Kolibri or KolibriOS is a small open source x86 operating system written completely in assembly. It was forked off from MenuetOS[1] in 2004 and run under independent development since.
Features
- Compact kernel thoroughly optimized for ultimate speed and size
- Pre-emptive multitasking, streams, parallel execution of system calls
- Boots in few seconds from various devices; NTFS and Ext2/3 also supported. Can be started from Coreboot and Windows (Windows will shutdown)
- Graphical user interface based on and optimized for VESA
- Development kit: code editor with a macro-assembler (FASM) integrated
- Most distributives will fit on a single 1.44 MB Floppy image
System requirements
- i586 compatible CPU required
- 8 MB of RAM[2]
- VESA-compatible videocard
- 1.44" floppy drive, hard disk, USB Flash or CD-drive
- Keyboard and mouse (COM, PS/2 or USB)
Supported hardware
- Hard disks and some USB-sticks. Supported file systems are FAT12, FAT16, FAT32 (long names support), NTFS (partially, read only), ext2/ext3/ext4 (partially, read only) and CDFS
- AC'97 audio codec support for Intel, nForce, nForce2, nForce3, nForce4, SIS7012, FM801, VT8233, VT8233C, VT8235, VT8237, VT8237R, VT8237R Plus and EMU10K1X chipsets
- HD Audio codec support for certain motherboards
- AMD, ATI and Intel video chipsets
Development branches
- KolibriACPI: Extended ACPI support
- KolibriNET: Extended network support
- Kolibri-A: Embeddable version fiercely optimized for AMD Fusion platforms
External links
Other reviews:
References
- ^ www.kolibrios.org
- ^ KolibriOS – A tiny operating system on a 1.44MB floppy
