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The engineer who built Windows Task Manager in the 90s says its 80KB footprint was a feature not an accident
Winsage
April 13, 2026

The engineer who built Windows Task Manager in the 90s says its 80KB footprint was a feature not an accident

David Plummer, a veteran Microsoft engineer, created the original Windows Task Manager (Taskmgr.exe) in the 1990s, which had a file size of only 80KB. This small size was crucial for its functionality during system freezes. Plummer used a mutex to check if another instance of the program was running, allowing for efficient operation without complex process lists or loops. His recent reflections in early 2026 have sparked discussions about the evolution of software, particularly criticizing Windows 11 for straying from its foundational purpose and emphasizing resource efficiency. The 1990s hardware constraints forced developers to innovate, contrasting with today's environment where abundant resources allow for less efficient applications. Plummer's mutex technique is now seen as a benchmark in application design, highlighting a generational shift in development practices. The discourse around his 80KB Task Manager raises questions about the future of software procurement and the importance of memory footprint in purchasing decisions.
Original Windows Task Manager Was Just 80 KB, Says Microsoft Engineer
Winsage
April 12, 2026

Original Windows Task Manager Was Just 80 KB, Says Microsoft Engineer

The original Windows Task Manager was 80 KB in size, while its current version is 4 MB. Dave Plummer designed it to remain operational during system freezes, emphasizing that every line of code has a cost. The Task Manager could manage multiple instances by sending private messages to existing ones and launching new instances if the original was unresponsive. It utilized global strings and direct access to the kernel’s process table for speed and efficiency. Users have noted that modern systems consume more resources for similar tasks compared to older versions like Windows 7.
Database Branching in Postgres: Git-Style Workflows with Databricks Lakebase
Tech Optimizer
April 11, 2026

Database Branching in Postgres: Git-Style Workflows with Databricks Lakebase

Database branching is a modern approach that addresses the limitations of traditional database management in development workflows. Unlike conventional database copies, which require significant time and resources to duplicate data and schema, database branching allows for the creation of isolated environments that share the same underlying storage. This method utilizes a copy-on-write mechanism, enabling branches to be created in seconds regardless of database size, with storage costs tied only to the changes made. Key features of database branching include: - Branch creation time: Seconds, constant regardless of database size. - Storage cost: Proportional to changes only, not the total data size. - Isolation: Each branch has its own Postgres connection string and compute endpoint. - Automatic scaling: Idle branches can scale compute to zero, incurring costs only when active. The architecture supporting this approach separates compute from storage, allowing multiple branches to reference the same data without conflict. This design facilitates time travel capabilities, enabling branches to be created from any point in the past for instant recovery and inspection. Database branching unlocks new workflows, such as: - One branch per developer, providing isolated environments for each engineer. - One branch per pull request, automating branch creation and deletion tied to PRs. - One branch per test run, provisioning fresh databases for each CI pipeline execution. - Instant recovery from any point in time within a designated restore window. - Ephemeral environments for AI agents, allowing programmatic database provisioning. Databricks Lakebase offers this database branching capability, transforming the database from a bottleneck into a streamlined component of the development process.
Disgruntled researcher drops “BlueHammer” Windows zero-day LPE exploit
Winsage
April 7, 2026

Disgruntled researcher drops “BlueHammer” Windows zero-day LPE exploit

A security researcher, known as "Nightmare-Eclipse," released proof-of-concept exploit code for a Windows zero-day vulnerability called "BlueHammer," which allows local privilege escalation (LPE). The exploit has been validated by another researcher, Will Dormann, who confirmed it can escalate privileges on Windows systems, allowing non-administrative users to gain SYSTEM-level access. The exploit's reliability varies across different Windows versions, with inconsistent success rates reported. Microsoft has not acknowledged the vulnerability or provided a patch, raising concerns about potential exploitation by threat actors. Users are advised to restrict local user access, monitor for suspicious activity, and enable advanced endpoint protection.
Linux 7.0 Cuts PostgreSQL Performance in Half
Tech Optimizer
April 5, 2026

