Borealis

BorealisBorealis_boot_screen_2023.png
Borealis (created by me) is a fictional super advanced, ultramodern quantum operating system created by Lumos Computer Systems of the fictional country of Petz Land (my country I created for a web series), and released in 2022. The development process was similar to that of Windows Longhorn/Vista.

Early history
Borealis began development from a DOS-like codebase as Project Aurora in 1872, designed to introduce an operating system for abacuses, for whatever reason. As expected, this failed because you cannot install an operating system on an abacus. So the team, comprised of Sir David Obiron, the founder of Obico, Dr. Edgar Schmidt, a German mechanical engineer, and Jebediah Lumos, the great great grandfather of Stephen Lumos, created a mechanical computer to run it. This computer was dubbed the Obico Mechanical Computing Device. The OS ran off of a mechanical hole punch and could run tasks and perform operations at a pace of four holes per second. This proved much more feasible and Project Aurora was born. A few test builds were created over the coming years after this. However due to lack of funding the project was scrapped and put on hiatus.

First stages of development
About 118 years later, in 1990, development was restarted from an experimental quantum codebase built from scratch, custom made for the new experimental Lumos supercomputer, the QN-X90. The first version was a pre-dev proof of concept DOS environment, created as a test of the feasibility of quantum operating environments and quantum computers. It ran off a tape drive and could multitask up to two programs at a time. It was successful, and further development was begun immediately.

The attack of Microsoft
5 years later, Microsoft Corporation introduced Windows 95. Lumos were shocked at the technical advancements of Windows 95, including the introduction of a taskbar and start menu, and scrambled to one-up Microsoft at their own game. What came of this was the first developer release of Borealis. It was distributed to hobbyists and developers at INFOCOM 1995 on tape cassettes and floppy disks, along with a few examples of their newest achievement, the QH-95 Quantum Personal Computer. Consumer feedback was acceptable, and Lumos pursued further advancement of their operating system and the computers to run it. Microsoft dealt another heavy blow to Lumos Computer Systems one year later in 1996 with the release of Windows NT 4.0. Revolutionizing the home computer industry with their introduction of new technologies, Windows NT blew Borealis away with its cutting edge technology, innovative features and blistering fast computing speeds (at least in 90s terms anyway). Determined not to be wiped out, Lumos put their foot down and created an NT-like codebase to base Borealis on. The resulting operating system was monumentally faster and more powerful than anything Microsoft or even Apple had ever created. Microsoft were shocked at the footage that their corporate spies they hired to find out how Lumos were doing so well had been captured, and decided that it was best to leave Lumos to do as they pleased, and Microsoft continued on their own affairs, not trying to compete with Lumos any further.

Initial test releases
The first test release was sent out to developers in November of 1996, and the reviews were adequately positive. Noting this, Lumos began developing their newfound operating system more aggressively to ensure their corporate survival. Three years later, in 1999, the final test release of Borealis before the first alpha release was introduced to select testers of their latest quantum machine, the Lumiquant QX Pro. This final test release incorporated many of the features that are seen in Borealis today. A year later, in 2000, the second pre alpha was sent out as a minor update to the first. In 2002, the final pre alpha release was shipped. This build included massive improvements to loading times, improved general performance while working, made updates to the UI and added modern, futuristic sounds, plus a new cursor and a fancy boot screen with an animated progress bar. With this also came the introduction of 64 bit and 128 bit versions of the OS, in addition to the initial 16 bit and 32 bit versions, and finally, unlimited multitasking was introduced. After that, development moved to the alpha phase of the cycle.

Alpha stages
In 2004, the first alpha version of Borealis was released for public testing on their new quantum home computer, the Rebus. The alpha build included a minor UI update, sounds borrowed from Windows Longhorn, since Lumos and Microsoft buried the hatchet and agreed to work together in a corporate partnership (much like, it would seem, OS-Ready did), the introduction of a rudimentary version of the UI animations seen in the final release of Borealis, and the Sidebar from Windows Longhorn. A year later in 2005, a update was released that once again changed the boot screen, and did away with the sidebar as it was found to be troublesome. But severe issues were found and development was reset due to the oversaturation of new stuff. The first build after the reset was based on a previous revision of an earlier alpha release, and the codename of Aurora was done away with completely and the final release name was decided to be Borealis. In 2006, a small update was released that re-added all the removed features from pre reset builds and further polishing of the UI was performed, introducing a new futuristic 'Start' button (much like the Windows Vista 'Start' orb). In 2007, the next alpha release was presented, featuring a new interface and performance improvements. In 2009, the next alpha was released, featuring a new boot screen, and a new logon/sign-in screen, which was a rudimentary preview of the sign-in screen included in the final release of Borealis. The Windows Longhorn sounds remained for three years after 2007, until 2010, when a new update was sent out featuring a preview of the sounds included in the beta and final versions of Borealis. These sounds were a low quality version of the final sounds, recorded on a cell phone and added directly into the OS without any processing. These low quality versions of the final sounds remained for a few years.

Beta phase
In 2012, it was announced that Borealis had finally reached the beta stages of development. The beta was shown off at WinHEC 2012 alongside Windows 8, and at INFOCOM 2012. Beta 1 included huge advancements, such as an improved setup process, addition of EFI versions of system processes, better system crash management, USB 3.0 support, a modern UI similar to that of the final version, slightly better versions of the beta sounds, massive speedups in loading times and memory access, native support for Windows apps, fluid UI animations, and more informative POST and BIOS screens. In 2014, Beta 2 was released, adding a Metro-like start screen similar to Windows 8's design, and bug fixes. Copies of the betas were distributed on CDs to selected guests at both WinHEC and INFOCOM. The OS ran on the latest quantum PC by Lumos, the Rebus Pro, which was, as expected, a pro version of the original Rebus. One year later, in 2015, Beta 3 was released, continuing to expand on the advancements of the previous two beta releases. In October 2019, the final beta was released, adding the last of the features slated for Borealis. This included full window transparency, holographic sign in screens, and a futuristic screensaver.

Release Candidates
In 2020, the first Release Candidate build of Borealis was compiled. RC1 of Borealis incorporated the first set of finishing touches to bring the OS to full release standards. New features included faster loading times, faster booting, touch screen compatibility, full HD versions of the final sounds, alternate sound schemes, alternate desktop themes with different colours and animations, built in antivirus and firewall software, crash and error reporting, a modernised system error screen, dubbed the 'teal screen of death' due to its teal/cyan colour, removal of leftover code from previous alpha and beta builds, optional removal of the build number watermark on the desktop, and improvements to the Process Manager app. In November of 2021, the final Release Candidate was sent to computing magazines, select testers and reviewers for publicity and ensuring the system was ready for RTM by the new year.

RTM
In February of 2022, Borealis was released to RTM. The RTM build included one extra sound scheme, borrowed from PowerOS Longhorn (OS-Ready's version of Windows Longhorn), and removed the build number watermark altogether. Also included was a new default desktop wallpaper, debugging software, performance monitoring applications, and improved quantum algorithms.