> NT was designed by the team that did VMS in a 3-month retreat to Hawaii. the design they created has lasted with very minor modifications for the last twenty years. can linux say the same?

How long does it take to design an OS, once you've already done one, and there are others to use as reference?

I don't think there was ever a similar moment in the history of Linux, because Linus copped the design of UNIX, and he states this freely and matter-of-factly.