After interviewing Axel Dorfler yesterday, in this second installment of Five Questions, we interview Robert Szeleney, the main driving force behind SkyOS. SkyOS has been in development since the late '90s, but for the past few years, it has seen rapid development. Read on for Robert's answers to the Five Questions.
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Member since:
2007-03-26
Although I can only speak for myself, I do find SkyOS to be one of the most exciting (and prettiest*) new OSs in development. I particularly looking forward to the media centre side of the OS being completed.
I wish Robert and all the rest of the SkyOS team the best of success (hopefully the Live CD will bring new fans to their camp)
*I know looks aren't the be all and end all, but it's always a nice bonus
Member since:2006-08-14
Member since:2006-06-23
Member since:2005-06-29
Member since:2006-11-30
Sixth question (this is meant well - I'm a big SkyOS fan)
** Why on earth not a dual license instead of the insane closed source approach? **
I truly believe that SkyOS would stand a better chance than, say, Haiku at surviving as an "alternative" OS and at attracting developers if it was open, at least having an open "community" version which would include the kernel and drivers, but zero or few apps (I'm sure there are other commerical models, including service, etc)
Edited 2007-07-05 14:11
Member since:2007-03-26
"
I think that's more than just a little presumptuous – especially given that at the moment it's one of the cheapest commercial OSs.
It would have been nice if you went into a little more detail to explain why you're predicting it such a demise.
Member since:2005-07-06
People only buy Windows (except when they pirate it, and except when they get it with a new computer: they still pay for it, but they are not fully aware) and, very occasionally, OS X updates.
They expect to get every other OS for free. And let's be honest, sometimes they get something really good for free. Take Debian as an example, which supports 11 Architectures, with over 20,000 applications available for each one.
Concluding: even €30 is a lot for people who aren't used to pay, especially considering that SkyOS is bound to have few apps and limited hardware support.
Edited 2007-07-05 22:40
Member since:2005-07-06
Member since:
2007-01-03
SkyOS has some major problems and I wish Robert would actually admit it. It's not fair to people because unlike most software, there is no "try before you buy". I think this is by design, because if he would let people try his OS first I doubt many people would pay up. The beta forums are riddled with people who can't even get SkyOS to boot.
Member since:2006-11-30
"The beta forums are riddled with people who can't even get SkyOS to boot."
Right.
I have the same problem with Haiku. But with Haiku and a bit of patience, I could actually go in, debug the damn thing and figure out what's wrong. Because I have the source.
I'm not sure SkyOS has serious "by design" flaws, but without the source, it's really hard to tell.
Member since:2005-08-26
Member since:2005-07-18
This is a good point, and often repeated.
But consider this: there are already free software OS choices that are superior to Windows, and yet Windows still commands the lion's share of desktops. This says to me that some people will only be comfortable with a closed-source, commercial OS. For generic PC hardware they currently only have one choice.
It would be refreshing to have some competition in the category of closed-source commercial OSes. It might also hasten the day when the average user understands that computer and Windows are not synonyms. Regardless of whether open or closed, no one is going to take SkyOS seriously until it is solid, but that's expected. I wish SkyOS well. I hope it gets to the point that it is a solid alternative for some.
Member since:2006-11-30
"This says to me that some people will only be comfortable with a closed-source, commercial OS"
That logic is flawed. These "some" people generally don't have a real choice. They buy a computer, and Windoze is pre-installed.
Let's hope Dell succeeds with their alternative.
Member since:2006-01-06
Forums are an inherently flawed way of judging the quality of anything. Nobody goes into a forum to say how great something is, they just go for help for their problems.
Thus, any forum will be "riddled" with people reporting problems, because thats what the forum is for.
Member since:2007-01-03
SkyOS pretty much doesn't run on anything but virtualized hardware. At least I've never been able get it to boot on the 20 or so computers I've tried it on. Any bug reports that I've submitted got ignored or "resolved" but not actually fixed. This is unacceptable for a "commerical" product.
Member since:2007-02-22
Member since:2005-06-29
SkyOS pretty much doesn't run on anything but virtualized hardware. At least I've never been able get it to boot on the 20 or so computers I've tried it on. Any bug reports that I've submitted got ignored or "resolved" but not actually fixed. This is unacceptable for a "commerical" product.
I highly doubt this statement.
I have been active in the SkyOS community for *years*, since the 2.x days, so I kind of know what I'm talking about. I'm not nearly as active as I used to be (I pop into irc every now and then, only).
You can blame Robert and his team of a lot of things that at least *I* would have done differently, but you can *not* claim that Robert does not listen to bug reports, or that he is unwilling to help. I have installed a gazillion million copies of SkyOS since I first laid my eyes upon it, and if it failed somewhere along the way, Robert was *always* willing to help.
Heck, right *now*, he is helping me with an issue concerning the Intel i810 video chipset (SkyOS fails to boot on these chipsets). He is currently making a floppy boot image for me, so that I can get SkyOS installed.
As en ex-active SkyOS community member, and an active Haiku contributor, I have seen, in both communities, a lot of people who come barging into irc or a forum, saying something along the lines of "SkyOS/Haiku won't boot, help me now.", without providing any debug information, hardware information, or whatever. These kind of people usually fail to contribute in any meaningful way in the troubleshoot/bugfixing process. These processes are a two-way street, sirhomer. If you fail to realise that, you'll never get SkyOS to boot on anything.
