On Fri, Mar 12, 2004 at 07:16:48AM +1300, Steve Holdoway wrote:
> Hadn't you noticed, using the next letters on from VMS gives... WNT
> Yes, it was intentional!
It depends who, if anyone, you believe. There are sources that claim
Dave Cutler came up with WNT as a pun on VMS. There are also sources
quoting another prominent NT architect that claim the name 'NT' came
from the codename of the CPU the OS was developed on--the N10 (released
in 1989 as the Intel i860).
If memory serves me, Zachary's Show Stopper![0] sides with the N10
story.
On Fri, Mar 12, 2004 at 09:04:01AM +1300, Jim Cheetham wrote:
> NT 3.5 *is* VMS Crystal (I think I got the name right).
> Digital decided to give VMS a graphical interface, when Digital & MS got
> together (patent swap sort of deal) MS took the new VMS, and pasted
> their win 3.1 gui style and API over it.
I think you're confusing stories. Microsoft and Digital worked together
to port NT to the Alpha. I'm fairly sure NT was developed from scratch,
though obviously heavily influenced by Cutler and his team's earlier
work at Digital.
Having said that, there are massive similarities between VMS and Windows
NT--from much of the design of the kernel right down to the naming of
elements of the OS.
[0] Zachary, G. Pascal. (1994) Show Stopper! The Breakneck Race to
Create Windows NT and the Next Generation at Microsoft. Free Press.
Cheers,
-mjg
--
Matthew Gregan |/
/| [EMAIL PROTECTED]
