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ReactOS 0.3.14 Released With Improved Networking Stack

Posted by Unknown on from the alternative-os-for-the-alternative-hacker dept.

An anonymous reader wrote in with news of the latest release of ReactOS, a project to create a complete reimplementation of Windows. The highlights of this release are the integration of a new network stack based upon lwIP, the ability to build using Microsoft's C compiler, and Wifi support. There are a few options for trying it out (emulator image and a livecd amongst others) and source code over at Sourceforge.

27 of 176 comments (clear)

  1. Windows 98, finally! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ah, FOSS Windows 98 for the masses! How we've missed you...

    1. Re:Windows 98, finally! by MagicM · · Score: 4, Informative

      From reactos.org:

      ReactOS is a free, modern operating system based on the design of Windows XP/2003. Written completely from scratch, it aims to follow the Windows-NT architecture designed by Microsoft from the hardware level right through to the application level.

    2. Re:Windows 98, finally! by robthebloke · · Score: 3, Insightful

      They were reacting to microsofts monopoly on the OS market in the mid 90's, and aimed to produce a free version. IIRC, a number of academics got involved because it was very useful to help teach the kernel differences between WinNT and linux (obviously you can't look at the actual WinNT source!).

    3. Re:Windows 98, finally! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yes you can. Microsoft created the Windows Academic Program for teaching the kernel internals in an academic setting. You get access to the Windows Research Kernel with source code.

    4. Re:Windows 98, finally! by h4rr4r · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Then you too can forever be polluted in a way that makes you unable to work on any other OS, WINE, or dozens of other commercial and free software projects!

      Who in the hell would want to hire someone exposed to that to work on their software? You would be living in fear of the MS lawsuit.

    5. Re:Windows 98, finally! by mister_playboy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      256MB of RAM was quite usable on early versions of XP. SP2 bumped the performance requirements up quite a bit, and you'll probably want at least 768MB to run a up-to-date SP3 install.

      --
      Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law ::: Love is the law, love under will
  2. Time to switch operating systems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    At this point I think it's time for me to upgrade from FreeDOS to ReactOS.

    1. Re:Time to switch operating systems by Alex+Belits · · Score: 3, Informative

      At this point I think it's time for me to upgrade from FreeDOS to ReactOS.

      FreeDOS has legitimate uses -- I have found it on manufacturers' BIOS updater images.
      I, of course, do my updates under Linux with flashrom utility, but I have some taste and sanity, things that most people lose after being exposed to BIOS source code.

      --
      Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
    2. Re:Time to switch operating systems by TheRaven64 · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's also used in quite a few embedded systems running low-end x86 chips. The advantage of something like DOS in this respect is that it's almost like not having an OS, but it still gives you a basic filesystem and program launcher, then gets out of your way.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    3. Re:Time to switch operating systems by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 5, Informative

      As a matter of fact, DOSBox is superior to DOS in a virtual machine. Try running a multimedia CD-Rom game of the era, like Burn:Cycle, 11th Hour, Phantasmagoria in DOS virtual machine and you get terrible frame rates, popping and cracking audio, goofy mouse problems, etc. DOSBox seems to "Just work".

      Also, DOSBox is not only still being poked at, a lot of games on Steam use DOSBox to run.

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    4. Re:Time to switch operating systems by Pharmboy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why would you use FreeDOS over any flavor of Linux?

      1. You can boot it from a floppy (or CD or USB key) in seconds, which is perfect for basic testing of older hardware.

      2. Many situations do not require multitasking, ie: point of sale, etc. Many good but older point of sale programs exist that run in DOS. You can back up the entire system in seconds. I'm actually considering it for a system as we speak, since I already own the $3000 software.

      3. Many situations do not require internet access (see point of sale, above).

      4. Great as a standalone, or for dual booting, or virtualization for playing old games.

      5. Flashing BIOS.

      6. Linux isn't the answer to all computing needs. Many of them, but not all.

      --
      Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
    5. Re:Time to switch operating systems by Drinking+Bleach · · Score: 4, Informative

      DOSEMU is still maintained, though it doesn't get a whole lot of development these days; not a huge deal with it to fix yet. As other replies explained, DOSBox is usually better for games (especially for sound support), but DOSBox has a strict development policy of being only for games, and there's plenty of DOS applications DOSBox does not run and likely will not run in the near future. DOSEMU packages FreeDOS with it and is nearly 100% compatible with all DOS software.

      One thing I particularly like about DOSEMU over DOSBox is the filesystem handling. Everything in DOSEMU is mounted as a network share inside of DOS, even the C: drive; this allows you to change around files and whatnot on the native Linux filesystem and have the changes immediately appear in DOS (can't do that with DOSBox). Additionally, DOSEMU has long filename suppport, which is a huge godsend; DOSBox only supports 8+3 names (with its own muddling of non-DOS-compatible names behind the scenes... DOS games don't need long filename support so DOSBox is likely to never support LFNs).

      All that being said, I highly recommend avoiding the release version and go straight to the subversion trunk. There are many quite serious bugs in 1.4.0, but I'm not aware of any that exist in the trunk; the developer is rather quick to look into and fix problems when they're reported.

  3. What's the point??!?!?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There are many possible reasons why people want a functioning clone of MS Windows that can use the same drivers etc.
    If nothing else, it's an interesting project.

    Why not Linux? Because drivers don't always work. Why not WINE? ReactOS and WINE share a lot of code, but WINE is aiming to solve a different problem. Why not just use old MS Windows? Because the source is not there, and neither is support.

    People would find a use for a Free MS Windows clone the same way that people find a use for a Free MS DOS clone (FreeDOS).

    I for one am excited about ReactOS. Here's hoping they continue the good work for many years

    1. Re:What's the point??!?!?! by TheRaven64 · · Score: 4, Informative

      ReactOS is duplicating Windows NT, which is a design originally from 1993, although they're actually aiming for compatibility with the 2001 version. Linux and *BSD are duplicating UNIX, which is a design originally from 1969. Interesting? Maybe not. Useful? Probably.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    2. Re:What's the point??!?!?! by johanwanderer · · Score: 5, Interesting

      With Windows XP going away, in a few years you might be looking for an old box to run your favorite program. In another few years you might be completely out of luck. Even further out, what if Microsoft went bankrupt (or bought by Apple, Google, RedHat, whoever) and their OS division is shelved?

      Projects like ReactOS, Wine, DOSBox, etc. allow you to have another possible path in that uncertain future. Your program might not work out-of-the-box, but you have the source to tinker with and try to get it to work.

      That is probably the same reason for running Wine on Windows, which is probably better than running an old program within a virtual machine.

      Soon enough, you will probably run all of your programs in a browser anyway. But I digress :)

    3. Re:What's the point??!?!?! by fnj · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Um, because hardware evolves. Before too long nobody will have XP drivers for any hardware that is being manufactured. Compatible hardware will gradually cease to be available. Ever try to find a working MFM hard drive to put in that original IBM PC with MS-DOS? How about a Soundblaster card which is the only sound hardware that a lot of DOS games supported?

    4. Re:What's the point??!?!?! by TheRaven64 · · Score: 3, Informative

      ReactOS is not just duplicating the design. It is also extending it. It is, however, aiming to keep the same ABI. This is hardly an original goal - it is one shared by several modern UNIX and UNIX-like systems. If you think ReactOS is just copying the Windows NT design and not adding improvements, then you've obviously not paid any attention to it in the last ten years.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  4. in the words of foghorn leghorn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    it's a joke, son

  5. Only one minor disappointment. by Lose · · Score: 5, Interesting

    They almost finished getting the new USB stack up and running in a different branch, but it isn't reliable (or stable even in most virtual environments) to sync it into the main branch prior to release. That's fine in a virtual environment, but on real hardware it would be nice for a few different reasons (ReactOS on USB may be possible soon because of this, maybe even debug output over USB, to name a few).

    I'll just keep building the USB branch until then.

  6. Re:Gone a long way by Alex+Belits · · Score: 3, Insightful

    daily use

    To do WHAT?

    --
    Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
  7. Re:Gone a long way by robthebloke · · Score: 3, Funny

    To do WHAT?

    Look at pron on IE6,
    Run some malware,
    You know, the usual....

  8. Re:I'm normally all for "just because" but... by Hatta · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If these talented people have enjoyed the time they spent building ReactOS, then they haven't wasted it at all.

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  9. Almost like Hurd by unixisc · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've been hearing of this OS since the time I was a member of an Alpha-NT group. They've been taking all these years, and are not even on 1.x even now. These guys are giving Hurd strong competition on who takes forever to come up w/ an OS, particularly given all the FOSS OSs out there.

    On the project itself, I think that it had a window of opportunity when MS abandoned the MIPS and Alpha versions of NT years ago. At that time, there were NT users for this platform worried about where it would leave them, and this would definitely have been a godsend. However, on the x86 platform, it's pretty much irrelevant - either people have Windows, and if that's not acceptable, they can run Linux. As it is, there are some things, like NTFS file system support that ReactOS doesn't/can't support, so it's not like even close to a complete substitute. The only people I can imgaine who might have (had) an use for it would be NT/RISC users, but that assumes that they never moved from NT to Linux or RISC to x64.

  10. The race is on by Liambp · · Score: 3, Interesting

    to see if they can they release version 1.0 of ReactOS before the X86 architecture becomes obsolete.

  11. Re:I'm normally all for "just because" but... by jdavidb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They said that about Mozilla for years. Sometimes the bazaar produces something that only few people find to be of any value for many many years that suddenly becomes of value to many people. Probably most projects never make it, period, but as long as someone finds it interesting to work on, more power to them.

    If you don't find it of value, don't invest time or resources in it. :)

    --
    Secession is the right of all sentient beings.
  12. Re:I'm normally all for "just because" but... by ilikenwf · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Well, I guess this gives an alternative to an alternative for that old pentium 100 I have in the attic...

    In all seriousness, I guess this COULD be eventually useful if they manage to get it working with modern DirectX games and such... While I'm a Linux guy, I do enjoy gaming, natively and in WINE. ReactOS as I understand it contributes code to WINE (and vice-versa)...so IMHO it's still a win. Not necessarily epic yet, but it could be. That symbiotic relationship is worth something...I'm just not sure what.

  13. ntfs3g, fuse, ext4 ... by GodWasAnAlien · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Without support for modern file systems, It can not be taken seriously.

    They should not dismiss suggestions to adopt use of fuse based filesystems such as ntfs3g, as this may likely be the most direct way to get support for popular file systems.