ReactOS - The new Open Source and free "Windows-like" system

Considering the path MS has taken with Windows, which I think is totally unacceptable, I have been twisting my mind wondering what the future will look like in regards of using MultiCharts. Maybe luckily I stumbled on ReactOS a little while ago. Regarding testing with MultiCharts I am a bit ahead of my self here, but thought I could share the information right away.

Regarding reliability for everyday computing (security, stability, and performance that is) I migrated away from Windows some time ago ending up with FreeBSD with MATE as a installed desktop system on top of the operating system. But using MultiCharts I have been forced to continue using Windows with a couple of machines. As for reliability I can mention that Google, Netflix and so on are using FreeBSD on their servers. For people not familiar with the BSD systems, I can mention that they are labeled Unix-like just as GNU/Linux, going back to the time of Research UNIX in the beginning of the 1970's. Other popular BSD systems are OpenBSD, NetBSD, and DragonflyBSD. BSD stands for Berkley Software Distribution, stemming from University of California, Berkeley. Apple's Mac OS X is based on BSD. Difference being that all the former are free.

ReactOS is lightweight and kind of to Windows as GNU/Linux is to UNIX. Meaning, ReactOS is Windows NT-compatible and written from scratch and up. At the moment ReactOS is at Alpha stage. It is community driven and funded by donations.

ReactOS is Open Source and free, licensed using GNU GPL, LGPL, and BSD licenses. The goal is to be compatible with all Windows applications.

I have been considering trying MultiCharts with FreeBSD and Wine, but getting MultiCharts to work with Wine can very likely end up being an unsuccessful venture. Since ReactOS aims to become fully Windows NT-compatible I'm thinking this is most probably the better alternative.

Regarding this thread I am thinking that I will in time post my experiences and are hoping others will do the same. Remember that it is still "alpha" and not ready for replacing your current OS.

Cheers,
Archer

Links:

On Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReactOS
Home page: https://www.reactos.org/
Download: https://www.reactos.org/download
User faqs: https://www.reactos.org/joining/faqs
Wiki: https://www.reactos.org/wiki/Welcome_to ... pment_Wiki

Archer,
Thanks for this info. I briefly looked at the links you posted. Wikipedia says this OS was derived from earlier versions of Windows. In your opinion, what is the benefit of using this OS over windows 7 for example?
Thanks
Erol