Pair of Twiggys

[Chuck Guzis]

On 03/15/2017 12:10 PM, Todd Goodman via cctalk wrote:
> * Fred Cisin via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> [170315 14:48]: 
> [..SNIP..]
>> 
>> Below the user interface, is Android very similar to Linux?
> 
> [..SNIP..]
> 
> I'd argue that the OS used by Android *is* Linux (with some small 
> modifications.)
> 
> Of course the user interface and lots of other functions is a huge 
> amount of code running in user space.

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.

I recall that back in the days of Windows 95, MS defended it as an
"operating system" (re: the default inclusion of MSIE in the same),
rather than a user interface built on top of MSDOS.

I once had a fellow proclaim that his group had constructed an entire
operating system in COBOL.  When I asked him about his file management,
he said that it was handled by the kernel and not the operating system.

One thing you can depend upon in this field is the inconstancy of
definitions.

I always wondered about the wisdom of single-sourcing storage devices
such as the Next optical drive, the Twiggy or the SuperDrive of the
early Macs.

--Chuck