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-   -   Oldest PC Software that you currently use (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadgets-computers-software/266932-oldest-pc-software-you-currently-use-2.html)

I am surprised no one remembers the humble WinZip and Winrar. I remember using these softwares right from my floppy disk days. I am sure a lot of us have used this software from ages.

For those who use Linux, you will surely remember using the equivalent Tar software to compress files.

Anyone else remembers using these since ages?

Oh yeah, vi editor right from my engineering days to even till today, whenever I have to edit or read some code. Have shifted to VS Code off late, but vi is the first choice everywhere where I use the linux terminal (which is even more common nowadays thanks to everything cloud).

BTW we used to use those dumb vt100 terminals - green prompt blinking, which we see in movies - back then with the server running Unix system V (this was before windows 3.1 came into existence) in college :uncontrol

I guess apps that are still in active development, like vim, etc. on Linux, are not the target of this thread. Because they are not out of commission and there is always a new version, so not actually "old".

Among others, (either whose development has ceased long back or I use a version that is no longer supported),
1. WinAmp
2. Daemon Tools (a much older version free of bloat)
3. FRAPS
4. Windows XP SP3 32-bit :D

The last one brings with it some unique apps which are all out of support, won't list them all. The reason for using XP (strictly offline and without accessing any personal accounts) is to utilize an old PC to occasionally play games from early 2000s, including Caesar, Soldier of Fortune, IGI etc. For me, XP is still the best Windows UI, I prefer real hardware if available (instead of a VM), and it just flies on an SSD that costs less than a kebab platter at a decent restaurant.

I think some are confusing software that is old-dated vs software that is still around. I don't think this thread is about software that been around for decades while receiving regular updates.

This thread is about old software that has not been supported for a long time. For example, GTO is talking about a 20 year old version of MS-Money, and not the current Money available on Microsoft store.

If you are using tar, vi, etc., they are very much current. Many of us still use them because they are current. Most of the web services run on linux cloud instances, and commandline utilities are still the best way to access them.

They are new compared to pkzip.

tar is still the default option to create compressed files on Linux. I use it regularly even now.

File compression software like WinZip became redundant because of cheap hard disk space.

Also, many many years ago, Windows started offering support to file compression as standard (without the need for third party software). If there is a zip file, just double clicking on it shows the contents of the zipped file.

And to compress a file or folder, one can right click on file/folder -> Send To -> Compressed (Zipped) Folder

Not really, whenever we want to transfer files, we zip it, tar it, before emailing or FTPing it. I do it at least 2-3 times a week.

Highly recommend that you switch to Qbittorrent. utorrent is not what it used to be. Its unsafe and is basically an invasive adware.

I use a software program created in the 1980s, Latex, for producing beautifully typeset documents.

Interestingly, although it's a really old program that requires commands (that is, not a What You See is What You Get or WYSIWIG software like Word), it produces PDFs that look way better than those created with Word (understandable, because Word is a word processor, not a typesetting software). It has been used to typeset many books and scientific publications.

The other advantage is that it can run on old hardware with minimal resources. Not to forget, it is open sourced and free.

Unlike tar, vi, which are still updated frequently, LaTeX updates occur, if at all, very infrequently.

Anyone looking for an alternative to heavy programs such as MS Word for producing PDFs should definitely take a look at it.

The oldest software I still use personally is Catia V5 R18, though Catia V5 is originally released in 1998, R18 version was released around 2008.

For those folks who don't know what Catia is, its a CAD software developed by Dassault System mainly used in surface modeling, I started using this version since 2010 for my personal design hobbies, but nowadays usage is less, as my line of work involves advanced versions of such softwares.


Next on my list is Photoshop CS3 which I started using around 2011 to aid my photography interest and still being used once in a while.

MSPAINT, notepad and Explorer.

While the 3 are part and built into Windows, and they have got new features over time, muscle memory and the sheer convenience of these 3 no-nonsense tools makes me keep using them.

The oldest software that I have been using is Tally, till date a majority chuck i.e. more than 90% of its user have not been able to fully utilise the software. The software earlier used to work from command prompt and now has its own executable version.

I still use DOS commands in a batch file to automate some stuff. I find some things are simpler than using powershell (which I also use).

Anyone remember the text-based Lynx browser and the excitement created when the first visual web browser Netscape was released?

Clipx on Windows

It is a simple yet customizable clipboard manager. The last stable version was released on 2005. I have tried several alternatives but cannot find one that just works like this does. When I work on Linux machines I miss this Windows only software.

Transmission is a good, lightweight and bloatfree alternative without much clutter. Discovered it on some Linux distro and switched to it on windows ever since.

Google Picasa. I kept using that software for a long time even though Google discontinued it. It couldn't work online after Google Photos was introduced but somehow it always worked well for me.