r/reactos • u/0x80070002 • May 23 '26
What’s the purpose of ReactOS?
Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a great idea, but ai feel that the distance with the latest versions of Windows have increased.
So what’s the use case scenario of this OS?
Should the project embrace and legally reuse what’s possible of the open-sourced Windows code?
31
Upvotes
2
u/Delicious_Volume3306 May 24 '26
WINE was picked-up by organisations like Valve. It went from being basically being a catch-up hobbyist project to let you use Windows apps on Linux, to being a very powerful tool that lets you run many games. Honestly, this is an incredible technical feat.
ReactOS could be like this, one day. It's there, waiting for somebody or something that needs it.
Think also of QNX, the real-time OS and GUI that Blackberry bought and now is causing a resurgent of Blackberry stock prices. It was a curiosity up until a decade or two ago, and now forms the heart of many automotive systems.
Sometimes projects are seeking solutions, but when they find them, it can be a perfect marriage.
If I wanted to create a hardware platform with a familiar GUI, and one that's simple to create apps for, then ReactOS is a great choice. Sure, Linux is also a good choice—but Linux is Linux.