Are you suggesting that writing an operating system is easy just because Linus figured out how to do it? Yes. A free 9x operating system, like a free Unix system, will not exist unless someone actually sits down and writes the kernel. And it never will be. That is beyond the scope of the project. Even if it were the goal of the project, it doesn't use clean-room reverse-engineering, so the code will always be suspect. If you see the code, you can't write it. It's an extreme shot in the dark. Your hunting for somebody who: 1. Knows how to write kernel code. 2. Wants to write a 9x-style kernel 3. Is willing to make it open-source You're being optimistic, I'll grant you that. Provided that they want to write it. To quote "Linux is not Windows": By and large, most people do not care if a modern 9x kernel exists, as they have moved on to other operating systems, such as XP/Vista, OS X, or Linux. The people who still use 9x operating systems probably also do not care. Look at the reasons many people still use 9x: 1. Compatibility. If Microsoft can't guarantee that future versions will be 100% compatible with 9x programs, how could an open-source project? Look at the truble Wine has had. 2. Installation. You won't believe how many people don't even know what a driver is. If they pop in and install a copy of {Insert Project Name Here} and their sound card doesn't work, they are going to be extremely unhappy. 3. Getting it. I moved off of Windows 9x shortly before I moved off dial-up (towards the end of 2006). Coming from that type of background, I would assume that the people who need a free 9x most, people who don't do it for the "sport" of getting it to work on new stuff or "sticking it to the man", are dial-up users. Many of them might not even have a CD burner. So you would need a a free ShipIt -like service. I don't think your user base is going to be large enough to pay for such a service. Even most Linux distos can't do that, which is why Ubuntu is so popular. I have a pretty good hunch.