[iamnothere]

Exactly, DuskOS is for maintaining a somewhat degraded level of civilization and perhaps rebuilding, while salvaged machines are still common. CollapseOS is there if things get even worse, to retain a minimal level of computing capability during the transition to whatever comes next. It’s hard to imagine the need for CollapseOS while things are still working, but in some horrible future where it’s the only system keeping the water system running, people will appreciate it.

[yellowapple]

The additional value in Collapse OS is that — as the hardware capable of running even Dusk OS (let alone a more complicated 32+-bit operating system) continues to break down and dwindle in supply — you still have an option such that you can reasonably-comfortably use those more constrained systems for simple tasks and free up the complicated hardware for complicated tasks. You don't need a multicore 64-bit CPU to keep a typical water system running; an 8-bit microcontroller is typically enough, and having a software stack already ready to go (including an ease of adapting to whatever specific hardware might be wired to that microcontroller's pins) is a pretty big deal even long before the point where we're shooting each other over the last Z80s and PICs.