Midori (operating system)

Last updated
Midori
Developer Microsoft Corporation
Written in C# custom variant M#
OS family Capability-based
Working stateDiscontinued [1]
Initial release2008;15 years ago (2008)
Final release Final / 2015;8 years ago (2015)
Update methodCompile from source code
Platforms IA-32, x86-64, ARM
Kernel type Microkernel (Language-based)

Midori (which means green in Japanese) was the code name for a managed code operating system (OS) being developed by Microsoft with joint effort of Microsoft Research. It had been reported [2] [3] to be a possible commercial implementation of the OS Singularity, a research project begun in 2003 to build a highly dependable OS in which the kernel, device drivers, and application software are all written in managed code. It was designed for concurrency, and could run a program spread across multiple nodes at once. [4] It also featured a security model that sandboxes applications for increased security. [5] Microsoft had mapped out several possible migration paths from Windows to Midori. [6] Midori was discontinued some time in 2015, though many of its concepts were used in other Microsoft projects.

Contents

History

The code name Midori was first discovered through the PowerPoint presentation CHESS: A systematic testing tool for concurrent software. [7]

Another reference to Midori was found in a presentation shown during the Object-Oriented Programming, Systems, Languages & Applications (OOPSLA) October 2012 conference, [8] and a paper [9] from the conference's proceedings.

Related Research Articles

Microsoft Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For instance, Windows NT for consumer and corporate desktops, Windows Server for servers, and Windows IoT for embedded systems. Defunct Windows families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, and Windows Embedded Compact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Next-Generation Secure Computing Base</span> Software architecture by Microsoft

The Next-Generation Secure Computing Base is a software architecture designed by Microsoft which claimed to provide users of the Windows operating system with better privacy, security, and system integrity. NGSCB was the result of years of research and development within Microsoft to create a secure computing solution that equaled the security of closed platforms such as set-top boxes while simultaneously preserving the backward compatibility, flexibility, and openness of the Windows operating system. Microsoft's primary stated objective with NGSCB was to "protect software from software."

Apple Productivity Experience Group is an operating unit of Microsoft that, as of 2009, is the largest software developer outside of Apple Inc. for the macOS and iOS operating systems. Formed as Macintosh Business Unit on January 7, 1997, it was initially composed of over 100 individuals from the existing cross platform Word, Excel, and PowerPoint teams in Microsoft's Office Division, and grew to 180 people the next year, with the addition of the Internet Explorer for Mac and Outlook Express for Mac teams. In 2000, it moved from the Office Division to the Specialized Devices and Applications Group inside the Entertainment and Devices Division, and is now back inside the Microsoft Office division.

Virtual DOS machines (VDM) refer to a technology that allows running 16-bit/32-bit DOS and 16-bit Windows programs when there is already another operating system running and controlling the hardware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Live Mesh</span>

Windows Live Mesh is a discontinued free-to-use Internet-based file synchronization application by Microsoft designed to allow files and folders between two or more computers to be in sync with each other on Windows and Mac OS X computers or the Web via SkyDrive. Windows Live Mesh also enabled remote desktop access via the Internet.

Application virtualization is a software technology that encapsulates computer programs from the underlying operating system on which they are executed. A fully virtualized application is not installed in the traditional sense, although it is still executed as if it were. The application behaves at runtime like it is directly interfacing with the original operating system and all the resources managed by it, but can be isolated or sandboxed to varying degrees.

Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) is a suite of utilities for Microsoft Windows customers who have subscribed to Microsoft Software Assurance program. It aims at bringing easier manageability and monitoring of enterprise desktops, emergency recovery, desktop virtualization and application virtualization.

In computing, virtualization or virtualisation is the act of creating a virtual version of something at the same abstraction level, including virtual computer hardware platforms, storage devices, and computer network resources.

Gazelle was a research web browser project by Microsoft Research, first announced in early 2009. The central notion of the project was to apply operating system (OS) principles to browser construction. In particular, the browser had a secure kernel, modeled after an OS kernel, and various web sources run as separate "principals" above that, similar to user space processes in an OS. The goal of doing this was to prevent bad code from one web source to affect the rendering or processing of code from other web sources. Browser plugins are also managed as principals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows 8</span> Operating system released by Microsoft in 2012

Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012, and was made available for download via MSDN and TechNet on August 15, 2012. Nearly three months after its initial release, Windows 8 finally made its first retail appearance on October 26, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Home Server 2011</span> Home server operating system by Microsoft released in 2011

Windows Home Server 2011, code named Vail, is a home server operating system by Microsoft designed for small office/home offices and homes with multiple connected PCs to offer protected file storage, file sharing, automated PC backup, remote access, and remote control of PC desktops. It was released on 6 April 2011 following the release of Power Pack 3 for its aging predecessor, Windows Home Server. Windows Home Server 2011 is the last Windows Home Server release and was succeeded by Windows Server 2012 Essentials.

