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Windows Replacement? ReactOS 0.3.16 Gets Themes, CSRSS Rewrite, and More
jeditobe writes with this announcement from the ReactOS home page: "The ReactOS Project is pleased to announce the release of version 0.3.16. A little under a year has passed since the previous release and a significant amount of progress has been made. More than 400 bugs were eliminated. Some of the most significant include completion of the CSRSS rewrite and the first stages of a shell32 rewrite. 0.3.16 is in many ways a prelude to several new features that will provide a noticeable enhancement to user visible functionality. A preview can be seen in the form of theme support, which while disabled by default can be turned on to demonstrate the Lautus theme developed by community member Maciej Janiszewki. Another user visible change is a new network card driver for the RTL8139, allowing ReactOS to support newer versions of QEMU out of the box."
You can download release images here.
Want to see how it handles Windows software? Here are demos of Office 2003, Photoshop CS2, and OpenMPT.
Slashdot will soon return as http://soylentnews.org/
Wake me when it gets to version 1.0 at least
Have the ReactOS guys reached feature parity with NT4 yet? Last time I tried it, it was almost as unusable as slashdot beta!
Join our side. It may have problems, but they can be fixed. Beta is your friend. Beta is life.
Do you have to think in Russian?
Now before I say anything, do know that I GREATLY applaud the efforts of the ReactOS platform. I am incredibly impressed by the huge undertaking the ReactOS team has decided to pursue. Programming an open source, binary-compatible alternative to Windows is, in my opinion, the most difficult OSS project to ever make happen - after all, Microsoft can't exactly do it right when they have the actual source code, a lot more software developers, and a LOT more money. I do one day hope to be able to use it as a primary operating system that will work with my existing hardware and software as seamlessly as it presently does with Windows, leaving Windows as a memory as the ReactOS community take the best parts of OSS development and apply it to making my very expensive Windows software run.
One day.
I really don't mean to be a jerk to the devs, because I know that I have no skill, talent, or ability to write an operating system. I know that they have to hit a constantly moving target, while making plenty of rough decisions along the way: two pieces of software exist. One doesn't work past Windows XP. One works only on Vista/7/8. Which do you make compatible? Microsoft clearly has their way of going ("forward", i.e. Win8 apps), but ReactOS could easily spur adoption by catering to people who have $5,000 pieces of hardware that are no longer made, perfectly fill their needs, and don't have drivers for >WinXP. This is a tough question to answer, and one I do not envy or posit a response.
Based on their demos, it seems that they're going the 'Open Source XP' method, as can be deduced based on their demos of Office 2003 and Photoshop CS2, the former being four revisions out of date, and the latter being five (assuming we count 'CC' as a single version). If the /only/ thing it will run is old software that is not being updated, I understand that - it's no longer a moving target, after all. However, constantly playing catch-up with Microsoft, though inherently a consequence of the nature of the project, is all but impossible to truly consider a replacement.
Perhaps I need to read up on their website or do some Google searching, but are they planning to start eyeballing Win7 at all? What about more recent iterations of DirectX? I'd love to be independently wealthy enough to dump a few million at the project, and yes, next payday I plan on sending $20 or somesuch to the cause. That doesn't mean that the devs will be able to achieve critical mass effectively.
Having said all of that, if they could get an OSS flavor of Windows ThinPC up and running (i.e. completely iron out hardware compatibility and a remote desktop client), and charge even some nominal amount for it so that companies could use it instead of ThinPC (which is stupidly licensed), that'd be a great way to start making inroads.
...then why not simply disable classic altogether and get it over with ?
This has me stumped too. Dice obviously doesn't give a fuck about our family. The current Slashdot without the beta has more value than they could possibly understand, and they are going to flush it down the toilet so they can pursue their "vision" of caching in on the Slashdot name. Which won't make them money like they think it will. Sad, indeed.
Mod me down too. It really doesn't matter any more.
Brave Sir Robin ran away. ("No!") Bravely ran away away. ("I didn't!")
Hear hear
And can Norton Commander take advantage of EMS memory cards?
Unless the new site runs on ReactOS, please shut the fuck up about slashdot beta.
Unless the new site runs on ReactOS, please shut the fuck up about slashdot beta.
