Basic look at OpenIndiana on the ThinkPad W541

What would a modern derivative of AT&T's Unix System V look like? As someone who has been interested in the Bell System (especially AT&T Long Lines, but also Bell Labs' impact on modern life), I set out to see with OpenIndiana. OpenIndiana is an open-source operating system built on Illumos, another operating system that is a derivative of AT&T and Sun's Unix System V Revision 4, introduced in 1988.

OI is a typical desktop operating system using the MATE desktop environment. The graphical user interface is very similar to other desktop GUIs, with a desktop, windows, "panels" and drop-down menus. Many open-source applications written for Linux or BSD have been ported to OI/Illumos, including LibreOffice, GIMP, VLC, Inkscape and others.

In the video I demonstrate how applications are installed using the "OpenIndiana Hipster" and "hipster-encumbered" package repositories. I demonstrate a video playing in VLC, along with a YouTube video.

For more, please see my blog post about OpenIndiana: https://personal.garrettfuller.org/bl...

Would you like to see more videos about this machine and OpenIndiana? Please leave a like or comment.

Videos shown:
AT&T's The Unix Connection:    • AT&T's The Unix Connection  
Lyons, Nebraska, turbine generator startup:    • Nuclear Bunker Diesel Turbine Start S...  
1977 Bell System ad:    • Bell System Animated Commercial (1977)