diff --git a/projects/samskivert/src/java/com/samskivert/util/RunAnywhere.java b/projects/samskivert/src/java/com/samskivert/util/RunAnywhere.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..52726669
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/samskivert/src/java/com/samskivert/util/RunAnywhere.java
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+//
+// $Id: RunAnywhere.java,v 1.1 2003/05/02 23:47:39 mdb Exp $
+
+package com.samskivert.util;
+
+/**
+ * <cite>Write once, run anywhere.</cite> Well, at least that's what it
+ * said in the brochures. For those less than fresh days, you might need
+ * to use this class to work around bugs on particular operating systems.
+ */
+public class RunAnywhere
+{
+    /**
+     * Returns true if we're running in a JVM that identifies its
+     * operating system as Windows.
+     */
+    public static final boolean isWindows ()
+    {
+        return _isWindows;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns true if we're running in a JVM that identifies its
+     * operating system as MacOS.
+     */
+    public static final boolean isMacOS ()
+    {
+        return _isMacOS;
+    }
+
+    /** Flag indicating that we're on Windows; initialized when this class
+     * is first loaded. */
+    protected static boolean _isWindows;
+
+    /** Flag indicating that we're on MacOS; initialized when this class
+     * is first loaded. */
+    protected static boolean _isMacOS;
+
+    static {
+        try {
+            String osname = System.getProperty("os.name");
+            osname = (osname == null) ? "" : osname;
+            _isWindows = (osname.indexOf("Windows") != -1);
+            _isMacOS = (osname.indexOf("Mac OS") != -1 ||
+                        osname.indexOf("MacOS") != -1);
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            // dang, can't grab system properties; we'll just pretend
+            // we're not on any of these OSes
+        }
+    }
+}