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Will Pervasive Multithreading Make a Comeback?
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?"
I think it is hilarious that you guys are having to compare the 1984 Amiga to modern day PCs, hardware, and operating systems just to try to find some way to trash it. Look at the original subject line, "Amiga beat them all" If you can find a personal computer and OS from 1984 that even comes close to the Amiga, then I'll take notice.
The fact remains that it took over 10 years for the rest of the personal computer industry to finally offer all the technology that was in the original Amiga (i.e. Co-processors, a pre-emptive multi-tasking 32-bit OS, high color graphics, real-time high color animation, stereo digital sound, etc.)
Hell, the Mac still is stuck with it's one menu windowing environment that hearkens back to the days of only being able to have one active application at a time. Pathetic!
The point being, just like the Amiga didn't take over even though it was 10 years ahead of it's time, BeOS and it's OS features will also be relegated to the trash heap of PC history. Having the best technology is no guarantee of success.