Peacock Linux
Sunday 1st April 2007
Categories: GNU/Linux, FLOSS, Proprietary Software, News
Today, we are pleased to be able to reveal a new operating system: Peacock GNU/Linux. Of course, who better to tell you about it than its creator, Drew Peacock:
"Peacock Linux - the Galactic Operating System - aims to make the best of both worlds. It's the perfect amalgam between free and proprietary."
At the moment, Peacock Linux is still largely in the planning stages, but Drew has made very clear how Peacock Linux aims to impress:
"Most Linux distributions only include free and open source components, but they're missing out on a lot of fun! Some include non-free components, but they just don't go far enough - we need to look at the Windows world, and take some of the best bits. All the best software is written for Windows, so its about time we stopped being left out and used Wine to its full impact."
"You see, its perfectly possible to use Windows software in places that people oddly never do in Linux. This ranges from browsing your files and accessing the Internet to running web servers. Now, even Linux users can enjoy the pleasure of checking for and installing updates to every individual program they have installed!"
Naturally, this raises the question of why Drew doesn't just use Windows. His response:
"Exactly what I thought! So, what's the obvious solution? Virtualisation! Then we can run Windows! At the moment, the pre-alpha code I have written runs in two modes - Wine and QEMU. Wine mode is pretty self-explanatory, but QEMU mode is even more interesting - once you log in, QEMU starts and begins running Windows. That way, you have the stability of the Linux kernel, but have no fears about whether your software will run on your PC - after all, everything works on Windows!"
"At the moment, the code isn't especially usable - Peacock has a tendency to dump at the most inopportune moments, but I'm confident that these problems can be cleaned up.
Free software zealot, Dave Standing had this to say:
"Clearly, Drew has missed the point of free software entirely. The whole concept is to eradicate proprietary software from the face of the globe, so that the entire world uses free software. Only then will we have real freedom, and real choice."
Drew has already received some positive feedback. One person writes:
"This is FANTASTIC! Linux has always been something that I'd heard of, but I never had any incentive to try it. Now that a beverage more sophisticated than free fermented sugar is being offered, I can't wait for the final release - then Windows will just be a distant memory!"
However, not all e-mails have been so positive. Drew recently received this e-mail from Anonymous Coward:
"What are you doing? Are you mad? The idea of replacing the hamster with a peacock is absolutely ludicrous! That's almost as stupid as that fat waterfowl that everyone used to talk about."
Drew replied:
"Mr. Coward, the aim of Peacock Linux is not to replace the inner workings of a computer - the peacock will be laid on top of the hamster so that the offspring is something original and groundbreaking."
Drew expects the first full release a year from now. Unfortunately, free-bees.co.uk remains unsatisfied, largely due to the fact that Peacock Linux looks to have been cobbled together at the last minute, without any real thought put into making it able to compare to other items that are bound to appear.