Microsoft research – defending ourselves from ‘the system’

Kelly McNeill writes: “Many of us have been aware of Microsoft’s intentions for the future for some time, but only recently has the company fully outlined the direction it is taking with its operating systems. A recently published manifesto titled “Operating Systems for the Next Millennium” draws the conceptual outline of a new computer environment far different than most ever imagined. According to the document, “the system” will determine where computations execute or where data resides. The key phrase here is “the system.” Who makes “the system”? That’s right, Microsoft.”