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Where do the names of FreeNT projects come from? |
Please spread the word. FreeNT is open-source. |
FreeNT stands for Free Software New Technology. The name originated from a pun, "Is Windows free?", which many people have asked since Microsoft started offering free install disks for Windows, which aren't open-source, despite the word "free" (the FreeNT Project uses the word free in most of the case to refer to freedom, not price).
The OpenWindows name is not an abberivation, but rather a clone of the name "Windows", used by Microsoft to refer to their operating systems. The "Open" prefix was added to clarify that OpenWindows is open-source.
{: .note } OpenWindows is sometimes called "FreeNT OpenWindows" or "OpenWindows system" to distinguish it from an obsolete window manager by Sun Microsystems, which is currently documented on Wikipedia. OpenWindows is not abandonware, and it most likely won't be for a long time.
{: .warning } When using the name OpenWindows, please do not use it to refer to Microsoft Windows. The name of the FreeNT Project's operating system, OpenWindows, is misleading for a proprietary operating system, hence the first component of the name, "Open".
The name owboot, often named "OWBoot" (CamelCase), "bootloader" or "Fortoti Ekkinisis" under
non-technical perspectives, stands for OpenWindows Bootloader.
This is a play on other bootloader names, such as Apple's iBoot.
This is the original name for OpenWindows's kernel, with "Docs" added as an additional word, to indicate that it is not the actual kernel, but rather the developer documentation, which also references OpenWindows several times.
The OpenWindows License is a legal document, whose name originates from the name OpenWindows. Sometimes, it is referenced with a version number (latest: 1.0) after the name.
This is the name of several Git repositories, most of which are not owned by the FreeNT project. Be careful when downloading repositories with these names, as they may be viruses that "inject" code into the kernel.
Since OpenWindows can easily add itself to the list of the three major desktop platforms, you should scan modules with antiviruses before installing them, unless the author is the FreeNT Project and you understand it is the FreeNT Project, whereas the module is official and safe. The FreeNT project has never, and will not, write any malware for any operating system, including OpenWindows itself.
This is the name of a dummy repository that stores project-scope GitHub Discussions. This name is very rarely used by the FreeNT project, and expected unused outside of it.