Xref: utzoo comp.arch:4661 comp.lang.misc:1553
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!yale!lisper-bjorn
From: lisper-bjorn@CS.YALE.EDU (Bjorn Lisper)
Newsgroups: comp.arch,comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: Universal OS (striving for flexibility)
Message-ID: <28605@yale-celray.yale.UUCP>
Date: 6 May 88 16:41:32 GMT
References: <769@imagine.PAWL.RPI.EDU> <76700017@uiucdcsp> <843@actnyc.UUCP> <762@l.cc.purdue.edu> <1556@vaxb.calgary.UUCP> <438@ruuinf.UUCP> <4624@ihlpf.ATT.COM>
Sender: root@yale.UUCP
Reply-To: lisper-bjorn@CS.YALE.EDU (Bjorn Lisper)
Organization: Yale University Computer Science Dept, New Haven CT  06520-2158
Lines: 23

In article <4624@ihlpf.ATT.COM> nevin1@ihlpf.UUCP (00704a-Liber,N.J.) writes:
>In article <438@ruuinf.UUCP> piet@ruuinf.UUCP (Piet van Oostrum) writes:
>>In article <1556@vaxb.calgary.UUCP> radford@calgary.UUCP (Radford Neal)
>>writes:
>
>>> universal operating system will be designed when someone very clever,
>>>imaginative, and artistic creates a reasonably simple model of computer 
>>>use that encorportates the needs of all users and is economically
>>>implementable in the technology of the day. If this should ever occur,
>>>the universal model will be much more likely to encorporate _none_ of
>>>past "programming geniuses" than to encorporate them all.
>
>>How about a Turing Machine?
>
>I don't know.  The infinitely long tape that it needs are usually out of
>stock and are very expensive!! :-) :-)

No, no, no, the tape is finite at every time but it must be possible to
extend it to an arbitrary (but finite) length! So every physical Turing
Machine should be placed next to a tape factory that can provide it with
more tape when the need arises.... :-) :-) :-)

Bjorn Lisper