Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 15th Jul 2009 21:38 UTC
It's time for another "OSNews asks" item. This time, I want to focus on something that I've been wanting to talk about with you all before, but never found the time for. The question is simple: which feature(s) from other operating systems would you like to see in your own main operating system?
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Member since:2009-07-16
* Memory management options controlling use of cache
Windows 7 improved management of the system cache and the overall trimming policy, so it is believed that manual configuration of the cache (using SetSystemFileCacheSize or something like a registry setting) should no longer be necessary. If you still see cases where system cache bloat causes performance issues on win7 I would be interested to know the details.
* memory debugger
Not sure what you mean by this?
* big file search ( what the heck is using the drive space?)
On Vista/Win7 you can search for "size:>10mb" from the start menu. See ttp://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/desktopsearch/techn icalresources/advquery.mspx for details.
Member since:2006-07-14
Memory management
Yeah, regardless of what is or is not necessary, I still want options. IF they make the default automatic, we know whats best, fine. I just want to have some control over it. Maybe, I'll discover that "Hey, they're right the best is to just let Windows handle it automatically. Gee those Microsoft guys are sharp!". Then I could stop complaining about it. A lot of things in windows are like this. multiple choices adds to my perceived value ( I mean, I use different schedulers on my Linux servers, depending on the purpose of the box. Because different ones are better at different workloads, Windows scheduler must be suboptimal for some workloads. Ditto with the memory manager).
Memory debugger
I want to be able to look at some sort of interactive graphic that shows my main memory and what's using it. The task manager isn't good enough. Too often, I see a huge amount of memory begin used and swap, but the list of tasks doesn't account for the massive memory use.
Big File Search
Similar in appearance to the Memory Debugger. I saw a freeware program that did this, but the name escapes me. You can look at your disk and see the usage per directory/ file graphically. With the ability to zoom in/ change view from directory to file.
Member since:2007-05-10
Sequoia View is another 3rd Party Util for finding those elusive large files (Windows Only).
http://w3.win.tue.nl/nl/onderzoek/onderzoek_informatica/visualizati...
Member since:2005-07-06
Mac
* GNU userland rather than BSD
* GNU userland rather than BSD
Why on earth would you want that - that cornerstone of GNU is libc - have you read up about the person in charge of it? I'd rather go swimming in a pond of pirañas than rely on a guy who seems to chuck a paddy when a person proposes a correction for an issue for those not on the x86 platform.
GNU has some neat features but at the same time there are a lot of components that are either not maintained or maintained by assholes (like libc). I would sooner see selective embracing like Apple have done now than whole sale jumping onboard.
Member since:2006-07-14
Member since:2005-07-11
Mac
* GNU userland rather than BSD
* GNU userland rather than BSD
Oh god, please no! In fact, the few bits of GNU crud in there (like Bash) should be removed. Or, they should be updated to at least be fully POSIX and SUSv3 compliant. [/q]
open solaris
* GNU utilities! Seriously. killall -9 BSD userland.
* GNU utilities! Seriously. killall -9 BSD userland.
Solaris doesn't use a BSD userland. They use a Solaris userland, which is mostly SysV with the odd BSD holdover. It's neither GNU nor fully BSD.
SunOS used a BSD-derived userland, as they were a BSD-derived OS.
Solaris switched to a SysV-derived userland, and dropped a lot of the BSD-isms.
Member since:2006-07-14
Solaris doesn't use a BSD userland. They use a Solaris userland, which is mostly SysV with the odd BSD holdover. It's neither GNU nor fully BSD.
SunOS used a BSD-derived userland, as they were a BSD-derived OS.
Solaris switched to a SysV-derived userland, and dropped a lot of the BSD-isms.
SunOS used a BSD-derived userland, as they were a BSD-derived OS.
Solaris switched to a SysV-derived userland, and dropped a lot of the BSD-isms.
Yeah. You're right of course. It was late. There was an earthquake. Terrible flood. Thunder snow. I was mugged by a streat urchin. Tyra Banks slipped me a ruffie. Otherwise I would have remembered that.
But, I guess I just prefer the GNU userland.
What shell do you prefer to bash? I think they all stink a little, a lot of room for improvement all around. But everyone just gets used to the quirks of one or another and doesn't want to invest the time it would take to do everything more sensibly. Powershell was at least an effort to do things differently, but the differences didn't make it better.
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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Member since:
2006-07-14
Everyone is focusing so heavily on GUI, its a bit short sided.
My list, not comprehensive:
Windows:
* better command line interface
--powershell too objecty, still no good terminal like interface
* ability to run headless on all versions
* run with out registry. Just scrap it
* Mac os like install/remove software
* Memory management options controlling use of cache
* sshd
* Crapware firewall/ ability to add programs to virus list ( ie never let Realsched, or ipodhelper run. ever. )
* SVG for all chrome everywhere (icons, taskbar, window borders, window controls)
* swapable scheduler
* remove DRM features
* improved file copy
* memory debugger
* big file search ( what the heck is using the drive space?)
Mac
* GNU userland rather than BSD
* include minimized apps in expose
* package management/ better way to update included FOSS
* SVN everywhere ( same as my windows proposal)
* swapable scheduler
* better file system ZFS, bttrfs, hammer, ext4, something man.
* memory debugger
* big file search ( what the heck is using the drive space?)
GNU/Linux
* Dtrace
* ZFS
* Banish binary only kernel modules
* Better integration of SeLinux into common apps
* Better way to sandbox apps.
* easier kernel config
* Support for intel 286
* Combine shell with modern scripting language (perlsh whats taking so long?)
* Ca cert management software that works.
open solaris
* GNU utilities! Seriously. killall -9 BSD userland.
* better hardware support
* fix those two and I'll try it again.
Edited 2009-07-16 02:47 UTC