<s>
Galileo	B-Operating_System
was	O
an	O
unreleased	O
32-bit	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
that	O
was	O
under	O
development	O
by	O
Acorn	O
Computers	O
as	O
a	O
long-term	O
project	O
to	O
produce	O
"	O
an	O
ultra-modern	O
scalable	O
,	O
portable	O
,	O
multi-tasking	O
,	O
multi-threading	O
,	O
object-oriented	O
,	O
microkernel	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
"	O
,	O
reportedly	O
significant	O
enough	O
to	O
Acorn	O
's	O
strategy	O
to	O
warrant	O
a	O
statement	O
to	O
the	O
financial	O
markets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Announced	O
in	O
early	O
1997	O
as	O
targeting	O
"	O
the	O
next	O
generation	O
of	O
smart	O
appliances	O
"	O
,	O
running	O
initially	O
on	O
ARM	B-Architecture
architecture	I-Architecture
devices	O
but	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
easily	O
portable	O
to	O
"	O
other	O
RISC	O
processors	O
"	O
(	O
or	O
even	O
"	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
RISC	O
and	O
CISC	O
processors	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
emphasis	O
was	O
made	O
on	O
its	O
quality	O
of	O
service	O
features	O
that	O
would	O
guarantee	O
system	O
resources	O
to	O
critical	O
tasks	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
its	O
reliability	O
,	O
its	O
sophistication	O
relative	O
to	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
(	O
which	O
was	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
too	O
primitive	O
to	O
succeed	O
as	O
a	O
21st	O
century	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
"	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
small	O
footprint	O
that	O
would	O
"	O
enable	O
Acorn	O
to	O
compete	O
in	O
the	O
semi-embedded	O
systems	O
market	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
was	O
to	O
offer	O
an	O
"	O
innovative	O
modular	O
real	O
time	O
kernel	O
"	O
,	O
also	O
described	O
as	O
a	O
microkernel	O
with	O
a	O
hardware	O
abstraction	O
layer	O
,	O
having	O
a	O
footprint	O
of	O
only	O
15KB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kernel	O
responsibilities	O
included	O
memory	O
allocation	O
,	O
interrupt	O
handling	O
,	O
direct	B-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
access	I-General_Concept
services	O
,	O
scheduling	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
resource	O
allocation	O
required	O
by	O
the	O
quality	O
of	O
service	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Systems	O
using	O
Galileo	B-Operating_System
were	O
to	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
leverage	O
the	O
modularity	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
architecture	O
to	O
deliver	O
a	O
"	O
complete	O
customisable	O
software	O
stack	O
"	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
deployed	O
in	O
ROM	B-Device
,	O
with	O
system	O
modules	O
and	O
applications	O
being	O
executed	O
in-place	O
to	O
reduce	O
RAM	B-Architecture
requirements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
noted	O
that	O
"	O
virtually	O
all	O
Galileo	B-Operating_System
tasks	O
run	O
in	O
user	O
mode	O
"	O
,	O
with	O
"	O
complete	O
memory	O
and	O
CPU	O
usage	O
protection	O
"	O
enforced	O
to	O
uphold	O
the	O
quality	O
of	O
service	O
regime	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
was	O
scheduled	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
successor	O
of	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
,	O
although	O
Acorn	O
envisaged	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
remaining	O
relevant	O
for	O
"	O
high	O
functionality	O
ARM	B-Architecture
based	O
devices	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
short	O
to	O
medium	O
term	O
,	O
with	O
Galileo	B-Operating_System
being	O
aimed	O
at	O
"	O
portable	O
and	O
networked	O
interactive	O
media	O
devices	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
versions	O
for	O
existing	O
Acorn	O
customers	O
were	O
anticipated	O
by	O
the	O
second	O
half	O
of	O
1997	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Galileo	B-Operating_System
kernel	O
was	O
stated	O
as	O
having	O
been	O
"	O
up	O
and	O
running	O
"	O
as	O
a	O
prototype	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
project	O
was	O
cancelled	O
when	O
the	O
workstation	O
division	O
closed	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
Acorn	O
's	O
restructuring	O
in	O
1998	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
commercial	O
potential	O
of	O
Galileo	B-Operating_System
had	O
been	O
put	O
into	O
some	O
doubt	O
by	O
the	O
announcement	O
of	O
the	O
Symbian	B-Operating_System
alliance	O
which	O
established	O
Psion	O
's	O
EPOC	B-Language
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
as	O
the	O
basis	O
of	O
a	O
mobile	O
communications	O
platform	O
to	O
be	O
adopted	O
by	O
Nokia	O
and	O
Ericsson	O
,	O
with	O
Motorola	O
having	O
also	O
announced	O
a	O
commitment	O
to	O
the	O
initiative	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
Galileo	B-Operating_System
promising	O
to	O
be	O
"	O
technically	O
better	O
"	O
than	O
EPOC	B-Language
,	O
the	O
comparative	O
readiness	O
of	O
the	O
two	O
offerings	O
was	O
summarised	O
in	O
one	O
publication	O
's	O
remark	O
that	O
"	O
EPOC	B-Language
has	O
started	O
the	O
race	O
while	O
Galileo	B-Operating_System
is	O
still	O
in	O
the	O
pits	O
with	O
its	O
engine	O
in	O
bits	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
