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Will Pervasive Multithreading Make a Comeback?

Posted by kdawson on from the let-it-be dept.

exigentsky writes "Having looked at BeOS technology, it is clear that, like NeXTSTEP, it was ahead of its time. Most remarkable to me is the incredible responsiveness of the whole OS. On relatively slow hardware, BeOS could run eight movies simultaneously while still being responsive in all of its GUI controls, and launching programs almost instantaneously. Today, more than ten years after BeOS's introduction, its legendary responsiveness is still unmatched. There is simply no other major OS that has pervasive multithreading from the lowest level up (requiring no programmer tricks). Is it likely, or at least possible, that future versions of Windows or OS X could become pervasively multithreaded without creating an entirely new OS?"

25 of 657 comments (clear)

  1. That's nothing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Back in the OS/2 days, we could format 72 floppies simultaneous with no slowdown to our 14.4 connections!

  2. Question... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    The obvious lack of software etc. notwithstanding, would Slashdot agree that BeOS was the best OS of its time?

    1. Re:Question... by cmowire · · Score: 5, Funny

      BeOS was like JFK.

      The both got gunned down before we could possibly see any downsides to them.

      There were a few architectural decisions in BeOS that I felt would have resulted in great amounts of pain and suffering 10 years later.

      --
      Gentoo Sucks
    2. Re:Question... by CRCulver · · Score: 2, Funny

      The source under a Free Software license is, I should think, a prerequisite to be in the running for "best OS of its time". That's why the Hurd was the best OS of the BeOS era.

    3. Re:Question... by Jesus_666 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Linux, Fidel Castro, the communist leader that has been in office for ages, just refuses to resign or die and points nukes at Windows from time to time.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  3. Microsoft's plan is to keep adding cores... by Joce640k · · Score: 5, Funny

    Microsoft's plan is for us to keep adding CPU cores in the hope that at least one of them won't be deadlocked at any given moment in time.

    --
    No sig today...
  4. Haiku by Keruo · · Score: 4, Funny

    Is not haiku(beos) open source?
    Take the features and port to linux.
    New scheduler rules them all.
    Speed improvements would increase the desktop performance.
    As they would increase performance with services.

    --
    There are no atheists when recovering from tape backup.
  5. Uh, IRIX anyone? by pathological+liar · · Score: 2, Funny

    Aside from having "legendary responsiveness", from a single CPU box to SMP monstrosities, you could even guarantee disk/cpu/whatever throughput.

    A lot of the old unixes had "legendary responsiveness"; you are not a unique and beautiful snowflake.

    BeOS fanboys are funny.

  6. Multithreaded Windows by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny


    [BSOD]

      . , . . , . . [BSOD]

      - . [BS0D]

    [BSOD]

      . . , . [BS0D]

      - . [BSOD]

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  7. Re:It makes sense with multi-core cpus by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 4, Funny

    Haiku from BeOS
    Multitasking all programs without delay
    Open source victory

    --
    liqbase :: faster than paper
  8. Re:It makes sense with multi-core cpus by Your.Master · · Score: 4, Funny

    Five, Seven, and Five That's how a Haiku should go Not like you did it

  9. Re:No Maybe Yes by PacoTaco · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is a multithreaded comment, right?

  10. The Japanese must be Jewish too by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Their signal at Pearl Harbor was Torah Torah Torah.

    --
    Infuriate left and right
  11. Re:It makes sense with multi-core cpus by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 4, Funny

    Good job I am a software developer and not an English teacher isn't it?

    I don't think so.

    --

    "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
  12. Re:It makes sense with multi-core cpus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Seven syllables
    Not seven? so use gzip
    compress the fucker


    ;)

  13. Re:It makes sense with multi-core cpus by jbrader · · Score: 4, Funny

    You were allowed you to graduate...

    Hahahahah! I found an error in your grammar rant, now you look even stupider than the guy you were trying to talk shit about. How does that feel you pedantic ass?

    --
    You are so boring that when I see you my feet go to sleep.
  14. Re:It makes sense with multi-core cpus by GeffDE · · Score: 2, Funny

    Otherwise it would have to be pronounced "Oh, sex."

    And that's not something many /.ers say a lot...

    --
    It has been a nervous year, with people beginning to feel like Christian Scientists with appendicitis.
  15. Re:It makes sense with multi-core cpus by djdavetrouble · · Score: 2, Funny

    ow you choose to read "BeOS" is a major syllable count factor. (oddly enough while I say "gee-oss" and "bee-oss", I say "oh ess eks".)

    I always thought "Be-OS" sounded more gangsta, kinda like bee-yotch or bee-atch or however you spell something that is a slang word.
    didn't stop everyone in IT from trying to make fun of me for installing it. I had a friend that developed on the platform, doing some kiosk
    type work, which it was well suited for. I had it running the cool particle graphics program, attraction, which also attracted people.

    --
    music lover since 1969
  16. Re:It makes sense with multi-core cpus by fractoid · · Score: 3, Funny

    Haiku samurai
    Shows us all how it is done
    Educational.

    --
    Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  17. Re:Yes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    I'm a CS grad student at the University of North Carolina. I've never used BeOS, but I'm confident that responsiveness will increase, because the work I'm doing right now is attended to address this very issue.


    Hey, everyone! Don't worry about multithreading! We've got a CS grad student at UNC taking care of it!

    :)

  18. Re:It makes sense with multi-core cpus by moosesocks · · Score: 2, Funny

    Haikus are easy.
    But sometimes they don't make sense.
    Refrigerator

    --
    -- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
  19. Huh. BeOS fast? by TheLink · · Score: 2, Funny

    Let me know how long it takes to start OpenOffice on BeOS.

    --
  20. Re:It makes sense with multi-core cpus by dintech · · Score: 2, Funny

    Otherwise it would have to be pronounced "Oh, sex."

    And that's not something many /.ers say a lot...
    Are you sure? "Oh, sex, where art thou?"

  21. Re:It makes sense with multi-core cpus by spun · · Score: 2, Funny

    Otherwise it would have to be pronounced "Oh, sex."

    And that's not something many /.ers say a lot... Yes it is. As in: "Oh, sex. I had that once," or "Oh, sex. I know what that is, I read about it in a book!"
    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  22. Re:Here's a better question by taradfong · · Score: 2, Funny

    You learn it the way any programmer learns it.

    1) Look for a job/project you want to do
    2) Lie and claim you can do it, and commit to doing it
    3) Learn the hard way how to do it. Because you committed to doing it, you can't quit when you get stuck and hate it.
    4) Do just a good enough job to impress the people that asked you to do it
    5) Do another project, this time doing it the right way (or at least better).
    6) Repeat until virtually no one knows much more than you on the topic.
    7) Profit!

    --
    Does it hurt to hear them lying? Was this the only world you had?