m (m.delete@this.bitsnbites.eu) on November 25, 2020 12:22 pm wrote:
> Robert Williams (crispysilicon.delete@this.gmail.com) on November 25, 2020 9:49 am wrote:
> > Paul (pavel.delete@this.noa-labs.com) on November 25, 2020 2:16 am wrote:
> > > Linus Torvalds (torvalds.delete@this.linux-foundation.org) on November 23, 2020 11:59 am wrote:
> > > > Apple, if you're listening - just use Linux. Your value-add isn't in the (bad) kernel you guys use.
> > > >
> > > > I'm a bit biased, of course, but that doesn't make me wrong.
> > > >
> > > > Linus
> > >
> > > Saying this, I heard the rumours of Apple hiring huge number of Linux kernel devs...
> > >
> > > And saying this, what is the prospect of Microsoft porting Windows from NT to Linux?
> >
> > I would say the chances of Redmond giving native DirectX to Linux
> > is along the lines of a snowball survivng summer in hell.
>
> I think there's zero chance that MS would swap out Windows NT for something with a Linux
> kernel. The whole raison d'etre of Windows is backwards binary compatibility. That is
> the strength and the weakness of Windows: it can run any poorly written software compiled
> years ago - because the Windows OS behaves almost exactly like id did years ago.
>
> The flip side to that is: MS can't change or improve core aspects of the OS (e.g. task scheduling
> or filesysyem behaviour) without breaking legacy apps.


Not sure what you mean. They certainly made major changes to task scheduling several times during 25+ years of Nt time frame. And I suppose that minor tweak are applied all the time.

Your statement about file system behavior is even less clear. How exactly smarter FS caching, and especially smarter read caching, is going to affect compatibility?

> This means that in order to compete on
> technical merits, MS just may have to create a new OS (while still maintaining NT).
>
> Given how much money they put into and get back from Linux these days, it's not unthinkable that they go
> for a Linux based desktop OS. Of course it could look alot like Windows, and it could also have a certain
> degree of binary compatibility with Windows through a translation layer (MS are getting good at those).