I was thinking about Dosbox and how it emulates a DOS operating system so you can run games or programs in modern operating systems. Do you think eventually we will need something like this for Windows XP? It has been around for 12 years and so many programs & services rely on it. I know Windows 7 comes with a version of Virtual PC so you can run Windows XP, but its way to slow for games. As computers get faster and more optimized, do you think someone will write an emulator like Dosbox but for Windows XP? I have a feeling it might happen. Specially since there is no more support and compatibility mode won't last forever. Wine could be the answer because its not emulating Windows but utilizing the libraries, services and dependencies to "act" like Windows and have full access to hardware. This is what Windows gamers might need in order to run their old Windows XP compatible games in Wnidows versions to come. So far Windows 8 is doing a good job at running older games like Battlefield 2, but how long can Microsoft keep up this compatibility layer for programs that are 10+ years old? Is that even cost effective? Wine in Windows could work because its more developed and optimized to support Windows 2000 and XP.
I think the answer to your question could be ReactOS, but this project is still in alpha stage after many years of development. They actually rely on Wine to implement Windows API functionality but, from the little I know, so far only very few and old games can run on ReactOS. Anyway, if you are interested, there is also this page on WineHQ (no idea if they're joking or not).
I've heard of ReactOS, but didn't realize they were using Wine for compatibility. I've heard development is slow, but I'll keep my eye on it. Ooh, that WineHQ page is interesting. Thats exactly what I was talking about. Reading now Thanks
