Software upgrades come out on a pretty regular basis, but they’re not always worth the upgrade. Sometimes, updates even manage to make the software worse, or they never come at all. What’s the oldest software you’re still using?
Picture: Jeremiah Hoyet/Flickr
Whether it’s a bad update that ruins your favourite functionality, or you simply can’t afford to drop a couple of hundred dollars on an upgrade every year, software updates are one of those things many of us ignore. Of course, often enough, your favourite piece of software just doesn’t get updated at all, which means that you might eventually be running it in a virtualised environment just to get it working. So what’s the oldest software you’re still using?
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28 responses to “What’s The Oldest Software You’re Still Using?”
Hard to be sure, but at a guess ‘MS Money 2003’. I’m in the process of migrating off it though.
I’m still using Microsoft Money for Windows 95. 🙂 Still works fine
Does Chrono Trigger count?
+1
Apart from some great older games from the 1990’s, probably Windows 2000 on my work computers.
I suppose the original version of Baldur’s Gate from 1998. There was an enhanced edition released last year, but it won’t run on my laptop. The old version will run on a toaster, so I don’t know how they managed to do that.
CorelDraw 9 suite (released Aug 1999). I actually only use Draw now (used to use PhotoPaint, but have since moved to GIMP). It functions without any issues under Win 7.
MYOB Business Basics from 2004 – Horrible Software but it works
Non-games: I still live with my immediate family, and our shared computer still runs Windows XP SP3 (2008) and Outlook Express (2001).
Games: Last year, I had MechWarrior 2 (1995) running on my laptop – using the original CD-ROM, no less – via DOSBox. Unfortunately, my laptop has since died; but my current PC has MechWarrior 4 (2002) on it, after it was re-released for free by Mektek in 2010. And, of course, I still have my old video games consoles (beginning with Nintendo 64) – but I don’t think they count.
Age of Empires 2 from memory.
Photoshop CS2
http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/
Queensland Health still uses windows XP.
Thats not hard to imagine.
There are a lot of businesses that would be using XP-era systems as it can take years for them to decide on needing to migrate due to the cost of migrating everything, not to mention possible retraining and even potential disruptions due to the process.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some ME/2000 machines hanging around somewhere. There’s a guy in our building (70+) who has a laptop with 800×600 resolution….part of that may be that he has no idea to change the resolution, but still…..
At one of the big 4, we were running Windows 3.1 for a contact centre wallboard.
Currently playing Command & Conquer which was released in 95.
Use Paint Shop Pro 7 (1997) every single day.
Sup.
At home, not much, given that it’s a new PC with newer versions of all my favourite apps.
But at work? That’s where things get interesting. We’ve just retired our last Windows 2000 machine (but still have a fleet of two dozen XP machines), and one place is still using CashFlow Manager from the mid 90s.
Our local OPSM were still using a text version of their CRM software from an unknown era (I’ve been wearing glasses for about 10 years now, so it’s easily that old), but then upgraded to a version of Linux with a GUI that ran the CRM in a terminal window.
Oldest game right now would be commandos behind enemy lines.
Software wise I think I’ve done pretty well, now running Windows 8 with Office 2013, latest autodesk suite and adobe.
Oldest OS I use is the PS3’s XMB. Christ Sony, it doesn’t look like you guys have ever given it a major update. Thankfully I don’t have to support a bunch of XP computers with office 2003 anymore.
Oldest hardware is my Microsoft intellimouse explorer 4.0A, love this mouse for desktop.
I, umm, *blush* I still play Hoyle in a dosbox from my 286 days. Playing Gin Rummy against Roger Wilco from Space Quest? You can’t beat that!
http://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php/Hoyle%27s_Official_Book_of_Games:_Volume_1
original xbox … and Halo.
Old G4 Mac’s, running Ubuntu 6.06 PPC
Recent netbook running Windows XP
I also have a VM running Debian Woody
Just found My old Encarta 95 cd….
I still use XTree Gold… Religiously
The only windows version I own and can still run is Windows 3.1 – I used it up until 2004
I’ve got a lot of old software, probably too much to figure out which is the oldest. I have been playing ADOM again recently, which is a Roguelike from 1994.
The original Xbox is still putting in good service as a my media centre, although it’s once gigantic 300 gb hard drive is close to full.
CivII on Win3.11
A place where I used to work still uses an inventory system that looks like a colourful version of DOS. Their version of an “upgrade” was having someone create an interface over the top so that you could use your mouse. Even then, not all the computers have it, so many staff are still Tabbing their way through the program. It was way out of date 5 years ago when i was there, but I know they’re still using it now.