As usual, the hardware leads the software, which limps in months – or in the case of 32-bit desktop operating systems, years after the hardware starts to look long in the tooth, and Santa Cruz Operation Inc says it is endorsing the new MIPS Computer Systems Inc ARCSystem family of personal computers and servers but its Open Desktop designed for the things is at present available only to OEM customers and independent software vendors; it is still working with MIPS et al to define a common set of Unix APIs for ACE to provide developers with a single, well-defined set of system calls for creating applications that will be portable across all ACE Unix Systems – but what are the poor saps meant to do until then?
