> ReactOS is a project to build a free,
> open-source clone of Windows,
I think you just answered your own question.
> Why on earth hasn't this received more
> support from the OSS community?
Most of us in the open-source community don't *like* Windows all that much. We aren't particularly interested in a clone of it, no matter how it's licensed. I find myself vaguely curious about whether ReactOS will ever reach a point of actually being a meaningful competitor for Windows, but this is the same kind of purely theoretical curiosity that leads me to wonder whether stovepipe hats might someday make a fashion comeback. It's a purely abstract curiosity. I don't actually *care*.
> Linux is fine for servers, portable devices, and
> embedded systems, but trying to stick it on the
> desktop is a foolish dream that has failed for
> over 10 years.
Whatever, dude.
Linux was *designed* for the desktop. The fact that it's good on servers and embedded systems is just a nice bonus. I've been using Linux on the desktop since the late nineties. My computer does what I want it to do, and the OS stays out of my way and lets me do whatever I'm doing, and I don't have to jump through a bunch of stupid hoops all the time. This is partly because I have my desktop significantly customized -- it wouldn't be so good on an out-of-the-box install; but said customization is *possible* because I'm using an inherently customizable system. Windows allows you to customize the color scheme and mouse pointers and stuff, but anything that would actually have a major impact on how the software operates, forget it.
Now, granted, a lot of people prefer Windows. But most of those people aren't open-source developers. This is not a coincidence. Windows was *designed* to appeal to people who are NOT computer geeks. That was kind of the whole point, actually: regular people wanted to type up papers and stuff but didn't want to learn technical stuff (e.g., the command line -- which is significantly simpler than programming but still overwhelmingly more technical than anything most Windows users will touch with a ten-foot pole). Windows was made for regular people.
But most programmers, it turns out, don't really think that way, and Windows tends not to appeal so much to most of them.
There are, of course, exceptions.