Re: No Microsoft Breakup

["Leif Svalgaard" <leif@xxxxxxxx>]

From: Chris Rehm <javadisciple@earthlink.net>
> On Friday 07 September 2001 05:37 pm, Leif Svalgaard wrote:
> > Chris, you are avoiding the issue with an almost vacuous statement.
> Only if you define computer system as "what the vendor sells" instead of
> "what the computer manufacturer makes."

in case of AS/400 what's the difference?

> Of course, that would be because
> without an operating system, the hardware wouldn't be worth much.

The first computer I worked on cost a million $ (in 1960's money) and
didn't have an OS.

>
> While my understanding of an OS came from my father who said to
> me, "If you really want to understand a processor, write an operating
> system for it."

your father had a point, except that understanding a processor in itself
is not a useful thing to do. You have to put that understanding to work.

My understanding of operating systems comes from having written (or for
one of them participated in writing it) six of them over the years.
You'll see that I here take the narrow view that the OS does not include
the kitchen sink. This was contrary to my other post where I argued that
the OS was "everything that came with the machine". The point being
that both positions can be defended and both can be useful.