Windows 95
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Windows 95 turned 25 today
Windows 95 is 25 -- yes, the Start menu has been around for that long.
You can play 'Doom' inside 'Minecraft' using a virtual PC
You can play 'Doom' inside 'Minecraft' thanks to a virtual Windows 95 PC.
In this 1996 video Apple talked incredibly polite trash about Windows 95
The debate between PC and Mac users over which system is better will likely never end, but since the fight rages on, we might as well enjoy its finer moments -- like this video Apple produced in 1996 talking polite trash about the Windows 95 operating system. Over the course of 26 minutes Apple's Mike Bobrowicz makes the case against Windows 95. You want to install a new hard drive on your Windows PC? Oh hell, you don't even know how hard that's going to be. Well, surely your PC can use a Mac-formatted disc? You're going to be sadly disappointed. Can you talk to your Windows 95 PC? Mac is ready and listening right now, in a way that (to be honest) wasn't nearly as useful as the video makes it seem like it was. This is easily the most polite trash talk ever released. If you enjoy cheesy vintage computer videos, pour yourself a nice drink and revel in the glory of 18-year-old technology.
The Game Archaeologist: Dark Sun Online
Computer RPG players in the late '80s and early '90s were surely familiar with Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) and its now-infamous Gold Box series. The series, so named because of their distinctive gold packaging, ran on a solid engine that helped the company churn out over a dozen titles within a five-year span. From Dungeons & Dragons' Pool of Radiance to Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday, these titles quickly became revered among the gaming community. I personally have very fond memories of playing both Buck Rogers titles, despite not having ever watched the show. While the Gold Box series has not become as timeless or replayable as late '90s classics like Baldur's Gate and Fallout, they definitely had a huge impact on the PC scene and helped elevate the CRPG genre. Following the Gold Box engine, SSI went on to produce another engine that it used for a completely new series set in the D&D campaign setting of Dark Sun. Dark Sun: Shattered Lands (1993) and Dark Sun: Wake of the Ravager (1994) were both modest hits, and when it came time for a third game in the series, SSI decided to make the leap to the then-untested realm of online gaming. What followed was a wild two-year experiment in MMOs that happened prior to the Ultima Online and EverQuest generation. While ultimately unsuccessful in achieving its potential or gaining a large audience, Dark Sun Online: Crimson Sands made a valiant attempt at achieving the inevitable future of gaming.
Guild Wars discontinuing support for old operating systems
If you're a Guild Wars player who's still playing on a pre-Windows XP operating system, you may want to look into an upgrade soon. ArenaNet announced today that beginning on June 14th of this year, the studio will no longer be supporting Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, and Windows ME. The announcement notes that this change will only affect about .05% of the game's current players, and it will allow ArenaNet to implement "features that will improve account management and security," so we'd say it's a pretty fair trade. At any rate, any players still running any of the archaic operating systems listed above have until June to make the switch, so don't tarry!
APK puts Windows 95, 98 and XP, plus Linux on the EVO 3D
And here you thought Microsoft bringing Windows 8 to ARM was big news. Turns out, a member of the xda-developers forum has managed to make an APK that puts a variety of Redmond's x86 operating systems on the HTC EVO 3D and its 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon silicon -- Windows 95, 98, XP and even your favorite flavor of Linux are all available for the three dee-equipped handset. All you need to do is install the Bochs Pentium emulator APK and the OS disk image of your choice, modify a couple files, and you'll be doing yesteryear's desktop computing on a handheld in no time. Feeling nostalgic? Detailed instructions how to do it yourself and the necessary files can be found at the source link below, but all we want to know is: does it do the blue screen of death or the force close dance when things go awry?
