Hey there, google translate isn't being very clear here... What is Linus getting at?
https://groups.google.com/group/sfnet.atk.sodat/msg/9d730043aa229345?hl=fi&dmode=source
Quick'n'dirty translation:
That's a no.
Amiga has a "pseudo-pre-emptive" multitasking, which Amiga-people call pre-emptive, but which certainly isn't that. In this regard WinNT is lightyears ahead.
TRUE pre-emptive multitasking means that the operating system can pull the CPU under the program and run some other program in the meanwhile. Amiga doesn't have such a multitasking, partly because of the lack of memory protetion. Whatever application can take over the system fully and prevent the multitasking.
The Amiga multitasking is co-operative because it requires that the applications agree to the multitasking and aid it (that's what the "co-operative" means anyway, check the dictionary, although I guess it'd better be a english one 
. QED.
Agreed, writing such an application requires some nifty coding (but not that much) or some bad luck (again not that much either). For example with Win3.11 writing such application is magnitude easier.
But in _real_ operating systems (which I suppose includes NT) you can't create such an application without the root permissions.
His point is that no user application should be able to lock up the multitasking without explicit permission from the super user. He has issue with application such as:
int main(void) { Disable(); for(;;); }
