In the last year we have witnessed a renewal of the operating systems used by 99% of the world's computer users: Windows, Linux with all its distributions and Apple's MAC OS. If you really wanted to make a criticism, all these version updates have not brought any revolution in the use of the computer, even if they have brought improvements, there have been no changes. For the more curious and for those who would like to discover something different and alternative, we see 12 operating systems that are not Windows, Linux or Mac (or Unix) but which are completely independent, alternative and opensource . In most cases these are available as ISO images to be burned onto CDs and tested live, without therefore installing them by replacing Windows or Linux.
Alternatively, a simpler approach is to use a PC emulator like VirtualBox or another that lends itself well for these experiments called Qemu.
With these tools you can try these systems so little known without wasting any CD, directly from the computer.
1) ReactOS is the most famous (think others you will say) among the open-source operating systems that are neither Windows nor Linux.
The reason why React OS was born was to be able to use a free system on the computer, to run all the programs that work on Windows .
The project, always opposed by Microsoft, was born first with the name of FreeWin95 and was to become a free clone of Windows 95.
Given the technical difficulties, the project failed and was reborn in 1998 with the name of ReactOS. Today, ReactOS is based on a kernel (the heart of the system) created at home but the project makes massive use of the WINE libraries which are popular for running Windows applications on Linux.
ReactOS is available as an installable Live CD or as a real operating system, it is equipped with a desktop similar to Windows 2000 that suffers a bit in the actual compatibility with all programs for Windows.
The fact remains that programs such as Firefox (with Flash), OpenOffice, StarCraft, Diablo 2, Quake III Arena and many applications work well while MS Office is not quite right. The real problem of ReactOS is the lack of funding and slow development; if the work accelerated and the developers managed to create a stable and fast system in which all Windows programs really work, then I really think Microsoft would be in trouble.
2) Haiku OS is the evolution of an old project called BeOS that made people talk about it back in 1990. If you want to try it you have to download the RAW image to use in Qemu, the virtualization program. Haiku has a minimal interface, with few written and buttons only graphical and without titles or descriptions.
Even from the emulator it can be seen that it is a very fast operating system to perform operations precisely because it is very light.
The programs are included in the system and have a Unix systems Bash shell. Of all the non-Windows, Linux or Mac alternative operating systems, currently Haiku, still in the Alpha phase, is the closest to achieving a stable and functioning version even if, we will have to wait.
3) Syllable is an operating system created out of nothing, which would like to be the easiest to use .
After booting from Live CD, you can log in with the 'root' user and the 'root' password.
The desktop is cheerful, colorful and clean and contains basic applications and programs. It is incredibly fast (also because it is very light) and would also have the potential to be an excellent operating system to be used in older slower desktop PCs.
The flaw is a clear lack of native software and the development of the project has slowed sharply in the past two years.
4) ArcaOS is an operating system based on the latest version of OS / 2, still actively developed with editions in Spanish and German. ArcaOS includes a solid Unix compatibility subsystem, with a variety of Linux apps. ArcaOS is a 32-bit operating system that works with the x86 processor architecture. The native file system is JFS but can still work with FAT12, FAT16 or FAT32 disk formatting.
5) FreeBSD is based on UNIX with a user interface similar to Windows, very easy to use. The idea behind it is to provide users with a complete desktop operating system that does not require resource protection against viruses and spyware. The development of this system is absolutely alive and is often updated with new programs and new resources.
6) AROS will be the joy of the nostalgic because it is based on the Commodore Amiga operating system.
Despite the failure of the Commodore 15 years ago, it still has its fans and I want to remember that Amiga from the late 80s, thanks to its graphics and sound, made the PCs of the time ashamed. AROS would like to put Amiga on modern PCs and you can try it by burning the ISO called 'pc-i386-boot-iso' on a CD and starting the computer from the CD-Rom. Unfortunately this AROS is full of problems, there are errors all the time and every time you have to restart because there is no memory protection system.
Recommended for diehard fans of the old Commodore computer.
7) Morphos OS is similar to Aros, always based on the Commodore Amiga operating system, which only works on PowerPC, that is, on old Macs.
8) Aranym is instead a virtual machine that emulates the old Atari .
You can download it as a program on a normal Windows or you can use the live cd.
AFROS is extremely ugly to look at and remains only for the nostalgic.
9) Kolibri OS is the most ambitious project on the list that presents itself as the smallest operating system with extreme performance .
Written entirely in assembly language, KolibriOS has managed to insert multitasking, a graphic desktop, TCP / IP network, USB support, multimedia content playback and many other features on a 1.44 MB floppy disk . Really not to believe in fact, practically you start it in two seconds flat from the Floppy Disk, the menu is similar to that of Windows and there are a lot of utility programs.
This KolibriOS is a system that can be taken into account that can be used in emergencies or as a portable system.
To test it on a PC without a floppy drive, you can install the virtual floppy.
10) Plan 9 is an ancient project born in the 70s that wanted to go beyond Unix. The goal was to want to treat anything like a file, including, for example, network connections and the user interface.
Ultimately, Plan 9 is addressed only to OS programmers and is not for users.
11) FreeDOS is a system that reproduces the old DOS with which PCs were used before Windows. You can download the ISO in a small 8 MB version and a large 153 MB compressed version with software and drivers. There should also be a graphical desktop if OpenGEM is started.
12) Minix is a small variant of Unix which becomes a useful learning tool for expert developers. The curiosity is that Minix is the platform that Linus Torvalds used to develop the first version of Linux and its code is fully documented.
13) eComStation is an operating system derived from IBM OS2 that uses modern hardware. In essence it is a system that allows the older applications of IBM, Dos and OS2 to run on modern computers. It is not a system intended for home PCs, but for commercial applications and, in fact, you pay for it and it is the only non-free one on this list.
Other practically unknown operating systems are TempleOS, an ancient archeological system written in Davis, Visopsys, a very curious independent project that you can also download and try and MenuetOS which is quite recent, written in Assembly and, from the web page, you can guess a certain ambition and constant development.
In other articles you will find:
- online operating systems;
- ultralight Linux systems like Google Chrome OS;
- best Linux distributions.
- Android for PC.
