As soon as it popped up, I was like; oh, shit, yup - there it is.
WinAmp and it's fantastically on-point UI-mockup and functionality was also a super nice touch.
tbh I still use Windows XP SP3 in my VM on my Mac for the occasional Windows utility I need. It's super no-cruft and lightweight - especially as a VM - compared to anything since - and is surprisingly compatible. Because it's in a VM, I'm not too worried about the security issues, and most of the Windows-only utilities I use are fairly archaic anyway. (In computer years)
I am hoping to someday see total stability in ReactOS to the level where we can use that as a Windows VM. I forget what that VirtualBox mode is I think its called Seamless it would be neat to be able to just run ReactOS in Seamless mode in a VM with low memory footprint.
Windows has become a 20+GB OS with a mess of dumbed down UIs. So yes, XP was effective and light by today's standards. That's partially because your current mobile phones are more powerful than the PCs that used to run XP.
This is excellent, with the very minor detail of the fonts, which look a little off, and perhaps a little too anti-aliased? This seems to be the main issue with all web-based retro simulations of Windows 9x and XP. I'm guessing this is because the default font (Tahoma?) isn't freely licensed? Everything else is spot on, though!
I thought someone else in the thread said they did work.
That's a lot more work than a quick easter egg, I'm just impressed it's as complete as it is. And a lot of the places where it's not (Antivirus popup) are funnier by not being implemented.
In a moment of serendipity, I was just finishing up a tiny project prompted by a moment of nostalgia: installing a Windows XP system under VirtualBox and getting the internet working on it.
I always had fond memories of Win2k and WinXP and I wanted to know if my feelings today would match what I remembered, or if I was just seeing the past through rose-coloured glasses.
I couldn't get IE to co-operate with modern browsing bar a few websites, I'm assuming this was to do with SSL. I did get Firefox 41 .0 working a few minutes ago and immediately went to HN to test it (as an easy https-enabled text-based website) only to find this to be the top post.
For those curious, clicking Help -> Is this copy of Windows legal? goes to a 404 [0] page in IE.
To answer my own question: Windows XP feels incredibly more user-friendly and accessible than the version of Windows 10 that I bailed from to Linux. I don't know how much of that is familiarity and how much is actual difference, though I did use Windows 10 far longer than I did Windows XP before finally deciding it's not working for me.
Why are there two control panels? Why do I have to move the mouse all over the screen to click something because the OS uses a weird mix of desktop-oriented and touchscreen-oriented design? Why do I have to dive into the guts of the system to disable the invasive features that track me and send my information to Microsoft?
Opening Windows Media Player prompted me with some privacy options such as obtaining licensing info and sending diagnostics back to Microsoft, each of which were clearly explained and had to be toggled on/off in the setup. It was so clearly out of the norm at the time that they went out of their way to make it visible. I feel like today it would not even warrant a mention, bar locales where that's required by law.
Perhaps I'm wrong, but with WinXP it feels like I own the system. The customer-merchant relationship is clear. I paid Microsoft money, they provided me with software and now I am using it. 15 years ago I never would have though to consider that a company whose software I use would be selling my personal data to figure out exactly what kind of ads I should see.
Using Windows 10 now feels like a constant battle between me and the company that sold me the software ("do you want to enable Cortana? can we send your keyboard input to our servers? can we update your system without permission unless you have an enterprise account? can we, can we, can we...")
I'm not RMS. I don't care if companies use binary blobs to distribute drivers or collect basic usage info without full disclosure. Yet I still feel the pendulum has swung too far and its momentum continues to push it in the same direction. In both UI design and privacy.
I'm glad that there are still a vocal group of enthusiastic people that are keeping the spirit of FOSS alive, but I'm concerned about the commoditization of our information.
Phew, sorry, I got really bloody off-topic. Great website! It didn't work on my WinXP VM under Firefox or IE but it did work on my Linux system. Congrats!
Browservice renders navigable screenshots in IE or any other browser, using a modern counterpart as its proxy (although using it might feel like cheating):
> Opening Windows Media Player prompted me with some privacy options such as obtaining licensing info and sending diagnostics back to Microsoft, each of which were clearly explained and had to be toggled on/off in the setup. It was so clearly out of the norm at the time that they went out of their way to make it visible. I feel like today it would not even warrant a mention, bar locales where that's required by law.
