After a year and a half of development, ReactOS has presented the release of the operating system ReactOS 0.4.16, aimed at ensuring compatibility with Microsoft Windows programs and drivers, and also offering a Windows-style design. The operating system is at the alpha stage of development. To download a bootable ISO image (198 MB) has been prepared. The project code is distributed under the GPLv2 and LGPLv2 licenses.
Since the last release, 2808 changes have been made and 381 issue reports have been closed. Key changes include:
- A unified BootCD has been proposed, combining in one iso file a Live environment for familiarizing yourself with the system and an installer for installing ReactOS permanently media.
- Added a graphical interface for installing, updating and restoring the system, replacing the previously offered text installer. The new installer is designed in the form of a multi-page “wizard” and is equipped with a disk partition editor.
- Compatibility with proprietary video drivers has been improved. Performance issues with NVIDIA drivers and problems with AMD drivers have been resolved. Support for most video drivers available for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 has been implemented through KMDF and WDDM subsystems.
- Added a new driver sklhdaudbus for HD Audio, built using the KMDF framework. This driver allows for the use of HD Audio controllers compatible with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Improved audio device detection and increased binary compatibility with the Windows audio stack. The sound settings interface ensures that the state of the volume and balance sliders is correctly saved between reboots.
/Reports, release notes, official announcements.