[ Thanks to Kelly
McNeill for this link. ]
“In the case of MP3s I need a decoder to play them. The same MP3
is decoded the same way by Winamp and XMMS. The difference between
Winamp and XMMS is that they derive their functions (GUI layout,
for example) from the OS (the former from Windows, the latter from
Linux-X-GTK). But I do not require a separate data (music) file for
Winamp and XMMS. Both have the same decoder, which is a virtual
machine that can decode the same file.”
“In fact, the only things which cannot run on both platforms are
the executables. They derive their functions from the operating
systems, so that the same executable cannot run on a different
system. Here my “Test Drive Problem” is still in effect: the lack
of a virtual machine for unified computing….”
“However, while Sun is anti-Microsoft, it is not anti-monopoly.
No company is. If Microsoft is against a hardware monopoly, it is
only because it wants to propagate its software monopoly. If Sun is
against a standalone-software monopoly, it is only because it wants
to hold a monopoly on its Java Virtual Machine. What is needed
is a HAL with a monopoly-prohibitive license – in other worlds, the
GNU GPL. A HAL with a standards-base community to keep everything
compatible, just like Linux, just like the Internet, which are
unified even though they are multi-platform and
non-proprietary.“