HomeOS was the working title of a home automation operating system being developed at Microsoft Research in the early 2010s. Microsoft Research announced the project in 2010 and abandoned it in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Phone 7</span> First generation of Microsofts Windows Phone mobile operating system

Windows Phone 7 is the first release of the Windows Phone mobile client operating system, released worldwide on October 21, 2010, and in the United States on November 8, 2010. It runs on the Windows CE 6.0 kernel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows 10</span> Tenth major release of Windows NT, released in 2015

Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It is the direct successor to Windows 8.1, which was released nearly two years earlier. It was released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on July 29, 2015. Windows 10 was made available for download via MSDN and TechNet, as a free upgrade for retail copies of Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 users via the Windows Store, and to Windows 7 users via Windows Update. Windows 10 receives new builds on an ongoing basis, which are available at no additional cost to users, in addition to additional test builds of Windows 10, which are available to Windows Insiders. Devices in enterprise environments can receive these updates at a slower pace, or use long-term support milestones that only receive critical updates, such as security patches, over their ten-year lifespan of extended support. In June 2021, Microsoft announced that support for Windows 10 editions which are not in the Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) will end on October 14, 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows 10 Mobile</span> Mobile operating system developed by Microsoft

Windows 10 Mobile is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft. First released in 2015, it is a successor to Windows Phone 8.1, but was marketed by Microsoft as being an edition of its PC operating system Windows 10.

Windows 10 has several editions, all with varying feature sets, use cases, or intended devices. Certain editions are distributed only on devices directly from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), while editions such as Enterprise and Education are only available through volume licensing channels. Microsoft also makes editions of Windows 10 available to device manufacturers for use on specific classes of devices, including IoT devices and previously marketed Windows 10 Mobile for smartphones.

Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is a computing platform created by Microsoft and introduced in Windows 10. The purpose of this platform is to help develop universal apps that run on Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile (discontinued), Windows 11, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and HoloLens without the need to be rewritten for each. It supports Windows app development using C++, C#, VB.NET, and XAML. The API is implemented in C++, and supported in C++, VB.NET, C#, F# and JavaScript. Designed as an extension to the Windows Runtime (WinRT) platform introduced in Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8, UWP allows developers to create apps that will potentially run on multiple types of devices.

Microsoft, a technology company historically known for its opposition to the open source software paradigm, turned to embrace the approach in the 2010s. From the 1970s through 2000s under CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, Microsoft viewed the community creation and sharing of communal code, later to be known as free and open source software, as a threat to its business, and both executives spoke negatively against it. In the 2010s, as the industry turned towards cloud, embedded, and mobile computing—technologies powered by open source advances—CEO Satya Nadella led Microsoft towards open source adoption although Microsoft's traditional Windows business continued to grow throughout this period generating revenues of 26.8 billion in the third quarter of 2018, while Microsoft's Azure cloud revenues nearly doubled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CBL-Mariner</span> Microsoft open source operating system

CBL-Mariner is a free and open-source Linux distribution that Microsoft has developed. It is the base container OS for Microsoft Azure services and the graphical component of WSL 2.

References

  1. Foley, Mary Jo (10 November 2015). "Whatever happened to Microsoft's Midori operating system project?". ZDNet . CBS Interactive.
  2. Foley, Mary Jo (30 June 2008). "Goodbye, XP. Hello, Midori". ZDNet . CBS Interactive.
  3. Oiaga, Marius (2008-06-30). "Life After Windows: Microsoft Midori Operating System". Softpedia . Retrieved 2008-07-22.
  4. Worthington, David (2008-07-29). "Microsoft's plans for post-Windows OS revealed". SD Times . Archived from the original on November 16, 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. Worthington, David (2008-08-05). "Microsoft's Midori to sandbox apps for increased security". SD Times . Archived from the original on December 22, 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. Worthington, David (2008-07-31). "Microsoft maps out migration from Windows". SD Times . Archived from the original on July 1, 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. Musuvathi, Madanlal; Qadeer, Shaz; Ball, Thomas (November 2007). CHESS: A systematic testing tool for concurrent software (Report). Microsoft. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
  8. Foley, Mary Jo (November 8, 2012). "Microsoft's Midori operating-system skunkworks project soldiers on". ZDnet . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 2012-11-08.
  9. Gordon, Colin; Parkinson, Matthew; Parsons, Jared; Bromfield, Aleks; Duffy, Joe (October 2012). "Uniqueness and Reference Immutability for Safe Parallelism". Proceedings of the ACM International Conference on Object Oriented Programming Systems Languages and Applications. OOPSLA '12. Tucson, Arizona, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. pp. 21–40. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.365.5541 . doi:10.1145/2384616.2384619.