Friday, 8 August 2008

Microsoft to Replace Windows With Midori?

Microsoft is reportedly working on a project, codenamed Midori, to create an internet-centric operating system to replace Windows. Midori is a distributed operating system that appears, in part, to contain elements of Microsoft’s failed 'Cairo' and WinFS projects.

Microsoft is reportedly working on a project, codenamed Midori, to create an internet-centric operating system to replace Windows.

Midori is a distributed operating system that appears, in part, to contain elements of Microsoft’s failed 'Cairo' and WinFS projects.

Midori is designed to run directly on native hardware and be hosted on Microsoft's virtualization technology, Windows Hyper-V-- a project that underscores Steve Ballmer's obsession with cloud computing and "software plus services".

According to reports, Midori will be built with an asynchronous-only architecture that is built for task concurrency and parallel use of local and distributed resources, with a distributed component-based and data-driven application model, and dynamic management of power and other resources. Midori will also feature a different programming model ideal for addressing state management, by migrating APIs, apps, and developers to a constrained model.

Midori has been reported to be a possible commercial successor to the Singularity operating system, a research project started in 2003 to build a highly-dependable operating system in which the kernel, device drivers, and applications are all written in managed code.

Rob Helm, director of research for Directions on Microsoft, notes that it is possible, having previously heard of a secret OS project headed by former Microsoft Servers and Tools vice president Eric Rudder. He continues, saying that the project is most likely conceptual at this point, but of a more serious nature than ideas tossed about at Microsoft Research.