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.
BlueEther ,
@BlueEther@no.lastname.nz avatar

I remember running BeOS back in the early 90s so I guess I’d go with Haiku

bionicjoey ,

TempleOS, because for it to go mainstream, a sizeable chunk of the population would need to go fully insane, and I think that'd be interesting

philpo ,

Maybe more insane would actually cancel out the insanity already existing?

Or do I now sound insane?

Anyway, came for Temple OS as well.

CanadaPlus ,

Yup. Ctrl+F'd here.

Andromxda ,
@Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

OpenBSD. Imagine everyone just running a secure OS.

barsquid ,

L4! Imagine all we could do if the kernel was tiny and everything was user space.

ICastFist OP ,
@ICastFist@programming.dev avatar

Had a quick read about it, looks like an interesting skeleton to base an end user OS.

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)

kylie_kraft ,

Firefox OS. ...really I just want Chrome OS but FOSS by Mozilla. I know it's anti-privacy, but having sign-in + 1 click deployment on a new device is dope

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

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.

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.

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.

Glitch ,

PalmOS as an alternative to Android/ios

mindbleach ,

Youtube in 160x160 at 1bpp.

captain_aggravated ,
@captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works avatar

I'm pretty sure it was 2 bits per pixel; my Palm M125 could do four shades of grey.

some_guy ,

Do you mean the successor WebOS? Cause I thought that was pretty cool when I test-drove it in a mobile store.

ICastFist OP ,
@ICastFist@programming.dev avatar

It really feels like any alternative in mobile space would be a welcome addition, though first we'd need OEMs to stop being assholes and allow users to more easily install custom ROMs or whatever.

maniii ,

Now only to be found on LG TVs. :-(

JohnBon ,

Qubes

Fubarberry ,
@Fubarberry@sopuli.xyz avatar

Qubes is linux isn't it?

Andromxda ,
@Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Technically it's based on the Xen type-1 hypervisor

ICastFist OP ,
@ICastFist@programming.dev avatar

But that's Linux

JohnBon ,

Honnest question: why is it Linux? I can't find relevant information on the matter. Every source point the fact that it's a bare metal hypervisor therefore not Linux but that's all. Could you enlighten me on the matter? Thanks in advance.

ICastFist OP ,
@ICastFist@programming.dev avatar

That was my first impression after a quick glance at it, since it listed Fedora, Debian and several other linux "flavors", plus wikipedia lists it as "OS Family: Linux".

Looking and paying proper attention, I see that it doesn't actually use the linux kernel, the OS just starts VMs for whatever applications you need. The dom0, the "main virtualized OS" and basically the bare minimum the user will interact with, runs Fedora, which is linux.

I see why I'd still call it linux, even if it's "not really" linux due to the kernel (Xen hypervisor) being something completely different, because all the user interaction goes through Fedora.

JohnBon ,

Thanks for the explanation, I understand now your point of view.
It sums up on which layer we consider then.
BTW qubes is a fantastic OS if you want isolation of information or privacy. One VM could serve for work, another for browsing, and eventually for privacy.
Take care !

Fleppensteijn ,
@Fleppensteijn@feddit.nl avatar

OS/2 Warp

Gobo ,
@Gobo@lemmy.world avatar

I was looking for this

gregorum , (edited )
@gregorum@lemm.ee avatar

Haiku - based on BeOS

"inspired by" would be more accurate. there's no original BeOS code in Haiku for legal reasons (other than the interface, which was open-sourced with the release of BeOS 5). All backwards-compatibility with original BeOS software is (impressively) reverse-engineered. Haiku OS is, itself, original software made to - in every way - look, feel, and operate just like BeOS did.

edit: i had a buddy in high school who had a BeBox. it was like having the best of a Mac and a PC in one machine. it really was a spectacular machine and OS. i really wish Apple had picked it up, but they went with NeXTSTEP instead, which, i admit, was still a pretty solid choice.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • random
  • asklemmy@lemmy.ml
  • test
  • worldmews
  • mews
  • All magazines
    •