OS News Archive

Virtual PC 2004 SP1 now is completely free and VPC 2007 will also be free. Also, VMware released VMWare Server 1.0, a free virtualization solution for servers. Update: Here you are, one more for free.

Ars reviews Parallels Desktop for MacOS X, and concludes: "People pondering the switch to a MacBook can rest assured that with the exception of USB device support and hardware accelerated 3-D applications, their needs will be well met by this little workhorse of a program. Between the networking that just works, the impressive speed and the inability of the client operating systems to know they are running within a 'virtual machine', I think you'll be hard-pressed to find software for any x86 OS that doesn't work within a Parallels VM."

Smile, you're on candid camera! Apparantly, FreeDOS is anything but dead. "FreeDOS is definitely still very much alive! Moving forward, I'm trying to put the focus on our '1.0' release. What's done is done. Right now, I want to get a '1.0' out there by end of July. We're already pretty stable, so what we have by month end will be '1.0'. I think we can do it." We got owned.

A new version of Plan 9 has been released. "Major changes were made to /sys/src/fs, removing some dead code. Some major bugs were fixed. New features were added and the memory limit was increased." More information can be found in the mailing list message. For those that don't know: "Plan 9 was born in the same lab where Unix began. Underneath, though, lies a new kind of system, organized around communication and naming rather than files and processes. In Plan 9, distributed computing is a central premise, not an evolutionary add-on."

This paper describes the design of the kaneton microkernel. This system was designed to be ported on many architectures without being intrusive. Moreover, the main goal of this system was to be understandable by everyone interested in operating systems internals. To do so, the kaneton design and implementation are very elegant and easy to understand. Finally, the kaneton microkernel includes modern distributed concepts leading to a powerful, secure, flexible and reliable microkernel based OS. Note: This is the first entry to our Alternative OS Contest which runs through 14th July!

In reponse to several inquiries, we are extending the deadline of our Alternative OS Contest. The original deadline for entries was this Thursday, however, to allow more time for experimentation and writing, we are extending the deadline to Friday, July 14th. So fire up those download managers, grab yourself an ISO, and join the action!

"Win4Lin announced the immediate availability of their new Enterprise and SMB product, Win4Lin Virtual Desktop Server. The product provides the ability to consolidate and serve multiple Windows Desktops from Linux server infrastructure. Win4Lin Virtual Desktop Server allows organizations to standardize the application environment to users regardless of desktop hardware and operating system - Windows, UNIX, or Linux can be used on the client, but a common application profile can be created and served from Linux server configurations such as blade servers, rack arrays or large multi-way machines."

"Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, SUSE, and Linspire are making headway in the desktop market, but if you want to try something really different, you can find other, less-well-known alternative operating systems. While these OSes may not be the most stable, or have the greatest hardware support, they offer some unique ideas." SkyOS, Haiku, Syllable and Visopsys are reviewed.

A few months ago, VMware released a free version of its desktop virtualization software, VMware Player. It's a great application for running a second operating system on your desktop; the only problem is you can't create new virtual images using VMware Player. With a little work, however, you can use VMware Player to create guest operating systems.

"Currently there are 2 solutions for Mac owners with an Intel chip for running Windows XP on their machine. First up is the solution from Apple called Boot Camp and secondly is the Virtual Machine (with Virtualization) from Parallels. So what's the difference? With Boot Camp Windows will be running 'natively', this means it will be running on the machine as if it was running on any regular PC from any manufacturer. This means full access to the CPU, Graphics and all other aspects. With Parallels Windows XP will be running on a 'Virtual Machine', this means that OS X will be running like normal with WinXP running inside a separate application, in effect two operating systems running at once."

The Spoon microkernel has as one of its goals: "A stable and efficient microkernel with clearly defined interfaces which provide all the necessary functions needed to build a modern and complete operating system on top." The project's progress page lists the latest achievements, and there's even a screenshot page.

And no, the microkernel debate is not over yet. In a reply to various comments made over the past few weeks, Andy Tanenbaum has written an article to address these. He first clearly states he respects and likes Torvalds, and that "we may disagree on some technical issues, but that doesn't make us enemies. Please don't confuse disagreements about ideas with personal feuds." The article states: "Over the years there have been endless postings on forums such as Slashdot about how microkernels are slow, how microkernels are hard to program, how they aren't in use commercially, and a lot of other nonsense. Virtually all of these postings have come from people who don't have a clue what a microkernel is or what one can do. I think it would raise the level of discussion if people making such postings would first try a microkernel-based operating system . Has a lot more credibility."

The microkernel vs. monolithic debate, whether you boys and girls like it or not, rages on. After Tanenbaum's article and an email from Torvalds, another kernel developer steps up, this time in favour of the muK. A developer of the muK-based Coyotos writes: "Ultimately, there are two compelling reasons to consider microkernels in high-robustness or high-security environments: there are several examples of microkernel-based systems that have succeeded in these applications because of the system structuring that microkernel-based designs demand, there are zero examples of high-robustness or high-security monolithic systems."

Torvalds has indeed chimed in on the micro vs. monolithic kernel debate. Going all 1992, he says: "The whole 'microkernels are simpler' argument is just bull, and it is clearly shown to be bull by the fact that whenever you compare the speed of development of a microkernel and a traditional kernel, the traditional kernel wins. The whole argument that microkernels are somehow 'more secure' or 'more stable' is also total crap. The fact that each individual piece is simple and secure does not make the aggregate either simple or secure. And the argument that you can 'just reload' a failed service and not take the whole system down is equally flawed." My take: While I am not qualified to reply to Linus, there is one thing I want to say: just because it is difficult to program, does not make it the worse design.