Windows 98

The Past Is Yet to Come!

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Inspiration

For this Hack From the Past Hackathon we decided to build something really nostalgic and something that is really close to our heart. We brought Windows 98 back to life! Modern browsers have dropped support for Windows98 long ago. So we decided to build this retro box to relive that era and bring our childhood memories back to life.

Can't relate to those 90's kid tech memes or want to indulge in nostalgia and experience the retro operating system that revolutionized the world? Relive the 90's with this retro web-based Windows 98 desktop remake!

What it does

A lot of us are aware about the "Only a 90s kid can relate" tech memes. Two things revolutionized the 90s era, the emergence and spread of the World Wide Web and widespread use of personal computers in all sectors, be it in a household, corporation or institution. One key technology that emerged during this time was an operating system in the form of Windows98. Windows98 integrated the Internet standard comprehensively, allowing the users to find the browse and the information on the computer or on the internet more simple and faster. Users had more spare time to concentrate on work or the games instead of the system management.

Our application provides its users with a trip down the memory lane,

Features of our app include:

  1. Windows98 themed boot-sound
  2. Working retro implementations of applications like
  • Internet Explorer
  • File Explorer
  • WinAmp
  • MS Paint
  • Notepad
  • Games like Pokemon, Solitaire, Space Ivader, etc

How we built it

It is our firm philosophy that you don't need to use complicated frameworks or libraries to build something cool in tech. This application would not have been possible without these tools:

  • HTML
  • CSS
  • Vanilla Javascript
  • jQuery
  • BrowserFS

Challenges we ran into

  • We had difficulty collaborating over a remote environment due to connectivity issues.
  • This was our first time using the browser's file system API and browserfs
  • Making the UI with its retro look and feel was a challenge that led us to previously unexplored areas of CSS

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Despite the powercut, we managed to communicate well with each other for the project
  • We were able to master the browser file system api in a relatively short span of time
  • We achieved a wonderful UI by solely using CSS

What we learned

  • Learnt a lot about code collaboration, maintenance and code-quality best practices
  • Learnt advanced CSS concepts, browser file-system API.

What's next for Windows 98

This is just the start for Windows98. We aim to add all features Windows98 supported so everyone can see how operating systems were back then!

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