7 ms·

Web based Windows XP desktop recreation, built with React

582 points by fibo 6y ago

ww520 6y ago
Run it at full screen and can't back to the browser view. All function keys are captured. Nice. Now add Excel or Word to it. Running it at full screen would be a nice "I'm working hard" wallpaper for the people peeping over your shoulder.
- alexdumitru 6y ago
  Is that possible? I can get out of fullscreen with no problem.
- ngcc_hk 6y ago
  Does it run the Tetris with a key to show a spreadsheet that you are working
sxp 6y ago
Wow. You can even load a Winamp skin from https://skins.webamp.org/ https://skins.webamp.org/ into the player and adjust the EQ. Though, I'm not sure if I trust that OS since I see a tooltip telling me that I don't have AV installed :)
- Closi 6y ago
  Thank this repo! https://github.com/captbaritone/webamp https://github.com/captbaritone/webamp
hiidrew 6y ago
“Your computer might be at risk” That extra detail made it very realistic.
- lostgame 6y ago
  Came here to say this. As soon as it popped up, I was like; oh, shit, yup - there it is. WinAmp and it's fantastically on-point UI-mockup and functionality was also a super nice touch. tbh I still use Windows XP SP3 in my VM on my Mac for the occasional Windows utility I need. It's super no-cruft and lightweight - especially as a VM - compared to anything since - and is surprisingly compatible. Because it's in a VM, I'm not too worried about the security issues, and most of the Windows-only utilities I use are fairly archaic anyway. (In computer years)
  - jyrkesh 6y ago
    Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised that the Winamp EQ is fully functioning.
  - giancarlostoro 6y ago
    I am hoping to someday see total stability in ReactOS to the level where we can use that as a Windows VM. I forget what that VirtualBox mode is I think its called Seamless it would be neat to be able to just run ReactOS in Seamless mode in a VM with low memory footprint.
  - airstrike 6y ago
    https://github.com/captbaritone/webamp https://github.com/captbaritone/webamp
    - Wezl 6y ago
      Which is used in https://98.js.org/ https://98.js.org/ . (submitted: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24955925 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24955925)
      - lostgame 6y ago
        Needs anti-aliasing disabled on the text - really ruins the otherwise awesome effect and otherwise excellent effort.
  - ChrisSD 6y ago
    Wait are we seriously at the point where XP is now considered "super no-cruft and lightweight"? XP? How times have changed.
    - toper-centage 6y ago
      > How times have changed. Windows has become a 20+GB OS with a mess of dumbed down UIs. So yes, XP was effective and light by today's standards. That's partially because your current mobile phones are more powerful than the PCs that used to run XP.
- mulmen 6y ago
  I appreciate that it can only be dismissed. Clicking the bubble as asked does nothing.
  - 6510 6y ago
    how do I secure it?
    - kempbellt 6y ago
      Ctrl + W (Or Command + W on Mac)
- badrequest 6y ago
  For me, it was the fading to grey when you hit "Shutdown"
  - pseudosavant 6y ago
    I hadn't noticed that. That is a small but very authentic part of the XPerience. I didn't even remember it did that, until I saw it happen in this.
- ksrm 6y ago
  It just needs periodic "Messenger Service" popups to be 100% authentic.
Xorlev 6y ago
Paint et. all work too, what an incredible simulation! :)
martijnvds 6y ago
That's another way to make "ReactOS" :)
dmitrybrant 6y ago
This is excellent, with the very minor detail of the fonts, which look a little off, and perhaps a little too anti-aliased? This seems to be the main issue with all web-based retro simulations of Windows 9x and XP. I'm guessing this is because the default font (Tahoma?) isn't freely licensed? Everything else is spot on, though!
- kevingadd 6y ago
  Browser text rasterization isn't configurable enough to make text look like XP, even if you have the right font.
reificator 6y ago
I am very disappointed in the lack of response from Explorer > Help > Is this copy of Windows legal?
- hashtagmarkup 6y ago
  I was disappointed that winamp visualizations didn't work, especially considering milkdrop has already been ported to the web: https://webamp.org/ https://webamp.org/
  - reificator 6y ago
    I thought someone else in the thread said they did work. That's a lot more work than a quick easter egg, I'm just impressed it's as complete as it is. And a lot of the places where it's not (Antivirus popup) are funnier by not being implemented.
  - Philip-J-Fry 6y ago
    This project is using Webamp. Maybe it's an older version or something. It also uses jspaint https://github.com/1j01/jspaint https://github.com/1j01/jspaint
  - trashburger 6y ago
    As soon as I tried to play the visualizations the nvidia driver gave up and I had to hard reboot, the heck?
