"Starting Over": my FOSDEM 2021 talk

[liam_on_linux]

My talk should be on in about an hour and a half from when I post this.

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A possible next evolutionary step for computers is persistent memory: large capacity non-volatile main memory. With a few terabytes of nonvolatile RAM, who needs an SSD any more? I will sketch out a proposal for how to build an versatile, general-purpose OS for a computer

Comments

[tpear]

Thanks for interesting presentation.

The idea of making computing fun again, at least for hobby purposes, strikes a big chord. I myself am a long term on the Oberon mailing list and also find the topic of retro computing very interesting. Home computing as a hobby seems to be getting a small but loyal fan base. Personally, I get as much pleasure from researching old workstations and even mainframes etc. as of the computers of my youth. The disturbing thought is that having been in the industry for 30+ years now, I may have lived half of computer history.

I would certainly see technical - if not commercial - value in a new approach; I have a feeling that many recent technology layers are because underlying Unix model no longer scales to the hardware. Everything is in the hardware is so huge and complex now! My first home 'computer' (Science of Cambridge MK14)had 256 bytes of ram - now look :-) There is little doubt in my mind that better hardware has enabled more function, but it also enables less efficient s/w and less pressure to forgo mostly unused legacy.

[liam_on_linux]

> Thanks for interesting presentation.

Oh, thank you! Glad you liked it.

> The idea of making computing fun again, at least for hobby purposes, strikes a big chord.

:-)

Good! I think there still are systems that are. My impression is that people work on AROS, Haiku, ReactOS and so on because they are fun. Which is good, because they are not terribly practical and probably never will be. :-/

> I myself am a long term on the Oberon mailing list and also find the topic of retro computing very interesting.

Aha!

> Home computing as a hobby seems to be getting a small but loyal fan base.

Yes, absolutely. That was what led me down this line of research in the first place.

> Personally, I get as much pleasure from researching old workstations and even mainframes etc. as of the computers of my youth.

I agree. It is perhaps a different kind of fun, but still fun.

> The disturbing thought is that having been in the industry for 30+ years now, I may have lived half of computer history.

Aiieee!!! I had not thought of it in those terms.

> I would certainly see technical - if not commercial - value in a new approach; I
> have a feeling that many recent technology layers are because underlying Unix model
> no longer scales to the hardware. Everything is in the hardware is so huge and
> complex now!

I agree, strongly.

My hope is that a shift to PMEM could be a precipitating factor, enough to tilt the balance.

> My first home 'computer' (Science of Cambridge MK14)had 256 bytes of ram - now look :-)

Wow! That is even before me! ;-)

> There is little doubt in my mind that better hardware has enabled more function,
> but it also enables less efficient s/w and less pressure to forgo mostly unused
> legacy.

Yes indeed. People are losing sight of the fact that tiny, efficient, functional software is both possible and viable and useful, and has many advantages.