> Wouldn't even be surprised if Windows itself would do a similar thing like GPU drivers and fix some compatibility problems for well-known applications
Raymond Chen (Microsoft) wrote a book about it all, and runs a blog which mentions instances too - sorry, I don't have the links to hand, but he is easily found.
For important stuff like SimCity and Doom for example the Windows developers tested those apps to find any issues, debugged them, and actually made Windows change its behaviour depending upon the app that was running.
It didn't even matter that a bug was down to a game using undocumented features as the team knew Windows would still get the blame from the public/press for it not running, so it became necessary to make sure they worked even if Windows itself had to have per-program hacks added.
Raymond Chen (Microsoft) wrote a book about it all, and runs a blog which mentions instances too - sorry, I don't have the links to hand, but he is easily found.
For important stuff like SimCity and Doom for example the Windows developers tested those apps to find any issues, debugged them, and actually made Windows change its behaviour depending upon the app that was running.
It didn't even matter that a bug was down to a game using undocumented features as the team knew Windows would still get the blame from the public/press for it not running, so it became necessary to make sure they worked even if Windows itself had to have per-program hacks added.