What in the world is ReactOS? Will it really replace Microsoft Windows? (And an exclusive interview with ReactOS coder, "Victor".)

Yes, it seriously can replace Windows. And it might happen very soon.

All you have to do it download and install it, either instead of, or next to your Windows OS install.

But what is it?

ReactOS is a reactionary operating system, created to thwart and defeat Microsoft. Unlike Microsoft, Android, or any other closed-source software or company, you can be sure that ReactOS isn't spying on you, and making the user the product.

It's made to be free, open-source software. Anyone can download it, anyone can use it, anyone can view the source code, and you can modify the source however you wish. If you're just wanting to use it, install it in a virtual machine, or just on a separate hard drive or partition.

Here's an example of the source code! If this was Microsoft code, I'd probably be sent to the gulags or something for showing you.

But this is free and open source, so here! Enjoy this beautiful code.

ReactOS is a powerful piece of software, on the same level as the legendary FreeDOS, an OS that replaced Microsoft's DOS.

However, ReactOS is modern, sleek, and powerful.
It has access to the same drivers that a more locked down, proprietary Microsoft OS has.
It can run the same programs that Windows can. You could simply move over your mspaint.exe onto ReactOS, and use it just like normal.

It's not Linux, it's not UNIX, it's not DOS, and it's not Windows.

It's ReactOS, and it is the new operating system for you, the user, who is in charge of your own destiny.

Microsoft spies on you, monitors what you do. It knows what you type, what you see. It knows all the websites you visit, and every person you talk to. It's a dirty villain, and we need to root it out. But GNU/Linux isn't always ideal for a normal user. We need an operating system that WORKS.

But also allows us to be FREE.

ReactOS is our savior.

I managed to extract an interview from a rebel programmer who's contributed to ReactOS.

He had to avoid detection from his corporate boss in order to answer my questions. Had he been caught talking about free software, the consequences could be severely dire for him.

Here is how the interview went.

Kitten: What does ReactOS represent to you? Why are you involved with this project?

Victor: For me, ReactOS is an awesome way to show that things can be done in a different way. The open-source approach ensures transparency with our users and cooperation with our community, and other communities. I found myself improving not just my coding skills, but also team working, business strategy, and community development. Working with people from different countries is an amazing experience.

Kitten: Quite interesting. Do you also contribute to GNU/Linux projects? Or are you exclusive to ReactOS?

Victor: As an open-source lover I had been contributing with patches to other projects as well. Most of them ReactOS related, For example, I had sent several pull requests to 3rd parties building open-source drivers for Windows, but also to GNU/Linux projects such as Wine.

Kitten: Oh my, you sound really serious about this then. I'm happy ReactOS has your support.

Victor: Usually GNU/Linux open-source projects have a great community around them, but the open-source projects targeting Windows, or other alternative OSes lack such big support, other than big companies looking to invest in us.

Kitten: Yeah, I noticed. So do you think ReactOS has a future? Will it usurp Windows? It seems like a lot of people are getting really tired of having to use Windows, but they don't have a decent alternative that gives them access to their normal software. Is ReactOS a solution? A revolution?

Victor: For sure it has a future, in my honest opinion. ReactOS has already shown that it works pretty well for specific requirements of software and hardware. ReactOS is already supporting dozens of Windows software and hardware pieces. If a particular individual or a company has specific needs in terms of compatibility, they can just contact us. ReactOS could be a nice opportunity to reduce costs for several companies out there, and a good solution for users loving free, open-source software.

Kitten: That's good to hear. What version of Microsoft Windows would you compare the current state of ReactOS to? It doesn't have the funding that Microsoft does, so it makes sense that it'd be a little behind in some ways.

Victor: Right now, ReactOS is reporting itself as Windows Server 2003 SP2. A lot of software pieces nowadays are still supporting, or can be run in this Windows version. The best supported applications can be found in our ReactOS Application Manager so the user can install them directly inside ReactOS.

Kitten Ahh, ok. That's quite impressive. And one final question: What can we expect from the future of ReactOS?

Victor: The ReactOS Community is increasing daily, and thanks to them, we are now hiring several developers to speed up work in our "greenish" areas. We're in a sweet point where normal people feel attracted by ReactOS, and this can help us reach Beta much faster. Several small software companies are reporting bugs (and sometimes fixes/tests) detected when running their software in ReactOS, and this snowball will, hopefully, lead us to the ReactOS Revolution you mentioned.

Kitten: That's amazing. Thank you for your time, and be safe.

As you can see, ReactOS is filled not only with idealism, but with skilled developers with a passion for what they're doing.

I truly think that ReactOS is the future. All it needs is our support.

Believe in freedom.
Believe in ReactOS.

~Kitten