ReactOS, an open-source clone of the Windows operating system, recently released version 0.4.14. In the first place, it is mainly a maintenance version.
ReactOS is a free and open-source operating system that is more or less a copy or clone of the old Windows NT kernel system. The open-source operating system is also capable of running other applications, games and drivers developed for Windows.
Maintenance version
Version 0.4.14 presents itself as a maintenance version. Among other things, the OS now supports ‘Send To’ in the shell. This functionality has been available within Windows since Windows 2000. This allows files to be sent to applications quickly. For example, creating a new e-mail with a file as an attachment.
ReactOS now also has the option of ‘Open file’ and ‘Open command prompt here’ functions in the menu of a right-click on a file or directory. Also in this release, there is more compatibility for Windows software with a DLL update of the Wine project. Furthermore, booting from NEC PC-9800 computers is now also supported.
Other updates
Other improvements include the OS’s Internet Control Message Protocol, plug & play, runtime exception for C-written software, bootloader, on-screen keyboard, and fonts. Several improvements have also been made to the kernel.
Furthermore, the new version of ReactOS should ensure that the OS runs a bit easier. To do this, the OS has been reduced in size and has to use less memory. The entire ReactOS operating system would now use less than 100MB of memory in an idle state.
The new release 0.4.14 of ReactOS is now available for download.
