Question What is the oldest piece of software that you regularly use?

[neogunhero]

Are there any ancient software programs that you still use, whether out of frustration for newer versions, a suitable replacement doesn’t yet exist, or pure nostalgia?

I don’t necessarily mean oldest in terms of how long it’s been around. If that were the case, I’d pick WinAMP, which still gets regular updates but was released back in 1997.

I mean oldest in terms of last update of the version you have. Again it could be just an old version of a program that still gets updates, but for one reason or another you stick with this particular version.

My oldest software that I still use semi-regularly is a program called DoubleKiller. It is an amazing program that is dead simple to use and finds duplicate programs/files and lets you delete them. I used it all the time on Windows 7, and was surprised to see it still works on Win10 with the latest updates. I can’t find any specific release dates of the versions, but the interface and functionality have not changed in the 15+ years that I’ve used it. It still has that Win98 grey-box look. I don’t use it as much anymore since for the past few years I’ve been doing clean reinstalls of Windows, but prior to that it was not uncommon for me to keep the same copy of Windows installed for many years continuously. I still recommend it, and there’s no security issues since it can’t connect to the internet!

 

[ZedClampet]

Are there any ancient software programs that you still use, whether out of frustration for newer versions, a suitable replacement doesn’t yet exist, or pure nostalgia?

I don’t necessarily mean oldest in terms of how long it’s been around. If that were the case, I’d pick WinAMP, which still gets regular updates but was released back in 1997.

I mean oldest in terms of last update of the version you have. Again it could be just an old version of a program that still gets updates, but for one reason or another you stick with this particular version.

My oldest software that I still use semi-regularly is a program called DoubleKiller. It is an amazing program that is dead simple to use and finds duplicate programs/files and lets you delete them. I used it all the time on Windows 7, and was surprised to see it still works on Win10 with the latest updates. I can’t find any specific release dates of the versions, but the interface and functionality have not changed in the 15+ years that I’ve used it. It still has that Win98 grey-box look. I don’t use it as much anymore since for the past few years I’ve been doing clean reinstalls of Windows, but prior to that it was not uncommon for me to keep the same copy of Windows installed for many years continuously. I still recommend it, and there’s no security issues since it can’t connect to the internet!

I don't have any old programs that I've kept, although there are a couple I wish I still had. The oldest program I'm using now that isn't being updated anymore is a two-year old version of Corel Paintshop Pro. Every year, Corel makes a new version and stops supporting the previous one, but I use it for one thing only, and that still works like a charm, so there's no reason to update.

The problem is that I don't think Corel will still let you download that version anymore, so if I ever lose it, I'll just get the "Upgrade Now!" button. They have some rather questionable practices, honestly. But every couple of months you can buy all their software for $20 on Humble, so if I ever lose access to this, I'll just wait for the next time it shows up there.

I complain about Corel, but Adobe charges me monthly, which is even worse.

 

[Brian Boru]

two-year old version of Corel Paintshop Pro

I have PSP 2021 too. Looks like it's still available even tho PSP 2023 is out—FileHippo, Amazon.

oldest in terms of last update of the version you have

That would be Active Desktop Calendar, one of 2 bits of software I was delighted to see work again under Win10—had failed in Win7.

The maker Xemi Computer has been out of business for a long time, over a decade. But I hung onto the download and tried it again in Win10, and happy days

I'd been searching for a long time for a PIM app which would integrate into the desktop—what use is a reminder app if you need a reminder to launch it?

ADC is just one of those rare apps which fits my needs exactly, long may it last

 

[ZedClampet]

I have PSP 2021 too. Looks like it's still available even tho PSP 2023 is out—FileHippo, Amazon.



That would be Active Desktop Calendar, one of 2 bits of software I was delighted to see work again under Win10—had failed in Win7.

The maker Xemi Computer has been out of business for a long time, over a decade. But I hung onto the download and tried it again in Win10, and happy days

I'd been searching for a long time for a PIM app which would integrate into the desktop—what use is a reminder app if you need a reminder to launch it?

ADC is just one of those rare apps which fits my needs exactly, long may it last

You know what kind of makes me laugh about Corel? Every time I open it up, it shows me an ad. At the bottom of the ad, it has a check box for something along the lines of "don't show this ad again." But what's funny is that they have a seemingly endless supply of extremely similar ads that they just pick from the next time you open the software. "Hey, we moved the '2024' down to the bottom right this time. Is that better?"

