Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 5th May 2006 19:54 UTC, submitted by Gary
The micro vs. monolithic kernel debate is now very much alive. Not too long ago, I wrote an article on the merits of microkernels, while a week later we featured a retort. Now, the greatest proponent of the microkernel steps in-- yes, Andy Tanenbaum writes: "Microkernels - long discarded as unacceptable because of their lower performance compared with monolithic kernels - might be making a comeback in operating systems due to their potentially higher reliability, which many researchers now regard as more important than performance." Now, we only need Torvalds to chime in, and it's 1992 all over again.
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RE: Tanenbaum is right !!!
by Wrawrat on Sat 6th May 2006 14:53
in reply to "Tanenbaum is right !!!"
Member since:2005-06-30
frankly linux had nothing special when it started. [...] since at that time many eager programmers were waiting for a free OS which at that time only GNU/Linux was available, they started to coding this GNU/Linux.
What about BSD and GNU/Herd? At that time, the former was under trial and the latter was far from completion, but they were still available.
As for the rest, I believe you have an over-optimistic point of view of microkernels... In reality, the reliability of a microkernel-based OS will depend on the maturity of its services. Your kernel might be "100% perfect", but it doesn't mean the rest is. Your OS might survive to a fs driver crash, but the safety of your data could still be in jeopardy.
They have nice advantages, but they are not the best thing since sliced bread. Monolithic and hybrid kernels are not that bad, after all.
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:33 UTC
Official Apple statement on PRISM and privacy: "Regardless of the circumstances, our Legal team conducts an evaluation of each request and, only if appropriate, we retrieve and deliver the narrowest possible set of information to the authorities. In fact, from time to time when we see inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a request, we will refuse to fulfill it." This is basically Apple re-publishing their earlier statement in a more official manner. You either believe it, or you don't.
Linked by Anonymous on 06/18/13 22:26 UTC
The open source Contiki operating system and its commercial Thingsquare distribution are making strides towards the connected home. According to a Computerworld article, a new LED light bulb manufacturer is putting small computers into their light bulbs. Each computer runs the Contiki OS, which gives each bulb an IP address and allows them to be controlled with a smartphone application. To connect the bulbs to the application, the bulbs use both Wi-Fi and the much lower power IEEE 802.15.4 mesh technology.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:25 UTC
"Google asked the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to ease long-standing gag orders over data requests it makes, arguing that the company has a constitutional right to speak about information it's forced to give the government. The legal filing, which cites the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, is the latest move by the California-based tech giant to protect its reputation in the aftermath of news reports about sweeping National Security Agency surveillance of Internet traffic." Draining the ditch after the cow has drowned in it.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:45 UTC
"I can't find one person who has been using the Nexus 7 for an extended period of time, and hasn't seen a massive downgrade in performance. Just what kind of downgrade are we talking here? I cannot pick up my Nexus 7 without experiencing problems like a lag of ten seconds, or more, just to rotate the display; touches refusing to acknowledged; stuttering notification panel actions; and unresponsive apps." Fully and utterly agreed. My Nexus 7 was blazing-fast and awesome for a few months, and at some point, it just started sucking. Just like that. I've tried loads of ROMs, and nothing helps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:32 UTC, submitted by poundsmack
A new release of the hobby operating system MenuetOS! The release notes are a bit non-descript, but you'll have to take what you can get: "updates and improvements (picview, httpc, ehci, ...)".
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:58 UTC
"The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem. There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity - jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month's income. Solving these problems isn't simply a question of time: it requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we're unveiling our latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access." Insane.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:52 UTC
"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time. Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring." Just cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 21:03 UTC
Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm: "Well, I'm not sure I would have sold the company to HP. That's for sure. Talk about a waste. Not that I had any choice because when you sell a company you don't get to decide that. Obviously, the board and shareholders decide that. If we had known they were just going to shut it down and never really give it a chance to flourish, what would have been the point of selling the company? I think the deal we had with Verizon really hurt us, but who knew that at the time? These things are all hindsight."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 20:46 UTC
"And so it is with Dell's Alienware X51 R2, a small form factor gaming PC in console digs. It's shaped similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Slim, and though it's slightly larger than either a 360 or PlayStation 3, the X51 R2 would be right at home in a living room setting nestled next to a large screen TV. Indeed, it's adept at running Steam's Big Picture mode, and if your primary objective is to play games in the living room, go ahead and consider the X51 R2 a hybrid game console." This is obviously not the only machine like this - still, these are very valid console alternatives even for those that don't like being hunched over with a cramped WASD-claw. Also, PC gamers among us: could you get away with the $699 model for gaming?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 17:32 UTC
From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.More News »
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2005-11-13
What he says is perfectly correct.
if IPC, Memory management those which has a complete programming with no bugs(since the codes for these may be small) and which wont have any frequent code change, only runs in the kernel and everything else(remaining drivers) which might have code change even daily runs in the user-level, will result in a good secured and reliable OS.
frankly linux had nothing special when it started.its a just weak kernel which is not at all portable.
the only thing he made which made linux to start is changed its license to GPL and build his kernel with all the GNU utilities like the powerfull GCC and nothing else.since at that time many eager programmers were waiting for a free OS which at that time only GNU/Linux was available, they started to coding this GNU/Linux.
If Linus would have written a microkernel(as suggested by Tanenbaum) even a buggy and not at all portable kernel at that time and joined that with GNU, by now it would have been very great sparkling OS. since he was only a student, he can do only easy coding and that was the reason he wrote linux kernel.
a monolithic kernel is very easy to write.anyone who knows little system programming with kernel concepts can a write a monolithic kernel.but only a good programmer with high creativity can write a microkernel.
The big mistake Tanenbaum has done was he didnt realise the power of GNU and how it will change the future.if he would have joined his hands at that time with GNU, now everyone would have been running an OS with 100% perfection, portable and secured.
another interesting person was Jochen Liedtke who is also a very high creative and talented programmer like Tanenbaum.
i could say very high talented programmer with great creativity are
Tanenbaum, Richard Stallman, Jochen Liedtke
a small ordinary programmer who got his name and fame because of GNU GPL is
Linus Torvalds
Even now if all people starts to code the MINIX code with GNU's utilities, and concentrate on it, surely within 1 year, the same great OS can appear.its possible.but for that Tanenbaum and Richard Stallman should plan well. and also all the good people.
Hope this happens !!!