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Beta Release Nears For BeOS-inspired Open Source OS Haiku (computerworld.com.au)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the pure-poetry dept.

angry tapir writes: Just over 17 years since the project launched, and more than 18 years since the last release of the operating system that inspired it, the open source Haiku OS is nearing a beta release.

8 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Can I play Bioforge? by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Funny

    I just want to know if Haiku OS will have support for my Riva 128 and my Soundblaster 16.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  2. Only three beta versions will be available. by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 2

    Versions 5, 7 and then 5 again.

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  3. Excellent news. by jd · · Score: 2

    The OS market has shriveled over the years, research OS' aren't contributing much to the scene and the Big Three (Windows, Linux, NetBSD) are showing signs of stagnation.

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    1. Re:Excellent news. by williamyf · · Score: 2

      I love that someone with a UID as low as yours would actually include *BSD in a list called "Big Three".

      How Slashdot has fallen...

      AnonC, I slightly altered your Quote.

      One one realizes that MacOS and iOS are kinda sorta BSD-ish behind the scenes, and that Android uses the Linux Kernel behind the scenes, one can be sure that those are indeed "The Big Three"

      --
      *** Suerte a todos y Feliz dia!
  4. BeOS was way ahead of its time .. by najajomo · · Score: 3, Informative

    Like a lot of other real innovaton, Microsoft tried to strangle BeOS at birth. In this case by leaning on Hitachi to remove BeOS from the boot sequence.

    Microsoft Settles Anti-Trust Charges with Be

    Microsoft Litigation

  5. Really? Ex BeOS fan, here. by blind+biker · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I loved BeOS. Fuck it, I still love it - still the ONLY OS that completely prioritizes the user. When you interact with the OS you can feel it actually listens to you. None of that "wait, I got a huge file to copy, but I'll be with you in a few seconds". No, BeOS has interaction with the user as it's highest priority. AFAIK it is a near-real time OS, which helps with media processing and replay. Also, extremely low latencies, useful for MIDI sequencers and softsynths.

    But I wasn't really happy with what Haiku-OS was doing. The team was working not to create the main working skeleton of BeOS, but rather some ancillary projects like package management. BeOS did not have a package manager. Sure, that's not nice but all I wanted is to at least get to the point of readiness of BeOS, not shoot for the moon.

    And because of decisions like that, after 17 years we're only at a Beta stage. Sad.

    --
    "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
    1. Re:Really? Ex BeOS fan, here. by irving47 · · Score: 4, Informative

      True all that. I remember putting it on a Power Macintosh 8600 or 7500 I had access to and watching the windows redraw and play video files while moving them around on the screen was mind-boggling. The same task on Windows and Mac OS 8 or 9 at the time was enough to drop the machine to its knees. It was amazing.

      --
      I had a sucky sig.
    2. Re:Really? Ex BeOS fan, here. by kallisti5 · · Score: 2

      Except those apps didn't have complex dependencies like today's apps. Linux (and other ported) apps expect a large number of dependencies to be filled.