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It's a bit bloated at 2.36M, but it does an excellent job of playing my mp3 files.

Winamp 2.95

If one were to run Netscape 3 on today's laptop,

If you want fast startup just start notepad.exe. It starts up blazingly fast and will load modern web pages just as well as Netscape 3 would.

I would gladly give back whatever extra functionality we are getting

No you wouldn't. Boiling frog principle, you don't actually know what functionality you have because the transition and adoption of a dynamic and interactive version of the web that does more than just follow a few links via clicking and blink some text has been so slow that you barely noticed what has changed.

By the way for shits and giggles I did it. I loaded Netscape 3.0 and typed in www.slashdot.org

"Netscape and this server cannot communicate securely because they have no common encryption algorithm(s)"

Ok no problem let's try soylent:
"Connection reset by peer"

www.google.com:
A 9 item ordered list on the left unclickable along with the error: "too many javascript errors occurred"
Then 10 popups with errors, two of which I couldn't acknowledge.

Anyway I've had it, going back to firefox. Nope can't communicate with that server either.

But just for giggles. cnn.com
Well that just tries to download text, and 10 popups with errors followed by "too many errors".

Yeah go ahead run Netscape 3.0 on today's laptop. You can download it here:
http://www.oldversion.com/wind...

Me too! Though I'm still rocking version 12(!) which doesn't do VPN... I've been using Opera so long, originally I paid to remove its built-in ads.

Does anyone else remember being able to walk into a Best Buy and see Netscape Navigator in a box on the shelf for ~$40?

uTorrent 2.2.1.25302 was the last usable version, before the development team shit the bed.

"You'd even struggle to download a modern Firefox that worked on '98."

I guess someone doesn't know about OldVersion.

You can still find Opera 12

Thanks for link, was going to offer my held full version of Opera 12. It works on most sites, just fine on /.

You can still find Opera 12

Last 2.2.1 version
http://www.oldversion.com/wind...

For list of all older versions
http://www.oldversion.com/wind...

2.2.1 tiny, zero ads, supports magnet links, was made with original devs before they were bought out and the original coders were laid off.

One of the old devs helped provide sites with archive of all old versions.

Do not use past 2.2.1 if you want to use utorrent.
It has web interface, magnet links, zero ads, zero search bar, very tiny footprint. Its running on my old PC I use as a file server, app been up for a week straight as I leave it up and use the web interface via my tablet. Its only using 12k memory in the process list.

Last 2.2.1 version
http://www.oldversion.com/wind...

For list of all older versions
http://www.oldversion.com/wind...

2.2.1 tiny, zero ads, supports magnet links, was made with original devs before they were bought out and the original coders were laid off.

One of the old devs helped provide sites with archive of all old versions.

Do not use past 2.2.1 if you want to use utorrent.
It has web interface, magnet links, zero ads, zero search bar, very tiny footprint. Its running on my old PC I use as a file server, app been up for a week straight as I leave it up and use the web interface via my tablet. Its only using 12k memory in the process list.

Wow. I was a little skeptical, but my download speed nearly doubled after downgrading to 2.2.
http://www.oldversion.com/windows/download/utorrent-2-2-23071

You can still get the older version of Yahoo Stumbles here:

http://www.oldversion.com/

http://blog.oldversion.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/real-one.png

From the article, these are the following supported browsers:
Microsoft Windows XP: Internet Explorer 6.0, Netscape 7.2, Firefox 1.0.3, Mozilla 1.7.7."
Firefox is still available (Windows link) and is fairly independent from the underlying OS, so it would probably work on Vista+/Mac/Linux too (If you can find Mac/Linux links).

Still a pain to have to pick and choose browsers. It is easier for the average person to use the offline version.

Even easier for the hacker to compromise such an outdated website and input their benefits claim directly into the database tables
(and already approved for their 10 fake identities of course).

What an interesting question, I've done that before, mostly out of nostalgia. And, of course, frustration with the upgrade treadmill.
There's essentially nothing you can't do with a 16-bit windows, it's what people worked with and played with, so there's a bit of everything .

You should install Win32s, WinG, Video for Windows, Trumpet Winsock.

Honestly I'm surprised you found it hard to track down old software, there's a pretty huge scene around it.
You can get pretty much every OS and application here: http://winworldpc.com/library_m1.shtml
This is also a great site to get old software: http://www.oldversion.com/
Moar: http://wiki.oldos.org/Downloads/Windows3x
http://gaby.de/win3x/esoft.htm

There are some surprisingly modern browsers available for 3.1, grab Opera 3.62 (also Netscape 4 and IE 5.5), and try Calmira for a Win9x type of GUI running under 3.1 - put the default XP wallpaper on that, and you will fool a lot of people :)
I once hacked XP to natively run the NT 3.51 shell on startup, instead of Windows Explorer. It wasn't hard.

