FWIS3

Since we're on an OS design kick:

http://arrakis.cs.washington.edu/

From the sound of it, this is like a 64-bit, multitasking, multikernel, memory protected version of FreeDOS. I'm not sure if that's amazing or insane.

(NB, it's based on a Microsoft research OS called Barrelfish, which MS thankfully opened the source code for after abandoning. From when I last checked the sources, not a lot has yet been changed from Barrelfish.)

Reminds me of Plan 9 a bit

Wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.

The O/S sets up the paths and then lets the apps do the hardware themselves.
W.T.F.!!!

Totally against what an O/S is meant to do.
Here's an idea, lets make the most easily hacked system in the world and wonder why its screwed up.

Here's a better idea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Processor
Basically what I was talking about with the CPU also virtualised.
Years ahead of its time.
Maybe they need to resurrect it and demonstrate it running Windows 8.1 in a window and Linux in another window.