- Defenestresque 6y ago
  In a moment of serendipity, I was just finishing up a tiny project prompted by a moment of nostalgia: installing a Windows XP system under VirtualBox and getting the internet working on it. I always had fond memories of Win2k and WinXP and I wanted to know if my feelings today would match what I remembered, or if I was just seeing the past through rose-coloured glasses. I couldn't get IE to co-operate with modern browsing bar a few websites, I'm assuming this was to do with SSL. I did get Firefox 41 .0 working a few minutes ago and immediately went to HN to test it (as an easy https-enabled text-based website) only to find this to be the top post. For those curious, clicking Help -> Is this copy of Windows legal? goes to a 404 [0] page in IE. To answer my own question: Windows XP feels incredibly more user-friendly and accessible than the version of Windows 10 that I bailed from to Linux. I don't know how much of that is familiarity and how much is actual difference, though I did use Windows 10 far longer than I did Windows XP before finally deciding it's not working for me. Why are there two control panels? Why do I have to move the mouse all over the screen to click something because the OS uses a weird mix of desktop-oriented and touchscreen-oriented design? Why do I have to dive into the guts of the system to disable the invasive features that track me and send my information to Microsoft? Opening Windows Media Player prompted me with some privacy options such as obtaining licensing info and sending diagnostics back to Microsoft, each of which were clearly explained and had to be toggled on/off in the setup. It was so clearly out of the norm at the time that they went out of their way to make it visible. I feel like today it would not even warrant a mention, bar locales where that's required by law. Perhaps I'm wrong, but with WinXP it feels like I own the system. The customer-merchant relationship is clear. I paid Microsoft money, they provided me with software and now I am using it. 15 years ago I never would have though to consider that a company whose software I use would be selling my personal data to figure out exactly what kind of ads I should see. Using Windows 10 now feels like a constant battle between me and the company that sold me the software ("do you want to enable Cortana? can we send your keyboard input to our servers? can we update your system without permission unless you have an enterprise account? can we, can we, can we...") I'm not RMS. I don't care if companies use binary blobs to distribute drivers or collect basic usage info without full disclosure. Yet I still feel the pendulum has swung too far and its momentum continues to push it in the same direction. In both UI design and privacy. I'm glad that there are still a vocal group of enthusiastic people that are keeping the spirit of FOSS alive, but I'm concerned about the commoditization of our information. Phew, sorry, I got really bloody off-topic. Great website! It didn't work on my WinXP VM under Firefox or IE but it did work on my Linux system. Congrats! [0] https://i.imgur.com/M2NoHrt.png https://i.imgur.com/M2NoHrt.png
pachico 6y ago
I couldn't contain a smile when I saw Winamp's interface :)
- djtriptych 6y ago
  Same! I need to print up posters lol
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
emilsedgh 6y ago
How much work was put into this it's impressive!
fredley 6y ago
Very sad MSN Messenger did not open. This was still a hell of a nostalgia trip for me.
- anthk 6y ago
  He could map it to a Jabber client. Or IRC.
jeroenhd 6y ago
Not quite Win2k in the browser [0] but it's a pretty good simulation of Windows. Sounds like this would be a fun project for trying out new frameworks. It's missing one feature that's been in Windows since 1.0: closing an application by clicking the top left (icon) in the task bar. [0]: https://bellard.org/jslinux/vm.html?url=win2k.cfg&mem=192&graphic=1&w=1024&h=768 https://bellard.org/jslinux/vm.html?url=win2k.cfg&mem=192&gr...
- contravariant 6y ago
  Finally a way to play the real solitaire!
skee0083 6y ago
I love windows xp. always have and still find it eaiser and more intuitive than windows 10. I encourage everyone to donate and support reactOS. It's our only hope for a sane open source OS.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
beprogrammed 6y ago
http://www.windows93.net http://www.windows93.net
- collaborative 6y ago
  That's really cool too
- dinkleberg 6y ago
  The music really makes this one
  - aperrien 6y ago
    The Diablo Swing Orchestra made a sale from me today. Does the same music list show up for everyone?
- banana_giraffe 6y ago
  The little things in life make me happy: https://imgur.com/a/GGwKJQo https://imgur.com/a/GGwKJQo
- vecinu 6y ago
  I can't believe I actually spent 15 minutes getting lost in Castle Wolfenstein 3D on this, thanks for the memories!
collaborative 6y ago
Amazing
jaytaylor 6y ago
Does this work for anyone on mobile? When I try to click on things it doesn't seem to register, for example- the start button.
