who's trying out ReactOS when it goes Beta?

[jasong]

http://www.reactos.org

It's in alpha right now, and probably won't be beta for a while yet.

For those who don't know, ReactOS is a project for people who aren't necessarily keen on Windows OSes, but feel the need to run programs that run on the Windows OS. ReactOS is an attempt to make a new OS that will run programs made for Windows, except ReactOS is open-source. And, no, it doesn't involve patent violations.

[Bok]

Can't say I'd heard of it till you mentioned it. But I'll give it a go, at least running under http://www.vmware.com

Bok

[alpha]

I don't know if it will ever be robust enough for people to use for more than an application or two.

If it was capable of supporting some popular games, it would probably be extremely popular, since some people use Windows for gaming alone.

[jasong]

I don't know if it will ever be robust enough for people to use for more than an application or two.
People said the same thing about Linux. From what I've read, Linux's downfall was the success of Apple.

The thing about ReactOS is that it could possibly become more desirable than Linux from the perspective of it's ability to run programs for free. I'm thinking that programmers have egos, not necessarily big egos, but egos, nonetheless. A lot of them might begin to support this OS simply because it'll make more people appreciative of their work. If you support Linux, most of the people you impress will be intelligent and fairly hard-working, but still a small group. If ReactOS becomes more mainstream, you have the potential of impressing a larger audience.

In a nutshell, intelligent people don't necessarily want to hang out with other intelligent people, sometimes they find other traits appealing. And if you want to make friends fast, supporting a free replacement for Windows isn't a bad idea.

[alpha]

For ReactOS to be useful, it would have to be more effective than Wine so they already have a lot of work to do. Also, Linux is already capable of running certain (modern) games.

[magnav0x]

I don't think Linux's downfall was the success of Apple. Apple's success has been well documented since the 80's. Linux was just hopping alive in the mid 90's. Linux's downfall is all the dumb computer users around the world who don't know what a blinking cursor in a terminal screen is for.

I'd have to agree with the assumption that it would need to be able to support a wide range of video games which means some DirectX implimentations. They couldn't possibly incorporate that technology without infringing patents. Video games are the sole reason I have to have a windows partition on my main rig. With the steady growth of Web 2.0 applications that is all Windows will be good for in a another decade.

[LAURENU2]

what a blinking cursor in a terminal screen is for.
:umm: I always just stared at it:looney: