a sweet engine to his OS i can imagnie technically it would have been reasonably difficult Can we also stop with the "why another operating system?" comments? I bet linus heard all of the same drivel when he wrote linux, it didnt apply then, it doesnt apply now As far as im concerned, ill never critize anything i cant do better (its a stupid policy.. but thats me) and this guy has done alot better than most
Microsoft IIS is to webserving as KFC is to healthy eating
I'll be very tempted to make the switch from Linux just to be reminded of the good old days of the Amiga.
//Wegge
GNU and BSD are so huge it's difficult to contribute to them, so it's reassuring to see that it's still possible for one person to write a credible kernel. But with all the recent progress in CORBA, JVM, and CLR (the pseudo-JVM for .NET), it's a worrisome trend to see new interfaces that can be used from C++ but not from more robust languages (Eiffel, Python, Perl, Ruby, Ada...). And pressure on the GCC team against improving their ABI (because of all the underspecified interfaces that'll break) can't be good.
Jeez, I think you need to remove the stick from your ass next time you reply to a comment. My question was how many OS's out there that get posted to slashdot are actually used in real-world situations. I was not implying that they aren't useful, just wondering how many are actually used.
I'm a minister!
Am I the only one who noticed just how much the file browser (the picture showing how the screen looks if the correct font is installed) looks like X-Tree Pro for DOS?
I mean, I used to love it 10 years ago, but surely we've move on by now.
Altogether, I wonder whether AtheOS is sufficiently different from Linux/X11 to attract much interest. If kernel, driver, and application development for it were orders of magnitude easier, I could see switching. But given that it seems to be built using fairly traditional software technologies, why would it be all that much better?
Time will tell, but I won't be an early adopter of this one...
The author doesn't want you to just use his OS. He's building it for himself, not for you or anyone else. He wont accept code (except bug fixes) into the main OS. He will only accept driver submissions.
good man :) first rule of art,
:)
create art for yourself
Free Techno/Jazz/DNB/MI Music by guys obsessed with monkeys!
Actually, 'Atheos' is Greek, roughly analagous to the word 'atheist'. IIRC, AtheOS's author didn't realize that, and the name wasn't designed to reflect anything, but the corrolation is there, nevertheless.
-- My work here is done. If you need me again, just admit to yourself that you're screwed, and die.
I could probably go on, but I won't. There is more on it's way too, specifically the desktop re-write will see some of the sexier features put to good use, and the media framework should rock. Anything specific you want to see first though?
Syllable : It's an Operating System
General Public License Operating System; Perhaps the author meant "An Operating System licensed under the GNU GPL"?
Regards, Tommy
Ah, it's nothing more than another attempt for a nerd to get laid; it's meant for chicks. From the atheos.cx page: "I belive this consistency is important so the user doesn't have to start from scratch each time she learns a new program to know."
a coherent attempt at bashing AtheOS for being different
I wouldn't bash things for being different. I actually prefer MacOS, which is just as lacking in market share relative to Windows as anything else. I personally think AtheOS is pretty cool. You jump to conclusions. What I was trying to point out are the errors in the groupthink that is inevitable on this story... to give people something to think about other than "Oh, this is the coolest thing!" And the metaphor is based in real life politics, regardless of how narrow minded you may be.
You've pointed out that the two candiates in the 2000 election are virtually the same. And the results of the election showed that people thought that too... split vote. Now, what if 3 candidates from the two main parties had run... 2 from one, and 1 from the other? Say, two Democrats and George Bush. In such a case, Bush would have won by a large margin. In fact, this did happen to a smaller (but influential) degree in the 2000 election... remember Nader's slice of votes? Which way would the scale have tilted had he not run? Most likely to the Democrat side rather than the Republican side. This was quoted in MANY articles and reports on the elections. In effect, more people voted "Democrat" than "Republican", and look who won?
Yes, you should try college. Now that I've graduated from it I find that alot of the stuff I learned was pretty useful in the "big world." What I have in my sig has nothing to do with that.
Q: Where does the name come from? Are you aware that atheos means "without god" in Greek?
A: The name is short for Athena (the Greek goddess of wisdom) and OS and have nothing to do with atheism. I was not aware that "atheos" indeed was a word in any language when I named the OS but figured that out later. Just think of it as a name. It is not supposed to mean anything.
I think that's just about the stupidest thing I've ever read. Which open source candidate would you prefer we support, Mr. .Net luser? Linux running KDE? We'll get right on that.
Consider this: 17 candidates, one with position A, two with B, 1 with C, 3 with D... vote FOR something, not against it. Choose an OS based on how much you like it, not whether it's the poster-child for Open Source or not.