Everybody go to http://www.soylentnews.org
Using the URL http://slashdot.org/?nobeta=1 should fix that.
I only occasionally visit the actual /. site (instead preferring to digest my news via feed-reader), but when I did last week, I was immediately pleased with the aesthetics of the redesign. What are the (perhaps not-so-subtle) nuances I'm missing with which people are so unhappy?
"ReactOS is a free and open-source operating system based on the best design principles found in the Windows NT architecture. Written completely from scratch, ReactOS is not a Linux-based system and it shares none of the UNIX architecture. The main goal of the ReactOS project is to provide an operating system which is binary compatible with Windows. This will allow Windows applications and drivers to run as they would on a Windows system. Additionally, the look and feel of the Windows operating system is used, such that people accustomed to the familiar user interface of Windows would find using ReactOS straightforward. The ultimate goal of ReactOS is to allow people to use it as an alternative to Windows without the need to change software they are used to." anybody tried this? pretty obscure, first I heard of it.
What's a vm? Will this run on my dell win8 laptop ok, without ruining my current setup?
Virtual Machine, yes a VM will run on your computer and allow you to test ReactOS safely.
/. refugees on Usenet: news:comp.misc
Why use 10 year old software to demo a "Windows replacement"? If a successful demo only works because it is old software, that somewhat speaks volumes.
Thanks.
VM is Virtual Machine. Go here for a start https://www.virtualbox.org/
If the new site runs on slashdot beta and you're from Soviet Russia, ReactOS shuts the fuck up about YOU.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
I see the new Beta is managing to attract new readers! Welcome!
A VM or "virtual machine" is a type of computer program that creates an emulated software environment. Not that any real person actually knows what that means. Think of it as a sort of a computer that runs on another computer. You can run multiple "virtual machines" on a single computer; then you give access to individual "VM" to all your clients or employees. Busy executives like yourself love VMs because it saves them so much money on hardware; why waste money on 100 servers when you can just buy one and make it look like you have 100 computers! All your peons down in IT would probably recommend against running it on Windows8, but that's just because they like running complicated things like Linux. Windows 8 can handle VMs just fine, and - thanks to its colorful and touch-friendly interface - it's so easy to use that you can fire all those overpaid geeks and have your secretary handle everything for you. Think of the cost savings!
I hope that helps; this is just one of those useful tips you'll find on the new Slashdot, now featuring shorter articles and nice big pictures. Not only has Slashdot has been redesigned to make all this computer gibberish more palatable and understandable for management and accounting types, but we've hidden all the comments from all those grumpy greybeards and nerds to make for a better C-level executive experience! Thanks for coming, and enjoy your stay!
https://www.kickstarter.com/pr...
This would have been a wonderful alternative for businesses running WindowsXP now that Microsoft support is ending. But I think they are too late to the party. By the time this is ready for production deployment people will have already put other solutions into place.
why go nowhere?
Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
in my timezone, one more hour. until then, please, find the person responsible for slashdot "beta" and fuck him/her. they very much need it :)
Rich
its the best OS evar!!! http://i.imgur.com/1uNNZSp.png
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
testicularcancerdot
Well, nothing is still better than Beta.
Anyway, try http://www.soylentnews.org/wiki/index.php?title=SoylentNews
If you are not a troll and this is a serious question: If you don't know what a VM is, don't try to use something like ReactOS. Start with something easier, like Ubuntu.
If you are a troll, very well done.
Is it just me that sees ReactOS as a "lab" kind of software - it's theoretical and doesn't follow the outside reality.
I can't see how it can ever catch up to, say, a lightweight virtualised Linux with Wine for those people who want to avoid a Windows licensing fee. The overhead of a full Linux is absolutely minimal on modern hardware while the hardware support and control is phenomenal.
Sure, I imagine purists prefer a ReactOS but it's really only for the purists and always has been. Which is probably why Wine etc. get much more of a developer following.
The real question:
Is ReactOS going to be 100% compatible with Blue Screens, Malware and Viri?
If not, then it probably won't run enough of the software that's available.
It definitely has to pass Windows Genuine Advantage checks, I wonder how that will go....
