There always seems to be, in mainstream *nix users, an ingrained belief that unix is "different" from Windows. As any hardcore Linux hacker will tell you: it ain't the case at all. The same core concepts tend to exist in all the major OS's today (SUN, Linux, Windows, OSX). When you drill down to it Unix, at it's core, *really* only implements a better security model than Windows: in other respects it is very similar.

Yes the bits built on top diversify things a lot: but at the end of the day things are similar.

I dont think enough people are asking "Why?" - I just stumbled across this blog post, which just set me thinking along these lines.

Really we only have 2 offerings on the market today. Unix derivatives (and there are many) and Windows. (Yes, I know there are smaller offerings - but they tend simply to implement to Unix model in their own way).

Right now people are talking about Linux becoming "mainstream" - and with some funding and proper attention it could well do (I've expounded my thoughts on this before :D). But is Linux the right way to go? Is it time to say "yes it's doing ok, but is it time to move onto Operating System 2.0".

Here is my reasoning. Linux has taught us (as hackers) a lot about Operating systems - it has taught us a lot about security models, interfaces, integration and software. And it has taught us a lot about PEOPLE and how they use PC's. And I think what it has taught us is that we need to refine and redevelop our approach. I am feeling more and more that the OS is simply getting the way of our manipulation of data and raw processing power: there are much better ways to manage that interaction surely!

I'm NOT discussing the desktop here (I see the possibility for confusion there) at all: I am more talking about the fundamental workings of any operating system.

Is now a good time, before we get too locked into Unix, to start from scratch again. Recode and rewrite and innovate in our development of the future OS's.

I said before that when I make my fortune I fully intend to invest time and money into pushing *nix (in whatever form) forward from where it is starting to get stuck (again, I expounded on this at length before). But I am now wondering whether such investment would be better spent on starting from scratch. Perhaps it would require 10 times the commitment - but I could see the outcome being worth it.

Anyone else had thoughts this way?