Making Tech Headlines · Page 8
Compatibility Builds a Side Door
· New York time
Wine has been ported to OpenBSD, and developers report that dozens of 64-bit Windows applications now run on the operating system. There is a substantial limit: without WoW64 support, 32-bit Windows software will not work. For users, compatibility work can make the difference between choosing an operating system freely and keeping another machine around for one stubborn application. It is less glamorous than a new device, but potentially more relevant to the person whose useful program refuses to move house. OpenBSD developer Thomas Frohwein reports that even the recently released Witcher 3 remaster runs well. That gives gamers a concrete example, rather than an unlimited compatibility promise. The broader value is choice. When more existing software can run in another environment, users have another way to assess a platform on its merits rather than on the inconvenience of leaving. There is also a pleasingly stubborn quality to this engineering. While the consumer industry urges everyone toward the next sealed ecosystem, compatibility developers keep working on doors. Their product pitch is effectively that a program should not need a new wardrobe and a passport simply to visit another operating system. Some older guests, however, still cannot get through this entrance.
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