Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 23rd Oct 2010 22:23 UTC
"Windows 7 might be a massive commercial success and an undeniably rock solid piece of software, but Microsoft is apparently unwilling to rest on those soft and cozy laurels. Asked about the riskiest product bet the Redmond crew is currently developing, its fearless leader Steve Ballmer took no time in answering 'the next release of Windows'." Also of note in this same video interview thing: Ballmer states that Silverlight is now pretty much strictly a client, non-cross platform thing, while explicitly stating that when it comes to doing something universal, "the world's gone HTML5".
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RE: Maybe OT: The OS I am dreaming of
by nt_jerkface on Sun 24th Oct 2010 18:43
in reply to "Maybe OT: The OS I am dreaming of"
Member since:2009-08-26
Microsoft has the .NET infrastructure on which such an OS could be based. Well, it has to be supported at least 5 years in parallel with the "classical" Microsoft Windows OSes to allow developers to provide applications and customers to migrate.
Part of the problem is that there are huge C++ codebases that were started before .NET and it would take billions to convert them all. Win32 support could be provided in a VM but it has to be there.
RE[2]: Maybe OT: The OS I am dreaming of
by pica on Mon 25th Oct 2010 07:40
in reply to "RE: Maybe OT: The OS I am dreaming of"
Member since:2005-07-10
Part of the problem is that there are huge C++ codebases that were started before .NET and it would take billions to convert them all. Win32 support could be provided in a VM but it has to be there.
Yes, I know. And I do not have the resources to change this. Look at the JNode project, which is quite similar to what I suggest. They simple do not have the resources to compete.
That's why it is just a dream :-(
pica
RE: Maybe OT: The OS I am dreaming of
by Neolander on Mon 25th Oct 2010 13:45
in reply to "Maybe OT: The OS I am dreaming of"
Member since:2010-03-08
would be modular and scalable. As a result it would support
* embedded systems
* mobile Phones
* tablets
* desktops
* servers
It would just have a minimal hardware abstraction layer. This HAL only would cover CPU, busses and memory. Only this tiny HAL and a small VM "bootloader" would be CPU Architecture dependend.
* embedded systems
* mobile Phones
* tablets
* desktops
* servers
It would just have a minimal hardware abstraction layer. This HAL only would cover CPU, busses and memory. Only this tiny HAL and a small VM "bootloader" would be CPU Architecture dependend.
Okay, until there I follow you. Sounds like a microkernel.
The VM runtime "bootloader" is a simple interpreter. It's only purpose is to bootload an optimizing VM runtime utilizing JIT technics. Everything else even the optimizing VM runtime itself would run on the optimizing VM runtime. This would include device drivers like graphic card, NIC or SATA drivers. As a result it would support several processor architectures. IMHO at least x86, x86-64, ARM Cortex Mx and Ax and MIPS 32bit and 64bit should be supported.
There I'm lost. It sounds like you would like to write almost all of this OS in interpreted code. This basically means recompiling most of the OS at every boot (except is JITed code is cached in some way). Performance would be horrible. Apart from technological achievement, what's the point of using this instead of platform-independent compiled languages like C and C++ ?
Also the OS itself the schedulers -- I think of schedules as "plugins" --, filesystems, etc. would run on the VM runtime.
Again, why not a microkernel and high-level components written in platform-independents component languages instead ? What's the added benefit ?
It would optionally offer a remote shell, a GUI optimized for handheld devices or a GUI optimized for desktops. The desktop optimzed GUI would support remote access.
Couldn't a properly done GUI infrastructure optimize for both ? (I'm thinking about this in my own OS project, but I'm not there yet so I can't tell about it being doable in practice)
Edited 2010-10-25 13:47 UTC
The benefit is ...
by pica on Mon 25th Oct 2010 15:19
in reply to "RE: Maybe OT: The OS I am dreaming of"
Member since:2005-07-10
... that even closed source components (e.g. some graphic card drivers are closed source) are available on all hardware platforms.
The part up to the optimizing VM runtime can be provided be the hardware vendor.
The OS vendor provides the running on that runtime OS. Here is another benefit: The OS vendor only has to provide a single image. Has to patch only each issue once.
pica
About performance ...
by pica on Mon 25th Oct 2010 15:26
in reply to "RE: Maybe OT: The OS I am dreaming of"
Member since:2005-07-10
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.More Features »
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Member since:
2005-07-10
would be modular and scalable. As a result it would support
* embedded systems
* mobile Phones
* tablets
* desktops
* servers
It would just have a minimal hardware abstraction layer. This HAL only would cover CPU, busses and memory. Only this tiny HAL and a small VM "bootloader" would be CPU Architecture dependend. The VM runtime "bootloader" is a simple interpreter. It's only purpose is to bootload an optimizing VM runtime utilizing JIT technics. Everything else even the optimizing VM runtime itself would run on the optimizing VM runtime. This would include device drivers like graphic card, NIC or SATA drivers. As a result it would support several processor architectures. IMHO at least x86, x86-64, ARM Cortex Mx and Ax and MIPS 32bit and 64bit should be supported.
Also the OS itself the schedulers -- I think of schedules as "plugins" --, filesystems, etc. would run on the VM runtime.
It would optionally offer a remote shell, a GUI optimized for handheld devices or a GUI optimized for desktops. The desktop optimzed GUI would support remote access.
Microsoft has the .NET infrastructure on which such an OS could be based. Well, it has to be supported at least 5 years in parallel with the "classical" Microsoft Windows OSes to allow develpopers to provide applications and customers to migrate.
Just dreaming,
pica