FreeLists / openbeos / [openbeos] Re: Binary compatibility with Linux, and Be OS

[Charlie Clark <charlie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 2002-11-06 at 22:11:46 [+0100], openbeos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> And with this server have all the system calls adapted to OBOS's calls 
> and add some compatibility between the two and you will have Linux 
> programs running on BeOS, I know it is more complicated than what it 
> sounds but if enough determination and effort, it can happen.

Sure it can happen. But why?

I can understand the reason for Wine: run Windows applications without 
paying for the Microsoft Windows TM but as OS/2 proved quite conclusively: 
there is are few reasons for people to change operating systems to run the 
same programs (even if they run better and safer). So spreading the already 
very thin resources even thinner to serve a constituency which will find no 
benefit (any emulation is probably likely to run more slowly than the 
original) is idealistic at the least. In recent discussions I've been 
reminded of the importance of the Amiga community: it is *far* larger than 
the BeOS community (I guess larger than the Linux community) and kind of 
stranded desperately looking for a replacement hardware/software community. 
At least 60% of the BeOS users I know come from the Amiga community. Now I 
can see the point in addressing their needs for compatability.

Charlie