Editing ReactOS (section)

==Reception==
Various people have acknowledged ReactOS and the implications of having a viable open-source [[drop-in replacement]] for Windows.<ref name=Spiegel /> A 2004 article and interview of the German weekly magazine ''[[Der Spiegel]]'' describes ReactOS as directed at Windows users who want to renounce use of [[proprietary software|proprietary]] commercial software without having to switch to Linux.<ref name=Spiegel /> [[DistroWatch]], a [[Linux distribution]]'s monitoring Web site, also lists ReactOS and describes it as "a free and open-source operating system based on the best design principles found in the [[Architecture of Windows NT|Windows NT architecture]]."<ref>[https://www.distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=reactos reactos] on [[DistroWatch|distrowatch.com]] ''ReactOS is a free and open-source operating system based on the best design principles found in the Windows NT architecture.'' (accessed January 2016)</ref>

In his column for [[Free Software Magazine]], David Sugar noted in 2006 that ReactOS would allow the use of applications depending on older versions of Windows whose APIs have been deprecated. He also recognized its potential to expand the total deployed base of free software, and as a resource for developers wanting to know [[undocumented feature|undocumented]] Windows APIs in the course of writing portable applications.<ref name="undocumented">{{cite web |last=Sugar |first=David |date=2006-01-31 |title=A reaction to ReactOS |url=https://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/node/1474 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810113707/http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/node/1474 |archive-date=10 August 2007 |access-date=2009-12-11 |publisher=[[Free Software Magazine]] |df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[PC Magazine]] columnist [[John C. Dvorak]] remarked in 2008 that the Windows NT architecture had remained largely unchanged, making it an ideal candidate for cloning, and believed that ReactOS could be "a bigger threat than [[Linux]] to Microsoft's dominance".<ref name=dvorak>{{cite web |url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2290313,00.asp |first=John C. |last=Dvorak |title=What A New OS Needs |publisher=[[PC Magazine]] |date=2008-04-04 |access-date=2009-12-11}}</ref> In response to Dvorak's column, [[ZDNet]] technology journalist Dana Blankenhorn noted in 2008 that a lack of corporate sponsors and partners had rendered the project harmless to Microsoft.<ref>{{cite web |last=Blankenhorn |first=Dana |date=2008-05-13 |title=ReactOS no threat to Windows |url=https://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=2425 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925230732/http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=2425 |archive-date=25 September 2008 |access-date=2009-12-22 |publisher=[[ZDNet]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://talkback.zdnet.com/5208-10535-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=47591&messageID=886507 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120628231147/http://talkback.zdnet.com/5208-10535-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=47591&messageID=886507 |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 June 2012 |last=Blankenhorn |first=Dana |title=ReactOS needs a channel |publisher=[[ZDNet]] |date=2008-05-13 |access-date=2009-12-22 }}</ref> Echoing this, Thom Holwerda of [[OSNews]] in 2009 categorized ReactOS under a family of hobby operating systems maintained only by small groups of developers working in their spare time, lacking the financial support of more mainstream operating systems and the legacy of formerly mainstream ones such as [[RISC OS]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Holwerda |first=Thom |date=2009-12-20 |title=My OS Is Less Hobby Than Yours |url=https://www.osnews.com/story/22638/My_OS_Is_Less_Hobby_than_Yours |access-date=2009-12-22 |publisher=[[OSNews]]}}</ref>

In October 2015, a [[International Data Group#IDG Global Brands|Network World]] review of ReactOS v0.3.17 noted "It's just like running Windows 2000" and praised the application [[package manager]], a feature the original Windows is missing.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.networkworld.com/article/944754/linux-cousins-part-2-reviewing-reactos-the-open-source-version-of-windows.html|title=Linux cousins Part 2: Reviewing ReactOS, the Open Source version of Windows |quote=''In short: It's just like running Windows 2000. Except Free and Open Source. Which makes makes it feel both awesome. And dirty. And profound... also infuriating. If I'm honest, I really don't know how ReactOS makes me feel. But it's damned impressive that it exists and works so well. Beyond simply being Open Source, ReactOS has one cool features that Windows never really provided properly: An application manager that is laid out and structured like a Linux package manager. From within it you can even install a large number of FOSS software staples, such as [[Firefox]], [[LibreOffice]], and [[GIMP]].'' |first=Bryan|last=Lunduke |access-date=2016-01-04 |date=2015-10-28 |publisher=[[International Data Group#IDG Global Brands|Network World]]}}</ref>

In August 2018, Jesse Smith from DistroWatch Weekly reviewed ReactOS v0.4.9, reporting that it suffered from limited hardware support and that it tended to lock up under load. He concluded: "[it] should be used with caution and probably not as a main, day-to-day operating system"<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20180827#guixsd|title=Guix System Distribution 0.15.0 and ReactOS 0.4.9|issue=778|author=Jesse Smith|website=DistroWatch Weekly|access-date=2018-08-27}}</ref>

===Awards===
The ReactOS Project won on the annual [[Seliger (forum)|Seliger Youth Forum]] "The Best Presentation" award with 100,000 [[Russian ruble]]s ($2700) in 2011, attended by Alexander Rechitskiy, one of the development team members.<ref name="bestpresentationaward2011">{{cite web |date=2011-09-12 |title=Russian president asked to Fund Windows Open Source Clone |url=https://jordanopensource.org/freeplanet/article/russian-president-asked-fund-windows-open-source-clone |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201224904/http://jordanopensource.org/freeplanet/article/russian-president-asked-fund-windows-open-source-clone |archive-date=1 February 2014 |access-date=2013-06-18 |publisher=Jordan Open Source Association |quote=''At the forum, ReactOS won "The Best Presentation" award and a grant of 100,000 rubles (approximately 2,400 JDs). In addition, around twenty large investors became interested in the project.'' |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

ReactOS was a featured project on [[SourceForge]] for the weeks beginning on 27 February 2012, 25 April 2013,<ref name="sffeaturedproject2012">{{cite web |date=2012-12-27 |title=Featured projects, February 27, 2012 |url=https://www.sourceforge.net/blog/featured-projects-20120227/ |access-date=2012-12-20 |publisher=[[SourceForge|SourceForge.com]]}}</ref> and several others. It was Project of the Month on SourceForge for June 2013<ref name="potm-201306-2">{{cite web |date=2013-06-17 |title=Sourceforge POTM June 2013 |url=https://www.sourceforge.net/blog/potm-201306/ |access-date=2013-06-17 |publisher=[[SourceForge|Sourceforge.com]]}}</ref> and February 2019.<ref>{{cite web |date=8 February 2019 |title=February 2019, "Staff Pick" Project of the Month – ReactOS |url=https://www.sourceforge.net/blog/february-2019-staff-pick-project-month-reactos |access-date=25 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref>