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My 64 bit Windows can’t run 32 bit programs natively. WOW64 does quite a lot of work under the hood to make them run, it translates WinAPI, redirects file syste
by Const-me 9y ago
My 64 bit Windows can’t run 32 bit programs natively. WOW64 does quite a lot of work under the hood to make them run, it translates WinAPI, redirects file system and registry, etc. Works quite well in practice.
I expect something similar will happen with Win32 apps in that new Windows 10.
- rbanffy 9y agoI think the point here is to break with legacy. It's expensive to keep it, error prone and it creates a lot of security issues. By shifting part of the work to software vendors, Microsoft forces the market to move on to newer APIs.
- Const-me 9y agoThat “legacy” i.e. backward compatibility is the major reason why people buy and use Windows. While indeed expensive to develop the platform, I think breaking it will be a disaster. See what happened with windows phones and tablets.
- rbanffy 9y agoI still think the number one reason people buy Windows is that it's what comes with their computers. I don't see that changing.
- pjmlp 9y agoRegular users only care about what is pre-installed with their hardware. Hence why the only way Linux (the kernel) only got successful for consumers with either a browser OS or a Java OS on top of it.