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Thursday, June 12, 2008
![[Item Permalink]](http://radio.weblogs.com/0112083/images/ur_bullet.gif){kind=small} Further thoughts on OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard -- Comment()
Many have commented on the next version of OS X, 10.6 "Snow Leopard". There is lots of discussion on "no new features" (apart from built-in Exchange 2007 support). But after thinking about this a bit, I think Apple may be able to deliver quite an impact with 10.6. The current version, 10.5 Leopard, has layers upon layers, hundreds (?) of thousands of files. Complexity upon complexity. What would "think different" be able to do? As an example, Apple developed the "launchd" software to replace numerous Unix startup programs (cron, init etc.), and making a much better job of it, for example making it possible to startup the Mac much faster than previously. What if similar work would be applied to all of the system, on all layers? It seems that some of the new technology is exactly this. How much speedup would be possible? I think that on systems without separate GPUs the speedup might not be so dramatic, perhaps in the 10-50 percent region. (However, the amount of disk space needed for the operating system may decrease dramatically, resulting in much faster program launch speeds, as an example.) But on systems with separate GPUs and more than two cores the effect may be dramatic, perhaps several times the current speed. And much less overhead than currently (think about Spotlight, Time Machine, Dashboard etc.) How would you feel about using an operating system much faster than any current ones, consuming dramatically less disk space, and being able to use all kinds of external accelerators (no need to limit to GPUs). This OS would scale upwards (to tens of cores and terabytes of RAM), and also downwards (to future mobile devices). Perhaps the best selling argument for the OS will be the devices which are built upon this foundation. Not to speak about new possible applications, and new ways of connecting to the net/cloud.
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An opinion piece in Helsingin Sanomat -- Comment()
Today my opinion piece on the role of science in society appeared in the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. The title was changed but the text mostly as it was - however, I had a phone discussion with an editor who wanted some scientific terms changed to easier ones. In retrospect, it is interesting to note that the text also contains some advanced economic terms which the editor accepted as they were.
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EU wants openness - sends message to Microsoft -- Comment()
New York Times reports on the EU comments related to Microsoft business practices vs. openness: "I know a smart business decision when I see one - choosing open standards is a very smart business decision indeed," Ms. Kroes told a conference in Brussels. "No citizen or company should be forced or encouraged to choose a closed technology over an open one."
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Low water in river Vantaa -- Comment()
Last weekend we went for a walk along the river Vantaa, in the Pitkäkoski ("long rapids") forests. I have never seen the water so low there. The rapids made hardly any noise, which is very different from the usual. And there were places where it was possible to walk over the river on almost dry feet. This dry season may cause problems for Helsinki region, because currently the water intake is in the river Vantaa. The tunnel which usually feed the capital region with water is currently being repaired, and thus we are dependent on other water sources. I hope we get lots of rain during the next few weeks.
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