Containers vs VMs: containers share the host kernel and are lighter, VMs have full OS isolation

Why can't you run a Windows app on a Mac?

Imagine you're trying to play a video game designed for Windows on your Mac, but it won't work. You're stuck because your Mac can't run Windows games directly.

Think of your Mac as a house and the Windows game as a guest. Normally, guests need their own room (Windows OS) to stay comfortable. But what if you could magically share the same room with the guest while keeping everything else in your house separate? That's what VMs do for computers.

Example

You have a Mac (your house) and want to run a Windows game (your guest). Instead of building a whole new room (Windows OS) inside your house, you create a magical room (VM) that lets the guest use your house's space while staying in their own room.

Remember this

VMs let you run different operating systems on the same computer without needing separate physical machines.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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