I'm looking for help on an OS/2 Warp open source clone. Comments, suggestions or hate mail is welcome. Even flaming is considered good feedback on the OS/2-eCS community :)
http://openwarp.blogspot.com/
Does that query string also work for the RSS feed? Because I don't browse Slashdot by visiting the front page; I use a feed aggregator and click through to interesting articles that way.
doesn't seem to like installing on ESXI 5.1 though
I see your post isn't about ReactOS. So STFU, loser.
Only one way to find out. Burn the Live version and boot it.
VM means Voice of Music (http://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/).
VM was a US company that was a major manufacturer of record changers, especially in the 1960's and early 70's. While VM did not sell a lot of phonographs under its own name, and thus may not be well-known to most Americans, it sold millions and millions of changers on an OEM basis to a lot of US manufacturers. Often these had customized elements such as tone arms and trim, and badged with the purchasing company's brand name, so as to appear distinctive to the end user.
VM also produced tape recorders and tape mechanisms to be OEM'ed to other companies, but these never attained anywhere near the sales success of their record changers.
What this has to do with Slashdot, I'm not sure. Oh, wait-- you meant another meaning of "VM". Sorry!
Weren't you folks supposed to be on some boycott this week?
Note that so far there has been no admission of just how bad the beta is, only promises to implement missing features and fiddle with the layout. They don't think it is badly broken, that's the problem. It just needs polishing and some more features in their minds.
The end is coming. The acknowledgement of the problems changed nothing, other than to stop the protests. It seems like most people are just waiting for the end now, consciously or not.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
I'd recommend Pella, though, they are expensive. You could go with Curadco for a cheaper replacement.
Sorry, some of us give a shit and don't want the site to die. Feel free to give up, but don't try to shut down other people's protests.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
He clearly just wants an open source platform to run his Windows-only applications on without relying on WINE, and doesn't get abandoned like XP is about to be.
Sure, ReactOS is beta, they're honest about it. Unlike Microsoft which ships randomly crashing Windows and that it's ready for business.
All I needed was evidence that audio worked, thanks!
Using the belief that this will happen to avoid using ReactOS is like using the belief that the second coming of Christ will solve global warming to avoid using solar panels.
Office 2003? Just like many open sores offerings, a decade late.
The bitching about beta looks like it could drive me away from this place before I even see beta.
WTF should we have to wade past hundreds of offtopic posts before we get to the comments about the article?
Oddly enough, this comment could be about ReactOS Beta, which has been promised for years now.
Though I'm personally confident that the ReactOS Beta would be more welcolm among the /. community (aka, the "audience") than Slashdot Beta.
Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
I like the redesign, and the occasional redirection to the beta just makes life interesting.
Geez, take it easy. You act like Slashdot killed your dog.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Oh look, here comes the Slashdot beta "audience".
No? Then it's not a viable Windows replacement.
I'd switch to some flavour of Linux in a heartbeat if it were possible to play Windows-based games on it.
I don't really like to contribute to the off topic threads on this any more, but I have to still throw in my two cents here. Dice did buy Slashdot. It's sad that it's been bought by an entity that doesn't seem to care for the community and the history of Slashdot the way we do, but they do own it.
People have talked about boycotts and Slashdot alternatives and both of those are perfectly valid ways of attempting to influence Slashdot or just plain leave it behind. I'm wondering, however, if anyone has considered putting together an offer to Dice to buy Slashdot back from them? I've been using Slashdot since very close to the start (came in after Chips and Dips, but very shortly after that and lurked and posted as AC for a long time before getting an account). I have enough of an emotional investment in the site that I'd certainly be willing to throw a few thousand dollars into owning a piece of it. How many Slashdotters are there who care enough to do the same? Could we get together twenty thousand people willing to throw in a thousand dollars each and pay Dice the $20 million they paid for Slashdot? 200,000 willing to pay $100.00 each? Are there anything like that number of Slashdotters who really care? Anyone know what the best way to do that would be? Would a Kickstarter campaign be a valid avenue, or would it be better to create some sort of co-op or corporation and sell shares, or are there other ways a large group of people could get together to do something like this (in a form that might allow for a return on investment, but probably not)?
