If you could make a non-linux OS go mainstream, which one would you pick?

I make the specification of non-linux because otherwise this would just become a thread full of obscure distros that do the same thing as a million other distros.

Some lesser known OSs:

  • AROS - based on Amiga OS, has some derivatives like IcarOS and MorphOS
  • Haiku - based on BeOS
  • Redox - Unix-like, made in Rust (might technically count as linux?)
  • Serenity - Unix-like, very late 90s look and feel
  • Kolibri - Tiny OS, the image is ~44MB. It also has a smaller version that fits in a single floppy.
  • PhantomOS - When 3 Russians decide to turn everything about a typical OS upside down.
d3Xt3r ,

Serenity for sure. I love the 90s aesthetic and would like to see it make a comeback. At the very least I'd like to see their Ladybird browser become mainstream - we really need more alternatives to the Chromium family.

unknowing8343 ,

Redox OS seems like it's turning into something cool.

azimir ,

I'm giving RedoxOS a real investigation. From a "let's actually secure the code" perspective, it's a next gen attempt over C/C++ at the kernel level.

vortexal ,
@vortexal@lemmy.ml avatar

To name something that hasn't been mentioned yet, ArcaOS, which based on OS/2. It supports modern hardware and in addition to some preinstalled software, it also has some compatibility layers to run software from other OSs.

hactar42 ,

I still remember the huge marketing push IBM put into it in the mid-90s. Who would have thought it wouldn't take off when they never actually showed what it looked like. Just a bunch of people describing it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5dtlwInFhlk

IsoSpandy ,

Refox OS. I know today isnt a magic bullet but it makes committing memory mistakes a lot harder. Also rust gets first class status as the is standard library calls it and we can slowly get over the legacy of C.

CanadaPlus ,

Nobody's mentioned Guix. It's a GNU project, which is like Nix, but has a number of novel features. I'll copy in from my own thread about it:

Based on what I’ve heard so far: GNU Shepard instead of systemd, a package manager that compiles things from source and allows user-defined compiler options, a totally different way of arranging system files, and Guile-Scheme is used for everything; it sounds like there’s no other kind of configuration anywhere.

It's planned to be Hurd compatible, so I'd argue it counts.

some_guy ,

The only one of these that I know is Haiku (as an extension of BeOS). I was already a Mac user when Apple was flirting with purchasing Be, so I installed in on my PowerMac 9500 and took it for a test spin. I liked it, though I was too young and inexperienced (and this was pre-broadband) to really get a good feel for it. I think I switched back to MacOS within a day just because what else did I know to do with it.

mindbleach ,

Something with a microkernel.

Or ideally, something like Android was supposed to be, with exclusively non-native executables. "Java but good." So I guess some .NET atrocity, or an obscure SPIR-V project.

Fleppensteijn ,
@Fleppensteijn@feddit.nl avatar

OS/2 Warp

Gobo ,
@Gobo@lemmy.world avatar

I was looking for this

FeelThePower ,
@FeelThePower@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Serenity is beautiful, so I guess I would pick that.

HarriPotero ,
@HarriPotero@lemmy.world avatar

MorphOS. It's still kicking.

deathbird ,

Haiku, but honestly I'm just happy to see the conversations here

ripcord ,
@ripcord@lemmy.world avatar

Yeah, I was going to say Haiku. It's surprisingly capable for this day and age (although needs tonnnns of work)

maniii ,

I wish Nokia N900 / N950 with Maemo or Meego OS. And full opensource, full MPL or MIT licensed.

I truly wish SailfishOS could be that replacement but I've been burnt too many times already.

yogthos ,
@yogthos@lemmy.ml avatar

Definitely Haiku, BeOS had a lot of neat ideas in it.

mexicancartel ,

Guix GNU/Hurd of course lol

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