So, if you’ve never heard of ReactOS, it’s an alternative to Windows, except it’s open source, and reverse engineered.
The end result is, if it works on Windows, it works on ReactOS natively.
Now, as you might imagine, there are some issues with this. The most glaring one being that they’re currently in the year 2003. That’s the level they’re at with software. It’s not even emulation. It’s running the software natively, and it’s written from scratch.
But my takeaway is that Linux running windows apps natively would improve people’s hesitation to running linux.
Now since ReactOS is FOSS, any improvements made upon it could then be forked over to Linux. And if someone made a ReactOS fork, that isn’t linux, that’s good too (as long as it stays open source). Any advancements made by this new theoretical fork of ReactOS could ALSO be forked into linux.
Right now, development is slow, because it’s a community driven effort without much of a community. If it had a large and engaged community, all legally reverse engeneering the ways of windows? That would allow basically EVERY OS to have FOSS unofficial native windows support.
So I guess my question is, for an OS that’s been in development since 1998, why doesn’t the linux community embrace ReactOS?
I thought the whole goal of ReactOS was to get to a point where wine isn’t needed at all. You just take the .exe installer, and install it. Just like windows.
The issue is that they’re so poorly staffed that they’re waaaaaay behind on what Windows considers modern. They’re doing an impressive job reverse engeneering, but it’s still a 20 year old system. They partially rely on wine currently because of how unfinished THEIR work is.
But my vision is that thousands of people each contributing small little bits here and there, all contributing to the code of ReactOS. Eventually they could move beyond XP, into Windows & era, and Windows 8 era, and Windows 10 era, and Windows 11 era. But since it’s NOT microsoft, and since it’s NOT windows, it wouldn’t come with any of the stuff people hate about those versions. It would come with the compatibility, but not the forced spying, or the bloat, or the forced subscriptions.
The thing I read is that Windows 95 was composed of around 1000 people all working towards the same goal, with the same tools, at the same time. All getting paid as their full time job. ReactOS has about 30 people, who are all fighting with each other. Their last stable release was 2021, but they do have nightly builds that are “current”. But with so much infighting, and so few people, and not being a full time priority, it doesn’t get the support it should.
As far as what linux would gain by ReactOS reverse engeneering modern day OS’s? It would mean ANY program that was originally intended for windows could be installed via the .exe file, on ANY linux distro. Using the same gui setup that windows users know how to do. Which in turn would make it 1000% easier to convince a new user to switch from Windows to Linux, if you could say “You can run all the same programs, you already know how to use it, and it’s free.” THAT would be the game changer.