On 2017-03-15 7:02 PM, Warner Losh wrote:
  On Wed, Mar 15, 2017 at 4:55 PM, Toby Thain via cctalk
 <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
  On 2017-03-15 5:17 PM, Peter Coghlan via cctalk
wrote:
 
 The whole idea of an "operating system"  seems to have morphed into the
 notion of a user interface.
 To my way of thinking,t he various flavors of Linux are really a user
 interface build on a single operating system.
 
 Has anybody else noticed that the meaning of "portable code" seems to have
 morphed into "can be built on two or three different flavours of Linux"? 
 
 1983. All the world's a VAX. 
 Running BSD
  1993. No sorry, all the world's a SPARC.
 Running Solaris 
Yeah, or SunOS 4 was the reference platform for a while.
  2013. Oops, no, all the world's an x86.
 Running Linux 
 
Yep.
--T
 I'm waiting for the rise of cell phones to make it
 202x All the world's an ARM running Android
 Warner
  --T
 One thing you can depend upon in this field is the inconstancy of
 definitions.
 
 Agreed.
 Regards,
 Peter Coghlan