THE 16 MOST RELEVANT FREE OPERATING SYSTEMS - TECHNOLOGY - 2024

The free operating systems are those systems that allow people to operate their computers unrestricted use, development and improvement.

An operating system is the set of computer programs that allows effective management of the hardware (tangible equipment) and software (intangibles) of the computer.

It is a kind of macro program that allows the user to use their computer to carry out the tasks they want.

An operating system allows you to manage and scale tasks. Maintains the integrity of the system.

When we speak of a free operating system, we refer to systems that allow these specific freedoms:

- Use the program for any purpose.

- Study the operation of the program and make adaptations.

- Distribute copies.

- Improve the program and make those improvements public.

It is considered that it was Richard Stallman who started the world free software movement in 1984 with his GNU project.

In 1985 Stallman created the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and developed the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL), which provided a legal framework for the free dissemination of software.

In 1991 Linus Torvalds developed the kernel for the GNU / Linux operating systems.

The development and distribution of this type of software has been the subject of controversy due to the economic implications it can have.

The 22 most important free operating systems

1- Linux

It is a pioneering free operating system. It was written in C language.

Although it was born under a license that prohibits commercial distribution, today it has a GNU General Public License.

It can work with 256MB RAM machines, but 384MB machines are recommended.

Its kernel began to develop as a terminal emulator, which Linus Torvalds had access to on the UNIX servers of the university where he studied.

2- Inferno

This is software written in Limbo language, so its applications can run on any machine.

It can be downloaded as a program within other operating systems (Windows, Linux, MacOS, and Solaris). Its installation weighs 57 MB.

Inferno was derived from the Plan 9 operating system. It is commonly used by its users on the Nitendo DS console.

3- Plan 9

It is an operating system developed by Bell Laboratories as a software that would overcome all the limitations of UNIX.

Plan 9 is a scalable and efficient system, in which file, CPU, local and network servers coexist.

Its benefits are best appreciated when networked. It is not designed for home use and works in an i386 environment.

4- FreeBSD

This operating system is one of the so-called "UNIX clones".

A part of its code is used in devices such as Apple's MacOS and Sony's PlayStation 4.

5- ReactOS

It is an open source operating system, compatible with applications and drivers programmed for Windows.

This system collaborates with the Wine project. It is used on x86 / x64 PC.

6- FreeDOS

This is a free operating system that claims to be compatible with MS-DOS applications and drivers. It works under the GPL license.

7- Haiku

It is a system that works under the MIT license that was inspired by BeOS (Be Operating System).

The distinctive feature of this system is that it has NewOS, its own microkernel optimized for multimedia work and three-dimensional animations.

8- illumos

It is a system based on OpenSolaris, a version of Solaris from Sun Microsystems.

It is a software that is intended to provide the base code for the creation of the distribution of programs based on OpenSolaris.

It works under MIT and BSD licenses.

9- Syllable

It is a software that only occupies 250 MB in the memory of the machine. In fact, it works on machines with as little as 32 megabytes of RAM.

It is based on AtheOS, and is compatible with x86 architectures.

10- AROS (Research Operating System)

AROS is another of the systems that uses open source AmigaOS APIs.

It is a portable software that works with Windows, Linux and FreeBSD. It is offered with x86 processors and is binary compatible with 68k processors.

11- MenuetOS or MeOS

It is a free operating system that was programmed in assembly language. It can work on computers with little memory or with up to 32GB of RAM.

Includes a graphical desktop and drivers for keyboards, video, audio, USB, or printers.

12- DexOS

It is an operating system designed in assembly language for programmers who want to work directly with the hardware.

It is only 32 bits and works with the x86 architecture.

13- Visopsys

It's the hobby of programmer Andy McLaughlin. Although it is original, it uses Linux kernel code.

It offers some of the GNU tools and shows a graphical interface similar to that of KDE Plasma. It is written in C language and assembler.

14- Gentoo

It is a Linux distribution based on another one called Enoch Linux, which uses a package manager called Portage.

Its software versions are continually updated.

15- Debian

It is an operating system that uses the Linux kernel or FreeBSD kernel and many of the tools of the GNU project.

There are many programmers working to get it started with other cores. It works on almost any personal computer.

16- Fedora

It is another of the GNU / Linux distributions, general purpose and based only on free software. It is promoted by the Red Hat company.

It was originally called Fedora Core because it contained only the essential components of the operating system. To complement its functionality, one had to go to repositories.

17- Nayu OS

This system is a modification of Chrome OS that offers greater privileges, more customization options and free.

It is a software that was created by Nexedi and is adapted to all types of Chromebooks.

It differs from its inspiration (the Chrome OS), because it removes the Google login, allows customizing writable parts of the file system, and uses Zerocof to configure the firewall.

18- Wine

It is software started in 1993 by programmers Eric Youngdale and Bob Amstadt for the purpose of implementing the Windows API as a whole.

It has the merit of running several applications designed for Windows, since its version 1.0 released in 2008.

In 2015, the Wine project released its version 1.8,9.

It is written in C language. It works with x86 64, 32 and 16 bit code.

Among its most outstanding features are the DirectWrite and Direct2D implementation, its pulse audio driver, and support for modems and advanced program controls for Microsoft Windows 32-bit.

19- Ubuntu

It is one of the most popular free software operating systems. It can be run from the desktop to the cloud.

It is another distribution of GNU / Linux. It includes its own desktop environment, GNOME.

It is aimed at the average user and is updated every 6 months or so.

Ubuntu includes among its many applications the Mozilla Firefox web browser, the Thunderbird mail client, the Totem multimedia player, the Rhythmbox music player and the Shotwell photo manager.

In fact, it has an app store for installing, removing, or purchasing apps, called the Ubuntu Software Center.

20- Open BSD

This is another free Unix-like operating system, which is distributed under the BSD license.

It is a system whose origin is located in NetBSD. Includes binary emulation for programs on SVR4 (Solaris), FreeBSD and Linux systems, for example.

Its focus is security, cryptography, and portability.

21- MkLinux

MkLinux was started by the Open Software Foundation Research Institute together with Apple Computer in 1996, with the goal of connecting Linux to Macintosh computers.

This system represents Apple's first official attempt to collaborate on a free, open source software project.

It is also considered the necessary precedent for the migration from NeXTSTEP to Macintosh hardware, which led to macOS.

22- MiNT

It is a system that was developed for the Atari ST and its successors.

It runs on an Atari ST 8 MHz 68000 CPU, with 4 MB of RAM.

However, it is recommended to use an Atari computer with a 16 MHz 68030 CPU and 8 megabytes of RAM.

Free software and collaborative work

Free operating systems are a clear example of the consequences of collaborative and global work. They are also the result of a movement with more than 30 years of history.

References

1. Debian (s / f). About Debian. Recovered from: debian.org
2. Hispalinux (s / f). Free software. Recovered from: hispalinux.es
3. Linux zone (s / f). Fedora. Recovered from: linuxzone.es
4. Marker, Graciela (2015). Which it is the operating system. Recovered from: easytechnow.com
5. Monk, Daniel (2009). Inferno. Recovered from: caminoalsoftwarelibre.blogspot.com
6. Ranchal, Juan (2017). 10 free operating systems that you may not know. Recovered from: muycomputer.com
7. Reina, Cristian (2010). Free Operating Systems. Recovered from: sistoplibres.blogspot.com
8. National University of Rosario (2000). Plan9: The successor to UNIX? Recovered from: fceia.unr.edu.ar
9. Wikipedia (s / f). Gentoo. Recovered from: Wikipedia.org
10. Wikipedia (s / f). List of operating systems. Recovered from: Wikipedia.org