The we way hear it, an IBM Corp microkernel created in a clean-room and devoid of a shred of code that could possibly have been inherited from any other product, IBM or otherwise, has been cancelled as a user product. Instead, it has been prototyped further down in the kernel, where performance gains of up to 1,000 times have apparently been achieved. The naysayers believe that at best the microkernel will end up as embedded technology, arguing that as a vehicle for OS/2 or other personalities, the thing is doomed. And that’s despite the wishes of its mentor, IBM fellow Larry Loucks, who also lead the failed VRM microkernel on IBM’s long-since abandoned RT 6150 Unix workstation.
