Apple smells blood and moves in for the kill: Microsoft

The most basic foundation of an operating system is its kernel.  A kernel is the core of an operating system that manages the most basic operations, such as the processor load across applications and communication between hardware/software components.  This is where Microsoft falls short and has been for a long time. Microsoft’s kernel’s have always been bloated, by including every feature out of the box trying to compensate for every type of user in existence. This is where modular kernel’s and operating system infrastructures can really shine. There’s been talks about the upcoming Windows 7 kernel and how it’s going to be shrunk in size. Less footprints thus speeding up the operating system is the key to performance and this is how Vista should have been in the first place.

Apple has not had this problem before(at least not as prominent) and for obvious reasons. They use the same kernel infrastructure throughout all their products, from the Mac OSX, to iPhone, down to the iPod. Their process is much more simple as they cater the kernel around the user and not the user around the kernel. This makes the operating system more responsive as the user only enables or installs what they need to use.

Quoted from this article: “It all started with Mac OS X, the multi-core, multi-processor platform officially released in 2001. Based on “Mach,” a university Unix research prototype, Mac OS X represented a clean break with the computer industry’s uniprocessor past. The modular new OS allowed Apple to condense its core task management function into a tiny computing kernel.

That kernel has proved easily adaptable across the entire Apple product line, from highly complex servers all the way down to the relatively simple iPod Touch. Such modularity allows Apple to add whatever functions are necessary for each product environment — all while maintaining cross-product compatibility.

That kernel has proved easily adaptable across the entire Apple product line, from highly complex servers all the way down to the relatively simple iPod Touch. Such modularity allows Apple to add whatever functions are necessary for each product environment — all while maintaining cross-product compatibility.

By contrast, Microsoft has held on to an OS tethered to the 1980s, piling additions upon additions with each upgrade to Windows. With last year’s arrival of Vista, Windows has swollen to 1 billion bytes (a gigabyte) or more of software code. The “Mach” kernel of the Mac OS X, however, requires less than 1 million bytes (a megabyte) of data in its smallest configuration, expanding modestly with the sophistication of the application.”

There’s deeper underlying plans going on at Apple. Apple is like any other profitable corporation. It’s like an animal that detects weakness and attacks. Microsoft’s Windows Vista is the weakness and their most profitable sector is the Enterprise. Apple will seize this opportunity and attack Microsoft’s Enterprise market share. Granted, Apple has been planning this before Vista even came out, but they’re going to be much more aggressive now. The new Leopard operating system is more Enterprise friendly not to mention it has the capability of running Windows apps out of the box. Apple recently introducted Leopard based servers attacking Microsoft’s server market. Finally, Apple’s first generation iPhone was tuned more for consumers than it was for corporate users. But Apple has recently announced the 2nd generation will compete directly against Blackberry’s. They are attacking from every angle, to pull as much market share away from Microsoft as possible in the shortest amount of time. Beta versions of Windows 7 will probably be out by Q4 08 or Q1 of 09 which will stir more interest back to Microsoft.  The clock is ticking and the OS wars wage on.