Linux 7.0 Cuts PostgreSQL Performance in Half

An AWS engineer reported a significant drop in PostgreSQL throughput on Linux 7.0, with performance reduced to approximately half of its previous capability. Benchmark tests showed that the removal of the PREEMPT_NONE scheduling option was the main cause of this regression. On a 96-vCPU Graviton4 instance, throughput measured at just 0.51x compared to earlier kernel versions. Salvatore Dipietro from Amazon/AWS conducted benchmarking analysis of PostgreSQL 17, revealing that Linux 7.0 delivered only 0.51x the throughput of its predecessors. The root cause was traced to kernel commit 7dadeaa6e851, which eliminated PREEMPT_NONE as the default option, leading to increased contention due to the new PREEMPT_LAZY model. Profiling data indicated that 55% of CPU time is consumed by spinning in PostgreSQL’s spinlock, causing significant performance degradation. When a revert patch was applied, throughput rebounded to 1.94x the baseline. The decision to restrict preemption modes in Linux 7.0 aimed to address issues within the kernel's scheduling model. Dipietro proposed a patch to restore PREEMPT_NONE, but kernel developers suggested PostgreSQL adopt the rseq time slice extension instead. Database operators running PostgreSQL on Linux face potential performance reductions with the upgrade to Linux 7.0.
AWS Engineer Reports PostgreSQL Performance Halved By Linux 7.0, But A Fix May Not Be Easy
Tech Optimizer
April 4, 2026

AWS Engineer Reports PostgreSQL Performance Halved By Linux 7.0, But A Fix May Not Be Easy

An engineer from Amazon/AWS reported a significant performance regression in PostgreSQL when running on the nearly finalized Linux 7.0 kernel, with throughput dropping to about half of previous kernel versions. The regression, observed on a Graviton4 server, is attributed to increased time spent in a user-space spinlock due to changes in preemption modes in Linux 7.0. A patch to revert to PREEMPT_NONE as the default preemption model has been submitted but may not be adopted. Peter Zijlstra suggested that PostgreSQL should adapt to utilize the Restartable Sequences (RSEQ) time slice extension to mitigate the performance drop. If this adaptation is accepted, the responsibility for the performance decline may shift to PostgreSQL, potentially affecting users until the database is updated. The stable release of Linux 7.0 is expected in about two weeks, coinciding with the launch of Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.
'Every Microsoft engineer got a stopwatch,' says Windows veteran reminiscing about company's past focus on speed — asserts that 'everything' was timed to ensure acceptable performance in the 1980s
Winsage
April 4, 2026

‘Every Microsoft engineer got a stopwatch,’ says Windows veteran reminiscing about company’s past focus on speed — asserts that ‘everything’ was timed to ensure acceptable performance in the 1980s

Steven Sinofsky, a former president of Microsoft’s Windows Division, reflected on the coding practices at Microsoft during the 1980s, highlighting that every engineer received a stopwatch to promote efficiency. He noted that these stopwatches were used for tasks such as scroll speed, boot time, and resource management. Sinofsky stated that from 1980 to 2000, managing resource usage constituted half of software engineering. He shared a humorous anecdote about a colleague's request for a free stopwatch in 1993, which was deemed too expensive by Microsoft. In response to criticism regarding the performance of its Windows operating system, Microsoft has committed to improving performance, reducing overhead, and enhancing reliability across its services. The company aims to be more intentional about resource utilization and feature integration.
Microsoft veteran says some 'broken by update' PCs were already doomed
Winsage
April 2, 2026

Microsoft veteran says some ‘broken by update’ PCs were already doomed

Many corporate customers believe that recent Microsoft updates have rendered their systems inoperable, but often the issues are not caused by the updates themselves. Instead, underlying problems, such as prior changes to drivers or group policies, become apparent after a system restart prompted by the update. The act of rebooting can trigger these hidden issues, leading to system failures. Additionally, Microsoft has faced scrutiny regarding the reliability of its updates, as administrators have expressed concerns about their stability.
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