MS seems to produce lots of operating systems, not just desktop ones. The XBox operating system, Zune operating system, Windows Mobile, Win31, Win95, NT, etc., etc. Most share bits and pieces. Midori will probably paste in a lot of things from the others like the .Net runtime or DirectX. They probably need a better foundation for virtualization, since this seems to be somewhere where they are really losing out.

I think if Midori ever materializes it won't really be all that different than all the other Windows variations. Probably just merged into the regular Windows line with all the other bloat bundled.

"'You are an idiot if you believe Microsoft is actually going to have a completely rewritten operating system before Bill Gates dies (which might be 20 to 40 more years),' Robert blogged"

This is the dumbest thing that I ever heard someone say in the IT realm -- Second is Bill Gates saying something to the effect that 512 kbytes is more memory than anyone needs, that is back in the day.

Listen Joe, I know you didn't say that at all -- Good thing.

Computer technology has continued in leaps and bounds. There is already promise of some interesting technologies such as the new USB 3.0 for instance. My gosh, Robert is a fool in my humbled opinion.

Of course Microsoft will continue to to push the new operating systems in the future. A new re-write, yes, it will have to with the upcoming new CPU technologies. Does anyone believe that x64 will remain the top end of proccessing?

No, there's already 128 bit, and 256 bit in the consoles. Man, what a dumb comment to make.

Scoble knows how to attend a Halfmoon Bay clambake at the Ritz but he doesn't know technology worth a pile of lima beans.

The componentized operating system as enabled by 521 and the arbitrated ecology of 744 allows for a Vista operating system virtualized for agnostic resource matching (arbitration) and fully deterministic across the web.

You might as well get used to discussing it. Since MSFT settled the day before the Markman Hearing in VCSY v MSFT you might as well figure Microsoft will make use of the stuff even if you don't understand it.

"The componentized operating system as enabled by 521 and the arbitrated ecology of 744 allows for a Vista operating system virtualized for agnostic resource matching (arbitration) and fully deterministic across the web."

Wow! That must have come from the most advanced buzzword generator ever created! How can I leverage my virtualized synergies using a platform-agnostic deterministic methodology and get one for myself?

@ Philosopher;

First you'll need a buzzword dictionary because it appears you won't be understanding this next generation era without one.

I somehow knew that VCSY was going to show up somewhere in the comments here.

Sigh! When we have obsessed analysts, the simple truth gets hidden in plain sight.

Any developer that does more than business application development can understand the foundational changes that Vista brought about. A developer's view of Vista is different from the common public's view of Vista. Changes like what has gone into Vista is not going to be replaced in the near to medium term.

There are several Windows. Windows CE is one of them and Windows Mobile is based on Windows CE.

While the big Windows has got its revamp in Vista, the little Windows CE has been left neglected. Frankly, a lot of things that went into the big Windows doesnt make a whole lot of sense (space, screen real estate) in little Windows.

Read the leaked Midori documents again. It has Windows CE written all over it.

Put all the little pieces together and get over the obsession with big Windows and you see an image revealing itself.

Midori is the roadmap for where Windows CE is going; rather where Windows CE ends, Midori begins.

What do you think has been taking the Windows Mobile group so long to respond to the iPhone? Take off the bias and the analysis reveals itself.

"What do you think has been taking the Windows Mobile group so long to respond to the iPhone?"

Their copier is broken?

You know.... If MSFT is going to rewrite Windows and start from scratch. They need not look further than Linux, base it on Linux and then add what they need to. They could still sell it and profit from it.

Whatever MSFT decides to do about replacing Windows, they should release the new OS along side Windows for five years. Then discontinue Windows. Thats is the only way its going to be done. And they need to start soon, the land scape is changing, Apple and Linux are starting to gain ground.

I don't want to say that Midori is just more vaporware from Microsoft as the likes of Chicago, MinWin, and WinFS, but most likely, it is. Microsoft is famous for vaporware when the company is far behind the competition, as in the case of Windows now.

