Corel Linux: the OS that could have changed the world?
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- Опубликовано: 26 май 2024
- In the early 1990s, the Corel corporation created CorelDRAW!, a truly excellent vector graphics program for Microsoft Windows. Then they bought WordPerfect, tried to port it to Java, failed... then in 1999 they released a GNU/Linux distribution - Corel Linux. It should have been amazing. It's possibly the closest we ever came to a genuine "Linux on the desktop" challenger to Microsoft's de facto monopoly... but the fact you've probably never heard of it suggest this is not, in fact, what happened. Let's fire up Corel Linux in a VM, see what all the fuss was about, and talk about where it all went wrong.
If you want to try it out yourself, instructions are on my blog:
dylanbeattie.net/2024/05/27/r... 
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Somewhere there is an alternate universe where Corel Linux is the mainstream OS and computer geeks are all using BSD
I love retro Linux. The old KDE desktops are so interesting.
Love these trips back in time. Nice t-shirt.
Thanks for sharing the history! The grey boxes UI is adorable.
I was working in the Quattro Pro on my uncle's computer in ~1996.
It was one of the things which got me into the computer passion.
This not only takes me down memory lane... it also reminds me a bit of that cool talk "The Internet that Never Was" that some bloke on RUclips did. ;)
I remember having some quite heated arguments with my ex father-in-law about how Linux needed "a proper company" behind it and how if it's not Open Source then it's just some kind of evil capitalist trick.
Every time you say "POV-Ray", by the way, I give a little cheer... I still occasionally use POV-Ray, even now.
Remember running this back in the day, later ran Xandros as well
excellent video! wine is not emulator, though
Nice work Dylan :)
I wonder what would have been if Corel opened up their apps as well as the OS. I think it would have been competitive especially when the MS platform became known to be a spyware platform. For one thing, Word Perfect had far more features in it than Word, but still Word became the standard. I don't think that happens if WP were open.
The category of old GUI operating systems, reminds me of GeoWorks. The interesting thing they did, was have a complexity level selector when you launched . . . programs? the whole OS? So you would choose between 1, 2, 3, and 4 for how much of a power user you were, when you launched. 1 would give you relatively few buttons and menu items, 4 would give you all the options. I'm pretty sure it had a vector drawing program?
I feel that design philosophy could have saved quite a lot of tears for both users and tech support had it been implemented across the board.
Back then I suspected that software was intentionally made opaque in order to sell courses, but in retrospect it may just have been incompetence ¯\_ (ツ) _/¯
CompUSA! that brings back memories. I think I was on slackware at this point in time and firmly in the land of text, so never thought too much about wordperfect vs lotus smartsuite vs office
one of the best dinosaur documentaries I've ever seen...
go Dylan, go!
Love your channel, got here from your music, genius. As a 50-something IT geek and musician, all your nostalgia is perfect for me. Keep on rocking!
I never knew that's where WINE came from!
Interesting software! Too bad it felt between the two realms of the windows people not willing to switch to linux and the Linux people not wanting a closed source software.
Why didn't Corel just work with the already established mainline Linux companies? Would that have made any difference?
And now there is WSL.
"reveal codes" in word perfect still gives you better layout control than ms word does - find out just which bits are bold, fix bullet point formatting ....
I had a copy of Corel Draw for a long time. I think I finally tossed it. Great but...surpassed. I use LibreOffice now, on Linux Mint, on Framework 16.
The first wordprocessor I ever used was a little program called Wordstar. :) Having lived and worked with Windows for a very long time, I really, really, REALLY wish Corel LInux had taken off. I would love to give Windows the heave ho but I actually use CorelDraw X8 all the time, and I don't think it runs on Linux. -sigh-
I see now how Word Perfect died. Everything Novell buys goes up in flames. I used to use Linux SuSE unitl Novell bought it, and compeletly destroyed it.
Valve saw this and did it right
WINE Is aN Emulator
Wine Is Not an Emulator 😊