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Haiku -- new operating system (NOT Linux)

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esuhl
esuhl Posts: 9,409 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
I recently came across Haiku -- a new operating system that has just gone into its beta phase. It's based on a new open source version of BeOS (just like Linux is based on UNIX).

Being a POSIX-like system, it's easy to recompile a lot of Linux packages for Haiku (apparently!). So lots of people have ported a lot of Linux software already, which are ready to install in the package manager.

It's very lightweight, runs of a USB stick, and looks like it might be perfect for low-powered netbooks. The desktop UI menu is... a little bit odd (to say the least), but it does what you need, and everything runs super-fast.

As it's it beta, it's not yet suitable for mainstream use, although it looks very promising to me. I haven't had much time to test it, but it worked really well in VirtualBox, and performs incredibly well on my Asus EEE 901 netbook (although I need to have a play and figure out how to install network drivers).

Has anyone else tried it?

https://www.haiku-os.org/

Comments

  • that
    that Posts: 1,532 Forumite
    edited 2 December 2018 at 5:07AM
    I did try the above a good number of years ago, was not that impressed. Too steep a learning curve for too little functionality, and i had to compile sources if i wanted to use stuff. Linux was friendlier - and less work to get up and running.

    Another one for you is ReactOS, which is not linux or unix. It is a windows x32 clone, and runs windows drivers and binaries, but probably not all windows binaries?

    The desktop and interface looks like xp and server 2003 have had a child.

    I have only run it in standalone mode, non networked, but was very impressed.

    While it still has some problems, definitely one to watch, as most of us are already familiar with the xp methods of working. It was fast and small.

    http://www.reactos.org/.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uaUNyjry9A
  • esuhl
    esuhl Posts: 9,409 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    that wrote: »
    Another one for you is ReactOS, which is not linux or unix. It is a windows x32 clone, and runs windows drivers and binaries, but probably not all windows binaries?

    The desktop and interface looks like xp and server 2003 have had a child.

    I have only run it in standalone mode, non networked, but was very impressed.

    While it still has some problems, definitely one to watch, as most of us are already familiar with the xp methods of working. It was fast and small.


    ReactOS? Hang on -- I'm sure I remember coming across that around 10 or 20 years ago! It looked like a great idea, but development seemed to be going at a snail's pace. I'll definitely have another look when I get the chance -- cheers. :)
  • that
    that Posts: 1,532 Forumite
    edited 2 December 2018 at 12:43PM
    I do not think any of those two os are going anywhere soon. Both are at a snails pace. Working for free is fine but not a great motivator in the long term.

    The one with legs but wont run, is TrueOS, which once was call pcBSD which is FreeBSD with a gui.. This is the one I would install if linux was sluggish on a laptop and i was desperate

    BSD is very popular, but not by end users. it is used in iphones, the os in apple, ricoh laser printers, and loads of comms equipment, etc, and because it is free, they all rebrand it with their own name and gui
  • John_Gray
    John_Gray Posts: 5,843 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Perhaps read Jesse Smith's review in this week's Distrowatch, and the comments lower down the page...
  • I just went for a read as I was surprised anyone was mentioning Haiku as "new" when it seems to have been around forever. It was even mentioned in an xkcd several years ago as "experimental". Third panel on the right in this (one of my all time favourites) : https://xkcd.com/806/
    Proud member of the wokerati, though I don't eat tofu.Home is where my books are.Solar PV 5.2kWp system, SE facing, >1% shading, installed March 2019.Mortgage free July 2023
  • Slithery
    Slithery Posts: 6,046 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 6 December 2018 at 11:31PM
    New?

    It's been in development at least a decade in it's current form and will probably hit final the same time that Half-Life 3 is released. I remember tying up my landline for days waiting for the 40MB BeOS installer to download when I first tried using it. This was last century :)

    Fun fact - BeOS/Haiku are both currently still/already being used in production. It's the OS that runs a lot of the dedicated radio station hardware out there.
  • esuhl
    esuhl Posts: 9,409 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Slithery wrote: »
    Fun fact - BeOS/Haiku are both currently still/already being used in production. It's the OS that runs a lot of the dedicated radio station hardware out there.


    People are using an OS that has only just come out of alpha stage in production?! Surely not -- that would be crazy, wouldn't it?! :-/

    As I said, it looks promising, but it's not quite there yet.
  • esuhl
    esuhl Posts: 9,409 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Slithery wrote: »
    New?


    It's newly in beta phase.
  • Slithery
    Slithery Posts: 6,046 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 6 December 2018 at 11:44PM
    esuhl wrote: »
    People are using an OS that has only just come out of alpha stage in production?! Surely not -- that would be crazy, wouldn't it?! :-/

    People started using BeOS in production hardware decades ago when it was a current OS (it reached stable version 5 eventually I think). If you want to continue using BeOS only software on modern hardware due to software vendor lock-in then Haiku is your only option.

    And if you're thinking that there can't possibly be any BeOS only proprietory software then you'd be wrong...
    http://tunetrackersystems.com/
  • esuhl
    esuhl Posts: 9,409 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Slithery wrote: »
    People started using BeOS in production hardware decades ago when it was a current OS (it reached stable version 5 eventually I think). If you want to continue using BeOS only software on modern hardware due to software vendor lock-in then Haiku is your only option.

    And if you're thinking that there can't possibly be any BeOS only proprietory software then you'd be wrong...
    http://tunetrackersystems.com/


    But Haiku isn't BeOS. It's a new OS... or at least, it's newly in beta, as I said.
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