OpenBeOS Gets Binary-Compatible Network Stack

eexlebots writes: "While there is much yet to be done, the OpenBeOS team (whose goal is to rebuild the BeOS part by part, server by server, with source AND binary compatibility) have been testing an early build of a binary-compatible replacement for the much-maligned net_server. Netpositive (the default BeOS browser) can now fetch web pages from a local server using the new stack. While the new stack is still dangerously buggy, it's a huge step forward for the OpenBeOS team. For the official scoop, check out the OpenBeOS website, as well as this screenshot."

Re:I don't get it

[Anonymous Coward]

Read the project's FAQ if you don't get it. BeOS was a very nice OS, it had many well thought out features, and has a lot of geek appeal. OpenBeOS doesn't want to see BeOS die just because the company made a few missteps and/or the mass market couldn't find a use for it. Your argument could hold for just about any emulation project out there, but people still do it "cause it's there". If everyone else had your attitude then the many game console emulators wouldn't exist. Once finished not only will BeOS live on but it can be improved upon, such as making it multi-user, enabling compatibility with more hardware, and so on.

BeOS' strength was its clean and new design.
By conforming to the binary result of this design these hackers are missing the whole point.

Why not take its design paradigms and build something new in the same fashion.

I don't see how using the paradigms and maintaining binary compatibility are mutually exclusive. I think basing new code on established good code would be a good thing, much better than basing new code on known bad code (like WINE is doing, for example).