Giving praise to the TempleOS

Michael Reed delves into one of the most unusual operating systems he's ever seen and explores the story behind its creation.

- Michael Reed

OUR EXPERT Michael Reed is a Linux veteran and was raised on lesser-known operating systems such as RISC OS, AmigaOS and OS/2.

QUICK TIP There is no simple way to change the resolution or font size in TempleOS. To keep things as readable as possible when running TempleOS on a virtualiser, consider switching on screen scaling and stretching the display window of the virtualiser, at the cost of some sharpness.

TempleOS and its modernised derivative ZealOS are unusual operating systems that don't fit into the modern paradigm of how OSes are expected to look or work. Every aspect of the system, from the external user interface to the nitty gritty of how it works on the inside, defies convention.

The man who created TempleOS, Terry A Davis, was affected by serious mental illness problems, and many of his design decisions about the OS were informed by his eccentric views, including his unusual religious beliefs. Throughout his adult life, he had run-ins with the law and had difficulty supporting himself. He often got into spats on online forums and websites. However, he single-handedly created a complete, if unusual, OS worthy of exploration. Sadly, he died in 2018.

There have been attempts to continue the legacy of TempleOS. ZealOS is a modern implementation, and it's another system that we're going to look at.

Obtaining and installing