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My understanding that this was mainly about moving graphic drivers back into kernel space from user space (circa NT 4.0).

and now they tout it as a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_kernel

NT derived from Mica, DEC's microkernel OS project for their research RISC architecture PRISM. When DEC cancelled Mica along with PRISM — flirting briefly with MIPS before finishing Alpha — project lead Dave Cutler and some of his team took it to Microsoft. (The eventual settlement had MS support NT on Alpha until DEC collapsed from mismanagement.)