MenuetOS: Bringing Old PCs Back to Life
MenuetOS: Bringing Old PCs Back to Life
MenuetOS is an extremely obscure operating system. It has a very low system requirement, and is mostly only used for outdated computers. It can run smoothly on a 50MHz processor with only 32MB of RAM (MenuetOS, 2010). MenuetOS also has desktop effects, such as transparent windows and three dimensional previews while switching programs.
While MenuetOS is designed to run on older hardware, it’s a new operating system compared to others in existence. Linux has been around since 1991, while Microsoft Windows was first developed in 1981. The other operating systems stated previously are old in comparison, as MenuetOS was first released in 2000. MenuetOS was built completely from scratch, deriving no source code from any other operating system (MenuetOS, 2010). Apart from being built from scratch, it was also programmed with FASM, or flat assembly language. FASM is not the easiest of languages to program with, but most definitely one of the fastest in respect to program execution. Since its release in 2000, it has included numerous hardware compatibility fixes, as well as multi-core support. Throughout the years of development it has also included 64-bit CPU compatibility.
MenuetOS still doesn’t come without disadvantage. Since it is an operating system coded from scratch, compatibility for newer hardware is scarce, and file system implementation is limited to FAT32 (Computerra, 2005). If a user wants to play games, they’re limited to what has been programmed for the operating system; this means games programmed for Microsoft Windows will simply not work. MenuetOS is also limited by resolution. The operating system only supports up to 1280x1...
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...ing Menuet is limited to installed applications and drivers. Menuet is a great operating system if a user is going to revive a seemingly dead and or outdated computer for use as an HTPC, or for casual web surfing. Menuet is also nearly childproof, with configuration options all being handled within files. It’s an easily overlooked operating system that only serves a small demographic, but serves that demographic particularly well.
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