I've last posted about GentleOS in June. I wasn't sure whether to bump the old topic or start a new one, but since there've been plenty of updates, I hope a new topic is OK.
GentleOS is a pair of OSes for vintage 32-bit and 16-bit PCs, made specifically for tinkering with old hardware on bare metal:
GentleOS/16 requires a PC with 8086+ CPU, 512KB of RAM and a CGA+ display supporting 320x200x4 video mode.
GentleOS/32 requires a PC with 386+ CPU, 640KB of RAM, and a VGA+ display supporting 640x480x16 mode or any 256-color VESA mode.
By design they're both entirely monolithic (single binary, single thread) and only support standard PC devices (CGA/VGA, 8042 keyboard, PS2 mouse, serial mouse, PC speaker, etc)
Some more information can be found on the new QA page.
Most notable changes since the last post:
- Both versions have now custom websites with embedded PC emulators where you can try them online
- Both: New music player app for playing songs on PC speaker
- Both: Compile-time configuration was mostly replaced with run-time setup
- Both: Overall performance and compatibility improvements
- G32: New native bootloader replaced dependency on GRUB
- G32: Min RAM requirement was lowered to only 640KB
- G32: Assets can be added through initrd without recompilation
- G32: New types of wallpapers supported: 1bpp and pixel-art
- G16: New Gallery app for viewing 1bpp images
- G16: New Sokoban game
- G16: New VGA color themes
Any feedback appreciated!
Cheers,
Luke
