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Open-source Windows alternative
ReactOS is a free and open-source, Windows-compatible OS that looks similar to Windows XP.
Designed to be a Windows replacement that behaves just like Microsoft's flagship OS, the operating system has just been updated to lay the groundwork for running Windows Vista/8/10 software.
Read more about what ReactOS can do, and check out this visual guide to what ReactOS looks like and the apps it can run.
Here you can see balloon notifications on the ReactOS desktop, a feature that has been fixed with the latest update. Be warned, however, that ReactOS is alpha software, so expect a lot of bugs and missing functionality.
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Taskbar
The new Taskbar settings feature in the latest release.
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New crash tool
The new DrWatson32-style crash-reporting software.
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Light footprint
The lightweight OS uses just 96MB of RAM.
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WinZip
Here's a sample of the Windows software that runs on ReactOS -- starting with WinZip.
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Apple QuickTime Player
QuickTime Player for Vista and Windows 7 running on ReactOS.
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Excel viewer
Read spreasheets with Excel Viewer.
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HxD
You can check out hex dumps using the HxD tool.
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Opera
The OS runs the Opera web browser.
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LibreOffice Calc
The open-source software for handling spreadsheets.
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Adobe Photoshop CS2
The photo-editing software running on ReactOS.
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LibreOffice Writer
The popular open-source document-editing software.
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FileZilla
Transfer files using FileZilla.
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PuTTY
The remote connection software PuTTY.
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Firefox
Mozilla's Firefox web browser on ReactOS.
Open-source Windows alternative
ReactOS is a free and open-source, Windows-compatible OS that looks similar to Windows XP.
Designed to be a Windows replacement that behaves just like Microsoft's flagship OS, the operating system has just been updated to lay the groundwork for running Windows Vista/8/10 software.
Read more about what ReactOS can do, and check out this visual guide to what ReactOS looks like and the apps it can run.
Here you can see balloon notifications on the ReactOS desktop, a feature that has been fixed with the latest update. Be warned, however, that ReactOS is alpha software, so expect a lot of bugs and missing functionality.
Related Topics:
Software Microsoft Enterprise Software Developer Open Source Software MobilityAbout Nick Heath
Nick Heath is chief reporter for TechRepublic. He writes about the technology that IT decision makers need to know about, and the latest happenings in the European tech scene.
Full Bio
Nick Heath is chief reporter for TechRepublic. He writes about the technology that IT decision makers need to know about, and the latest happenings in the European tech scene.