The one killer app missing from React OS

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dizt3mp3r
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Re: The one killer app missing from React OS

Post by dizt3mp3r »

Nope, that is not a game changer for ReactOS. Use cases for ReactOS that are game changers only when Windows has problems or costs involved in running the software in question. If ReactOS is the only system that can usefully accomplish it or where ReactOS can do it more easily or significantly better/faster then it is a game changer. You can already run Steam on Windows and Linux and so being able to run Steam on ReactOs would not change much, a few might use it but unless there is a real advantage in doing so on ReactOS, it adds not a lot.
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PeterLinuxer
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Re: The one killer app missing from React OS

Post by PeterLinuxer »

dizt3mp3r wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 2:34 pm You can already run Steam on Windows and Linux and so being able to run Steam on ReactOs would not change much, a few might use it but unless there is a real advantage in doing so on ReactOS, it adds not a lot.
But there ain't and will never be an app that runs on ReactOS but doesn't run on Windows. So I think there will never be a program that fits your definition of killer app. Or am I missing something here?

(Edit: And I don't see how an app would run faster or better on ReactOS than on Windows.)

And there would be the advantage of running Steam on a libre and gratis Windows-style OS where people aren't bound to Microsoft's mercy (for support, updates etc.) and aren't forced to learn Unix admin stuff (like you have to learn to operate Linux).

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ReactOS is in early development phase! And ReactOS is not Linux.
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leppy232
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Re: The one killer app missing from React OS

Post by leppy232 »

Well, because ROS' target is Server '03, it might be better for older software that breaks in newer versions of Windows, especially since it supports a gF4/Pentium III combo, while still allowing for more recent software to run as well. I know that Half-Life 1's original CD release as an example worked perfectly under Windows XP but I hear that Windows 10 doesn't handle it very well at all. And there's non-game examples of that as well, but you get the idea.
Also, WOW32 is now going to be a ROS only feature since 11 is amd64-only and IIRC doesn't have a WOW32 port to 64-bit.
Currently using: 0.4.15-x86-dev-4872-g8a3db97 (VirtualBox)
Pretty good so far, keep up the good work! :D
Formerly tested on: Dell Inspiron 2200, HP Pavilion p7-1155, want to test on: Dell Inspiron 8500, custom-build ROS machine (P4 2.8GHz, GF6800 Ultra)
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: The one killer app missing from React OS

Post by dizt3mp3r »

PeterLinuxer wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 3:55 pm
But there ain't and will never be an app that runs on ReactOS but doesn't run on Windows. So I think there will never be a program that fits your definition of killer app. Or am I missing something here?
Of course there are. Microsoft regularly scuppers applications in one way or another, you obviously have not been a victim. I have at least six/seven apps that cannot run on current Windows for various reasons, either they don't work as expected, are virtually impossible to install without significant hacks, are blocked from operating due to a removal of functionality from the o/s or are prevented from operating due to a bad design decision. Legacy apps become legacy apps for a reason, often that reason is simply Microsoft.
PeterLinuxer wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 3:55 pm (Edit: And I don't see how an app would run faster or better on ReactOS than on Windows.)
Some apps on ReactOS are more suited to a slimline, faster o/s without all the gubbins and overheads 'modern' Windows provides, therefore possibly faster and hence therefore - better. Any additional speed improvements would be down to the skill of our devs when implementing APIs and other o/s functions. Audio processing is an example of a type of app that is better suited to an o/s that has less background tasks going on, no hiccups.
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PeterLinuxer
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Re: The one killer app missing from React OS

Post by PeterLinuxer »

I watch a tendency of most software to become more and more bloated and thereby slower. I think Wirth's law applies. Even open source software has this tendency. Like the Linux kernel, the big Linux desktop environments, the browsers and _many_ more. So I'm pleased to hear that there is ReactOS as an exception! :)

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ReactOS is in early development phase! And ReactOS is not Linux.
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leppy232
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Re: The one killer app missing from React OS

Post by leppy232 »

dizt3mp3r wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 9:26 pmAudio processing is an example of a type of app that is better suited to an o/s that has less background tasks going on, no hiccups.
No better OS on that front that I've experienced than the Mac OS, either 8.6 or 9.2, on real hardware. It really is crazy how lightweight it is, even on hardware as lowly as my 333MHz 750L. ROS (and Haiku) hopefully will come around and take up its mantle soon enough.
Currently using: 0.4.15-x86-dev-4872-g8a3db97 (VirtualBox)
Pretty good so far, keep up the good work! :D
Formerly tested on: Dell Inspiron 2200, HP Pavilion p7-1155, want to test on: Dell Inspiron 8500, custom-build ROS machine (P4 2.8GHz, GF6800 Ultra)
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: The one killer app missing from React OS

Post by dizt3mp3r »

I am sure but there is a community that works exclusively on Windows as the hardware is available and the platform is cheap. Their problem is that Windows is top heavy and not always suitable for the type of slimline operation that they need. ReactOS will fit the bill perfectly when it is stable.
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: The one killer app missing from React OS

Post by dizt3mp3r »

Legacy apps as a group are the killer apps that might cause a serious initial uptake of ReactOs when stable. The ability to run a slimline and more-importantly, licence-free, Windows-compatible, virtual os in a sandbox seems to me to be the killer-usage and of course will run any Windows app. - eventually.