Edited 2007-07-05 17:28
Member since:2007-01-03
Well Thom Holwerda, may I mention that you are Thom Holwerda. You are pretty much free advertising for Robert, of course he's going to build custom kernels for you. I wonder why instead of compiling kernels for people why doesn't he just fix the main release, especially considering that he said there will be a release today.
Member since:2005-09-21
got some links to some of these bug reports? and 20+ computers? I dont think so. I have had one computer that didnt boot skyos so far, and that was fixed in the next release.. hell I have actually had the Debian installer fail to run or lock up on more computers than the skyos installer.. it happens, but it seems kinda silly to knock a OS still under development for bugs and incompatabilities.. if you dont like the possibility of problems then dont use pre release. If you wanna be helped, then help them determine your problem.
damn its like people believe beta and alpha are just launch codes to thier new dream OS world where bugs go away with a tiki torch and some OFF.
Member since:
2005-11-15
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2006-09-20
Member since:
2007-06-30
You all bitching that SkyOS isn't "Free" or "Open Source" are simply a bunch of losers. If you simply look at the forum, you can get a free subscription by simply contributing something, whether some code, some documentation, or whateverthehell.
Simply put, if you want to be a whiner/complainer, you either pay up, or you actually do something for the project. Either way, both situations help the project go forward.
Member since:
2005-09-08
Good god, what a bunch of whiners. This mentality that all software should be open source is painful and degrade from these forums. If you don't like a product because it's closed source, look elsewhere.
I have no interest in SkyOS for now; it doesn't offer me anything. I'm stuck with WinXP due to digital recording and games. Maybe I'll look again in 5 years who knows. I agree it's fairly ugly, but that'll no doubt change.
Member since:
2006-08-08
After changing my computer many moons ago the new beta build is the first SkyOS beta cd that boots.
For a one man show I can only say: "Good job!"
The hardware is a Turion 64x2 with 2 gig of ram and nvidia ToGo-6150 chipset/graphic.
The things that don't work are: networking (suppose the nvidia chipset is to new), thouchpad (but a usb trackball works great).
And of course not implemented stuff like wifi (iss fails to start too).
But I'm ok with that, because to date there is not even one Linux distro that works 100% out of the box either.
Robert, thank you for SkyOS.
Please keep working on it.
Member since:
2005-07-08
I really liked SkyOS at one point. I tested it on multiple machines, created detailed bug reports, and ran numerous test kernels that Robert sent to me to resolve some of the biggest problems I encountered.
And while I still do like SkyOS, I just don't have that time and patience any more. If I could actually use SkyOS in a day-to-day environment, I'd be more than willing to continue testing it. But with the migration to a new computer, SkyOS no longer supports *any* of my networking, sound, or video components. IMAP e-mail in thunderbird is (or at least was) broken. I went so far as to create an account for Robert on one of the imap mail servers I have access to. But without that basic functionality, I can't regularly use SkyOS for actual *work* and have lost interest in testing each new release to see what hardware of mine has become supported and what bugs of mine have been resolved. Too many times, nothing had changed.
As for the closed source vs. open source debate. I couldn't really care. What I do care about is what happens to the operating system once Robert gets bored or just becomes incapable of continuing his work. This is a question that I've never actually gotten a response to. *That* would have been a better question for this interview :-)
Adam
Member since:2006-11-30
"As for the closed source vs. open source debate. I couldn't really care. What I do care about is what happens to the operating system once Robert gets bored or just becomes incapable of continuing his work."
In which case you SHOULD care about the closed vs. open source debate after all, since then it would not likely be a one-man show anymore.
Member since:2005-07-08
Being open source does not guarantee that any project will continue after the primary developer(s) stop working on it.
In addition, being closed source does not guarantee that a project will die if the primary developer(s) stop working on it.
So I still don't care about the open source vs closed source debate.
Member since:2006-11-30
"Being open source does not guarantee that any project will continue after the primary developer(s) stop working on it."
But you would have to agree it vastly improves the chances, no?
"In addition, being closed source does not guarantee that a project will die if the primary developer(s) stop working on it. "
But you would have to agree it vastly improves the chances, no?
"So I still don't care about the open source vs closed source debate."
Sorry. Your logic makes no sense.
Member since:2007-02-22
Member since:2005-07-08
Member since:
2005-08-06
Like someone said earlier on. What's interesting is what happens if Robert gets tired of coding.
Either way, looking at, for instance, Haiku. We can simply note that Haiku is Open Source and that doesn't stop the debate anyway. Now there are people on a regular basis (and not to mention has been) who keep saying that it's the wrong license, and it should be GPL or it should be bla bla.
The license debate has gone way too far. IF the fact that SkyOS is closed source is the reason why you don't wanna use the product, then there seems to be a lot of products out there that you miss out on. If it's philosophy, then stick to Linux and let the rest of us who are not zeals stop hearing the license crap thank you very much.
Robert, I haven't tried your OS, but I do enjoy watching the demovids every now and then. Maybe when you reach an even more mature stage and open up for new customers I'll buy a copy, no matter OSS or Proprietary!