Even for a troll, that was pretty weak.
"If he thinks he can hide and run from the United States and our allies, he's sorely mistaken." Bush on bin Laden
If we take your premise:
Can we also stop with the "why another operating system?" comments?
and add your premise:
[...] ill never critize anything i cant do better
We reach the conclusion: you can do better "why another operating system?" comments than these?
Go on then, prove it
__
Arse
I tried AtheOS about 6 months ago, and I was impressed. True, the install was very raw, but it was quick as a whip. I was amazed that this guy wrote the entire thing from scratch! He definitely has bragging rights for this puppy. I have tested practically every OS out there. I use Linux as my primary OS, I love Beos and QNX, and Atheos is truly impressive. It took 1,000 developers to fsck up windows, and ONE guy to make the amazing AtheOS Operating system. Evryone should at least try it out and show your friends!
If you're not a Liberal in your 20's, then you have no heart.If you're still a Liberal in your 30's you have no brain.
The problem with your little political analogy is that there's no one winner in the OS "wars." We're not looking to decide the fate of the nation. There's plenty of room for many different systems.
Besides, the rest of the world laughs at the American political process, which has no representation for half your population. 51% of 50%- excellent way to choose your government for four years.
"If he thinks he can hide and run from the United States and our allies, he's sorely mistaken." Bush on bin Laden
Choose an OS based on how much you like it, not whether it's the poster-child for Open Source or not.
:)
Agreed. I prefer MacOS over both Windows AND Linux. I am not making this point for me. I am just trying to get Slashdotters to run some ideas through thier heads for once. It's an open forum... I like to keep people open to ideas. You've rather just rehashed what most people ALWAYS say about OSes... but it's contrary to the "downfall of MS" think that prevades Slashdot.
Just doing my job to keep people sane...
The problem with your little political analogy is that there's no one winner in the OS "wars."
:)
I'm glad that you've said this... I think you're getting closer to seeing my point than you'd like to admit.
No. I don't see your point at all.
I think it's better to support one candidate in the open source OS world and not several.
Why should that be limited? Who gives a fuck if Linux (BSD/Amiga/AtheOS/...) doesn't have 100% market share? Or 10%? Or losing users left and right to each other? Once they're GPL'd (or BSD'd/Artistic Licensed/...), they can never die. What benefit is there to having only one open source OS, other than having all the best developers? If you didn't like it, you'd be stuck with Windows anyway. Choice is good. I tend to doubt most sane people are going to try AtheOS, not like it, and say "oh, well, that was an open-source OS, boy did it suck, guess I'm going back to Windows." Chances are they'll like parts of it, dislike others, and get curious about what else is available.
"If he thinks he can hide and run from the United States and our allies, he's sorely mistaken." Bush on bin Laden
Who gives a fuck if Linux (BSD/Amiga/AtheOS/...) doesn't have 100% market share?
EXACTLY! I was pointing out the fatal flaw in that thinking. So you DO get my point.
Ooh, hoist on his own petard. You'll notice that he's not "critizing" anybody's spelling, however.
...
I have time for just one more question. :) But you're falling right into my analogy while you're trying to argue against it. Gore and Bush were the biggest two on each side of the fence too... it only took a small push (Nader) to tip the result. In the "Open Source V. Closed Source" ideal (since you don't seem to agree with the word "groupthink"), Open Source doesn't even HAVE an equal on its side of the fence. Linux is the biggest, but not an equal. And things like AtheOS are more than pebbles.
:)
Keep in mind, idealists, that Nader fit very nicely into the downfall of the party system, but it only got us a Republican president we didn't want over a Democrat... regardless of the similarity of the two main parties.
yer i cant spell sue me moron
Microsoft IIS is to webserving as KFC is to healthy eating
No, Eugenia is Greek... See her web page!
Kurt Skauen started the project with the intent of making an Amiga clone. He says in the FAQ, however, that there isn't much resemblance these days besides the window borders. The article did call him an ex-Amiga coder, he must like the look.
This is one of those things that I keep meaning to check out. Maybe now I will.
Wow. Honestly, dude, I didn't think that was your point at all. Up until this post, you seemed to be contending that we shouldn't be working on multiple OS projects because that would split the developer pool.
While I understand that you never said anything to the effect that Linux should have 100% market/mindshare, that seemed to be what you were driving at. ``We must band together and make Linux better or Microsoft will always have dominion over us!'' seemed to be the gist of it.
I think a lot of us get your point, but most of us just didn't know that -that- was what your point was.
-- My work here is done. If you need me again, just admit to yourself that you're screwed, and die.
