Can anyone comment on this Freedows OS, and whether it is in any way a threat to msft. I refer to their FAQ page, an exerpt of which follows...
calgary.shaw.wave.ca
Q1: What is Freedows?
A: Freedows is a new operating system being developed by programmers from around the world.
It will, among other things, be the first ever *FREE*, full-scale OS to provide integrated support
for 16/32 Bit Windows Applications. Additionally, through a fairly new concept in OS Kernel
technology, called the Cache Kernel, Freedows will be able to provide "on-the-fly OS plug-in
support." What this means, is that any system, be it an OS, or a complete architecture, will have
the ability to be fully compatable with Freedows, without having to rewrite the entire Kernel, etc.
For example, through the use of these Application Kernels, as they are called, Freedows will be
able to run applications created from systems such as the Apple Macintosh, or for Linux. And,
because Freedows will be Released under the GNU Public License, all source code will be made
freely available, allowing for users to modify the OS for their own specific purposes. Also, this will
aid in development of Freedows specific applications, as developers will actually be able to
*SEE* how API calls are implemented in an actual working OS. The educational and speed
benefits of such a system can definitely be easily seen.
As of this time, Freedows is very early in its development -- ie, a few members of the team are
working on code, and some parts of the system are still having their designs finalized, while still
more designs will be created as parts of the system develop. |