 

[Zloth]

The oldest I've got is a little program I wrote myself that takes a list of images from a text file, picks a random one, and displays it as your wallpaper. You can put in the text file to say if you want it centered, stretched, tiled, or mirrored. The last option is just tiled but, instead of using the raw picture, it mirrors it, resulting in something like this:


If you copy down that image and set it as your desktop wallpaper with the tiled option, you'll see what I mean.

You set the program to run on startup and you get a random background every time you boot up. Or you could set up a scheduled task to make it run every 30 minutes. The big strengths over Windows' options is the ability to do the mirror thing, pulling files from multiple folders, and picking how each one is displayed.

Anyway, I last touched that program back in 1998. It still works! I tried to update it to .Net Framework, but for some reason the pixels didn't quite line up correctly, so I just left it in VB6.

 

[Pifanjr]

I don't think I use anything particularly old. I think the oldest piece of software, based on when it was released, that I still use regularly (1-2 a week) is Vim, which released in 1991, but the last stable release is from 2022.

 

[Colif]

The oldest program I use on a regular basis is Microsoft Word which originally released in 1983, but its obviously been updated a few times since then.

i don't think I have any old programs. Stopped using WInAMP years ago, use foobar2000 now... which is from 2002 originally but still being updated

I have just moved with times. I guess.

 

[kronLaky]

Foxirider, one of the oldest and most familiar readers for PDF formats

 

[Alm]

I have a 2014 version of CorelDraw that I still use regularly. I used to love Microsoft Picture It! Publishing as a graphics package from about 2001 (I think) but I accidentally ran over the CD on my office chair

 

[DXCHASE]

Soulseek (even their site still looks early 2000s-ish). There is a lot of music, especially underground, not on spotify, apple music etc. so i go to soulseek to find that music, that underground stuff.

 

[Slasken]

If you go by latest update, I don't use any updated software.

If you count games as software, I have played some "Beneath a steel sky" lately.

 

[Colif]

If you count games as software

most of the ones we talk about here are digital software. Analog video games really don't exist

Analog Games

World of Non-Digital Games

www.analoggames.com

Obviously on a PC gaming site, we count games as software

 

[Brian Boru]

we count games as software

I think my oldest not-updated game software I regularly use is the Pohtzee filler game I've mentioned here before, which I play daily—it's a Poker + Yahtzee mashup.

Its containing Patience Pack was last updated in 2005.

 

[mjs warlord]

I still use a program called aqua real 2 , it is an aquarium screen saver but the reason i still use it is because it is good for testing graphics card drivers.

Many years ago nvidea went through a phase of releasing faulty driver , i would run the program and if i got weird lines all over the screen i know that particular driver would cause me a problem on something.

 

[Zloth]

most of the ones we talk about here are digital software. Analog video games really don't exist

Here's a video game analog game:
https://www.amazon.com/Ravensburger...ive/dp/B07PXSJMHF/ref=asc_df_B07PXSJMHF/?th=1

 

[Colif]

classic, all the kids should play it... oh wait, they do

Amiibos are closer to analog toys in video games

 

[Pifanjr]

Analog video game reminds me of those board games that come with a DVD. Apparently there is even one with a VHS.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Atmosfear, You maggot!

 

[Slasken]

I think the oldes piece of software I regularily use, regardless of it being updated or not is WinNc. It is a file manager. If you were around during the Dos days, you probably remember Norton Commander. It's like that. Even the hotkeys are the same. I paid for it way back in the day, and I still use it.

 

[Brian Boru]

Norton Commander

Yeah I remember that, one of ~20 file managers I've tried over the decades. My fav FM in DOS by far was XTree Gold, a wonderful piece of software with maybe the best non-graphical UI of all.

 

[Johnway]

Technically, probably notepad as i jot down notes when working or studying. Although there
has been versions updated etc.

 

[1BRAVO9]

It would be a game.

Empire Earth, released in 2001.

 

[DonovanMelissa]

I often use the old Matcad to solve some work problems

 

[red_5ive]

I've kept Microsoft Office 2003 as I created a cataloging tool for my music and movies collection in Excel using VBA, and it needs VBA support to run. The built-in VBA support was removed in some version later, and since at the time the Office version I had was not out of support, I never bothered updating.

I don't use it for anything else for security reasons, and any need I have with general documentation is done in Libre Office, or sometimes Google Docs.

 

[Frindis]

Right now that would be the point-and-click game Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller (1994). Developed by Take-Two Interactive Software and published by GameTek. I watched a trailer from it recently and noticed that both Grace Jones and Dennis Hopper did voices for it which piqued my interest.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTLMiTf0a70