A defined 'killer app' on the above killer environment - even better.
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MadWolf
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Re: The one killer app missing from React OS

Post by MadWolf »

hi
op the recommended way to test ReactOS is in a VM so if there was a good open-source RDP server that can run on ReactOS or if there was a new RDP server written for ReactOS it may run into the problem that it may not run stable because parts of ReactOS the software needs to run the software have not been implemented or partially implemented

if I was going to set up a ReactOS as an RDP server ReactOS will need to support file and printer sharing then set the software to save all documents to a sherd folder and on the file server to have a program running to check the documents have not been damaged and then they are back up and if a document is damaged during transfer to the file server then the backup is restored

not a killer app but a killer feature I am a pc gamer so if ReactOS supported hardware-accelerated Vulkan rendering then I can use Dxvk to play games on ReactOS windows users can use Dxvk to improve performance for some games
Aeneas
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Re: The one killer app missing from React OS

Post by Aeneas »

There is no "killer app", because legacy software does not offer "killer apps". (Killer app defined as an app that makes you buy a computer or install a system, famously VisiCalc for microcomputers, FORTRAN for mainframes, or a GUI for getting into Mac&Windows. No sane person does forward-facing investments on a backward-facing system) ReactOS will rather "lose" killer apps in that "nice" 32-bit programs will start falling out of favour, a situation most noticeable on the browser front. The ability to run older programs will become practically less relevant with hardware vanishing that targets older systems and licenses becoming dirt cheap on the second-hand market for anyone who needs to have one.

It is thus becoming something like "FreeDOS" or "DosBox", just for Windows programs.

However - it may indeed have a future as an "academic" OS. Its achievements in such measure are beyond what most academic OSes can ever hope. How does ReactOS measure up against Windows or Linux, in terms rooted in actual reality? "Not so great." How does ReactOS do compared to Minix 3 or GNU Hurd? - "Marvelously, actually."
middings
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Re: The one killer app missing from React OS

Post by middings »

The capabilities required for a ReactOS minimum viable product and its use will probably surprise us all.
ReactifSE
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Re: The one killer app missing from React OS

Post by ReactifSE »

As discussed above, there probably won't be any killer app for ReactOS, but that's not an issue... since ReactOS in itself is a killer feature : it's Windows as it should be. Lean and without Microsoft control.

The latter part is increasingly more relevant. Win 10 has been a complete departure from Win 7 in that regard. The user is no longer in control of the software - you have to do what your computer tells you to. It's mind-bogglingly stupid but this logic won't go away anytime soon.
And now I've read that MS intends to force people to register an account on their servers just to use Win 11.

All of that stuff is going from bad to worse. ReactOS will be a fantastic alternative for the small crowd wishing to go back to the roots of Windows. Once the beta is released, there should be a small but solid following, gaining new users over time, as stability is refined and features are expanded.
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leppy232
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Re: The one killer app missing from React OS

Post by leppy232 »

And, ROS can be ported to other architectures, so you can keep going with it even if you're using, say, ARM or ppc64le or RISC-V.
Currently using: 0.4.15-x86-dev-4872-g8a3db97 (VirtualBox)
Pretty good so far, keep up the good work! :D
Formerly tested on: Dell Inspiron 2200, HP Pavilion p7-1155, want to test on: Dell Inspiron 8500, custom-build ROS machine (P4 2.8GHz, GF6800 Ultra)
scottmccarthy945
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Re: The one killer app missing from React OS

Post by scottmccarthy945 »

I just don't understand why ReactOS can't get proper funding from a large company like Oracle or Red Hat. Or maybe Amazon who can use it to host Windows apps without spending a fortune on WIndows licenses. Why can't ReactOS find a company to invest in the 1400 engineers you need to finish this OS in a reasonable amount of time? I have to imagine someone like Amazon or any other company that is paying a fortune in WIndows licenses would prefer to invest in the project and have an open source Windows desktop long term over continuing to pay millions in licensing every year.

Is this not possible? I just cannot imagine there is not a company out there that would love to see this project come out of beta and use the OS large scale.
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dizt3mp3r
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Re: The one killer app missing from React OS

Post by dizt3mp3r »

Who is this ReactOS of whom you speak? Do you the mean the operating system or the team that creates it?

The team is comprised of people that donate their time developing, if you are so sure you can get that funding, it being so easy, then go and get that funding. You will then be a contributing member of that team.
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