| SkyOS | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Robert Szeleney |
| Working state | Discontinued |
| Source model | Closed source |
| Initial release | December 15, 1997; 28 years ago (1997-12-15) |
| Marketing target | Desktop users |
| Available in | Multilingual |
| Supported platforms | IA-32 |
| Kernel type | Monolithic |
| License | Proprietary |
| Official website | web |
SkyOS is a discontinued prototype commercial,proprietary, graphical desktopoperating system written for thex86computer architecture. Its first version was released in 1997, and its last beta build was released in 2008.
As of January 2009, development of the OS has been halted, with no plans to resume its development.[1]
In August 2013, developer Robert Szeleney announced the release of a public beta on the SkyOS website. This allows public users to download a Live CD of the SkyOS operating system, for testing and to optionally install the system.[2]
Development started in 1996,[3] with the first version released in December 1997.[4]Up until version 4.x, the OS was freely available.[5] Starting with beta development of SkyOS 5 in 2003, users were required to pay US$30 to get access to beta releases.[6]SkyOS adapted new filesystem SkyFS based on OpenBFS in 2004,[7] and its graphics subsystem was improved in 2006 with support fordesktop compositing, includingdouble buffering andtransparency. The OS also moved toELF binaries then.[8]The last beta build 6947 was released in August 2008,[5] and there was no status update for several months.[9]As the OS was mainly the work of one man, Robert Szeleney, there was increasing difficulty to add newdevice drivers.[3]Considering lack of development under Robert Szeleney, goingopen source was viewed by the tech press as the best option for SkyOS.[10][9]Although Szeleney tried to bypass the lack of drivers by using a new kernel based onLinux orNetBSD,[11] and reported some progress in this regard,[12] development has not resumed.SkyOS website disappeared in 2013[13] and final public build from August 2008 was released for free shortly thereafter.[5]
SkyOS is aUnix-like operating system with amonolithic kernel.[3]The OS supportsmultiple users[4] andsymmetric multiprocessing.[14]
SkyOS has an integrated graphics subsystem with support for desktop compositing including double buffering and transparency.[8] SkyOS GUI also allows system-widemouse gestures.[14]
SkyFS is afork of theOpenBFSfilesystem.[7]
SkyOS can also be run from the following filesystems:
SkyOS offers real-time file content query searches with multiple keywords (comparable toBeagle in Linux orSpotlight inmacOS), includingindexing of files and programs.[14]
Most command-line applications that were written to be compiled with theGNU Toolchain can be ported to SkyOS with little or no modification.
SkyOS contains several frameworks for creating applications (includingMono port).[3] Ported applications includeMozilla Firefox,Mozilla Thunderbird,Nvu,[14]GIMP andAbiWord.[4] There was also a monetary incentive for porting applications as the SkyOS community voted for desired programs and then supported developers with donations.[3]
Although SkyOS includes many interesting features, limited application and hardware support are among its weaknesses (e.g. only a fewgraphics cards allow 2D acceleration).[14]Kernel and drivers updates were solely worked on by Szeleney, and because of this he was unable to keep up with new devices. This was one of the reasons the development ended for this project. In the end, the OS was not able to expand beyond a small albeit dedicated user community. Apart from a short early open source time period, the OS had a proprietary licence with a commercial model based on paid beta-testing. This led to some controversy as SkyOS developers were accused of unauthorized use of open source software. No proof of any wrongdoing was given, but the public image of the OS was tarnished nevertheless.[3]
