Al,

"...that's a cop-out."

It may be a cop-out but it is an opinion I have frequently heard from people who've looked at what's happened the likes of BeOS.

"I'm actually interested in your opinion on this."

Actually, my opinion is that it's possible and that I'm proposing the sort of architecture which could pull it off. There's no denying MS's current monopoly and trying to take them head-on would be like ramming your head into a brick wall at mach 3.

Replacing Windows entirely without a transitional phase seems as unlikely to me as replacing DOS entirely with Windows in Win 1.0 (or 3.x) would have been. There are too many applications that already run on Windows and let's not forget the huge numbers of device drivers which would be virtually impossible for a competitor to replace.

Clue: Just about everything I'm proposing could be simulated by software running on existing PCs running Windows.

"I'm not sure if Torvalds would be unhappy or pleased that you're implying he's not in his right mind ;-)"

I suspect he would be pleased. And if not I don't care. :-)

Zane