The Future OS

It has been about two and a half decade since the Windows hit the market and has since been ruling the global market unrivaled. Launched in November 1985, the word “Windows” brings the Microsoft Corporation to our mind. Several versions of Windows were brought to the market by Microsoft since its launch. At present Windows XP, Windows Vista and the latest version Windows 2007 are used as operating system (OS) in most of the computers around the world. But this scenario may soon change as there is time to experience a yet another technology of operating systems.

            Yes, if the reports emanating from the US media are to be believed, Microsoft is working on a new generation of operating systems called Midori. It will be the first such operating system that will challenge the monopoly of Windows, rather replace it fully from computer world.

Midori is an offshoot of Microsoft Research’s operating system. In this the tools and libraries are completely managed code. Designed to run directly on native hardware (x86, x64 and ARM), Midori will be hosted on the Windows Hyper-V hypervisor, or even be hosted by a Windows process. According to the company’s sources, the main idea behind Midori is to develop a lightweight portable OS, which can be mated easily to lots of various applications. But the experts are seeing it as an answer by Microsoft to those competitors who are applying “virtualisation” as a means to solving issues within contemporary computing.

            Present-day operating systems are tightly coupled with the hardware. Hence the mobility factor is very much affected and also newer applications fail to work an older hardware. Owing to this trend installing different applications on a single computer may lead to different compatibility issues whenever the machine requires updating. Midori theoretically brings in the virtualisation effect! This will solve problems such as widespread security vulnerabilities, unexpected interactions among different applications, failures caused by errant extensions, plug-ins, and drivers and many more.

The Redmond giant, Microsoft is, of course, extremely hush-hush about Midori, but the company, as it has a tradition of letting details slip through its fingers, officially confirmed the existence of Midori. According to the company’s sources, Midori is a new operating system being developed as a basis for more dependable system and application software. It exploits advances in programming languages and tools to create an environment in which software is more likely to be built correctly, programme behaviour is easier to verify, and run-time failures can be contained.

            A key aspect of Midori is an extension model based on Software-Isolated Processes (SIPs), which encapsulate pieces of an application or a system and provide information hiding, failure isolation, and strong interfaces.

The importance of this project for Microsoft can be understood by the fact that company choose Eric Rudder, former head of Microsoft’s server and tools business and a key member of Chairman Bill Gates’ faction of the company, to handle it. Microsoft has not declared any such date about launching of Midori, but there are rumours that this project is in incubation phase.

            The Windows Core Networking Team, however, maintains that the Windows operating system is not going anywhere for a very long time. In fact, consumers should be prepared to still buy Windows over a decade from the releases of Windows 7.

By Niharika