Windows 7 to feature a 25 MB kernel

More than 200 programmers are working concurrently on slimming down the Windows kernel for Windows 7, the next version of the operating system. Called ‘MinWin’, it consists of just 100 files and weights in at 25 MB compared to Vista’s 5,000 files and 4 GB core.

MinWin does not have a graphical interface and will not be productized. Still, its size will “Kill the old perception about Windows being bloated software that needlessly takes up space,” according to Eric Traut, who holds the title of distinguished engineer at Microsoft.

Excerpt from ComputerWorld:

A lot of people think of Windows as this really large, bloated operating system, and that may be a fair characterization, I have to admit,” said Eric Traut …

“[So] we created what we call MinWin. It’s still bigger than I’d like it to be, but we’ve taken a shot at really stripping out all of the layers above and making sure that we had a clean architectural layer there.

The new microkernel will be used internally for all upcoming versions of Windows, including for its media centers, servers, and even small embedded devices.

courtesy@ TechRepublic