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It's funny how Windows 9x (and the 386-enhanced versions of 3.x) used "VM" to refer to DOS specifically. The legacy of real mode software was so towering even b
by kmeisthax 2mo ago
It's funny how Windows 9x (and the 386-enhanced versions of 3.x) used "VM" to refer to DOS specifically. The legacy of real mode software was so towering even back then that Intel had to build a mode to virtualize those apps specifically, despite x86 not being able to virtualize protected mode kernels until decades later. In what other CPU architecture do you get such specific amount of privilege isolation?
- icedchai 2mo agoTo be fair, almost all applications in the mid 1980's were real mode, so adding a feature that would allow virtualization of the vast majority of apps makes total sense. Remember, almost no software used the 286's "protected mode" capabilities. Intel wouldn't make the same mistake with the 386.