The QNX Operating System

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Experimenting with QNX Today

  • Multiple commenters share ways to try QNX now: official Raspberry Pi 4 images, older VM-ready versions, and tutorial series for QNX 8.0.
  • Some are put off by the multi-step registration/download process and want a simple “wget an image” or 1‑click flow; someone representing QNX says they’re working on exactly that.

Nostalgia & Early Impressions

  • Many recall the famous 1.44MB floppy demo with full GUI, TCP/IP, and browser as the most impressive tech demo they’d seen.
  • QNX is remembered as fast, tiny, polished, UNIX-like but not intimidating, and with exceptionally good documentation.
  • There are stories of multi‑boot “golden era” desktops (QNX, BeOS, BSDs, Linux, etc.) and using QNX floppies in cybercafés to avoid malware.

Real-time, Microkernel Design & Reliability

  • QNX is praised for hard real-time behavior and process isolation: drivers run in user space, so a driver crash doesn’t necessarily take down the system—critical for automotive and control systems.
  • One thread debates whether real-time is still crucial given modern CPU speeds; responses stress determinism and fault isolation over raw performance.
  • Deep technical subthread on optimizing message passing: page-table–based IPC, tradeoffs vs copying, TLB costs, when such schemes pay off, and parallels with Mach and OS research (seL4, Barrelfish, Nemesis, Hongmeng).

Automotive and Embedded Use

  • Multiple comments state QNX underpins many infotainment and control systems; one figure cited is 270M+ vehicles (about 1 in 7 globally).
  • Some note that Android-based UIs may actually be guests atop QNX hypervisors, and mention an OCI-compatible container solution.

Licensing, Source Availability & Hobbyist Frustration

  • Neutrino 6.4 “openQNX” source archives and forks are linked; several people use them for study and experimentation.
  • A long subthread debates whether public GitHub mirrors are legally safe, weighing old press releases, proprietary licenses, fair use, implied license, and estoppel; consensus on legality is unresolved.
  • Hobbyists lament the end of self-hosted QNX, Photon, and the hobbyist license, describing QNX as commercially focused and “noncommittal” toward enthusiasts; some say they’d only return if it were truly open-sourced.
  • Someone from QNX says moving to a more familiar/comfortable license is an active priority but will take time.

ICON, Education, and Devices

  • Several reminisce about QNX-powered ICON school computers and associated servers, though opinions differ: some found them advanced and formative; others call them a procurement-driven “hunk of junk.”
  • QNX also shows up in anecdotes about i-Opener, 3Com Audrey, cable modems, industrial robotics, medical/NIH experiments, and food-sorting “optical processors.”

BlackBerry & Desktop/Mobile Experience

  • Commenters recall QNX’s Photon desktop as extremely responsive and professional; some mimicked its look on Linux (e.g., FVWM themes).
  • BlackBerry 10, built on QNX, is fondly remembered as a superb but commercially failed mobile OS; specific QNX-based features like using the phone as a Bluetooth HID are mentioned.

Comparisons & Niche Today

  • Some see QNX as “OS done right” but question why a new project would choose it over real-time Linux, Zephyr, or FreeRTOS, given licensing costs and ecosystem size.
  • Others argue its combination of robustness, microkernel isolation, and safety certifications still makes it attractive in high-assurance embedded and automotive contexts, even if it is largely invisible to end users.