[Collapse OS](http://collapseos.org/) is a [[Forth|Forth]]-based operating system designed to run on 8-bit (and one 16-bit) CPUs, ostensibly for the purpose of rebuilding technology after an apocalyptic event on scavenged hardware. It is pretty clear at this point that the project is more about fantasy than reality. There are a lot of unnecessary constraints put on Collapse and Dusk that make them unviable for their stated purpose. This is really an art project that may or may not realize that is what it is. Still interesting despite this. I was really interested in this project when I first heard about it, but it never expanded beyond a small list of supported CPUs which are underpowered and not very common in the grand scheme of things. Porting the PC/AT 8086 version to a broader set of x86 systems and ARM support would be essential to considering this a successful project in my eyes - if its stated goals were the metric for success. As a retro-computing platform that can run on both Z80 and 6502 it is pretty neat. There is some cross polination between the Collapse/Dusk and [[Uxn]]/[[Varvara]] projects. # Dusk OS [Dusk OS](https://git.sr.ht/~vdupras/duskos) is a 32-bit operating system which runs on x86 hardware only. It bans concurrency as a concept as well as memory management and virtual memory. It also refuses to support anything 64-bit literally saying "4GB ought to be enough for anybody". If it were me, I would focus more on the lessons tried and true real-time and high-availability systems - such as those used in spacecraft - have learned the hard way already. # SSL This is on the Collapse OS download page: > This website is not served over SSL. That might make you worried about a man-in-the-middle attack on the archive you're downloading here. Sure, it can happen, but considering that: > > 1. the global SSL certificate infrastructure has many weak points. > 2. you have few reasons to trust _me_ more than the man in the middle. > 3. Collapse OS' code is _tiny_. Tell me you don't understand security without telling me you don't understand security. This absolutely painful chunk of text conveys in no uncertain terms that the creator has no idea what they're talking about and all opinions should be viewed through a lens of extreme skepticism. This will not be the project that people can safely turn to in [[Post Apocalyptic Technology Fantasies|times of need]].