7 ms·

Windows 1.0 emulator

95 points by agonzalezro 12y ago

agonzalezro 12y ago
It actually supports more profiles: http://copy.sh/v86/ http://copy.sh/v86/ (for example running a Solaris or an Arch Linux)
bunkydoo 12y ago
Fun :) thank you.
fsk 12y ago
You can run Windows 3.1/95/98 in DosBox.
- TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago
  I've ran Windows 3.1 in DOSBox before. I can't say it was a fun experience, it's not very stable. Trying to use The Way Things Work, a multimedia CD-ROM from Dorling Kindersley, would crash it occasionally. If you want to run old Windows, I suggest a proper virtual machine.
- ekianjo 12y ago
  Honestly QEmu is a better choice for this kind of things.
- thom 12y ago
  It's hard to get networking functional inside DosBox, but works pretty well beyond that. I use this for some old Windows games (Castle of the Winds etc) and other nostalgiaware (Visual Basic, AmiPro etc). :)
- slipstream- 12y ago
  Or PCem-X.
stormbrew 12y ago
Always a good reminder that tiling window managers have been around for a really long time.
jpetersonmn 12y ago
Pretty cool, mouse was way off for me in chrome.
- lubos 12y ago
  Same in Firefox but it's OK if you switch to full-screen mode.
- ghgr 12y ago
  That's also quite common in virtual machines. You just need to trap the cursor in a corner. Then, as long as you keep the mouse inside the window, both will be synchronized.
  - FreeFull 12y ago
    I haven't had them be synchronised even after doing that, the cursor inside the VM moved faster the host cursor. That's ok though, it'd be an issue if the cursor in the VM moved slower. Edit: Just pressing the Lock Mouse button works very well. esc will remove the lock.
- dchest 12y ago
  Click "Lock mouse" button.
danjayh 12y ago
Fun fact: Microsoft has maintained backwards compatibility so effectively that the utilities that shipped with windows 1.0 (notepad, calc, etc) will work on recent versions (search for 'man upgrades windows 1.0 to windows 7) ... say what you want about Microsoft, but if you've ever worked on operating systems, this is absolutely incredible.
- ekianjo 12y ago
  When you have the source code available to recompile software, that "compatibility" issue disappears (like for most tools on Linux). It's simply a different approach.
  - Aldo_MX 12y ago
    If recompiling older sources were as straightforward as running older windows binaries in recent versions...
    - ekianjo 12y ago
      At least with the sources you can try to do something about it. When "compatibility" fails, you are left with your eyes to cry.
      - guardian5x 12y ago
        Or you emulate an older OS (DosBox etc.) or use a VM.
      - Aldo_MX 12y ago
        You know, ASM code can be hacked, and the older the ASM code, the less complex it is, because the compilers were not as aggressive as today's. This has been done with abandoned games to fix bugs and compatibility issues, ex. Forgotten Empires (the mod)[1] ASM code can also be ported between platforms (ex. from 16-bit DOS to 64-bit Linux), as long as you replace OS-specific calls, interrupts, IO access, etc., although the effort will be greater. People should stop pretending that a compiled binary is a black box, because it isn't. Still, the point that Windows makes backwards-compatibility as straightforward as possible prevails, since the cases where you need to do complicated maneuvers like hacking ASM code to fix compatibility issues are scarce. I still get amazed that I can play some obscure games designed for Windows 95 and compiled using the DirectX 3 SDK. I can't say the same about Linux since I hadn't been able to recompile without fixing code old open source games, because X kernel version broke Y version of Z framework. [1] http://www.forgottenempires.net/fe http://www.forgottenempires.net/fe
guyzero 12y ago
Pretty amazing. All it needs now is a copy of Balance of Power.
- mapmap 12y ago
  I was just now trying to figure out how to get the 1990 edition running on my mac.
jug 12y ago
Gotta love those bold colors, and the flat Modern UI interface way ahead of its time. Now, if you excuse me, I'll turn on some 80's music on Spotify while I'm playing with this.
sjtechie 12y ago
Does it take down your computer when it bluescreens?

