For users this should mean that Haiku will be transparent, easy to understand and easy to fix, as well as fast and responsive and it should offer a more uniform experience.

Although the Haiku project has attracted people who haven't used BeOS, Aßmus believes that most of the core contributors have a history with Be Inc's operating system.

Despite this it's easy for people to get involved in Haiku, Aßmus says (although he adds "especially if one writes quality code"). "The Haiku user experience still has many rough spots and sometimes it's obvious how it should work instead and it's easy to make those changes.

"For new features, it's much easier to get them in when everyone feels they align with the vision of the project. Which everyone more or less has his own version of in his head, I suppose."