Windows 10 will ask you questions about many privacy/diagnostics/tracking-related options during setup. Here’s a YouTube video of someone picking the wrong answers for all the questions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvgL2NI22Ks
Not quite Win2k in the browser [0] but it's a pretty good simulation of Windows. Sounds like this would be a fun project for trying out new frameworks.
It's missing one feature that's been in Windows since 1.0: closing an application by clicking the top left (icon) in the task bar.
I love windows xp. always have and still find it eaiser and more intuitive than windows 10. I encourage everyone to donate and support reactOS. It's our only hope for a sane open source OS.
Windows XP is reportedly the last version of Windows where Bill Gates played a key role in its creation and quality control – something he was very good at. In my view he should return to this job and stop listening to the Melinda Gates and Lorraine Jobs of the world encouraging him to work on saving the universe when Windows has been going downhill ever since he left.
If Bill were to start with a Windows XP sp3 base, here are a bakers dozen of tasks to get him and his new software team started. I am calling this new product Windows XP-TNG for now. Feel free to add to this list:
1. WinXP-TNG should be 64 bit only, at the same level of reliability or better as Win XP 32 bit. Support for disks larger than 2tb and main memory greater than 4gb.
2. USB 3 support.
3. Investigate if and how this 48 bit address business could be expanded to the full 64 bits.
4. DirectX 12 support
5. Directory printer option (like the best add-on utilities provide)
6. Print to PDF file print driver (better than the best add-on utilities provide)
7. Integrate the old Office 2003 into Windows XP-TNG without separate activation. Customers that really want a newer Office would buy a Cloud version or the Windows 10 native app.
8. Integrate a “cleaner” utility that would remove any malware from PDF, and, if needed, epub files.
9. Deleted file recovery (beyond restore points). Search entire disk and rebuild desired directory entries functionality (much better than the best add-on utilities provide).
10. One button setup of “classic” Win 95/2000 options and developer settings like View-Details.
11. Fix bug that causes large, say 1tb file transfers, with Copy-Paste to fail. Drag-and-Drop works ok.
12. Long-term bug fixing and cybersecurity support.
13. Option for automatic registry backups, user can delay and specify number of backups before recycling.
Aerospace. A specific instrument requires that its code is compiled with a gcc version from the nineties. It has been working since then and introducing a new compiler would change the binary generated, thus nullifying all the accumulated flight hours.
And why windows XP? Well, the gcc binary is 16 bit...
There are a lot of potential solutions and tbh changing my host OS didn't occur to me. I don't think I would do it though, as the current plan is to recompile the desired version with a modern gcc. It's one of those tasks that stay on the backlog though..
True, I didn't mean that the entire binary is the same, but since most of the compilation units remain untouched, they are compiled to the same machine code. Fixing a bug or introducing a small new change is one thing, but compiling the entire codebase with a different compiler would change everything
I'm in the same boat here, keeping an XP-VM with NetCobol from 95 running to support COBOL reports that were ported from an HP3000 in the mid 90s. The NetCobol activation no longer works so I did a P2V conversion to make sure it doesn't die before we're COBOL free (if ever?).
155 comments
[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 209 ms ] threadThough, I'm not sure if I trust that OS since I see a tooltip telling me that I don't have AV installed :)
https://github.com/captbaritone/webamp
That extra detail made it very realistic.
As soon as it popped up, I was like; oh, shit, yup - there it is.
WinAmp and it's fantastically on-point UI-mockup and functionality was also a super nice touch.
tbh I still use Windows XP SP3 in my VM on my Mac for the occasional Windows utility I need. It's super no-cruft and lightweight - especially as a VM - compared to anything since - and is surprisingly compatible. Because it's in a VM, I'm not too worried about the security issues, and most of the Windows-only utilities I use are fairly archaic anyway. (In computer years)
Windows has become a 20+GB OS with a mess of dumbed down UIs. So yes, XP was effective and light by today's standards. That's partially because your current mobile phones are more powerful than the PCs that used to run XP.
That's a lot more work than a quick easter egg, I'm just impressed it's as complete as it is. And a lot of the places where it's not (Antivirus popup) are funnier by not being implemented.
I always had fond memories of Win2k and WinXP and I wanted to know if my feelings today would match what I remembered, or if I was just seeing the past through rose-coloured glasses.
I couldn't get IE to co-operate with modern browsing bar a few websites, I'm assuming this was to do with SSL. I did get Firefox 41 .0 working a few minutes ago and immediately went to HN to test it (as an easy https-enabled text-based website) only to find this to be the top post.
