Opinion
There are basically only two operating systems popular in computing, Unix-derived Linux and VMS-derived Windows. (MacOS is Unix-based.) So, it's semi-interesting to try out a unique OS like BeOS-derived Haiku, which, due to the universal WIMP -- windows, icons, menus, pointer -- interface, is easy to pick up.
The two big differences in the BeOS/Haiku interface are the Deskbar (upper right in the screen grab) instead of a taskbar, and the tab-like title bars. To access apps, right-click the Haiku icon, and then choose System > Apps.
It comes with a large number of simple apps and system apps, like a text editor, PDF reader, media player, and a Web browser. I think third-party programs are available. SheepShaver runs Classic MacOS programs in BeOS, however, on a PowerPC.
Anthony M. Frausto-Robledo of Architosh fame notes that "BeOS almost became the future of MacOS. I’m glad that didn’t happen, NeXT proved to be the better choice for many reasons."
It's as easy to run on a Windows computer as any dialect of Linux: download the free .iso file from https://haiku-os.org, and then install it into VirtualBox (free from https://www.virtualbox.org). I found I needed to install the 32-bit version.
Haiku is currently in beta 5.
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