Consider that even if Midori was the successor to Windows Seven, then the soonest it would or could be out, would be about 4 years or more. Not something to wait for, that long. And lets not forget the real road map for Windows secession, which is I believe Blackcomb, which was going be a server model at first and was changed to the successor of Windows Seven, although I may be wrong on that one. So changes are Midori would be off by at least 7 to 8 years, at the earliest, which at that point even if its released, would qualify it as vaporware for most reasonable minds.

Could Microsoft turn out Midori in just a few years? Yes, I believe they could, if they wanted to. Who else has the almost endless money and resources that Microsoft has. The problem for Microsoft is, as long as they see the profits and the Windows monopoly safe from being replaced on OEM desktops, they will not start working in earnest on a replacement like Midori. Competition for MS is good for the consumers.

Sorry, I meant Xandrox -- My fault, and "Wings" was supposed to be WinFS...

The comment I made above will become clear when my previous post gets aproved by the Blog Administrator -- Sorry for the lag.

I used to work at Microsoft, and I think Midori makes perfect sense. Singularity was MS Research's biggest project with over 20 researchers working on it - that was 4-5 years ago. I don't think it is Singularity, but it will definitely have elements of it.

Another element of interest is Microsoft's research into distributed computing (helping developers take advantage of multiple cores).

Asynchronousity also makes perfect sense.

Whether it will make it to the market is another matter altogether.

Like all Large IT Companies Microsoft like IBM have Everything in their Labs, And Different Options for Upgrading etc...
So I am not surprised (If it is true) about "Midori" Story. But it does not show what actually will be done eventually.
Vista is one of MS biggest mistakes. The Fastest growing Market this year is not Fat Client "Wintels" But inexpensive Ultra Portables with
scaled Down CPU's etc.. in Addition to Desktops and other Laptops.
The High End Computers are nearly all Linux.
A large Part of Midrange
And Now the Cross Between Cellphone-Laptop-Portable
that are very popular this year.
Intel Understood this a few years ago and is not just Power Hungry Computers. So Beware of Iran Atom Bomb and Intel Atom...

Microsoft does not need to rewrite Windows, they can clean it up, just like they did for example with the release of Windows XP Professional x64 where they removed things like AppleTalk, POSIX compliance and NetBEUI. You must remember just like Linux or Unix, NT was designed in mind to be a portable OS, in fact during its development it was specifically targeted at different platforms such as PowerPC, Alpha, MIPs, the Intel processor it targeted had to be emulated. So I would revise your analysis before dooming Windows. A lot of the work over years has been targeted at componentising much of Windows where vital components like the Network Stack, graphics don't create lots of dependencies. Rumors are much of the built in apps for instance will be optional in Windows 7. Vista's only regret is, it made necessary architectural changes for the sake of security and took a long time to reach market, but out of it all, there were great benefits that developers still haven't managed to dig deep into like the new graphics and communication capabilities. As for supporting legacy applications, Microsoft could even move compatibility to a virtualized stack where old apps work normally on newer versions of Windows without a hitch. Nothing is wrong with the NT kernel and its age is not a problem either.

Still, Windows 1 and 2 were on the market when Microsoft started development on NT in '89. NT was not eventually released until 1993 when Windows 3x was still around and even adopted the moniker and interface to be pallatable to business customers who were accustomed to Windows 3x. NT continued to be sold alongside consumer versions of Windows (95, 98, ME) until XP was released in 2001. Maybe we are seeing a similar approach here. Please take into account, Bill Gates is the same person who invited Dave Cutler over from DEC to build this 'new' OS (NT) which runs the majority of PC's and servers around the world today.

Microsoft is an innovative company that is always open to change and market dynamics.

I don't think Windows 7, Midori, Singularity etceterra are vaporware. I believe they are laboratory specimens that have not had the opportunity to see the light of day for the past 5 to 6 years.

That opportunity is now becoming available to Microsoft as they approach the next generation paradigm with a chance to use next generation tools.

If MSFT does what they should do, Oslo will be an eye-opener and a paradigm changer for thousands of traditional developers.