CompuServe Messages

NT is basically a new 32 bit multitasking OS using Windows as it's primary (but not necessarily ONLY) user interface. It's supposedly being written in a portable fashion so that it can easily be ported to other architectures, with it's primary emphasis (at this point) at the ACE (R4000 based) architecture, and secondarily at the Intel and DEC Alpha architectures at this point. (It is definately running better on the R4000 at this time, but this may change before release…) NT is NOT a UNIX shell, although it does nearly everything UNIX does, not necessarily better. Nor does NT sit on top of DOS like Windows 3.1. It's a self contained OS and GUI. NT could, in theory, be ported to the Power PC architecture (the one IBM & Apple are working towards) but it seems unlikely to me, considering they'd be going up against IBM & Apple's OS entry into the arena, which would be much better optomised for the environment. NT would probably look painfully slow and resource intensive in comparison, so IMHO they'll avoid it and try to convince everyone that Power PC is a doomed environment. I doubt you'll see NT on a 68K architecture at all for that matter. Nearly all the machines with that architecture already have an OS with them, and nearly all of those OSes can run rings around NT in their environment, so they're probably also doomed by Microsoft pronouncement… Does NT have anything new? Not really. Nearly everything it offers is done somewhere else, in most cases better. NT just throws everything in and mixes. The hoopla, as you put it, is primarily due to two things: A lot of Microsoft worship going on in the press by people who think Windows 3.1 is a wonderful OS (hah!), and a lot of Microsoft money being spread about. I'd worry more about it when it gets released. Which won't be for quite a while yet, IMHO. –>Steve Bennett