this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2023
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[–] SheeEttin 22 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Me too. Unfortunately, given that they've got decades of work to catch up to, and a much looser (and I assume smaller) team, I don't think they'll achieve feature parity in time to be useful.

But one can hope.

[–] d3Xt3r 13 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Actually, it's already useful for some folks. Sure, if you're after a 100% feature parity to say XP, that's not happening any time soon, but there are already folks using ReactOS in niche cases like embedded systems, especially in old systems like CNC machines, scientific instruments, industrial/factory machines and so on.

The main problem with old machines like that isn't that they were running Windows NT4 or XP, but the fact that the hardware they're using is breaking down and it's getting increasingly difficult to replace it whilst maintaining compatibility. ReactOS is basically the only "supported" OS that still is compatible with those old specialised drivers and apps, while still being compatible with somewhat modern hardware.

[–] ronalicious 2 points 2 years ago

that's an interesting take!

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 years ago

You can try running ReactOS on a VM running directly inside your browser: https://copy.sh/v86/?profile=reactos

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

It’ll be a long time coming. I’ll be in a nursing home by the time ReactOS can even replace Windows 98, much less XP.

But I’ll be goddamned thrilled when you do, because that’ll be 95% of the Win32 API.