Viswanathan K's Thoughts

I was both amused and horrified at how my 7 yo’s computer science book explained Windows: “Windows is the most popular program that makes the computer work.” Man, we’re defining an Operating System (OS) based on popularity, I shuddered. Once upon a time, the OS was defined as a piece of software that managed the hardware of a computer. I know, I know, that’s way too complicated for a 7 yo... Tech blogger Ben Thompson suggested a different way of describing the OS , not the computer science way, but from a control and money perspective . Huh? He starts with the definition I gave (software that manages the hardware) and explains where that led to (control and money-wise): -           As the OS was the broker to the hardware, users and programmers stopped knowing or caring about the hardware; -           As programmers write applications for an OS, users flock to it because so man...

Even if you don’t own (or care about) a smartphone, you should still read this blog. Substitute the smartphone platform references in the rest of this blog with the names of religions, sportsmen or club names and it would still be just as meaningful! Mat Honan wrote an article titled “ Please Stop Fighting About Your Smartphone ” where he made these points: “People love to fight and fight about phone platforms; to toss around the term fanboi and other insults and invective.  … Nobody cares what kind of smartphone you believe in. It’s not a religion. It’s not your local sports team even. Stop being a soldier. You are not a soldier. You are just wrong. Shut up. … “But, but, but,” I hear you stammering like some sort of horrible person who has mistaken a code base for a system of moral beliefs.” …No. You’re wrong. … And he (and it will almost certainly be a he) will be right to love that hunk of metal and glass. Completely and totally right. All the way up until ...