Software

Windows with an open-source core: Check out ReactOS

By // April 16, 2018, 9:02 AM PST // nickjheath

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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.

  • Taskbar

    The new Taskbar settings feature in the latest release.

  • New crash tool

    The new DrWatson32-style crash-reporting software.

  • Light footprint

    The lightweight OS uses just 96MB of RAM.

  • WinZip

    Here's a sample of the Windows software that runs on ReactOS -- starting with WinZip.

  • Apple QuickTime Player

    QuickTime Player for Vista and Windows 7 running on ReactOS.

  • Excel viewer

    Read spreasheets with Excel Viewer.

  • HxD

    You can check out hex dumps using the HxD tool.

  • Opera

    The OS runs the Opera web browser.

  • LibreOffice Calc

    The open-source software for handling spreadsheets.

  • Adobe Photoshop CS2

    The photo-editing software running on ReactOS.

  • LibreOffice Writer

    The popular open-source document-editing software.

  • FileZilla

    Transfer files using FileZilla.

  • PuTTY

    The remote connection software PuTTY.

  • 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 Mobility

About 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.