Hi Mozilla-Team! Is it possible, that you create a project, which creates a non-Java-like free Virtual-Machine? I think that the Operating Systems itself are in the future more and more unimportant. The desktop is the important thing. Look at your Mozilla and OpenOffice: Both creating programs for the different Operating Systems. But, there existing a lot of #ifdef 's in it. And the compiled programs are platform- and hardware-dependent! And all your Mozilla-code must been new compiled for all Operating Systems. Microsoft have recognized it, and have started theire .NET-strategy. There is a VM (Virtual Machine), which makes the software hardware-independent (and if the VM is ported to other systems, it is platform-independent, too). Microsofts VM, is like the JavaVM, but with a lot of extensions. So, it is possible, to create C and C++-compiler for this VM. And Microsofts VM is faster, then the JavaVM. A related project, which have a Unix-like API is called ICVM (http://www.xmission.com/~icvm/). But Microsofts VM and the ICVM are both _not_ OpenSource. The ICVM-programmer say on there homepage, that theire VM is it, but thats not true. The source-code, which they have published is very shrouded. But the advantage of ICVM is, that it is very fast. Test the 3D-shooter-game DOOM, which they have ported to ICVM. All programs, which run on theire VM, runs so fast like native-code! I think, that we need something like this. We need a free VM (best, if its under the GPL and/or LGPL). I think, that VMs are in the future more and more important. And if the OpenSource-community don't have an own VM, we are dependent on proprietary-solutions, too. We have OpenSource Operating-Systems like Linux, HURD, FreeDOS, AtheOS (http://www.atheos.cx), and anything else. But if in the future, the most programs are written for VMs, and the OpenSource-community have no VM, than we have the same problem, like in Microsoft best days: To run the programs we need a fundamental program (program, on which other programs are based), which is proprietary. But I think, that _all_ fundamental programs must been free. So, we need a free and open VM. Patrick
