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[[GuidOS]] is a general-purpose operating system based on [[FleetU]], built and distributed by the [[Gudersnipe Foundation]]. It is highly stable and extremely versitile, serving as the underlying architecture for everything from computers to laptops to cellphones to high-end digital cameras, to any kind of appliance needing more sophisticated control than very basic ICs can provide. GuidOS is near-ubiquitous in the consumer-sector and is the primary user-facing operating system in the private sector. Due to the close arcitecture and inability to tune the kernel, it is not used for high-performance computing or server applications, though a truly-open source platform [[TelledorOS]] fulfills that role. Telledor shares about 70% of it's source code in common with the mainline branch of GuidOS.

==Usage==
GuidOS functions either with a graphical operating system or a command line. Its near-total domination of of the market means users all accross the [[Known Worlds]] are familiar with it. Its most visible role is as an operating system for personal computers. There are several competing products on the market, but few can reach the wide-ranging ubiquity of GuidOS. More common are custom-built "implementations", where a more sophisticated shell is built on top of the bare-bones implementation.

As technology advanced, GuidOS kept its same very low operating requirements, which led to it becoming the go-to platform for every device imaginable. Integrated "system on a chip" boards pre-loaded with a hardware-optimized version are sold in huge quantities, winding up in everything from toaster ovens to alarm clocks.

==Interface==
The standard version of GuidOS runs off of a very spartan graphical interface, with icons and menus to run programs. One of the core elements and most well-known aspect of GuidOS is the mascot, Stripy, who appears as an animated badger in a space suit. Stripy is used throughout GuidOS as a visual indicator, using pictographic animations to communicate information about the state of the system and actions required by the user. Most notably, Stripy will appear with a frown or giving a thumbs-down signal to indicate something is wrong. Stripy is even visible in the standard command-line interface, though he is excluded from more light-weight applications.

==Attempts to Reverse-Engineer==
The software is programmed and distributed by the Gudersnipe Foundation, who have released parts of the source code in order to assist third-party developers. This has led to numerous civilian attempts to reverse-engineer the entire source code, with limited success. Various groups have over the years identified six so-called "Black Box Binaries" embedded in the code, and which GuideOS cannot run without. The competing [[TelledorOS]] was actually created as the result of one such reverse-engineering effort, and required the team to re-write 30% of the source code in order to make the rest compile without those six binaries. Though Telledor allows for the operating system to be fine-tuned for maximum performance, it never achieved the stability of the Foundation-supplied original.

The Gudersnipe Foundation has never formally acknowledged the existence of the Black Box Binaries nor hinted at what they do. Many suspect they are part of a hardware backdoor into the system.

==Cost==
Technically, GuidOS is owned by the [[Gudersnipe Foundation]], and anyone implementing it is required to pay a licensing fee. In practice, this fees are almost never paid. The Foundation earns money off of GuideOS by selling consumer and professional-grade electronics that run it. That immitators create closes of these products and run on pirated versions is seen by the Foundation and merely validating the success of the product.

[[Category:Course Books]]

GuidOS - Revision history

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thirteenyearsoffire.com>CourseDirector at 03:19, 6 February 2023