10 best alternative operating systems

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/10-best-alternative-operating-systems-934484

 

 

10. GNU/HURD

Fighting for microkernels
www.gnu.org/software/hurd

The GNU project started in 1984 to create a completely free software Unix OS. By the early '90s it had many tools finished, but still no kernel. Linux arrived and was paired with GNU to form what we now call Linux (also known as GNU/Linux).

However, the GNU project has been developing a kernel called HURD. This is based on the Mach microkernel, as used in Mac OS X, and consists of servers running in their own address spaces.

 

9. JNode

Desktop Java to the extreme
www.jnode.org

Java's heyday on the desktop is long gone, with web-based games and apps mostly delivered by Flash and HTML5. But there's one project that aims to prove that Java can still hack it when it comes to desktop computing - JNode.

 

8. FreeVMS

Industrial strength OS
www.freevms.net

Back in the '70s and '80s, the main competitor to Unix on big-iron hardware was VMS. Famed for its stability, running on chunky fridge-like boxes called VAXes, it included advanced clustering and security features for its time, along with an automatic versioning file system.

 

7. DexOS

Mini OS with console-like GUI
www.dex4u.com

For a desktop operating system, we expect the usual assortment of window furniture, panels and launchers. DexOS is a small project that provides a more console-like approach.

 

6. Inferno

Sharing, everywhere
www.vitanuova.com/inferno/

Inferno has been doing the rounds for almost a decade, and in some respects it's still way ahead of other OSes. Inferno is built to be a distributed OS - it's designed to share resources across machines.

 

5. KolibriOS

The fastest GUI OS in existence?
www.kolibrios.org

Operating systems used to be written in assembly language, but you'd be hard pressed to find much in the source tree of a modern OS. It's true that programming in assembly is hard work, but it can often lead to results that a typical compiler can't compete with.

 

4. OpenBSD

Security before style
www.openbsd.org

Security is OpenBSD's mantra. Unlike other operating systems, which consider security a feature like performance or prettiness, the OpenBSD team won't add any code unless it's sure that it's completely free of security holes.

 

3. AROS

Something for Amiga lovers
http://aros.sourceforge.net

You may have fond memories of the Amiga. The dazzling graphics and crisp sound (when PCs were faffing around with text mode and beeps), the super-fast multi-tasking, and the, er, lack of protected memory…

2. ReactOS

Open source Windows clone that could save businesses a fortune
www.reactos.org

If you've dabbled in Linux, you may have heard of WINE, a compatibility layer that lets certain Windows programs run on Linux. Effectively, it intercepts calls to the Windows API, replacing them with Linux equivalents. It includes its own batch of DLLs, but it can use native Windows DLLs too for improved software compatibility.

1. Haiku

The lightning-fast BeOS lives on in the speedy, simple Haiku
www.haiku-os.org

And so we come to the number one project - the OS most likely to be the next big desktop hit. Why have we chosen Haiku for this slot?

Firstly, it intends to simply recreate an existing operating system, BeOS, but as open source. There's no room for changes of direction, random new features or endless arguments on mailing lists about trivial design decisions.

Secondly, the developers are passionate about their work - they love BeOS. Thirdly, a great deal of attention has been paid to presentation, documentation and the other bits developers often ignore because they'd rather be hacking code.

If you were active in the PC world in the late 1990s, you may remember BeOS. Designed for the PowerPC, it was ported to the x86 PC architecture, offering a unique experience that was designed from the ground-up for desktop computing.

BeOS demos typically showed several spinning OpenGL teapots running flawlessly on screen as multiple MP3s played in the background. In the days of Windows 9x and Mac OS 8/9, BeOS's stellar performance, simplicity and lack of historical baggage won it an army of hardcore fans.

Its file system supported attributes for storing metadata, with features making it rather like a database.

However, from a commercial perspective, BeOS suffered greatly. Be Inc, the OS's makers, found it very hard to break into the Windows-dominated PC market. Ultimately, Be Inc sued Microsoft for allegedly preventing PC makers from selling BeOS machines; Microsoft never admitted guilt, but settled out of court for $23 million. However, by this point it was too late for BeOS to gain a serious foothold in the market.