hackertube.io

The Mind Behind Windows: Dave Cutler

Dave's Garage · interview · Watch on YouTube

Operating systems & kernelsTech pioneers & interviewsHistory of computing

What it is

Dave Plummer interviews Dave Cutler, architect of VMS and Windows NT, in a roughly three-hour conversation about his career and the history of Windows.

Why Hacker News recommends it

Recommended as a long, excellent first-hand interview with a legendary OS designer, though some note it is light on technical detail.

  • 4 people recommended it
  • 3 different months
  • 1 strong recommendations
  • first 2023, last 2026

What HN commenters said

  1. “Worth the 3 hours it takes.”

    Long interview with Cutler on Windows history.

    vetinari, 2023-11 · Strong recommendation · in “Ubuntu: ~20% More Performance Than Windows 11 on New AMD Zen 4 Threadripper”

  2. “there is an excellent 3 hour long interview with Dave Cutler on that channel.”

    Excellent three-hour Cutler interview.

    drewg123, 2023-11 · Recommendation · in “Windows NT: Peeking into the Cradle”

  3. “fantastic interview on YouTube with Dave Cutler”

    Long Cutler interview with shorter highlight clips.

    wil421, 2024-02 · Recommendation · in “Preview edition of Microsoft OS/2 2.0 sold on eBay”

  4. “His series on YouTube, Dave's Garage, has really helped me to conceptualize Operating Systems”

    Series on OS technology and company politics.

    progmetaldev, 2025-04 · Recommendation · in “How Big Is VMS?”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: dave cutler, windows nt, vms, operating systems, microsoft

Also recommended by the same people