Running an operating system in your web browser is easier than you might think, and there are a few options you can try right now.

Basically it’s an operating system that uses a Linux kernel, the WINE compatibility layer for Windows applications, and the ReactOS userland, plus a few other odds and ends to let you run Win32 apps.

Developers talk a lot about “immutability.” Outside the technical world, it usually means something negative: unmoving, inflexible, and entrenched. However, in the technical field, these features ...