KolibriOS

KolibriOS

Developer	KolibriOS Project Team
Written in	FASM
Working state	Active
Source model	Open source
Latest release	0.7.7.0+8770 / August 1, 2024; 6 months ago (2024-08-01)[1][2]
Repository	git.kolibrios.org
Available in	English, Russian, Italian, Spanish
Platforms	x86
Kernel type	Monolithic[3]
Default user interface	KolibriOS Kernel API
License	GPL-2.0-only with binary blobs[4]
Preceded by	MenuetOS
Official website	www.kolibrios.org

KolibriOS is an open-source operating system for x86 computers, written completely in FASM assembly language. It has been developed since 2004, forked from MenuetOS,[5] and supports i586 CPUs or newer.[6] KolibriOS is small sized and fits on a single 3.5" floppy disk; despite this, it features a full graphical user interface, preemptive multitasking, networking capabilities, and many pieces of bundled software.

The name "Kolibri" is the Russian word for hummingbird (Колибри) and symbolizes the operating system's tiny size and fast speed.

Development

KolibriOS was forked from MenuetOS, a similar operating system that was built in 32-bit and 64-bit editions. It attracted much popularity in Russia and a number of other countries in the region, leading to a community contributing to the project.[7] The first version of KolibriOS, meant to be a driver fix for the Russian-language distribution, was released by Marat Zakiyanov "mario79" in 2004.[7] Shortly after the start of the KolibriOS project, MenuetOS's developer decided to only focus on the 64-bit version, which unlike its 32-bit counterpart was closed source.[8] KolibriOS on the other hand has only been developed in 32-bit and remains open source.[7]

KolibriOS has been developed by a number of contributors from different countries including Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Estonia, Germany and Belgium. Distribution assembly is handled by Evgeny Grechnikov or "Diamond".[7]

There are two development branches: KolibriACPI, which has extended ACPI support, and Kolibri-A, an exokernel version of KolibriOS optimized for embedded applications and hardware engineering; only few AMD APU-based platforms are currently supported.

Features

Due to its small size (most distributions will fit on a single 1.44 MB floppy disk image[9]) and being written in assembly, the OS boots in only a few seconds on various devices. It has support for booting from NTFS, Ext2/3/4, FAT12/16/32, exFAT, and ISO9660 based disks[5] and can also boot from Coreboot and Windows.

KolibriOS has a graphical user interface based on, and optimised for VESA. It features pre-emptive multitasking, streams, and parallel execution of system calls. It has built-in application software (more than 250[7]) such as a word processor, image viewer, music player, and web browser,[5] as well as a code editor with an integrated macro assembler (FASM). KolibriOS features a shell supporting various common commands used on Unix-like systems.[10]

Supported hardware

USB 1.1 and 2.0 are supported (UHCI, OHCI and EHCI). There is also support for USB hubs, although the only USB HID devices supported include keyboard, mouse and USB flash drives. Internal hard disks with PATA/IDE and SATA/AHCI interfaces are supported natively. Supported file systems include FAT12, FAT16, FAT32 (long names support), ext2, ext3 and ext4 (partially), CDFS (including multisession, read-only), NTFS (read and write but no extended functions such as encryption) and XFS (read-only).

KolibriOS supports the full TCP/IP stack and certain Ethernet network cards.[11] Intel High Definition Audio is supported on certain motherboards while AC'97 codec support exists for various chipsets including: Intel, nForce, nForce2, nForce3, nForce4, SIS7012, FM801, VT8233, VT8233C, VT8235, VT8237, VT8237R, VT8237R Plus and EMU10K1X. Video is claimed to work on any card and drivers are available for specific Intel or AMD cards.

System requirements are:

• i586-compatible CPU[6]
• 8 MB of RAM[12]
• VESA-compatible graphics card
• 1.44 MB 3.5" floppy drive, hard disk drive, USB flash drive or CD-ROM drive
• Keyboard and mouse (COM, PS/2 or USB)

Reception

In a 2009 review piece on alternative operating systems, TechRadar called it "tremendously impressive", noting its performance and streamlined codebase.[13]

Dedoimedo.com reviewed KolibriOS in 2012:[14]

I allocated a more than sufficient 64MB of RAM to KolibriOS and let it fly. Now, to really show you how fast this thing is, I recorded a boot session. It shows the simple KolibriOS boot menu. Next, I press the Enter key. Soon thereafter, we are inside a fully functional desktop. How soon? Well, you can enjoy the video embedded below or follow the Youtube link if you hate embedded stuff. Now, keep your eyes on the screen, as the video is rather short. I mean, really, really short.

Jesse Smith from DistroWatch Weekly wrote the following review about KolibriOS in 2009:[15]

The application menu is broken down into familiar groupings, such as Development, Games, Data Processing, Network and Help. There are also demo programs showing off various graphics and screensavers. Programs are easy to find and most applications work well. The help documentation is a bit scattered, as it covers a number of different topics, but there doesn't seem to be a pattern to what is explained and what isn't. In short, finding help is hit or miss, but what is explained is done so clearly.

In 2024, Simon Batt of XDA Developers wrote that KolibriOS is "charming" and that it is "perfect" for giving new life to older PCs.[16]

References

1. "Kolibri Releases". archive.kolibrios.org. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
2. "Index". builds.kolibrios.org. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
3. Boris Ya. Sovetov; Vladislav V. Cehanovsky (2018). Информационные Технологии [Information Technologies] (in Russian) (7th ed.). Moscow, Russia: Urait. p. 243. ISBN 978-5-534-00048-1.
4. Is there any proprietary software in this? Board.KolibriOS.org, 2014.
5. "KolibriOS official site". www.kolibrios.org. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
6. Bärwaldt, Erik (2017). "Little Friend". Linux Magazine (204). ISSN 1471-5678.
7. "KolibriOS: дайте ей шанс полетать на вашем компьютере::Журнал СА 3.2007". samag.ru. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
8. "64Bit MenuetOS 0.64 Released – OSnews". Retrieved 2024-11-22.
9. I Gede Partha Sindu, S.P.M.P. (July 21, 2021). "Bab 6: Open Source". Dasar Sistem Komputer [Basics of Computer Systems] (in Indonesian). Depok, Indonesia: Raja Grafindo Persada. p. 220. ISBN 978-602-425-381-3.
10. "Shell - KolibriOS wiki".
11. "Hardware Support - KolibriOS wiki".
12. "KolibriOS – A tiny operating system on a 1.44MB floppy". Archived from the original on 2014-01-29.
13. "10 operating systems you've never heard of". TechRadar. 2009-12-20. ISSN 2190-9717.
14. Ljubuncic, Igor (2012-03-16). "KolibriOS - The art of small". Dedoimedo.
15. DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 318, 31 August 2009
16. Batt, Simon (2024-10-25). "I ran an OS off a floppy disk and here's how it went". XDA. Retrieved 2024-11-22.

Further reading

• Kolibri-A: a lightweight 32-bit OS for AMD platforms Archived 2013-06-16 at the Wayback Machine—University of Exeter, PCCAT 2011 p. 20-22 (2011)

External links

• Official website
• KolibriOS at DistroWatch