- joshspankit 6y ago
  I’m on an ipad, and yes. Not perfect but decent. Paint recognizes touches. Have to quickly double-tap the start button, but other than that it works
  - saagarjha 6y ago
    iPad runs a heuristic to convert touches into clicks or hovers.
- codazoda 6y ago
  Same problems on my Pixel 3a. Looks pretty accurate. This must have been a significant labor of love.
mrlambchop 6y ago
I didn't realize that I needed half an hour therapy from playing minesweeper, yet I feel so much better now. Nice work ShizukuIchi!
stareatgoats 6y ago
Wow - that's impressive! Now all you need to implement is the file explorer interface on top of indexedDB ...
djtriptych 6y ago
Really nice. And seeing winamp running just instinctively made me smile. Computers used to be fun!
gao8a 6y ago
NO PINBALL?!?! Other than that well done :)
Dalrymple 6y ago
Windows XP is reportedly the last version of Windows where Bill Gates played a key role in its creation and quality control – something he was very good at. In my view he should return to this job and stop listening to the Melinda Gates and Lorraine Jobs of the world encouraging him to work on saving the universe when Windows has been going downhill ever since he left. If Bill were to start with a Windows XP sp3 base, here are a bakers dozen of tasks to get him and his new software team started. I am calling this new product Windows XP-TNG for now. Feel free to add to this list: 1. WinXP-TNG should be 64 bit only, at the same level of reliability or better as Win XP 32 bit. Support for disks larger than 2tb and main memory greater than 4gb. 2. USB 3 support. 3. Investigate if and how this 48 bit address business could be expanded to the full 64 bits. 4. DirectX 12 support 5. Directory printer option (like the best add-on utilities provide) 6. Print to PDF file print driver (better than the best add-on utilities provide) 7. Integrate the old Office 2003 into Windows XP-TNG without separate activation. Customers that really want a newer Office would buy a Cloud version or the Windows 10 native app. 8. Integrate a “cleaner” utility that would remove any malware from PDF, and, if needed, epub files. 9. Deleted file recovery (beyond restore points). Search entire disk and rebuild desired directory entries functionality (much better than the best add-on utilities provide). 10. One button setup of “classic” Win 95/2000 options and developer settings like View-Details. 11. Fix bug that causes large, say 1tb file transfers, with Copy-Paste to fail. Drag-and-Drop works ok. 12. Long-term bug fixing and cybersecurity support. 13. Option for automatic registry backups, user can delay and specify number of backups before recycling.
- simonklitj 6y ago
  I feel like billionaires can't win, whatever they do.
  - appleflaxen 6y ago
    huh. i kind of feel like they've already won...
    - simonklitj 6y ago
dheera 6y ago
And here's Windows 2000 in a browser: https://bellard.org/jslinux/vm.html?url=win2k.cfg&mem=192&graphic=1&w=1024&h=768 https://bellard.org/jslinux/vm.html?url=win2k.cfg&mem=192&gr... And Windows 95 in a browser: https://copy.sh/v86/?profile=windows95 https://copy.sh/v86/?profile=windows95 And Windows 3.1 in a browser: https://www.pcjs.org/software/pcx86/sys/windows/3.10/ https://www.pcjs.org/software/pcx86/sys/windows/3.10/
4gotunameagain 6y ago
Joke's on you; I don't need this. At work I still frequently use a winXP box to compile stuff. But, impressive and awesome :)
- ChrisSD 6y ago
  I can somewhat understand having to compile for XP (it's been 20 years but... legacy, I get it). However compiling on XP must be hell. Do you mind me asking what you do that requires this?
  - mhh__ 6y ago
    I think a lot of embedded stuff still orbits around XP.
  - 4gotunameagain 6y ago
    Aerospace. A specific instrument requires that its code is compiled with a gcc version from the nineties. It has been working since then and introducing a new compiler would change the binary generated, thus nullifying all the accumulated flight hours. And why windows XP? Well, the gcc binary is 16 bit...
    - ygra 6y ago
      Doesn't Windows 10 have a 32-bit version as well?
      - 4gotunameagain 6y ago
        There are a lot of potential solutions and tbh changing my host OS didn't occur to me. I don't think I would do it though, as the current plan is to recompile the desired version with a modern gcc. It's one of those tasks that stay on the backlog though..
