What is "whitix"

Whitix is a desktop computer operating system written from scratch for the x86 architecture by Matthew Whitworth and others. The project aims to combine proven system technology (a Unix-like kernel), while "offering a consistent and clear interface and a new way to navigate the desktop." The operating system runs on a custom open source kernel written by Whitworth; new features include IcFs, a dynamic configuration filesystem that replaces ioctl.

The modular kernel of Whitix is licensed under the GNU General Public License, and is a fully preemptive multitasking kernel with multithreading. It supports a number of filesystems, including the FAT family of filesystems, ext3 (with journaling), Reiserfs and ISO9660. Whitix is available as a live CD for download, and can be installed to the hard drive, beginning with version 0.2.

The userspace comprises a native shell, Burn, and text editor, Fruity, and a range of ported applications. A C-based and BSD-licensed software development kit is available, with bindings for various languages. Whitix contains a POSIX compatibility library (libposix), but does not aim for full POSIX compliance. Whitix's windowing environment is Xynth, a lightweight windowing environment developed by Alper Akcan.