(1) The part of an operating system that is specialized for the hardware it is running in. The other components of the OS interact with the microkernel in a message-based relationship and do not have to be rewritten when the OS is ported to a new platform. Only the hardware-dependent microkernel has to be reprogrammed. See kernel.
(2) A small control program that is designed to perform a limited set of functions in one type of computer.
(2) A small control program that is designed to perform a limited set of functions in one type of computer.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- More tech details emerge on Microsoft's 'Midori'
- SD Times has seen some new Microsoft documentation that provides more specifics on Midori, the Singularity-microkernel-based operating system that is being developed by a team under Eric Rudder, the one-time heir-apparent to Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. by Mary Jo Foley
- Blog posts 2008-07-29
- Why MinWin speculation matters
- Why MinWin speculation mattersPresumably......Windows CE will continue to exist as a separate product, but future versions would use the MinWin kernel. I would find it hard to believe that MS would maintain multiple Windows kernels if they didn't have to.UNIX-like is more shrinkableBoth Linux and Mac OS X easily...
- Discussion threads 2008-06-04
- Reports of Windows' demise are greatly exaggerated
- I was planning to avoid posting about Gartner's "Windows will collapse under its own weight" presentation from earlier this week because I felt it was a bunch of hype that didn't provide any new insights or conclusions. But given how many others are riffing -- and riffing...
- Blog posts 2008-04-11
- Apple updates Safari to 3.1; adds support for HTML 5
- Apple updates Safari to 3.1; adds support for HTML 5Why does it require a restart?All you are doing is updating a browser. Hmm, interesting.The rendering engine WebKit is a part of Mac OSThe fastest browser on earth, making IE7 en especially IE6 look like pregnant snails in molasses. Safari is...
- Discussion threads 2008-03-18
- News to know: Cosmos, a new OS; Google Apps; Cisco worries; Patches galore
- Notable headlines: Mary Jo Foley: Cosmos: An open-source .Net-based microkernel OS is born Microsoft runs its datacenters on 'Autopilot' Dan Farber: Google launches free Team Edition of Apps. Larry Dignan: Cisco's second quarter in line; Sees slower growth ahead ...
- Blog posts 2008-02-07
- Cosmos%3A+An+open-source+.Net-based+microkernel+OS+is+born
- Cosmos%3A+An+open-source+.Net-based+microkernel+OS+is+bornawesome...another alternative, lightweight OSMicrosoft ought to rebuild Windows on top of its stripped-down kernel so that Windows can run efficiently with fewer resources.Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....."[b][b] can't hold a candle to Linux."please cut the crap![i]Cosmos is 100% C#. The only assembly is emitted by our compiler.[/i]Last time I checked C# code was plain...
- Discussion threads 2008-02-06
- Cosmos: An open-source .Net-based microkernel OS is born
- Move over, Microsoft Singularity. There's another microkernel, .Net-based operating system in town. And this one's available under an open-source license. Known as Cosmos, the new, independently developed operating system OS is the brain child of former Microsoft Developer and Platform Evangelism team member Chad "Kudzu" Hower....
- Blog posts 2008-02-06
- Linux security guru joins Microsoft
- Linux security guru joins MicrosoftPaycheckWell, I am sure his paycheck will increase in size that is what it is all about correct...RE: Linux security guru joins MicrosoftIsn't this a good thing, in a way? I mean, it just gives more notoriety to the Linux crowd. Microsoft can't keep saying that...
- Discussion threads 2008-01-21
- Stripped-down 'MinWin' kernel to be at the core of Windows 7 and more
- Stripped-down 'MinWin' kernel to be at the core of Windows 7 and moreWiat for the law suitI agree, it does sound like a Linux Kernal.Now all we have to do is wait for Microsoft to sue Linux for violating their minimum kernel patent.I've been expecting Microsoft to start using Linux...
