Russian student copies Windows and gets 1mln € from Russia

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14899507

Isn't this illegal? If it runs Windows applications then it must be very similar to Windows, basically nearly a copy, so why would Russia give money for it? I don't get it at all, is there someone who knows more and could explain me how does it work?

This has been around for a long time and is basically a reimplementation of Windows NT technology, similar to WINE project. The Russian president basically said, in politician speak, "Sorry, your pathetic project is insignificant to me and you will never get any money from us."

Why would anyone reimplement Windows NT? Because it is open source and (presumably) platform independent, allowing one to run Windows on different hardware (like one's toaster). It is an idyllic thing on the one hand and a geekgasm on the other to participate in a project like this. Obviously, you would learn a great deal about Windows and operating systems, doing it.

However, this will always be behind in terms of technology, more buggy and probably incomplete, as it is all reverse-engineered without documentation from Microsoft. However, WINE has made wonderful progress over the years (I don't know about the status of ReactOS).

As to the question whether this is legal, I have no idea. There are probably laws against reverse-engineering parts of Windows. I have not heard about any legal actions against projects like these yet. Probably because Microsoft is unimpressed.