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Open Source BeOS Successor Haiku Releases R1/beta 1 (haiku-os.org)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the what-comes-after-Be dept.

Remember Haiku, the open source successor to the Be operating system? Long-time Slashdot reader GuerillaRadio quotes a new announcement from Haiku-os.org: It's been just about a month less than six years since Haiku's last release in November 2012 -- too long. As a result of such a long gap between releases, there are a lot more changes in this release than in previous ones, and so this document is weightier than it has been in the past. The notes are mostly organized in order of importance and relevance, not chronologically, and due to the sheer number of changes, thousands of smaller improvements simply aren't recognized here.

Please keep in mind that this is beta-quality software, which means it is feature complete but still contains known and unknown bugs. While we are mostly confident in its stability, we cannot provide assurances against data loss.

16 of 40 comments (clear)

  1. heavy requirements. by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 4, Informative

    MINIMUM (32-bit)
    Processor: Intel Pentium II; AMD Athlon
    Memory: 256MB
    Monitor: 800x600
    Storage: 3GB

    Frankly, those are some heavy requirements. That's even heavier than WinXP requirements! (233MHz/64MB/800x600/1.5GB)

    Developers are really spoiled by modern hardware.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:heavy requirements. by Hamsterdan · · Score: 1

      And win95 boots with a 386 and 4MB RAM. Doesn't mean it's useable. Running XP under 512MB is punishment.

      --
      I've got better things to do tonight than die.
  2. Re:Lol, BeOS, die already by Stormwatch · · Score: 1

    Ah, that list reminds me of a time when web browsers were not the pointlessly massive resource hogs of today.

    --
    Circumcision is child abuse.
  3. We need SJWs by TimMD909 · · Score: 1
    We need Software Justice Warriors. It's obvious this project is held down and repressed by the Winimacnux Empire(TM).

    On a serious note, why is it taking so long to get proper? Is it just a matter of critical mass, or is the architecture not useful enough? I honestly wanna know. It seems like a fun nostalgia project, but beyond that, I don't see the utility.

    1. Re:We need SJWs by GerryGilmore · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Let's face it - this is a hobbyist project done totally by volunteers with pretty much zero money, who are just doing it for the thrill of doing it. So, it's not "architecture", but there is certainly no "critical mass" yearning for it. Having said all that, Good on Them! God Bless geeks who do stuff just for the technical thrill of it.

    2. Re:We need SJWs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      There's only a handful of dedicated devs working on it. Lots of interest from folks wholly unqualified to contribute actual code or even test releases. Eventually, someone's gotta roll up the sleeves and get on it. OS X pulled a lot of brainpower from the BeOS mindshare (*NIX, POSIX, well integrated GUI) and while running on ancient hardware is a nicety, it's rather novel considering laptops 5 or 6 years ago are still running just fine even with the latest OS updates.

      I'd love to see the BeOS folks just focus on doing one thing extremely well: content creation (music/video), with an eye towards other apps (server/generic desktop usage). Get full 3D acceleration working, get a fantastic audio subsystem, dump some dev work into audio/video/graphics production. If I won the lottery or sold a startup for a quarter million, I'd certainly think about dumping a small portion into a full time dev team to get this going. Until then...

  4. Obligatory Haiku by davidwr · · Score: 1

    BeOS reborn
    Many years in the making
    Spring comes to the south

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  5. Compared to Reactos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Haikiu is truly impressive. It's alpha release was better than anything Reactos has ever produced. The Haiku alpha release would have been labeled a "stable" release 1.0 by most projects. Haiku has a very, very, conservative attitude toward releases. They under-hype which is amazing in and of itself in these times.

  6. Yay, congratulations! by Hallux-F-Sinister · · Score: 2

    Please keep in mind that this is beta-quality software, which means it is feature complete but still contains known and unknown bugs. While we are mostly confident in its stability, we cannot provide assurances against data loss.

    ...just like the last several releases of M$ “Windows,” Apple’s ”iMacOSx,” (or whatever they’re calling it this week,) and “iOS,” (which I’ve been quietly amusing myself by reading that word as if it rhymes with bulldoze, phonetically: “aye-ohze,” because frankly, it’s a stupid name, and it deserves to get made fun of).

    It’s okay. We’re used to it. All computer & software users are beta testers, nowadays, whether they want to be or not, whether they even realize it or not.

    Just release it already.

    --
    Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.
  7. Bet the OS fits in 64... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It's Webkit and company responsible for bloating the minimum usable ram requirement to 256 megabytes. And if you compared Windows XP SP3 plus equivalent utilities (including a newer browser than IE7), I bet you would find it being close to that 256 megabyte limit too.

  8. I protest! by phantomfive · · Score: 1

    My biggest complaint about Haiku OS is that there are no haikus anywhere. Not in the comments, not in the name. Talk about a missed opportunity! I refuse to use any OS that so seriously misrepresents itself.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    1. Re:I protest! by Hallux-F-Sinister · · Score: 4, Funny

      My biggest complaint about Haiku OS is that there are no haikus anywhere. Not in the comments, not in the name. Talk about a missed opportunity! I refuse to use any OS that so seriously misrepresents itself.

      But your complaint was itself not in the form of a haiku either. Here, let me try:

      Misappellation
      They should have to change its name
      Call it something else

      Haiku are poems
      Not operating systems
      Do please try again

      Heheheh... and a few more just for fun...

      Years like drops of rain
      A river flows, splash of time
      New Haiku released

      Blood, sweat, many tears
      BeOS' ghost in baby's cries
      What had died, reborn

      I liked that one so much I'm going to reuse part of it...

      Blood, sweat, many tears
      Would-be users waited years
      Can we install now?

      --
      Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.
  9. Re:"mostly confident in its stability" -- by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    There'll be a Duke Nukem port real soon now.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  10. Re:For all Kernal developers out there by Megol · · Score: 1

    Or stay with Linux and do the same?

  11. Haiku OS on xkcd by psnyder · · Score: 1

    Obligatory XKCD from October 15, 2010.

  12. No hybrid? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    x86, or x86_64. Doesn't even appear to be a qmake for x86_64? Used to be able to solve this problem by installing the x86 version on a hybrid install, but now there isn't one?

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"