HelloSystem , an OS you probably haven’t heard about before, is an open-source OS based on FreeBSD, which is very interesting yet isn’t quite there yet.
A tour around HelloSystem
The Desktop
HelloSystem’s UI mimics older macOS versions while still looking unique, just like macOS, it has a dock and shows all the menu options on the top, and while it looks like macOS, it’s UI is much simpler, just looking around the menus, it will be clear what this OS is made to be, a simple barebones OS that only does what it’s supposed to.
Default apps
Just like it’s UI, most of HelloSystem’s default apps are very basic and designed to get the job done, mainly, the default apps you’ll find are a basic calculator and calendar , a text editor called FeatherPad, a PDF reader and an eBook reader, HelloSystem also includes two web browsers, Falkon and SimpleBrowser , which I don’t recommend at all, while being simple , they fail to open most websites and they are just too basic, a good option would be Firefox, which runs perfectly and opens all websites, HelloSystem also includes some more advanced apps , like a terminal , disk utility , and some more “Under construction” apps.
Additional apps
In addition to HelloSystem’s built-in apps, it includes more apps that can be downloaded from the applications menu, such as gimp, blender, and LibreOffice, but in my case, they seem to take a very long time to download, these are probably the only apps that can be downloaded and added to the applications menu, but they make HelloSystem that much more usable.
What HelloSystem Excels in
Ease of use
HelloSystem’s desktop and UI are very user friendly, even with being such a barebones OS, it still offers an easy-to-use experience.
Performance
This OS blows Windows and even some Linux distros out of the water in terms of performance, due to it being extremely lightweight, it’s very fast and its animations are very fluid even on older computers.
Where HelloSystem falls short
Stability
This OS is not stable by any means, even doing something simple like downloading Firefox can break it and not allow it to boot again, requiring a reinstall, but this should get better with time as HelloSystem advances.
App Compatibility
If you thought there are no apps for Linux then HelloSystem (FreeBSD) will surely change your mind, there are barely any normal apps for FreeBSD, as it’s targeted more toward server environments.
Final Verdict
Do I recommend installing HelloSystem? the short answer is no, but HelloSystem is a great concept , showing how the main focus of computers should be the app running and not the OS itself , it can be fun to play around with it or use it only for web browsing and other simple tasks , but it’s not really something you should be using on your main device.
Useful links
HelloSystem's Website : hellosystem.github.io