Chuck Darwin on Nostr: In some ways, it may be easier to explain what Haiku is in terms of what it is not. ...
In some ways, it may be easier to explain what Haiku is in terms of what it is not.
Unlike Linux and the BSDs, which are text-mode multi-user server OSes that sometimes have some kind of GUI grafted on top,
Haiku is an integrated graphical desktop OS;
-- there's no text-mode console underneath.
Unlike RISC OS, which only supports 32-bit Arm hardware,
Haiku runs on generic x86 kit.
Unlike Redox OS, or Genode Sculpt, or many others
– even, arguably, 9Front
— it's not some strange experimental thing with no apps that's no use to an end user.
Unlike the pretty but limited Serenity OS, which only really runs in a VM, Haiku runs very well on real hardware.
There is a terminal emulator,
but like on a Mac, you can ignore it:
you'll probably never need it.
It makes next to no use of cloud services or JavaScript,
and there is no "AI" integration of any kind.
Some of the things that are a little strange about Haiku compared to other OSes are due to its long and convoluted history.
Haiku is the modern open source reimplementation of Be, Inc.'s BeOS,
but that means that it has 20th century influences that might be unfamiliar today.
Like the Amiga, Be's BeBox computer was designed to be a multitasking multimedia powerhouse, but one that was open and friendly to hackers and geeks.
And because Be founder Jean-Louis Gassée was previously CTO at Apple, its UI has a strong classic MacOS influence
– more so than the modern macOS, which is based on NeXTstep.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/09/testing_haiku_beta_5/
Unlike Linux and the BSDs, which are text-mode multi-user server OSes that sometimes have some kind of GUI grafted on top,
Haiku is an integrated graphical desktop OS;
-- there's no text-mode console underneath.
Unlike RISC OS, which only supports 32-bit Arm hardware,
Haiku runs on generic x86 kit.
Unlike Redox OS, or Genode Sculpt, or many others
– even, arguably, 9Front
— it's not some strange experimental thing with no apps that's no use to an end user.
Unlike the pretty but limited Serenity OS, which only really runs in a VM, Haiku runs very well on real hardware.
There is a terminal emulator,
but like on a Mac, you can ignore it:
you'll probably never need it.
It makes next to no use of cloud services or JavaScript,
and there is no "AI" integration of any kind.
Some of the things that are a little strange about Haiku compared to other OSes are due to its long and convoluted history.
Haiku is the modern open source reimplementation of Be, Inc.'s BeOS,
but that means that it has 20th century influences that might be unfamiliar today.
Like the Amiga, Be's BeBox computer was designed to be a multitasking multimedia powerhouse, but one that was open and friendly to hackers and geeks.
And because Be founder Jean-Louis Gassée was previously CTO at Apple, its UI has a strong classic MacOS influence
– more so than the modern macOS, which is based on NeXTstep.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/09/testing_haiku_beta_5/