Free Microsoft Windows rival gets first major update in four years but is it already too little, too late?

• ReactOS is a free Windows-like OS built from scratch without Microsoft code
• A new version just launched after a four year wait with lots of changes
• The OS targets compatibility with Server 2003 - yes, you read that right

If you’re looking to move away from Windows, there are plenty of alternative operating systems to consider - from the many Linux distributions on offer to macOS (if you're open to switching to Apple).

One of the more intriguing options is ReactOS, which aims to be Windows, but without Microsoft - more specifically, it’s designed to be an OS that’s compatible with Windows applications and drivers, without using any proprietary Microsoft code. Unlike Linux, which is built on a Unix foundation, ReactOS reimplements the Windows NT architecture from the ground up.

It's currently targeting compatibility with Windows Server 2003, yes 2003, although it can run software like LibreOffice, Firefox, and some older versions of Adobe Photoshop. ReactOS integrates parts of the Wine project and even supports booting 64-bit Linux systems via its Freeloader utility.

Four years in the making

Originally launched as FreeWin95 in the late 1990s, it evolved into ReactOS with a goal of becoming a true Windows alternative.

Today, it looks like Windows 2000 in appearance and functionality, although compatibility is very hit and miss - some classic games and apps run perfectly well, while others crash or simply fail to launch at all.

The last named release, version 0.4.14, came out in December 2021, and since then development has continued apace, with new builds automatically produced each time a change is committed, although these releases aren’t tested in the same way as the stable ones.

Now, four years after the last stable update appeared, ReactOS 0.4.15 has arrived and you can download it as a boot CD or liveCD here.

The latest release offers Plug and Play fixes, audio fixes, memory management improvements, registry healing, and enhancements to accessories and system tools including Notepad, Paint, RAPPS, the Input Method Editor, and the shell.

As you can tell from the version number, 0.4.15, ReactOS is still in alpha, and will likely remain so for a very long time.

It may never reach beta, let alone ever be finished, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth your time.

You won’t want to use it as your daily driver, but take it for a spin in VirtualBox and marvel at what the team has managed to create here.

ReactOS, while impressive for what it is, will for many remain little more than a retro curiosity - but the team is planning some major additions in the next big release, which hopefully won’t take another four years to arrive.

Planned future features include UEFI support, a new graphical installer, a new NTFS filesystem driver, symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), power management, and broader application compatibility.

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