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Operating Systems Are Irrelevant
zincks writes "David Gelernter (Yale Professor of Computer Science, and Unabomber target) has a
story in the NY Times which states, (1) Operating systems are relics of the past, (2) We should be able to access data anytime/anywhere, by (3) seeing a stream of 3D documents(?), so (4) he's written such
software, and (5) that's all you should care about so it doesn't matter that it runs under windows.
This is a fantastic (definition: based on fantasy : not real (?)) vision of the future by a premier technologist."
Microsoft will be subject to careful scrutiny for abusive activity.
It's a joke, isn't it?
PENAROL: Seras eterno como el tiempo y floreceras en cada primavera.
(1) Operating systems are relics of the past,
[snip]
(4) he's written such software, and (5) that's all you should care about so it doesn't matter that it runs under windows.
So every operating system but Windows is a relic of the past? I'll second the description of this as 'fantasy'.
(The NY Times site seems rather unresponsive at the moment...)
I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
"He had some far fetched ideas about completely tossing the desktop out of the window"
Linux has some far fetched idea about completely tossing Windows out of the desktop.
Funny, eh?
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
And also, he would like a pony.
No, make that two ponies. No, eight. No, a pony should be available wherever he goes at any hour of the day.
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X is just a hardware abstraction layer. This guy is talking about something radical and new. A way of abstracting the data beyond the constraints of platform and UI. Something that you could describe in a simple way that would allow you to locate data anywhere, interpret it in a way that made sense for you and render however and wherever appropriate. It could be the building blocks for a whole new way of communicating.
Oh, wait. That was the World Wide Web. Never mind.
Kinda like having an XML Layout sheet tatooed on your forehead then running headlong into documents.
You think that I'm crazy, you should see this guy!
Yup. Sure sounds like paper to me. Simple to describe. Locate anywhere. Interpret it how I want. Render whatever's on it.
Plus, there's almost no smell as comforting to the soul as the smell of an old book.
Host:If you could do anything to save the world, what would it be?
Contestant 1: I would make world peace, and we can all frolic like little bunnies and everyone will be happy!
Host:What a great a great answer! Contestant 2, what would you do?
Contestant 2, who looks surprisingly like David Gelernter:I would make an OS, except it's not an OS, it's a magical OS that runs the same everywhere, and can read all data, and somehow convinces asshole companies to do away with proprietary file formats. So it's like Java, and XML all together, and kind of like that browser OS based on Mozilla too. Oh, and it won't be slower than dookie. I promise.
Host:Christ, and I thought "World Peace" was a dipshit answer.
-Looking for a job as a materials chemist or multivariat
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