Tag: Operating Systems
Linux Is Not an Operating System. Also, It Kind of Is.
I was on TikTok recently – which is an experience I continue to have mixed feelings about – and I watched someone argue with complete confidence that Linux is an operating system. Someone else told them it wasn't. The first person doubled down. The comment section descended into the usual chaos. I typed a reply, decided against it, and closed the app.
Don’t Forget The Forgotten Tech User
Windows 10’s end-of-life points to the sheer neglect that computer users face when their world isn’t completely defined by technology.
The Floater Manifesto
Our technology should be good enough to work across operating systems now. The best way to test that is by using literally every platform. Which is what I plan to do.
sudo embrace
Microsoft’s decision to introduce sudo for Windows is strangely symbolic of how influential UNIX has been even on non-UNIX ecosystems.
Making My Linux Move
Why I decided to mostly move to Linux in 2024, and what I’ve learned in the process of that move.
A Downgraded Downgrade
Why does it suck so much to downgrade an operating system on a modern computer—particularly, on a Mac—and why do we put up with it? Here’s what I had to do.
Novell Cooperation
How a networking software company with an unusual approach to competition nearly convinced Apple to bring MacOS to Intel computers in the early ’90s.
The Other Windows
Before Windows became a fact of life for most computer users, a scrappy upstart named GeoWorks tried taking Microsoft on. It failed, but it gave us AOL.
It’s Just A Swipe Away
Vintage technology has powered the innards of the NYC subway system for decades—and sometimes, it surfaces in interesting ways. This one’s for you, OS/2 fans.
A Kernel Of Failure
How IBM bet big on the microkernel being the next big thing in operating systems back in the ’90s—and spent billions with little to show for it.
Double Trouble
How a court battle involving groundbreaking disk-compression software foreshadowed Microsoft’s status as an antitrust darling.
Window Dressing
When macOS was still OS X, some Windows users weren't afraid to remake their desktops in Apple's vision. It was the ultimate case of imitation and flattery.
Operating In Obscurity
It ain’t just about Windows, macOS, or Linux. Also-ran or fairly obscure operating systems, like OS/2, are everywhere—in some cases, hiding under your nose.