DOSBox sucks for Windows, though, you should probably just run a VM, added performance. You can find some Windows games on abandonware sites, Civilization 2 was a good one :)
http://www.gameswin.biz/gameen.php?id=379

Let me know if you need anything else, would love to have a chat with a fellow enthusiast.

The original, simply called 'Windows Messanger' that comes default on XP Pro no-ads, and slim on memory.

Old Skype v4 Pro still works i hope...
http://www.oldversion.com/Skype-for-Business.html
What's the oldest working Skype version?

Does anyone knows any more ok IMs...?
o Portable
o Low-resources 1-2M RAM
o Encrypted by default

Get an old version then.

Skype has been too integrated and full of crap and ads for a while now.

Just for those who don't know you can find old versions of programs at...

http://www.oldversion.com/

Running 2.2.1 here, also.

It can be found here, if anyone is seeking it.

Fair warning: Versions prior to 1.8 don't support magnet links.

Use an old working Skype. v4.2 still seems to work fine. It's from before Microsoft got its hands on it.

http://www.oldversion.com/Skype-for-Business.html

http://www.oldversion.com/ :P

Welp, until someone mods it out, you can get an older version at this page. OldVersion rocks for when companies fuck up their own product (see: Winamp after the AOL buyout).

http://www.oldversion.com/

forgot all about CNET, haven't used them in years....

Most useful software can be found at Oldversion.

(Note, given the rather late uid, first time posting to /. but am an avid reader. Apologies if anything goes wrong.) For me it's an interesting case, as my nostalgia appears to be from between the late 90s to the mid 2000s (gee, how I feel young yet getting old at the same time). I typically read over old Maximum PC archives (I still have the issue I started from, May 2005, convinced me and my parents to get me WoW). For computing, I haven't given up my no frills (it's spartan enough to lack a volume slider) Dell keyboard that takes a little getting used to as it's more of what you call a "keyboard" with springs than those laptop style "media" keyboards which for some reason I despise. and still use an optical mouse from 2005 (two buttons and a wheel). But it's just "if it ain't broke do nothing." For a more typical nostalgia filter, I turn to, say, Need for Speed before Underground on the PC. Who says Snowy Ridge from NFS High Stakes isn't difficult? For my mum (not my stepmother) it's an even weirder case (again more "if it ain't broke don't fix it" than anything) until last year she still used a Windows XP laptop from 2002 running IE6. She's now on the most recent Firefox using a netbook. Also she's still on $10/mo 56k dial up ostensibly a) to keep a Winnie the Pooh fan site from 11 years ago up and b) to prevent the hassle of Comcast installing cable internet to her apartment and/or its service problems, as it's either it or dial-up. (she does want to switch to DSL though) Another nostalgia-y thing: for photos it's an entry-level photo album software from '98 (she brags about how we got it at Best Buy and such with me) and as for a video player, it's freeware from '02. Hey, if http://oldversion.com/ exists, so do the people who fantasise about old freeware.

http://www.oldversion.com/Opera.html

Thankfully for there are sites for people like us - www.oldversion.com. Quoting them - "Because newer is not always better".

(There is no better Winamp than Winamp 2.91...)

Hey buddy. Check this out: http://www.oldversion.com/ICQ.html
They've got versions for Windows 3.11

Your wish is my command: http://www.oldversion.com/Acrobat-Reader.html.

Good place for old versions

And when Google fixes a bug or updates features, you get the fix immediately.

I'll grant that free and automatic updates to everything sounds good on paper (especially to security folks), but sometimes when they add new features, they redesign the entire interface and you have to get used to it all over again, whether you like the new version or not. And they didn't even ask or give you advance warning. Oops.

With local apps you may have the added hassle of having to update things yourself, but at least you get to decide whether an update is better than the older version or not. Added features does not necessarily mean better functionality. There's a reason http://oldversion.com/ exists.

"This reminds me of Nero. Once a nice, light-weight CD burn software product, it is now so full of other cr*p that you have to spend 10 minutes going through the install menu pruning almost everything off."

It's not just Nero, it's everything. Norton Ghost stopped being useful at version 11.5, a 7 meg program. Version 14 is like 600 megs and isn't functionally that better.

http://oldversion.com/ is your friend.

