# Old OS from 1993 **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 11, 2023, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403 "2023-08-11T12:48:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/1 "2023-08-11T12:48:01Z")
Way back in 1993, a friend of mine got himself a computer but instead of going with Windows or Linux, he was using some OS whose name started with a G. I’ve no idea why it came to mind about a week ago, but I can’t dismiss it. Anyone have a good candidate for the name? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/2 "2023-08-11T12:50:36Z")
GNU? > **[GNU](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU)** > > GNU (/ɡnuː/ (listen)) is an extensive collection of free software (383 packages as of January 2022), which can be used as an operating system or can be used in parts with other operating systems. The use of the completed GNU tools led to the family of operating systems popularly known as Linux. Most of GNU is licensed under the GNU Project's own General Public License (GPL). > GNU is also the project within which the free software concept originated. Richard Stallman, the founder of the project... ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/3 "2023-08-11T13:08:16Z")
GEOS/GeoWorks sounds about right for the time frame. [GEOS (16-bit operating system) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEOS_(16-bit_operating_system)) ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/4 "2023-08-11T13:16:28Z")
That’s it! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/5 "2023-08-11T13:26:11Z")
GNU never actually got as far as its own operating system, though, and is most often used with some flavor of Linux. Which means, of course, that in almost all cases, GNU Is Unix. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/6 "2023-08-11T13:27:48Z")
Ignorance fought! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2023, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/7 "2023-08-11T13:44:21Z")
Huh. I never knew they had a variant for the PC. The C64 version was amazing though, for what it was, which was a graphical operating system with proportional mouse support for a _Commodore 64_. I mean, I could do stuff like use a WYSIWYG word processor and a spreadsheet in high school on my C64 without having to have a full-bore PC (which my family couldn’t afford at the time), and it did it better than a lot of PCs of the era did. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/8 "2023-08-12T01:23:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > GNU never actually got as far as its own operating system, though, and is most often used with some flavor of Linux. Not exactly true: > **[GNU Hurd](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Hurd)** > > GNU Hurd is a collection of microkernel servers written as part of GNU, for the GNU Mach microkernel. It has been under development since 1990 by the GNU Project of the Free Software Foundation, designed as a replacement for the Unix kernel, and released as free software under the GNU General Public License. When the Linux kernel proved to be a viable solution, development of GNU Hurd slowed, at times alternating between stasis and renewed activity and interest. > The Hurd's design consists of a s... You can even get a Debian distribution of it now: [https://www.debian.org/ports/hurd/hurd-install](https://www.debian.org/ports/hurd/hurd-install) It’s not very usable, as far as I know, but it does exist. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/9 "2023-08-12T01:48:48Z")
The Gnu Hurd got steamrolled by Linux. It was something of a self inflicted wound. A lot of complacency and no desire to engage with the community, then it just got left behind. Richard Stallman gets reasonably rilled up when Linux is just called Linux, with no acknowledgement that Linux would never had existed except for the Gnu project. He is of the view that it should be Gnu/Linux. For once I agree with him. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/10 "2023-08-12T01:55:24Z")
It’s certainly true that Linux owes a lot to GNU. Without it, Linux would just be a useless kernel. Still–Linux is a catchy name, and GNU is not, and certainly not GNU/Linux. GNU is plenty well credited within the OS. It just doesn’t deserve to be part of the product name because it’s a bad name. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/11 "2023-08-12T02:28:05Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Without it, Linux would just be a useless kernel. It wouldn’t even be that. Before the advent of the Gnu C compiler, it would mostly have been just plain useless. The advent of a free, open source, retargetable compiler suite was the real game changer. You could have used proprietary compilers to create a runnable kernel, but the ability for the community to all engage in development and not be constrained to specific hardware and expensive development suites was the real win. Compilers were traditionally the secret sauce. Vendors guarded them jealously. You could get the source code for an entire operating system (I had access to Solaris and VMS in a previous life) but you would never see the inside of the compilers. Gnu C changed that forever. ---
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/12 "2023-08-12T02:33:30Z")
Here’s a link to a website that hosts images and screenshots of many old operating systems that you might find interesting: [http://toastytech.com/guis/index.html](http://toastytech.com/guis/index.html) including GEOS: [http://toastytech.com/guis/indexgeos.html](http://toastytech.com/guis/indexgeos.html) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/13 "2023-08-12T13:04:34Z")
I’m not an expert, but it looks to me like GNU not being named as part of Linux is GNU’s own doing. When you literally name your project as not being Unix, and stubbornly insist that it’s all part of some new, non-Unix operating system that never actually materializes, then you don’t get to say “Yeah, that’s us!” when a Unix fork starts making extensive use of the tools you released freely. In practice, for everyone except the folks at the very tops of both projects, GNU and Linux are all part of the same thing. But the folks at the very top of GNU insist against that conceptual merger. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/14 "2023-08-12T14:17:20Z")
They could have called it Linu. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/15 "2023-08-12T21:25:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > but it looks to me like GNU not being named as part of Linux is GNU’s own doing Well Linux isn’t Unix either. We forget the Unix wars, and the fight over IP that occurred in the 80’s. Unix is the operating system called _Unix_ that came from Bell Labs. Linux’s creation was inspired by Minix, as it wasn’t at the time clear that Tanenbaum’s Minix was free of IP constraints either. The GNU Hurd isn’'t Unix either. It is based on the Mach kernel from CMU, something it has in common with MacOS and it’s Darwin kernel. Avie Trevanian, who was CTO at NeXT and then Apple was one of the main guys at CMU who developed Mach. All of these operating systems provided a Unix compatible API, but internally there was a lot of difference. Minix and Mach are micro kernels. Linux isn’t. There was a lot of operating systems work occurring back then. Much of which vanished as Linux swept forward. It was very common to provide a Unix like operating environment which allowed for easy leveraging of the GNU toolset. Linux was not the first to do this. Mach for instance provides a Unix emulation layer as a kernel service. Something it’s microkernel structure makes easy. Apple leverage this capability significantly in the manner they provide services. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/16 "2023-08-12T22:16:44Z")
If you’re going to apply such a fine filter that Linux isn’t Unix, then what is? And isn’t MacOSX actually based on FreeBSD (which is also a Unix)? ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/17 "2023-08-12T22:31:08Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > He is of the view that it should be Gnu/Linux. For once I agree with him. I think Stallman overstates his case: > [@"Richard Stallman](#): > > Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called “Linux” distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux. Maybe in 1991, but certainly not in 2023. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/18 "2023-08-12T22:44:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Linux isn’t Unix, then what is? UNIX® is anything that [The Open Group certifies as complying to Version 3 of the Single UNIX specification](https://www.opengroup.org/openbrand/register/xym0.htm). According to them, [MacOS 13 (Ventura) is UNIX®](https://www.opengroup.org/openbrand/register/). I seem to recall that at some time some particular version and distribution of Linux was certified as UNIX®. There don’t seem to be too many UNIX® now, I remember when everybody seemed to have their own version. All of which fell to Linux, which as said, is not UNIX. Linux is Unix-like, and Unix-compatible, and at this point is only pendants and grey beards that even draw a distinction between Linux and Unix. The two terms are pretty much interchangeable in the real world when discussing using command-line driven software. I have conversations where people say things like “I’ve only used Linux on my Mac’s terminal” (and they don’t mean SSHing someplace). Back to GEOS: I think there should be more user focused operating systems. At this point, I think there what, five? (I don’t mean embedded OS, but general purpose computing, for very stretched “walled garden” meanings of general purpose). 1. Windows 2. MacOS (UNIX) 3. IOS/IpadOS (UNIX based, not Unix-like) 4. Android (Linux based, not Unix-like) 5. Linux (Linux based, Unix-like) The two Linux based operating systems have many derivatives and distributions, but I’m thinking of Android as Android whether it’s AOSP, Google, Samsung, Amazon, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/19 "2023-08-12T23:42:30Z")
You left off ChromeOS. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2023, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403/20 "2023-08-13T00:58:17Z")
I’d add OS/2 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-os-from-1993/988403.md?page=2)