7 ms·

On a side note, _in the context of workstations_, I wonder if a hypothetical OS that reimplements the Windows APIs (like ReactOS, but with perfect modern hardwa

by haolez 6mo ago

On a side note, _in the context of workstations_, I wonder if a hypothetical OS that reimplements the Windows APIs (like ReactOS, but with perfect modern hardware support) would be better for end users than a Linux distro with a modern DE. In the past, this hypothetical OS would be a revolution. But I feel that, in recent years, this gap is not as big anymore and Linux supports way more apps than in the past. Such an OS might even not be relevant anymore, even if it exists. Do I have a blind spot on this? Is there value in having a "working ReactOS" as of 2026 _for workstations_?

seszett 6mo ago
Wouldn't that just be Linux with Wine? It would be less effort to implement further APIs/fix incompatibilities on Wine rather than reimplement a new OS from scratch.
- deleted 6mo ago
  [deleted]
bombcar 6mo ago
SteamOS but for more than just games, perhaps?
Philpax 6mo ago
You may be interested in https://loss32.org/ https://loss32.org/
- haolez 6mo ago
  This is pretty damn cool.
flohofwoe 6mo ago
IMHO with a couple of fixes which allow Linux+Wine to better simulate some specific lowlevel Windows behaviours (like this one recently in the news: https://www.xda-developers.com/wine-11-rewrites-linux-runs-windows-games-speed-gains/ https://www.xda-developers.com/wine-11-rewrites-linux-runs-w...)... a Linux distro with a 'Windows personality' (e.g. running Windows Explorer as desktop) should be pretty much indistinguishable from native Windows. In the end it's all about driver diversity and quality though...
- dmitrygr 6mo ago
  > should be pretty much indistinguishable from native Windows PRO: less telemetry CON: less battery life
aleph_minus_one 6mo ago
> Is there value in having a "working ReactOS" as of 2026 _for workstations_? The ideas behind the NT kernels are much deeper than what many Linux fans think of it. Just to give some examples: - the NT kernel is build around supporting multiple subsystems, even though currently only "1.5" are in active use: the Windows subsystem and WSL1 (the latter has for many purposes been replaced by WSL2) - the NT kernel is not built around "everything is a file" (a very leaky and very incompletely implemented abstraction that is used in GNU/Linux); instead the central concept is the handle - the I/O in NT kernel is built around the idea that the API is "completion-oriented" instead of being "readiness-oriented" as in Linux. This manifests in concepts like I/O Completion Ports (IOCPs), Overlapped I/O, ... Since this is a deeply technical topic, I refer to https://speakerdeck.com/trent/parallelism-and-concurrency-with-python https://speakerdeck.com/trent/parallelism-and-concurrency-wi... (the most important information is in the backup slides (slides 43-54)).
- mghackerlady 6mo ago
  For a better implementation of everything being a file, Plan 9 and inferno come pretty close to literally everything being a file.
- MisterTea 6mo ago
  - the NT kernel is not built around "everything is a file" ... instead the central concept is the handle File descriptor, handle. Potayto, potahto.
  - aleph_minus_one 6mo ago
    > File descriptor, handle. Potayto, potahto. Under Windows, a lot more concepts are handles than just files, directories, symbolic links, pipes, mail slots, ..., e.g. - processes, threads - synchronization objects (mutex, semaphore) - events (CreateEventEx) - I/O Completion Ports - Sections (ZwCreateSection) and Partitions (https://www.geoffchappell.com/studies/windows/km/ntoskrnl/api/mm/partition/index.htm https://www.geoffchappell.com/studies/windows/km/ntoskrnl/ap... ) for memory - waitable timers - GUI components (HWND)

by haolez 6mo ago

seszett 6mo ago

Wouldn't that just be Linux with Wine? It would be less effort to implement further APIs/fix incompatibilities on Wine rather than reimplement a new OS from scratch.

deleted 6mo ago
[deleted]

bombcar 6mo ago

SteamOS but for more than just games, perhaps?

Philpax 6mo ago

You may be interested in https://loss32.org/ https://loss32.org/

haolez 6mo ago
This is pretty damn cool.

flohofwoe 6mo ago

IMHO with a couple of fixes which allow Linux+Wine to better simulate some specific lowlevel Windows behaviours (like this one recently in the news: https://www.xda-developers.com/wine-11-rewrites-linux-runs-windows-games-speed-gains/ https://www.xda-developers.com/wine-11-rewrites-linux-runs-w...)... a Linux distro with a 'Windows personality' (e.g. running Windows Explorer as desktop) should be pretty much indistinguishable from native Windows. In the end it's all about driver diversity and quality though...

dmitrygr 6mo ago
> should be pretty much indistinguishable from native Windows PRO: less telemetry CON: less battery life

aleph_minus_one 6mo ago

> Is there value in having a "working ReactOS" as of 2026 _for workstations_? The ideas behind the NT kernels are much deeper than what many Linux fans think of it. Just to give some examples: - the NT kernel is build around supporting multiple subsystems, even though currently only "1.5" are in active use: the Windows subsystem and WSL1 (the latter has for many purposes been replaced by WSL2) - the NT kernel is not built around "everything is a file" (a very leaky and very incompletely implemented abstraction that is used in GNU/Linux); instead the central concept is the handle - the I/O in NT kernel is built around the idea that the API is "completion-oriented" instead of being "readiness-oriented" as in Linux. This manifests in concepts like I/O Completion Ports (IOCPs), Overlapped I/O, ... Since this is a deeply technical topic, I refer to https://speakerdeck.com/trent/parallelism-and-concurrency-with-python https://speakerdeck.com/trent/parallelism-and-concurrency-wi... (the most important information is in the backup slides (slides 43-54)).

mghackerlady 6mo ago
For a better implementation of everything being a file, Plan 9 and inferno come pretty close to literally everything being a file.
MisterTea 6mo ago
- the NT kernel is not built around "everything is a file" ... instead the central concept is the handle File descriptor, handle. Potayto, potahto.
- aleph_minus_one 6mo ago
  > File descriptor, handle. Potayto, potahto. Under Windows, a lot more concepts are handles than just files, directories, symbolic links, pipes, mail slots, ..., e.g. - processes, threads - synchronization objects (mutex, semaphore) - events (CreateEventEx) - I/O Completion Ports - Sections (ZwCreateSection) and Partitions (https://www.geoffchappell.com/studies/windows/km/ntoskrnl/api/mm/partition/index.htm https://www.geoffchappell.com/studies/windows/km/ntoskrnl/ap... ) for memory - waitable timers - GUI components (HWND)