A look at computing in the 1990s

It is projected that, in the 1990s, computing will be based on collective entities composed of specialized nodes. From the user´s point of view, those entities will be open; specialized nodes from many vendors will interoperate. Vendors will incorporate proprietary value added to an open systems set of trusted building blocks. In this manner, proprietary products will become custom elements within a larger, open systems environment. Particular attention is given to the microkernel architecture and to the performance of microkernel systems.<>