operating systems

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Maybe we should revisit microkernels
7 days ago
- Microkernels keep only scheduling, I/O device access management, and IPC in the kernel; everything else runs in userspace.
- Benefits include better security (driver bugs only affect a subsystem), reliability (crashes are isolated), and modularity (easier to maintain).
- Historically, microkernels were rejected due to high overhead from context switches and memory copying without IOMMUs.
- Modern IOMMUs enable zero-overhead IPC via shared ring buffers with atomic operations, eliminating context switches in the happy path.
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SuperPass: Fast-Tracking Blocking Threads to Mitigate Priority Inversion
10 days ago
- Priority inversion occurs frequently on Android, causing high-priority threads like UI threads to be blocked by lower-priority threads for up to 210 ms, leading to dropped frames.
- Existing real-time system solutions (e.g., priority inheritance, real-time UI promotion, Proxy Execution) fail to eliminate long priority-inversion blockings on Android and may introduce high overhead.
- Two key insights: long blockings stem from accumulated CPU waiting time of low-priority blocking threads, not critical-section latency; tracking a limited number of concurrent readers is sufficient for good responsiveness with low overhead.
- SuperPass is a lightweight kernel mechanism that fast-tracks low-priority threads blocking latency-critical threads, using a scheduler fast track and a lock-level detector to identify most such threads.
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Fable 5 wrote a Windows kernel in 38 minutes
25 days ago
- The ntoskrnl-rs project successfully rewrote the Windows NT kernel in Rust, booting in QEMU and passing self-tests.
- Claude Fable 5 generated the core kernel (about 5,100 lines) in 38 minutes, including scheduling, memory management, and I/O subsystems.
- The kernel loads unmodified Windows drivers and binaries, providing a sandbox for analysis and debugging.
- Verification remains a bottleneck, as AI-authored code requires extensive testing for trust and correctness.
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Why Linux is not ready for the desktop (2024)
a month ago
- Linux distributions struggle with long-term binary compatibility, unlike Windows which maintains support for decades-old software.
- Software distribution on Linux relies heavily on distro-specific packages or cumbersome solutions like Flatpaks/Snaps/AppImages, which act as lightweight VMs but don't fully solve compatibility issues.
- The Linux kernel's monolithic nature means driver updates require full kernel updates, potentially introducing regressions, and there's no universally stable kernel version for desktops.
- Linux lacks native, user-friendly file sharing comparable to Windows; Samba is complex to configure, and alternatives like SSHFS/NFS are not intuitive for average users.
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Microsoft Needs Windows Lite
a month ago
- Microsoft is losing developers, who are switching to macOS and Linux, with only content creation and gaming initially keeping them on Windows.
- Windows Lite is a stripped-down Windows version without telemetry, ads, AI, or .NET, focusing on win32 with a lightweight shell and graphics drivers.
- Targeted at gamers and developers, it offers a stable, backward-compatible platform with monthly patches and manual update control.
- If successful, Windows Lite could attract ordinary users, institutions, and governments, becoming the primary Windows version with lower costs and increased revenue.
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operating systems

Maybe we should revisit microkernels

SuperPass: Fast-Tracking Blocking Threads to Mitigate Priority Inversion

Fable 5 wrote a Windows kernel in 38 minutes

Why Linux is not ready for the desktop (2024)

Microsoft Needs Windows Lite