[cap-talk] Midori in The Register

[Toby Murray]

On Wed, 2008-08-06 at 13:04 +1000, J
> My concerns are twofold:  That Microsoft might attempt
> to solve its driver crash problem with managed code for
> device drivers,

This doesn't seem to be the trajectory that Microsoft are on. In
particular, most drivers are written by third-parties. Aside from any
technical implications, imposing managed code on these third-parties
would be difficult, I expect. But more importantly, Microsoft have done
a bunch of really good work in trying to get model checking technologies
into the Driver Development Kit to allow third-party programmers to
check safety and termination properties of their drivers.

Not being a driver writer with any experience with the newest DDKs that
I hear incorporate some of the more mature model checking technologies,
I've no idea whether these are actually *used* in practice. However, it
does indicate that other solutions to the drivers problem are maturing
and that, for now, Microsoft seems to be favouring these over managed
code.

>  and that Microsoft is not going to address
> the problem of malware and viruses.

Let's hope this prediction is incorrect.

> Driver crashes get blamed on Microsoft Windows, even
> though they should not be.

Why? In a microkernel, a driver crash is not guaranteed to corrupt the
rest of the system, particularly if the kernel has been written to
maintain defensive consistency in the face of driver failures, which it
should be. Hence, driver crashes that cause your entire kernel to crash
could be blamed fairly on Windows.

It's not the fault of Windows that drivers crash. But it is the fault of
Windows that crashing drivers crash the entire system.

>   Viruses and Trojans do not
> get blamed on Microsoft Windows, even though they should
> be.

Viruses and Trojans should *not* be blamed on Microsoft any more than
crime should be blamed on an inept police force. Blame should be kept
solely where it is due, namely with the perpetrator. The failure of
Windows to protect you from viruses and torjans should, of course, be
blamed on it. However, Windows (unlike a police force) has never claimed
to have a goal at protecting you from these things. But of course it
should.