For those curious, clicking Help -> Is this copy of Windows legal? goes to a 404 [0] page in IE.
To answer my own question: Windows XP feels incredibly more user-friendly and accessible than the version of Windows 10 that I bailed from to Linux. I don't know how much of that is familiarity and how much is actual difference, though I did use Windows 10 far longer than I did Windows XP before finally deciding it's not working for me.
Why are there two control panels? Why do I have to move the mouse all over the screen to click something because the OS uses a weird mix of desktop-oriented and touchscreen-oriented design? Why do I have to dive into the guts of the system to disable the invasive features that track me and send my information to Microsoft?
Opening Windows Media Player prompted me with some privacy options such as obtaining licensing info and sending diagnostics back to Microsoft, each of which were clearly explained and had to be toggled on/off in the setup. It was so clearly out of the norm at the time that they went out of their way to make it visible. I feel like today it would not even warrant a mention, bar locales where that's required by law.
Perhaps I'm wrong, but with WinXP it feels like I own the system. The customer-merchant relationship is clear. I paid Microsoft money, they provided me with software and now I am using it. 15 years ago I never would have though to consider that a company whose software I use would be selling my personal data to figure out exactly what kind of ads I should see.
Using Windows 10 now feels like a constant battle between me and the company that sold me the software ("do you want to enable Cortana? can we send your keyboard input to our servers? can we update your system without permission unless you have an enterprise account? can we, can we, can we...")
I'm not RMS. I don't care if companies use binary blobs to distribute drivers or collect basic usage info without full disclosure. Yet I still feel the pendulum has swung too far and its momentum continues to push it in the same direction. In both UI design and privacy.
I'm glad that there are still a vocal group of enthusiastic people that are keeping the spirit of FOSS alive, but I'm concerned about the commoditization of our information.
Phew, sorry, I got really bloody off-topic. Great website! It didn't work on my WinXP VM under Firefox or IE but it did work on my Linux system. Congrats!
[0] https://i.imgur.com/M2NoHrt.png
- https://github.com/ttalvitie/browservice
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23595430
Windows 10 will ask you questions about many privacy/diagnostics/tracking-related options during setup. Here’s a YouTube video of someone picking the wrong answers for all the questions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvgL2NI22Ks
It's missing one feature that's been in Windows since 1.0: closing an application by clicking the top left (icon) in the task bar.
[0]: https://bellard.org/jslinux/vm.html?url=win2k.cfg&mem=192&gr...
https://imgur.com/a/GGwKJQo
Nice work ShizukuIchi!
Other than that well done :)
If Bill were to start with a Windows XP sp3 base, here are a bakers dozen of tasks to get him and his new software team started. I am calling this new product Windows XP-TNG for now. Feel free to add to this list:
1. WinXP-TNG should be 64 bit only, at the same level of reliability or better as Win XP 32 bit. Support for disks larger than 2tb and main memory greater than 4gb.
2. USB 3 support.
3. Investigate if and how this 48 bit address business could be expanded to the full 64 bits.
4. DirectX 12 support
5. Directory printer option (like the best add-on utilities provide)
6. Print to PDF file print driver (better than the best add-on utilities provide)
7. Integrate the old Office 2003 into Windows XP-TNG without separate activation. Customers that really want a newer Office would buy a Cloud version or the Windows 10 native app.
8. Integrate a “cleaner” utility that would remove any malware from PDF, and, if needed, epub files.
9. Deleted file recovery (beyond restore points). Search entire disk and rebuild desired directory entries functionality (much better than the best add-on utilities provide).
10. One button setup of “classic” Win 95/2000 options and developer settings like View-Details.
11. Fix bug that causes large, say 1tb file transfers, with Copy-Paste to fail. Drag-and-Drop works ok.
12. Long-term bug fixing and cybersecurity support.
13. Option for automatic registry backups, user can delay and specify number of backups before recycling.
https://bellard.org/jslinux/vm.html?url=win2k.cfg&mem=192&gr...
And Windows 95 in a browser:
https://copy.sh/v86/?profile=windows95
And Windows 3.1 in a browser:
https://www.pcjs.org/software/pcx86/sys/windows/3.10/
But, impressive and awesome :)
Do you mind me asking what you do that requires this?
And why windows XP? Well, the gcc binary is 16 bit...
Surely making a code change and recompiling would also change the binary?