Read somewhere that it is relatively easy to adapt NetBSD's drivers into a custom kernel... maybe Serenity folks can go that way? Device drivers are huge obstacle for any fledgling OS.
replies(6):
I've wondered if new/hobby OSes would fare better by starting out targeting a popular single board computer like a raspberry pi? A mostly fixed set of hardware to make/get drivers for and test your system on.
The founder of SerenityOS created it as therapy and a pure “happiness” project. I am not sure actually using it was a real goal. So, he did the stuff he found interesting. That led him to writing display servers and web engines and crypto libraries and away from “real” drivers. He wrote his own C/C++ standard libraries and userland utilities but only enough driver code to make QEMU happy. It only ever ran in a VM on his Linux desktop. In the end, he found the web browser more interesting than the OS it was created for.
Very different project from Linux where what Linus wanted was an OS for his own computer. Linus was happy to leave the userland to others and still sticks to the kernel even now.
To be fair, his career was heavily focused on browser development before he ended up in a period of unemployment (I can't recall the exact circumstances), at which point he developed SerenityOS as a means of meditation/to give him purpose.
He still works on the OS, he's just more fulfilled working in a realm he specializes in and has pivoted focus there.
You can follow his monthly SerenityOS YouTube updates leading up to the Ladybird announcement for a more detailed rundown.