New OS fits on a floppy
I was tickled to read Good Gear Guide’s interview on MenuetOS, a new operating system that is built in assemby language. The interview, titled We talk to the developers behind MenuetOS: an operating system written entirely in assembly language, says that not only does this OS fit on a floppy disk (remember those?), it’s incredibly fast and efficient. No surprise there: assembly language is designed to work close to the hardware. From the article:
Is either [32-bit or 64-bit] version of Menuet used in any production environments? Do you see this as a hobby/educational exercise or are you aiming for a system that will fill a particular niche in the operation system ecosystem? That is, is there a target audience for Menuet, or is it all about the development process?
Madis: The most important about Menuet is its small footprint as it still fits on a floppy. The niche can be some embedded device. What is also important is that its x86-based and therefore portable to most compatible devices. Now that Mac is using Intel CPUs and future Larrabees from Intel will also be using a subset of x86 ISA.
Ville: Menuet is used in environments that require real-time control over other devices. Currently Menuet is mainly used among hobbyists who are interested in assembly language. And assembly niche is actually a pretty sweet one. There are new exiting features to learn and most importantly, you never know what kind of usages people come up with. Our team’s current goal is to get the version 1.0 out.
I’m no kernel geek, but I know that any operating system that’s built from the hardware up makes way more sense than writing the features, integrating the drivers, then customizing and tweaking that bulky interpretive code to the specifications of the device. I hope that MenuetOS is part of a greater movement toward OS efficiency, and away from default OS configurations with “features” that I can’t modify or delete. Let my OS be user-driven, not something I spend too much time waiting for and ultimately dread working with. Let the (r)evolution begin!