http://www.itpro.co.uk/605136/microsoft-planning-a-future-without-windows
A glimpse into the future. We currently have a full O/S on dedicated hardware. Virtualised O/S platforms finally make the benefits of the micro-kernel concept achievable. In other words, a small footprint hypervisor/kernel with guest systems above it.
Currently we consider these guests to be full Windows clients. In future they will be smaller, more agile, purpose-specific lumps of code. Some locally hosted, some sourced from remote servers. All either available, limited or full featured based on the hardware and connectivity available.
Give it ten years and we’ll all be saying “I used to carry a laptop around with me all the time” and laugh. At ourselves.
Footnote: (Strictly speaking micro-kernels and virtualisation are totally different concepts but the end result at the macro level is the same if a microkernel is used as a hypervisor – look it up).
