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Where Are Operating Systems Headed?

Posted by Zonk on from the oses-in-spaaaace dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Dr. Dobb's Michael Swaine breaks down the question of where operating systems are headed. Among his teasers: Is Vista the last version of desktop Windows? (Counterintuitively, he says no.); Did Linux miss its window on the desktop? (Maybe.) And, most interestingly, are OSes at this point no longer necessary? He calls out the Symbian smartphone OS as something to keep an eye on, and reassures us that Hollywood-style OSes are not in our short-term future. Where do you weigh in on the future of operating systems? In ten years will we all be running applications via the internet?"

11 of 278 comments (clear)

  1. A bit obvious... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2, Funny

    What geek would run a operating system without using his or her head? We're not all mindless consumers.

  2. Re:Linux is headed to the landfill by chris_mahan · · Score: 3, Funny

    Too bad you posted as AC. I was looking forward to a mature conversation about your assertions...

    Oh wait, this is Slashdot. What am I thinking?

    --

    "Piter, too, is dead."

  3. Re:headed or heading? by Peter+Trepan · · Score: 2, Funny

    Operating systems are headed right at the top, with #include .

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    Step into a huge movement. Don't Tread In Me.

  4. Re:The last OS that won't install direct to BRAIN by martyb · · Score: 3, Funny

    Among other nanotechnological breakthroughs, Kurzweil says it will be possible to inject robotic blood cells that will enable you to "sit at the bottom of a swimming pool for 4 hours."

    Big Deal. I can do that NOW, without any nano-anything. Heck, I bet YOU can, too!

    Now, if you insist on filling the pool with water... <grin>

  5. Symbian Smart Phone? by encoderer · · Score: 2, Funny

    My wife has a symbian. She can't get off the fucking thing. Some days she takes meals on it.

    You should see her. Sometimes she's moaning so loud I expect her head to start spinning 360*.

    But phone?

    It's got attachments, and I admit I'm a bit confused by it sometimes, but I'm pretty sure it DOESNT have a mouthpiece.

  6. Re:who fucking cares ? by cp.tar · · Score: 3, Funny

    Now that sounds like an OS full of gaping holes.

    Terrible security, that.

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    Ignore this signature. By order.
  7. Re:Consumer devices by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    Here's a prediction, in the next few years Steve Jobs is going to make a presentation where he says something like "First we revolutionised the personal computer, then the music player and the telephone. Now we're going to revolutionise television..."

    Naaah. Television won't be revolutionised.

    J

  8. Re:Wish List by Indiana+Joe · · Score: 2, Funny

    What, no pony?

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    I can't decide if this post is interesting, funny, insightful, or flamebait.
  9. Re:They are a new platform by flosofl · · Score: 5, Funny

    Think of a computer as a layer of platforms. Applications can target any platform unless some part of the platform stack restricts such access.
    I'm sorry, this is /. You aren't allowed to explain things in a clear and concise manner. At the very least you should be using a car analogy.
    --
    "This calls for a very special blend of psychology and extreme violence" - Vyvyan "The Young Ones"
  10. Re:They are a new platform by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Think of the computer as a stack of cars....

  11. Re:They are a new platform by AmberBlackCat · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well you see, your computer is not a series of tubes. It's more like a truck that you can dump things on. Your operating system is the driver, and the rest of your software are the people yelling at the driver to turn this way and that. Most of what you've dumped into your truck is probably against the law but you should be fine as long as you don't dump any of it into anybody else's truck.