3 ms·

Is it public domain now?

orionblastar 6y ago
No, but it is no longer supported by Microsoft so it is abandonware. It is still closed source and piracy to copy without permission but Microsoft does not care about it because it is too old to sue over.
- chungy 6y ago
  They've been known to send C&Ds to various sites that host old versions like this. "no longer supported" is a flimsy argument for abandonware anyway. by that reasoning, Windows 7 is abandonware and it still runs basically every Windows program ever.
  - lostgame 6y ago
    I think that kind of boils down to the ‘spirit of the law’ kinda thing. Windows 98, conversely; cannot run modern software, and the majority of software in use for the last decade - it is only going to be installed as an experiment by geeks like us, for the most part.
    - quickthrower2 6y ago
      Arguably anything using Windows 98 is satire. :-)
      - mschuster91 6y ago
        For what it's worth, a Berlin court used Windows 95 (!) until Fall 2019, and I wish I were joking here. https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/experten-warnten-schon-2017-it-katastrophe-am-berliner-kammergericht-kam-mit-ansage/25163810.html https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/experten-warnten-schon-20...
    - fortran77 6y ago
      It's not really the "spirit" of the law. It's more like a risk/reward calculation. Sometimes you just have to take calculated risks. Like the sites that have VT100 ROM images for VT100 emulators. The risk of getting a C&D letter, or worse-yet a lawsuit, are tiny compared to the reward of being able to emulate and study a classic computing system. The copyright owner may be more than happy to look the other way. And there really are cases where the company that owns the copyright is simply gone. Then it's probably safe to take a chance on it.
  - II2II 6y ago
    Most of the abandonware sites that I've seen are aware that it is illegal, will only post software that has not been sold or supported for a certain time frame (usually a decade), and deliberately avoid companies that are known to be hostile to the concept. If a product comes up for sale again, some sites will remove the software at their own initiative. While those self imposed criteria may be regarded as acts of self-preservation, I get the impression that some of the people who run these sites are more interested in software preservation. (In earlier times, many sites actively sought out permission to post software but it sounds like that became all but impossible for various reasons.)
    - Bjartr 6y ago
      Honestly, the term "abandonware" applies to software that has been "abandoned" by companies or had the companies that own the IP go under without someone buying the assets. If a company is sending out cease & desists, it's not abandonware by definition.
      - II2II 6y ago
        > If a company is sending out cease & desists, it's not abandonware by definition. True, but you cannot assume that it is abandonware if a cease & desist letter is not sent out. The rights holder may be unaware of the unauthorized distribution or the site maintainer may be unaware that the rights holder is still selling or supporting the product. While I have seen examples of games being pulled by abandonware sites at their own initiative, that is typically because these releases are higher profile. In the case of application and operating software it would be much more difficult to figure out since anything that is still being supported is probably going to be through obscure channels for legacy systems.

No, but it is no longer supported by Microsoft so it is abandonware. It is still closed source and piracy to copy without permission but Microsoft does not care about it because it is too old to sue over.

chungy 6y ago
They've been known to send C&Ds to various sites that host old versions like this. "no longer supported" is a flimsy argument for abandonware anyway. by that reasoning, Windows 7 is abandonware and it still runs basically every Windows program ever.
- lostgame 6y ago
  I think that kind of boils down to the ‘spirit of the law’ kinda thing. Windows 98, conversely; cannot run modern software, and the majority of software in use for the last decade - it is only going to be installed as an experiment by geeks like us, for the most part.
  - quickthrower2 6y ago
    Arguably anything using Windows 98 is satire. :-)
    - mschuster91 6y ago
      For what it's worth, a Berlin court used Windows 95 (!) until Fall 2019, and I wish I were joking here. https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/experten-warnten-schon-2017-it-katastrophe-am-berliner-kammergericht-kam-mit-ansage/25163810.html https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/experten-warnten-schon-20...
  - fortran77 6y ago
    It's not really the "spirit" of the law. It's more like a risk/reward calculation. Sometimes you just have to take calculated risks. Like the sites that have VT100 ROM images for VT100 emulators. The risk of getting a C&D letter, or worse-yet a lawsuit, are tiny compared to the reward of being able to emulate and study a classic computing system. The copyright owner may be more than happy to look the other way. And there really are cases where the company that owns the copyright is simply gone. Then it's probably safe to take a chance on it.
- II2II 6y ago
  Most of the abandonware sites that I've seen are aware that it is illegal, will only post software that has not been sold or supported for a certain time frame (usually a decade), and deliberately avoid companies that are known to be hostile to the concept. If a product comes up for sale again, some sites will remove the software at their own initiative. While those self imposed criteria may be regarded as acts of self-preservation, I get the impression that some of the people who run these sites are more interested in software preservation. (In earlier times, many sites actively sought out permission to post software but it sounds like that became all but impossible for various reasons.)
  - Bjartr 6y ago
    Honestly, the term "abandonware" applies to software that has been "abandoned" by companies or had the companies that own the IP go under without someone buying the assets. If a company is sending out cease & desists, it's not abandonware by definition.
    - II2II 6y ago
      > If a company is sending out cease & desists, it's not abandonware by definition. True, but you cannot assume that it is abandonware if a cease & desist letter is not sent out. The rights holder may be unaware of the unauthorized distribution or the site maintainer may be unaware that the rights holder is still selling or supporting the product. While I have seen examples of games being pulled by abandonware sites at their own initiative, that is typically because these releases are higher profile. In the case of application and operating software it would be much more difficult to figure out since anything that is still being supported is probably going to be through obscure channels for legacy systems.