C[omp]ute

From: "andrew cooke" <andrew@...>

Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 09:22:27 -0300 (CLST)

ReactOS is a "ground-up implementation of a Microsoft Windows® XP
compatible operating system" - http://www.reactos.org/xhtml/en/index.html
- something that sounds a little ambitious in today's intellectual
property climate.

The thread starting here -
http://www.reactos.org/archives/public/ros-dev/2006-January/007386.html -
shows how it all came unravelled.  The key emails are
http://www.reactos.org/archives/public/ros-dev/2006-January/007393.html
where similarities are pointed out and
http://www.reactos.org/archives/public/ros-dev/2006-January/007401.html
where the coder responds.

My impression from Alex Ionescu's response is that he feels that it's OK
to copy code if he understands it.  In other words - if you can clearly
document the code, it's OK, even if it's a direct copy.

Now I, personally, am worried when I'm taking information from wikipedia
to do my (self-assigned, self-assessed, personal) "homework".  Even when I
understand all the steps in a proof it's not the same as proving it
myself.

Translating that across to the ReactOS context, it seems that some people
have been treating the project as an exercise in learning about Windows,
rather than in creating something new.

Their take - http://www.reactos.org/xhtml/en/news_page_14.html

From Alterslash - http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/01/1944257

Andrew