Has anyone already proposed this? Is anyone already working on it? I would search comments for that, but Slashdot's search tools have been broken and near useless for years, even before Dice came along. Maybe if the community actually owned Slashdot, we could do something about the problems with Slashdot. Personally, I've always wanted an open API for Slashdot so that users can use whatever front-end suits their fancy and even download the entire Slashdot database (well, not the entire database, obviously, but the comments and articles certainly). Maybe, if we owned it, we could actually do something like that and everyone, including Dice, could be happy about how it turned out.
It's probably a pipe dream, however. There's a lot of vocal complaint (enough to really damage enjoyment of Slashdot lately and I'm sorry to be adding to this thread for that reason), but I don't know if there's really enough of a "core" Slashdot readership left who would be willing to put in that much for our beloved site.
I think this whole beta-bashing thing has gone way out of hand. People are not being reasonable at all. The new layout actually looks better - more modern. People have actually been you know, working, on that because they wanted to get rid of the 90's look. Well that's fine to me.
Sure there are some issues and bugs. Is that so bad?
People are overreacting and making complaints about petty things. For worse, they do so about a platform that they can use for free.
I would swap all my mod points for a +6 funny here.
nope, still just getting a domain name placeholder. about equivalent to slashbeta
Not exactly free... There are ads/banners.
I am impressed by the blue screen of death and NT ish debug/loader screens but this is all I've ever seen of ReactOS none of these have ever worked over the years with VMware 6.5 and I'm not going to fork over the cash to upgrade to the latest and greatest just to see if its fixed or spend the kind of time to install an alternate VM product, burn live disks or even shut down my computer. I know this is harsh, lazy..etc of me.. but the question remains... why can't the live CD boot in VMware?
Cashing in on any name is Dice's vision. They need money, and they need it now!
Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
Says old timer AC
More like, "More than 400 bugs were created due to poor programming, but, now we took the time to fix them, whilst creating a few more no doubt".
As a programmer, i see the word "bug" as a direct indication of poor programming. When i create bugs in my code, its an insult to my own work and i cant sleep until its resolved, even if this means rethinking the logic completely.
There seems to be a large gap between software with a few bugs, and those with endless amounts.
If my software was unstable, buggy and i just left them like these guys, i wouldn't really call myself a programmer.
Poor logic and lack of knowledge are usually what allows for 400+ bugs.
If this is trying to get publicity for ReactOS, its only achieved awareness of poor programming and lack of acceptable internal testing.
Your site is going to be made up of people who think that a constructive way to criticize a website's forum redesign is to spam every article's discussion until it's rendered unusable.
Think about that. In the meantime, we, the silent majority on Slashdot who have no problems whatsoever with Dice working on a replacement for the shit that is D2, will consider starting the process and destroying your website, the way you have our's.
Did you try all hypervisor variations? Its not windows, using the Windows quirks mode probably won't work.
Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
It's not a protest, it's whining and it's stupid at this point, you complain about beta ruining things and then proceed to destroy any usability of the commenting system yourself. You certainly turned me against your position. Weren't you all supposed to be gone this week so the adults could have real conversation?
Posted in the BETA.
Since they are still redirecting us to the same horribly broken beta site even after they claim to have heard us, it seems they didn't actually get the message. Therefore it needs to be repeated over and over again until the message actually gets through to them, because if they persist with the beta they will lose a lot of the audience, the same audience that actually creates the content people come here to read.
I tried following the link to check out the reactos website but received a Certificate error. Meh...
Sig Follows: "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." -- Mark Twain
that was funny. for some reason, it made something click in my brain. the easiest way to define a Virtual Machine...a software-defined computer.
... I'm not sure what problem ReactOS solves. ... at best, ReactOS just saves me $140.
It wold solve my >5K of software that won't run on any Windows past XP. It would solve my having to deal with Win 8 turning my new computer into a fondleslab. ...
Wouldn't a good /etc/hosts file successfully drop beta.slashdot.org, while allowing Slashdot.org? Yeah, yeah, I know, ReactOS won't support /etc/hosts
If they remove the 400 bugs t will not be able to compete with real windows. Sorry
Very well done indeed. I haven't seen a troll that good in a long time. My own personal best was when I suggested to slashdot that big business invented the internet. This n00b act is pretty hilarious though. Too bad his username gave him away. With all these slashdot beta posts, I was afraid the trolls had gotten boring while I was away.