Was built in 1785 :P I know that's pretty low tech, but it's impressive considering how well this place has stood the test of time (in upstate New York with its endless blizzards), and now we've got modern half million to million dollar homes that are made with plywood and pressure treated boards and have problems from day one. Just more examples of how newer is so very often NOT better. http://www.oldversion.com/ For the win.

http://www.oldversion.com/ have installers for a whole bunch old stuff, including Acrobat Readers right back to version 2.

Does this mean Microsoft will again be able to provide their Java virtual machine?
http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=msjavavm
I'm getting tired of stripping [this week's version of] Sun Java off new PCs and installing the M$ VM, but it's necessary to get them running right (and to get rid of the coffee-cup "automatic update" marketing crapola).

...but after a few weeks with hundreds of tabs opened and closed, it takes up tons of memory and won't give it back.

Unfortunately, I found that out when I made the mistake of upgrading to FF2 last week. CPU usage went to 100% and stayed there, plus double the memory useage of v1.5. Thankfully, http://www.oldversion.com/ has v1.5.0.12. I was able to downgrade Firefox and all is well again. Apparently, lots of opened tabs and adblock is a highly toxic combo for v2.

to rip you'll be wanting the old version of net transporter: http://www.oldversion.com/download.php?idlong=d70cd18f417fb7e93c0d1dbe897708bf Simply open bbc radio iplayer page in ff with firebug installed, look in net tab in firebug for the .rpm file, look at its response, in it should be the actual stream path. Downlod using net transporter, or listen and transcode into format of your choice using VLC media player... If thats legal of course. If its not, forget all that.

I
Also, a lot of Windows apps were much smaller and had less bloat (and sometimes more useful features! WinAmp 2.666 ID tagging and WAV capture, anyone?) before they were "improved". Check out OldVersion.com.

I totally concur on ACDSee. Really, I've been using the same version since 2002 or so. It's ACDSee 3.1 and can still be found here. Back in the day I used to have an ongoing debate with a friend, a small "vi vs emacs" religious war, about what's better and resource friendlier: ACDSee or IrfanView. While IrfanView has managed to stay bloat-free, ACDSee is exactly the opposite today. I tried IrfanView but I just can't give up the keyboard shortcuts and the functionality of ACDSee 3.1 that I got used to over the years. And it STILL displays everything.

http://oldversion.com/ hosts previous installers for various popular programs.

MusicMatch Jukebox has been a bloated, annoying piece of nagware since it was created. I don't see how this is news.

Also, yahoo has been a big fan of forcing these "upgrades" on people since Yahoo messenger was in about version 4.5.

After that it got shittier and shittier but they keep forcing people to "upgrade" and will tell them all sorts of lies to get them to allow it.

Older versions used to allow you to choose not to upgrade. Not so with anything about 6.0 onward. Makes me want to go visit OldVersion again.

Last known good version? No idea, but try here; http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=mmatch

Anyone out there have a link to the last known "good" version?

http://oldversion.com/

OMFG - Winamp is the scourge of the music players...

That's why I stick with 2.81. It plays music and does absolutely nothing else.

Luckily I had not yet deleted the old ftp'ed zip file and I gave them to my friends.

i agree with the other replier's recommendation of quicktime alternative, but... here ya go

ZDRuX, meet http://oldversion.com/. OldVersion.com, meet ZDRuX

You might as well just run Opera proper...or maybe an old version of it. Opera is pretty light as it is.

That future generations will have a source (other than oldversion.com) for previous versions of software for use with version specific cracks.

Whoops! Was that out loud?

netr00t's got solid advice for you.

http://slashdot.org/~netr00t

I would add, get a Lawyer, as in, have a Lawyer (anyway).
If you're in the USA, you should know by now, mostly morons make the "rules" of conduct, try not to participate.
Pay the Man:

http://www.forescout.com/index.php?url=products&se ction=activescout

http://www.winternals.com/

Useful:
http://www.sysinternals.com/SecurityUtilities.html

http://www.porcupine.org/forensics/forensic-discov ery/

http://www.fish2.com/tct/help-when-broken-into

Firewalls and Internet Security
http://www.wilyhacker.com/

First Ed. (online)
http://www.wilyhacker.com/1e/

Practical UNIX and Internet Security
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/puis3/

FWIW
http://exuberant.ms11.net/index.html

http://exuberant.ms11.net/98sesp.html

http://exuberant.ms11.net/links.html

http://www.oldversion.com/