Anyone remembers the legendary Torvalds-Tanenbaum debates? What were they exacly about?
Andrew S. Tanenbaum Receives ACM Software System Award
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Re: Andrew S. Tanenbaum Receives ACM Software System Award
#62It's kind of sad systems research pretty much stopped at this point. I really was hoping that by 2024 I'd be running a distributed operating system where processes could be be freely migrated between my phone, desktop, laptop and NAS without too much of a hitch.
Sounds like you like myself have taken Rob Pike’s take from long ago to heart http://www.herpolhode.com/rob/utah2000.pdf
While plenty of things have happened since that paper, I have this sinking feeling that he was right and we just stopped trying to really expand and explore what’s possible. But it may be more a matter of the state of academia than about the domain itself. It’s not like people were getting a bunch of conference invitations for GPGPU applications with ML until hype freight trains hit. This sobering reality of academic hegemony and grant chasing kept me from ever getting terribly interested in systems research unfortunately.
Re: Andrew S. Tanenbaum Receives ACM Software System Award
#63It's kind of sad systems research pretty much stopped at this point. I really was hoping that by 2024 I'd be running a distributed operating system where processes could be be freely migrated between my phone, desktop, laptop and NAS without too much of a hitch.
If you really wanted to do this, it would be fairly trivial to implement with Erlang/Elixir. We have thr technology - just no motivation (i.e. no profit in it)
Hey! Don't let out the secrets :-) This is something i have been long thinking about (but have done nothing practical so far). The problem is how to bridge/shim between Erlang and those platforms which do not support it eg. Android (though some people seem to have done it - https://github.com/JeromeDeBretagne/erlanglauncher). Joe Armstrong actually called the Erlang/OTP System as a AOS (Application Operating System) in his paper i.e. it contains much of the functionality of a traditional OS but people seem to ignore it and insist on calling it "just another language".
Re: Andrew S. Tanenbaum Receives ACM Software System Award
#64It's kind of sad systems research pretty much stopped at this point. I really was hoping that by 2024 I'd be running a distributed operating system where processes could be be freely migrated between my phone, desktop, laptop and NAS without too much of a hitch.
> running a distributed operating system where processes could be be freely migrated between my phone, desktop, laptop and NAS without too much of a hitch.
This was what i always wanted ever since i read Tanenbaum's "Modern Operating Systems" and in particular his "Amoeba distributed OS" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amoeba_(operating_system) Also see Plan 9/Inferno from Bell Labs. But instead what we got (due to industry shenanigans) is this garbage/duct-tape of distribution gone crazy in the "Cloud".
Re: Andrew S. Tanenbaum Receives ACM Software System Award
#65It's kind of sad systems research pretty much stopped at this point. I really was hoping that by 2024 I'd be running a distributed operating system where processes could be be freely migrated between my phone, desktop, laptop and NAS without too much of a hitch.
This type of thing always seemed to be in the very cool but pointless basket, to me. A lot of systems researchers were absolutely obsessed with clustering, network transparency, distributed systems, and viewed them as the pinnacle of the operating system. I never understood why. I completely understand the coolness factor mind you, I just never could see why it was so important that your server-laptop-phone-network s…
Very strongly disagree with you here.
We should have had a distributed OS like Amoeba/Plan9/Inferno/etc. allowing us to manage all our chosen set of devices using a single uniform interface i.e. "A Namespace" (in Plan9/Inferno speak). Such namespaces can themselves be connected into "Hierarchical Namespaces" and so on. This is a natural and easy way to let users keep their control over their devices while still being connected to the "Greater Internet".
But the Industry manipulated us into the Cloud model so that they could retain control and make money off of us. It was all Business to the detriment of a better User Experience via Technology.
Re: Andrew S. Tanenbaum Receives ACM Software System Award
#66Every student should read Tanenbaum's "Structured Computer Organization". It was the first book which showed me the logical layering involved in a "Computer System" which is absolutely essential to understanding this field.
Re: Andrew S. Tanenbaum Receives ACM Software System Award
#67Anyone remembers the legendary Torvalds-Tanenbaum debates? What were they exacly about?
Re: Andrew S. Tanenbaum Receives ACM Software System Award
#68For who does not know, his books used as textbook in South American universities for years during 90s.
Re: Andrew S. Tanenbaum Receives ACM Software System Award
#69I was failing badly in my computer architecture courses. Received a 5% score in one of the mid-terms. Switched from the recommended book to Andrew's book and did nothing apart from read it everyday for 2 hours. Received 100% in the final. Such an amazingly approachable book. :-)
Out of curiosity, which was the recommended book?
Some horrible local author whose name I now forget. Andrew's book was Structred Computer Organization
Re: Andrew S. Tanenbaum Receives ACM Software System Award
#70I want to appreciate Andrew Tanenbaum for making possible the world's most popular OS, Intel ME. This system has been made absolutely right in every its piece except license. Minix under GPL would not let megagorporations to backdoor every functional x86 chip on the planet.
What keeps it from becoming a free software backdoor?