Does anyone know if you can install AtheOS under VMWare on Windows? I have a VMWare machine at work that I am constantly "experimenting" with alternate things like this. I think if would be cool to play with, but I can't dedicate a whole machine to it.
KangarooBox - We make IT simple!
I like what this guy says. It's a hobbyist OS and he has no intent to compete with Windows for popularity, etc. IOW if AtheOS is missing a feature and he doesn't want to add it, it ain't going in. Cool! It's about time people stopped giving a crap about what others want.
:)
:)
I for one, though, think GUIs are evil, and I am releasing my own Linux distribution to address this issue. It's called Luddite Linux. Here are the features:
* No GUI
* No mouse driver
* No menu-driven apps
* The first distro will be released on CD-ROM but future releases will be released on punch cards.
* No mail apps. Only a weak minded fool uses a mail app. Telnet to your POP server at port 110 and learn the commands to read your email that way!
* No FTP apps. Why can't you just telnet to port 21 and download it? rz and sz are debatable so I put 'em in just because I like to err on the user convenience side
* No emacs. Has drop down menus. Use vi!
* I did include an assembler but no compiler. C is for script weeneez. Machine language is where it's at, baby
My new OS will be out Any Time Now[tm]
Thanks
most operations under AtheOS will involve the command line (however, been a modern OS, AtheOS is GUI-only, it does not offer a fullscreen text mode)
"been" a modern OS is no excuse for *not* including something! If anything it should include *more* things. There are some people who like those full-text-screens. I don't think they are too hard to code.
And to those of you saying that the author isn't doing this for anyone but himself, I agree, that's a good reason for doing things however he wants, but please don't say it doesn't have a text-console because it's a modern OS.
--
Seeing is believing; You wouldn't have seen it if you didn't believe it.
Sorry, I'm not trying to ridicule the authors work here - it's quite an accomplishment, but AtheOS is unlikely to draw people who area already very Unix-centric, because of its GUI-based design rather than CLI-based system. I'm not saying that a GUI system is inferior, just that it's unlikely to draw people who already happen to have a preference for something different. It is also unlikely to draw the average desktop computer user because he or she will either have never heard of it, or wouldn't perceive any personal need for it. The people that AtheOS are _MOST_ likely to draw into using it are those that are curious about different OS's and eager to always try new things. Unfortunately, this is a substantially smaller group than even the Unix-centric crowd that was originally drawn to Linux and FreeBSD. I suppose AtheOS's ability to draw people into it depends on the ability of this small group of people to convince other people that this OS's paradigm is superior.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
What is a likely result of a new OS project?
Look at:
http://www.freedows.org
QNX can be taken back as quickly as it was given. i would much rather give my mind share to something thats free speach than beer. And these days, the beer tap is running dry and could be taken back at any time. I still don't understand why QNX is giving away their os, is there business sense in it.. will it last?
I'm just going to have to learn to end my comments with "I'm being cynical and/or sarcastic here. Think about it people." I guess I'm just not good at making that obvious otherwise. In this case the only thing I was being cynical in was the subject of the original message.
:)
So I'll wrap it up and make my point again if anyone can see this message: New OSes are great. There's nothing any different about this one... it's got some good things going. Being written from the ground up is one of them. But increasing the number of open source OSes, while beneficial in generating new ideas and code that evolve ALL OSes, causes a vote-splitting effect. Too many good things, not enough people to use them or add to them... and they all founder and sink. That doesn't mean you shouldn't choose the one you like... but choosing one that is "secondary" in the Open Source world as the number of Open Source OSes continue to increase could actually cause them ALL to founder and sink.. because they're not THAT different.
Please, comments if anyone can actually see this post.
for those who want to try out atheos but can't for some reason (unsupported hardware, no free partitions, etc.) there is a port of the gui to linux here.
Are there any mirrors of the AtheOS downloads? Every time I make to install it from an @home connection, the files download halfway then bork. Anybody with similar experience?
And why do the AtheOS parrots look disturbingly like the ViewSonic parrots?
If you're viewing posts 'newest first', count your blessings--you have received this warning in time. Click off this fucking discussion right now before you scroll down to the argument between the fucking idiot who wants to use a political analogy to tell us why AtheOS is bad for OS and the fucking idiot who wants to use that as an excuse to tell us why the U.S. political system is fucked up. This thread is dangerous to your mental health. It is stupid, banal, boring, whiny, and insufficiently down-moderated. Leave while you can!
> * No emacs. Has drop down menus. Use vi!
IOW, the parent should have been mdded up as insightfl, rather than funny . . .
hawk