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0 pointsagildehaus7y ago0 comments

Haiku is basically BeOS R5 plus some much needed modernization.

Great stuff. We need an open-source operating system 100% focused on the desktop.

0 comments

Totally agree. It’s great that the Linux desktop experience has come as far as it has, but it still suffers from compromises as a result of being general purpose at best and server oriented at worst. Haiku can make technical decisions that make sense for a desktop OS without also negatively impacting other uses.

AnIdiotOnTheNet7y ago

> We need an open-source operating system 100% focused on the desktop.

I agree. In my opinion though, Haiku's insistence on becoming just another platform to run your UNIX software stack on means it will probably never succeed at that goal.

waddlesplash7y ago

In case you haven't noticed, a majority of people on Windows or macOS use software that was originally part of the "UNIX software stack" -- between SSH, bash, GCC, FFmpeg, etc. I am pretty sure you could find at least one piece of "originally UNIX" software that at least a majority of programmers using any given OS use.

Anyway, I think you miss the point of Haiku if you think it'll never get anywhere because of how much UNIX software runs on it. It's not here just to "be different from everyone else." The POSIX API makes a lot of sense; anyone going against it has to have a particularly good reason to do so. Even Apple doesn't, for the most part.

scroot7y ago

Unix is indeed ubiquitous, but it would be nice to have a personal computing system whose core metaphor is something other than a teletype.

tonyedgecombe7y ago

A majority of programmers on Windows perhaps, certainly not a majority of people on Windows.

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AnIdiotOnTheNet7y ago

I've had this argument with you before and I'm not really interested in having it again. Suffice it to say that I have a different idea of what a personal computer should be than you or the parts of the Haiku community who are left.

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Fnoord7y ago

What do you propose as alternative? All of these UNIX tools provide backwards compatibility.

petre7y ago

Plan9? But it's still ahead of its time. I think it would be quite hard to port something like Haiku UI to such a platform. POSIX is fine.

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AnIdiotOnTheNet7y ago

We have virtualization nowadays to cover compatibility requirements.

agildehausOP7y ago

How is it different than macOS?

zapzupnz7y ago

I think macOS/Mac OS X was always known for fantastic Mac-specific software as opposed to just ports of user apps from, say, Linux — probably because Mac OS X was the successor to Mac OS 9.

So Mac OS X inherited one userbase that appreciated platform-specific software. Haiku doesn't really have anything to inherit like that so until people start making Haiku-specific software, that could be an issue for seeing great Haiku software rather than just ports.

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kitsunesoba7y ago

AnIdiotOnTheNet7y ago

> We need an open-source operating system 100% focused on the desktop.

I agree. In my opinion though, Haiku's insistence on becoming just another platform to run your UNIX software stack on means it will probably never succeed at that goal.

waddlesplash7y ago

scroot7y ago

Unix is indeed ubiquitous, but it would be nice to have a personal computing system whose core metaphor is something other than a teletype.

tonyedgecombe7y ago

A majority of programmers on Windows perhaps, certainly not a majority of people on Windows.

1 more reply

AnIdiotOnTheNet7y ago

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Fnoord7y ago

What do you propose as alternative? All of these UNIX tools provide backwards compatibility.

petre7y ago

Plan9? But it's still ahead of its time. I think it would be quite hard to port something like Haiku UI to such a platform. POSIX is fine.

1 more reply

AnIdiotOnTheNet7y ago

We have virtualization nowadays to cover compatibility requirements.

agildehausOP7y ago

How is it different than macOS?

zapzupnz7y ago

I think macOS/Mac OS X was always known for fantastic Mac-specific software as opposed to just ports of user apps from, say, Linux — probably because Mac OS X was the successor to Mac OS 9.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse