November 1, 2025
Floppy to fame
OS maintained by a single developer since 1997: Visopsys
One dev’s 28-year OS sparks awe, memes, and a “wait, it’s not Linux?” vibe
TLDR: A single developer has built and maintained Visopsys since 1997, now at version 0.92 and still open-source. The crowd is split between awe at the dedication, jokes about the never-ending “0.x,” and debate over whether it’s a practical everyday machine for simple, older hardware.
Visopsys is the little operating system that could: a one-person project since 1997 that’s still shipping, still tiny, and still open-source. It boots from a USB stick (or yes, even a floppy), looks clean, and does the basics—multitasking, virtual memory, and a simple desktop—without pretending to be Windows or macOS. The community instantly latched onto the most eyebrow-raising detail: after nearly 30 years, it’s at version 0.92. Cue the hot takes. One camp cheers the chill versioning, reading it as humble craft; another jokes that this is “perma-beta energy.” The “is this Linux?” crowd also had a moment—turns out it’s its own thing, not a clone, which surprised plenty.
The daily-driver debate popped off: fans say this could be perfect for kids, grandparents, or older laptops that just need notes and a browser; cynics wonder how far “basic” can go in 2025. Screenshots earned genuine respect—“no small feat” vibes—while retro lovers celebrated the floppy option like it’s a vintage vinyl drop. There’s real admiration for the solo builder behind it, and a sprinkle of meme-iness about counting to 1.0. Love it or side-eye it, Visopsys is getting attention for doing more with less. Peek the project at visopsys.org.
Key Points
- •Visopsys is an open-source alternative operating system for PC-compatible computers.
- •It has been in development since 1997 and emphasizes being small and fast.
- •Key features include a graphical user interface, pre-emptive multitasking, virtual memory, and full protected mode.
- •It is not a clone of any other operating system and aims for compatibility in several ways.
- •Version 0.92 was released on September 21, 2023, with prior releases listed back to 2018; it can be demoed from live USB, CD/DVD, or floppy disk.