- Discussion threads 2007-10-19
- Stripped-down 'MinWin' kernel to be at the core of Windows 7 and more
- Microsoft has created a stripped-down version of the Windows core, called MinWin, that will be at the heart of future Windows products, starting with Windows 7, the Windows client release due in 2010. While the Windows team has been working for years on reducing the dependencies in...
- Blog posts 2007-10-19
- Will open source desktops succumb to bloat?
- Will open source desktops succumb to bloat?No, I don't believe it willMainly because we don't really need to run all the life support applications that a Windows machine needs. And the ones we do, well we can re-nice those so they don't interfere with daily operations. CRON is easy to...
- Discussion threads 2007-10-04
- Ruling expressly denies Express Logic its copyrighted API logic
- Express Logic cried foul in June 2006 when Green Hills Software appeared to have a competitor in its embedded microkernel RTOS micro-velOSity product that looked a little too much like what Express Logic had already been delivering to the market and partnering with Green Hills on. In...
- Blog posts 2007-08-29
- Blue Pill Project extends VM rootkit cat-and-mouse tussle
- Blue Pill Project extends VM rootkit cat-and-mouse tussleMS ?"systems based on a microkernel architecture"please explain how the pill works.Root Kits and virues.The accountability issue is not about why a person wastes their time building a bad reputation to get attention, as the peer support saying "that's great!" isn't there if...
- Discussion threads 2007-08-05
- Blue Pill Project extends VM rootkit cat-and-mouse tussle
- LAS VEGAS - The intellectual cat-and-mouse tussle over hiding and finding virtual machine rootkits has hit a new gear with a team of researchers dismissing the notion of "100 percent undetectable" malware and the release of source code for a new "Blue Pill" rootkit.As previously reported, Thomas Ptacek, co-founder of...
- Blog posts 2007-08-02
- Could you say 'Unix' in Ada?
- Could you say 'Unix' in Ada?Leaky AbstractionsWhat you are argueing is that Unix is full of leaky abstractions instead of sound design principles, so a largely unsafe systems programming language should be used to write application software.I think you are very wrong.Unix promotes enforced isolation of components (strong process isolation,...
- Discussion threads 2007-06-06
- What will many cores mean to future Windows releases?
- What will many cores mean to future Windows releases?Not a Microsoft issue, its an industry wide issue.Frankly I am surprised that you seem to think this is an MS only issue. From EVERYTHING I have seen this is an industry wide issue.not a new problemI have read several articles...
- Discussion threads 2007-05-31
- What will many cores mean to future Windows releases?
- Windows and existing Microsoft programming languages work just fine with one- to four-processor PCs. But when 8- 16 and 64-core client machines become the norm -- in the not-so-distant future -- will Windows, C#, Visual Basic and other Microsoft applications be able to keep up?Seemingly, the answer is no. Microsoft...
- Blog posts 2007-05-31
- Andy Oliver: New JBoss model not the same as Fedora
- In 2003 Red Hat discontinued its popular Red Hat Linux distribution, replacing it with Red Hat Enterprise Linux RHEL for commercial users and Fedora for more casual users. Now the company is planning a change for JBoss, the highly successful application server it acquired for $420 million last year. While...
- Blog posts 2007-04-25
- Is Microsoft's Cloud OS actually a Cloud DB?
- Microsoft officials have used "Cloud OS" as shorthand to refer to the Windows Live Core, or the platform that will power Microsofts current and forthcoming datacenter-based family of services. But what, exactly, is Microsofts Cloud OS? Is it an operating system OS at all? Microsoft officials have used...
- Blog posts 2007-04-17
- Microsoft still has more OS tricks up its sleeve
- Microsoft still has more OS tricks up its sleeveOccam's razor and the end of service packsWhy not take the most straightforward view?Service packs end, replaced by RollUps which can occur more frequently because of the internet.New versions of Windows are issued at 2 year interviews, satisfying everyone's need for profits.Given...
- Discussion threads 2006-12-14
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