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> Since a each process gets its own entire 4GB virtual address space

2GB of which is reserved for kernel shenanigans unless everyone enabled /3GB in their kernel boot parameters (they haven't.)

Default allocators start failing at around half that amount.

Meanwhile I'm running out of memory on the new generation of consoles where I have 5GB of physical memory and no virtual memory fragmentation to worry about.

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Truth on the kernel. I'm used to working in an environment where we own the OS, the board design, and the design of many of the chips ... which means we can make it do whatever we need (downside is, you have to maintain it all too). However, our needs are unique enough to justify it -- computing is hard in an environment where atmospheric radiation can flip random bits for you (See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_event_upset).

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