A radical idea in OSs

I would like to know what you all think of this idea. I would keep it all
to myself and try to make a fortune off it (or just try it at least) but
it occured to me that VSTa would probably be a good candidate for the base
of something like this, and since VSTa is GPL, it would too be GPL, so
here's the idea.

Currently the world is huddled around DOS as an OS for 486 class PCs. Windows
is also highly used. However, there are still applications which write
for DOS directly because they want to get the full speed out of the machine.
Mostly games, but not only games.

Now, just forget for a moment the Microsoft juggernaut. Imagine a very bare
bones 32bit operating system. One which provided basic functionality the
way DOS does (or rather, how it should). One which provided standard ways
to access all the items on your computer. The hard drive, keyboard,
screen. However, it dosn't have to stop there. Sound drivers (or should i
say servers) could easily handle sound in a unified way.

This has already been done in Windows. Many people would rather write
applications for Windows because the drivers are all already there. However,
when one wants to write an app which does not use the Windows GUI, you lose
EVERYTHING, you can't use WIndows sound drivers, or networking, or anything.

Now, everyone is using this bare bones 32bit "microkernel" with servers
loaded for a few things, like a BIOS hard drive driver (or a high performance
one if one was available), a sound card driver, mouse driver. You get the
picture. (yes, I know "ha ha, everyone is using it my ass." Just go with
me here).

Now you have the SAME microkernel which ships with a big UNIX compatible OS.
You can run the SAME applications on it. you can run X, you have networking,
you have everything. You have the support of the application vendors behind
the "basic" 32bit version, but you get all the nice thrills of a real
system.

Now, you have one of the new Dual Pentium Machines. Down the hall they got
one for a server, and you got jealous and bought one for youself. You run
the SAME microkernel, and you can run the SAME applications as the guy
across the street at your competitor (who your beating the pants off BTW)
who can only afford a 386.

Does this sound like a decent idea? I mean, if you forget that Microsoft
practically owns the intel world for just a second...

It dosn't stop there... Now that PowerPCs are going to be shipping soon (??
well.. somewhere in the near future) Everyone is going to be trying to
go through the painstaking decision of whether to port to PowerPC. Luckily
people porting to OS/2 for PPC from OS/2 for Intel probably will have a
smooth ride. But nobody with DOS applications is going to bother, since
OS/2 PPC users can already run them in emulation. But emulation stinks, we
all know it. Everyone wants native applications.

So you bought yourself a PPC machine, even though there were no applications
out for it. You run the SAME microkernel (although admittedly, recompiled
for PPC) as you did on the 386/40 and on the dual P90 machine. The guys
down the street at XYZ software just recompiled and started shipping a
PPC version.

I'm sure you get the idea... Does this sound like something that is worth
looking into? Obviously it is not something which is guaranteed to be
feasable because there are too many "but DOS is everywhere" and "but
Win95 is going to be good enough, even though you can't have full
screen 32bit sessions" type arguments.

A system like this could easily be built on a VSTa type microkernel, and
if done right would be very easy to use at the low levels, and allow you
to expand your system as necessary. Clearly VSTa is not at a point
at which this is possible yet, and I'm sure many of you would rather tell
people who run MSDOS where to go... It would not even have to be VSTa for
that matter, but VSTa does have some important strong points for this.
Portable, SMP, microkernel. What do you think?

Please no flames.. if you think that Microsoft should own the world, or
that they will no matter what we do.. please keep it to yourself.

-- 
jeske_at_uiuc.edu    + David Jeske(N9LCA)<A HREF="http://www.cen.uiuc.edu/~jeske/">
NeXTMail accepted + CompEng Student/NeXT Programmer/Call Gtalk at (708)998-0008
    User of Linux/NEXT/DOS/WIN/OS.2/VSTa (all coexisting on one system) </A>