95 points by agonzalezro 12y ago

It actually supports more profiles: http://copy.sh/v86/ http://copy.sh/v86/ (for example running a Solaris or an Arch Linux)

bunkydoo 12y ago

Fun :) thank you.

fsk 12y ago

You can run Windows 3.1/95/98 in DosBox.

TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago
I've ran Windows 3.1 in DOSBox before. I can't say it was a fun experience, it's not very stable. Trying to use The Way Things Work, a multimedia CD-ROM from Dorling Kindersley, would crash it occasionally. If you want to run old Windows, I suggest a proper virtual machine.
ekianjo 12y ago
Honestly QEmu is a better choice for this kind of things.
thom 12y ago
It's hard to get networking functional inside DosBox, but works pretty well beyond that. I use this for some old Windows games (Castle of the Winds etc) and other nostalgiaware (Visual Basic, AmiPro etc). :)
slipstream- 12y ago
Or PCem-X.

stormbrew 12y ago

Always a good reminder that tiling window managers have been around for a really long time.

jpetersonmn 12y ago

Pretty cool, mouse was way off for me in chrome.

lubos 12y ago
Same in Firefox but it's OK if you switch to full-screen mode.
ghgr 12y ago
That's also quite common in virtual machines. You just need to trap the cursor in a corner. Then, as long as you keep the mouse inside the window, both will be synchronized.
- FreeFull 12y ago
  I haven't had them be synchronised even after doing that, the cursor inside the VM moved faster the host cursor. That's ok though, it'd be an issue if the cursor in the VM moved slower. Edit: Just pressing the Lock Mouse button works very well. esc will remove the lock.
dchest 12y ago
Click "Lock mouse" button.

danjayh 12y ago

Fun fact: Microsoft has maintained backwards compatibility so effectively that the utilities that shipped with windows 1.0 (notepad, calc, etc) will work on recent versions (search for 'man upgrades windows 1.0 to windows 7) ... say what you want about Microsoft, but if you've ever worked on operating systems, this is absolutely incredible.

ekianjo 12y ago
When you have the source code available to recompile software, that "compatibility" issue disappears (like for most tools on Linux). It's simply a different approach.
- Aldo_MX 12y ago
  If recompiling older sources were as straightforward as running older windows binaries in recent versions...
  - ekianjo 12y ago
    At least with the sources you can try to do something about it. When "compatibility" fails, you are left with your eyes to cry.
    - guardian5x 12y ago
      Or you emulate an older OS (DosBox etc.) or use a VM.
    - Aldo_MX 12y ago
      You know, ASM code can be hacked, and the older the ASM code, the less complex it is, because the compilers were not as aggressive as today's. This has been done with abandoned games to fix bugs and compatibility issues, ex. Forgotten Empires (the mod)[1] ASM code can also be ported between platforms (ex. from 16-bit DOS to 64-bit Linux), as long as you replace OS-specific calls, interrupts, IO access, etc., although the effort will be greater. People should stop pretending that a compiled binary is a black box, because it isn't. Still, the point that Windows makes backwards-compatibility as straightforward as possible prevails, since the cases where you need to do complicated maneuvers like hacking ASM code to fix compatibility issues are scarce. I still get amazed that I can play some obscure games designed for Windows 95 and compiled using the DirectX 3 SDK. I can't say the same about Linux since I hadn't been able to recompile without fixing code old open source games, because X kernel version broke Y version of Z framework. [1] http://www.forgottenempires.net/fe http://www.forgottenempires.net/fe

guyzero 12y ago

Pretty amazing. All it needs now is a copy of Balance of Power.

mapmap 12y ago
I was just now trying to figure out how to get the 1990 edition running on my mac.

jug 12y ago

Gotta love those bold colors, and the flat Modern UI interface way ahead of its time. Now, if you excuse me, I'll turn on some 80's music on Spotify while I'm playing with this.

sjtechie 12y ago

Does it take down your computer when it bluescreens?