Alice Averlong🏳️⚧️Someone really needs to develop a lightweight VM container that we can stuff software in. Like, you know how you can buy DOS games on steam, and it just gives you dosbox preconfigured to play the game?
That, but for all software on all OSes
The idea would be to have a standardized-as-much-as-possible VM interface, and then your OS can implement that. New OS just needs a new implementation.
The point is protection against compatibility problems: it should be possible to run a PC game from 1982 and a video editing program from 2005, in the same way and be sure that you'll still be able to run them in another 30 years.
Martyn Welch@foone unfortunately, I think xkcd has something covering this:
Also see, Java, POSIX...
The issue, I think, boils down to "why don't we all agree to live by the same rules". That's an open question that's probably existed in some form since the dawn of man and I suspect isn't going to be resolved any time soon.