Race'n'Chase: Original GTA design docs posted
The original concept for Grand Theft Auto would see players committing only a few crimes, according to design documents posted by developer Mike Dailly that date back to sixteen years ago today. At that time, the early concept was for a game called Race'n'Chase. Its aim was "to produce a fun, addictive, and fast multi-player car racing and crashing game which uses a novel graphics method." The story? "The game will be set in a present-day world." (Period.) While it would take two and a half years -- and narrowly dodging cancellation, by another creator's account -- to flesh out the eventual game, Grand Theft Auto, the designers did have some inkling of the direction they would ultimately take, as detailed in the original pitch. "There will be 3 cities with a different graphic style for each city (e.g., New York, Venice, Miami)," wrote the heads of then DMA Design (now Rockstar North). "There will be many different missions to be played in each city." The initial mission types consisted of "a straight race across the city," a free-roaming demolition derby and a bank robbery. Other seeds for the mega-franchise-to-be were also planted in the early documents: "Pedestrians will be wandering about all of the time," notes one section, suggesting bystander types could include "schoolchildren" and a "lollipop lady." "They can be run over by cars." "It will also be possible for players to get out of their car and steal another one," the designers propose in the opening pitch, adding, "Trying to steal a car may result in an alarm being set off which will, of course, attract the police." Later, it's clarified that "police will be able to get out of their cars and shoot at the robbers." [Image credit: Mike Dailly; source: mikedailly/Flickr]
Found Footage: Windows 95, 3.1 running on jailbroken iPad
If you can get past the sight of Windows 3.11 (gack...) and Windows 95 (hurl!) running on an iPad, then hit the play button in the YouTube embed above and be prepared to be visually and audibly assaulted (by no less than Metallica). YouTube user MSComputerVideos provides a complete tutorial on how to make your iPad look like a relic from the 1990s by using a jailbroken iPad and the open-source Bochs emulator (frequently used for such efforts). A rip of the 'Kill 'Em All' t-shirt to tipster MS.
Windows 95 on iPad completes the Bill Gates vision (video)
Ok, ok, it's just Windows 95 running in an x86 emulator according to its creator. But even with such clumsy performance you know you love seeing it. Party like its 1995 without the Aqua Net after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Windows 95 on iPhone: the worst Parallels installation you've ever seen
Give a guy an iPhone, a jailbreak, and an open-source, cross-platform x86 emulator, and it's just a matter of time before hilarity ensues. In this case, said hilarity involves getting Windows 95 to boot on an iPhone 3G, a process that takes 5-10 minutes worth of pure boot time only to yield an environment useless for... well, actual use. In the video, we see the hack demonstrated both on an actual iPhone and within the Mac-based emulator, which we reckon is just about the most terrifying Parallels / VMware replacement we've ever encountered. Apparently, XP emulation and 3GS tests are up next -- the 3GS should perform marginally better on account of its faster core and more capacious RAM -- but that still won't cure the sting of being handily beaten to the milestone by the N95, will it? Follow the break for video of the mind-twisting Microsoft-on-Apple-on-Apple emulation in action.[Via Gizmodo and Good iPhone]
Guy runs Windows 95 on Wii, wonders why
Using a Wii version of the open source DOS emulator DOSbox, a Wii homebrew devotee has managed to get Windows 95 running on the console -- if your definition of "running" is "working, but just barely." In fact, the boot process spans most of two YouTube videos, which the author admits have been edited for brevity. (It takes upwards of 13 minutes just to see the taskbar.)You're probably asking yourself, "What's the point?" and "Why even try?" Well, to prove it can be done, of course. But even the one who did it -- while providing instructions on how to replicate the process -- advises against following in his footsteps, saying, "I did it and now I can move on to more productive things." But, hey, you could be doing worse things with the system. Waste your time with videos of Wiindows 95 in sort-of action after the break!
Windows 3.1 on S60 dude says 'why stop there,' ups the ante with Win95
Hey, look, it's Windows... mobile. Get it? You know, Windows 95 on a mobile device -- ah, never mind. Point is, the S60 port of DOSBox seems to be doing some really crazy, insane, questionably-useful things for Symbian-powered devices around the world, and when running Windows 3.1 on a 320 x 240 display just doesn't do it for you anymore, you can apparently step up to a harder drug like Windows 95. The video shows good ol' 95 getting demoed on an N82, but given the molasses-like pace of absolutely everything, we'd say this is strictly a for-the-hell-of-it sort of experiment. Translation: there are better ways to run your BBS from the road. Follow the break for video. [Thanks, Daniel]
Watch PS3 run Starcraft (with help from Linux & Windows)
With the PS3's ability to allow you to install your own OS, tech junkies have been tinkering with the console's potential since its launch a few Novembers back. There is one thing we haven't seen yet, though -- and that's a PS3 running Starcraft!Accomplished through the use of Windows 95, with Qemu and Yellow Dog Linux, you too can can crush Zerg scum with the Protoss on your PS3. (Just don't think you're going to get Crysis to run on the thing.) Linux and Qemu really hog the Cell processor, so a low-end game like Starcraft is as stable as it gets. Zerg rush past the break to watch the video.[Thanks, Evan!]
