Crypto Operating System
Encyclopedia
Crypto Operating System (COS) was the development name of a Mac-compatible operating system
supposedly developed by the German
company Omega GmbH in the late 1990s. Omega caught the attention of technology media with impressive specifications and seemingly serious investor and consumer information, but the operating system was never demoed publicly. The company repeatedly pushed the release date forward, gaining a reputation as vaporware
or hoax
. Although never admitted, COS is now popularly believed never to have existed.
on September 25, 1997 broke the story of a new operating system from Omega. The article quotes the company's president, Manfred Schmitz, as saying that the project started out as an attempt to make the Mac OS
more secure. However, that task was too complicated, so the company decided to take the reverse approach and create its own Macintosh-compatible OS. The article cited specifications for the OS, including United States
B2 security classification, preemptive multitasking, the capability of running Mac OS applications at 4 times the speed of the original, and a custom QuickTime
implementation. System requirements
would be low; 500 KiB
RAM and 12 MiB
hard drive space and a 68030-processor (or better) or a Power Macintosh
. The price would be 169 DM and it would be distributed as a trial shareware
program.
The specifications were met by the technology world with a mixture of enthusiasm and suspicion. Although some of the least plausible claims from the Heise article were later adjusted by Omega on their website, many experts still doubted that Omega could have created such an operating system without Apple Computer
's assistance.
According to an interview with Omega's CEO on German Mac site MacGadget in October 1, COS development had been going on for 7 years, originally planned as a B2 module for Copland
. 20 developers in Germany and USA
were currently working on the project. It did not use any Apple code, except for the Macintosh ROM.
The Heise article claimed that the first public demonstration would happen at the MacWorld
conference in Düsseldorf
, Germany on November 13, 1997. Heise editorial staff was offered a private demonstration prior to the conference, but it was cancelled because alleged "changed development goals" and attempts to be compatible with the Common Hardware Reference Platform
. The November 13 delivery date was reiterated as "100% certain" in a October 6 Heise article. Omega prepared for the conference and even uploaded detailed installation instructions for the operating system shortly before it was supposed to be released. When MacWorld came, there was much disappointment to find that Omega's presence at the exhibition floor was limited to pamphlet hand-outs, and that no operating system became available from Omega's FTP
site.
In December 1997, Omega publicly said that they were searching for a new investment partner, because their current one "was becoming impatient".
On December 31, COS topped the annual vaporware list compiled by Wired Magazine. Wired rhetorically asked, "Is the long-promised COS vaporware or an elaborate prank?", dubbing it "The X-Files operating system". The nickname was a reference to an X-Files episode (Ghost in the Machine) in which a computer called COS was trying to terminate the series' protagonists, Mulder
and Scully
.
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
supposedly developed by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
company Omega GmbH in the late 1990s. Omega caught the attention of technology media with impressive specifications and seemingly serious investor and consumer information, but the operating system was never demoed publicly. The company repeatedly pushed the release date forward, gaining a reputation as vaporware
Vaporware
Vaporware is a term in the computer industry that describes a product, typically computer hardware or software, that is announced to the general public but is never actually released nor officially canceled. Vaporware is also a term sometimes used to describe events that are announced or predicted,...
or hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
. Although never admitted, COS is now popularly believed never to have existed.
Course of events
An article from the German publishing house Heinz HeiseHeinz Heise
Heinz Heise is a publishing house based in Germany.- History :Heise was created in Hanover in 1949 as an address and telephone directory publisher, then later expanded to include magazines and loose leaf collections. In 2001, the company was divided into separate enterprises, all of which came...
on September 25, 1997 broke the story of a new operating system from Omega. The article quotes the company's president, Manfred Schmitz, as saying that the project started out as an attempt to make the Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
more secure. However, that task was too complicated, so the company decided to take the reverse approach and create its own Macintosh-compatible OS. The article cited specifications for the OS, including United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
B2 security classification, preemptive multitasking, the capability of running Mac OS applications at 4 times the speed of the original, and a custom QuickTime
QuickTime
QuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
implementation. System requirements
System requirements
To be used efficiently, all computer software needs certain hardware components or other software resources to be present on a computer. These pre-requisites are known as system requirements and are often used as a guideline as opposed to an absolute rule. Most software defines two sets of system...
would be low; 500 KiB
Kibibyte
The kibibyte is a multiple of the unit byte for quantities of digital information. The binary prefix kibi means 1024; therefore, 1 kibibyte is . The unit symbol for the kibibyte is KiB. The unit was established by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 1999 and has been accepted for use...
RAM and 12 MiB
Mebibyte
The mebibyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The binary prefix mebi means 220, therefore 1 mebibyte is . The unit symbol for the mebibyte is MiB. The unit was established by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 2000 and has been accepted for use by all major...
hard drive space and a 68030-processor (or better) or a Power Macintosh
Power Macintosh
Power Macintosh, later Power Mac, was a line of Apple Macintosh workstation-class personal computers based on various models of PowerPC microprocessors that were developed, marketed, and supported by Apple Inc. from March 1994 until August 2006. The first models were the Power Macintosh 6100,...
. The price would be 169 DM and it would be distributed as a trial shareware
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
program.
The specifications were met by the technology world with a mixture of enthusiasm and suspicion. Although some of the least plausible claims from the Heise article were later adjusted by Omega on their website, many experts still doubted that Omega could have created such an operating system without Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
's assistance.
According to an interview with Omega's CEO on German Mac site MacGadget in October 1, COS development had been going on for 7 years, originally planned as a B2 module for Copland
Copland (operating system)
Copland was a project at Apple Computer to create an updated version of the Macintosh operating system. It was to have introduced protected memory, preemptive multitasking and a number of new underlying operating system features, yet still be compatible with existing Mac software...
. 20 developers in Germany and USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
were currently working on the project. It did not use any Apple code, except for the Macintosh ROM.
The Heise article claimed that the first public demonstration would happen at the MacWorld
Macworld
Macworld is a web site and monthly computer magazine dedicated to Apple Macintosh products. It is published by Mac Publishing, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California...
conference in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, Germany on November 13, 1997. Heise editorial staff was offered a private demonstration prior to the conference, but it was cancelled because alleged "changed development goals" and attempts to be compatible with the Common Hardware Reference Platform
Common Hardware Reference Platform
Common Hardware Reference Platform was a standard system architecture for PowerPC based computer systems published jointly by IBM and Apple in 1995. Like its predecessor PReP, it was conceptualized as a design to allow various operating systems to run on an industry standard hardware platform,...
. The November 13 delivery date was reiterated as "100% certain" in a October 6 Heise article. Omega prepared for the conference and even uploaded detailed installation instructions for the operating system shortly before it was supposed to be released. When MacWorld came, there was much disappointment to find that Omega's presence at the exhibition floor was limited to pamphlet hand-outs, and that no operating system became available from Omega's FTP
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
site.
In December 1997, Omega publicly said that they were searching for a new investment partner, because their current one "was becoming impatient".
On December 31, COS topped the annual vaporware list compiled by Wired Magazine. Wired rhetorically asked, "Is the long-promised COS vaporware or an elaborate prank?", dubbing it "The X-Files operating system". The nickname was a reference to an X-Files episode (Ghost in the Machine) in which a computer called COS was trying to terminate the series' protagonists, Mulder
Fox Mulder
FBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...
and Scully
Dana Scully
FBI Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully, M.D. is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series The X-Files , played by Gillian Anderson. She also appeared in two theatrical films based on the series...
.
Alleged specifications
Although the specifications claimed by Omega varied widely, here is a list of some of the features that the OS supposedly had:- B2 security classification
- Preemptive multitasking
- Clustering features
- Mac OS compatibility
- Capable of running approximately 85% of System 7 and Mac OS 8 applications
- Full QuickTime implementation
- Full compatibility with all Adobe SystemsAdobe SystemsAdobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
applications - No need for a Mac ROM
- System requirements
- RAM requirements of 500–4000 KiB
- Disk space requirements of 12–15 MiB
External links
- Original Heise article — September 25, 1997, in GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
- Second Heise article — October 6, 1997, in German
- A compilation of various links and thoughts related to COS
- The X-Files Operating System? — December 31, 1997, Wired article
- Vaporware 1997: We Hardly Knew Ye — December 31, 1997, Wired 1997 vaporware list