    - e12e 6y ago
      > It has been working since then and introducing a new compiler would change the binary generated Surely making a code change and recompiling would also change the binary?
iammiles 6y ago
I was not expecting Paint to actually save my file, let alone paint. Bravo.
- 6510 6y ago
  I might actually need it for projects locked into its unique cheap look.
- john_miller 6y ago
  fyi, paint is just an iframe containing https://jspaint.app/ https://jspaint.app/
l9k 6y ago
I just spent an hour on minesweeper
vaccinator 6y ago
Who would get Windows XP when you can have Windows 2000? (not kidding)
tracyhenry 6y ago
Nice work! I wonder how much effort did it take to get the the correct web layout and css styles? With React it seems like the logic should be simpler to implement (assuming there isn't much change to WinAmp and JSPaint).
pxi 6y ago
Oh no, my computer might be at risk! So that's what I missed out on when I switched to linux :) (Fantastic effort guys)
ineedasername 6y ago
Sadly it's not all functional yet: I couldn't play spades.
coupdejarnac 6y ago
This gives me the feeling I think I would have on a holodeck- everything is superficially very realistic if you don't dig too deep.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
smusamashah 6y ago
It should already be in this list https://github.com/syxanash/awesome-web-desktops https://github.com/syxanash/awesome-web-desktops https://simone.computer/#/webdesktops https://simone.computer/#/webdesktops
osipov 6y ago
I miss the WinAmp sound: "it really kicks llama's ..."
ilrwbwrkhv 6y ago
This still is one of the best ux. This and Windows 2000. Straight to the point and fast.
- gruez 6y ago
  I kinda like Vista more (in addition to 2000). Less fisher-price and oversaturated colors.
  - pmorici 6y ago
    I've always change to the 'classic' theme until it was finally removed in Windows 10.
- qwerty456127 6y ago
  By the way, what I find weird is NO Linux modification (DE/WM theme or whatever) marketed as a Windows XP (or Windows 98) clone ever actually looked close to the original - every single one looked a rough parody. I wish there were some really good... Even today the default Raspbian LXDE could look less ugly if they could make taskbar-based launcher and tray icons slightly smaller (kind of like in Windows 95-XP) rather than 100% taskbar height, but they won't.
  - anthk 6y ago
    Classic 95 with XFCE is really good, and some modern themes from b00merang in Cinammon look really close. You didn't look enough then... https://b00merang.weebly.com/themes.html https://b00merang.weebly.com/themes.html
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
  - zozbot234 6y ago
    > Even today the default Raspbian LXDE could look less ugly if they could make taskbar-based launcher and tray icons slightly smaller rather than full taskbar height, but they won't. You can tweak size for icons and the taskbar in the panel settings, AIUI. It's relatively easy to give LXDE or Xfce that kind of "classic" look.
holler 6y ago
Winamp!! Wow, talk about nostalgia... this is really cool. I just realized thankfully we don't really need to test websites against IE6+ anymore but if we did and the browser worked, this would be really useful! nice work.
aplummer 6y ago
What an os. Less is more for the start bar
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
dmix 6y ago
This loads super fast on a phone and is very responsive. Modern js done right can provide top tier interfaces. So many frontend let performance go by the way side when making interactive web apps. And performance can also be UX, how things appear and the flow of the loading. Things like placeholder boxes [1] with the same size so the load isn’t janky is one good hack. The sort of thing you don’t have to care about with native apps. [1] I’m on the fence about the value of loading icons in each placeholder, they’ll figure out something is loaded soon enough. Not need for the distraction or highlighting loading times. Errors for components are another matter. Although of course server side rendering of everything is the ideal initial state.
- ricksharp 6y ago
  Yeah, this is amazing. Works great even on iPhone. Going to save this one for the next time someone says React is slow. This worked instantly for me (just like my website, I wonder if they are using Gatsby or something else for static pre-rendering).
  - csande17 6y ago
    Funnily enough, you can actually run the real Windows XP in an x86 emulator on a recent iPhone or iPad, and the UI responds acceptably quickly: https://www.cultofmac.com/717191/run-windows-xp-iphone-ipad-without-jailbreaking/ https://www.cultofmac.com/717191/run-windows-xp-iphone-ipad-...
  - jbverschoor 6y ago
    Well... You're comparing performance of almost 20 year old computers to your current machine. It takes 3 seconds to start paint. The webpage is 'only' using 85-101MB ram to do nothing. Remind you that the requirements were: 233MHz CPU + 64MB RAM Let's say you're running a late 2019 macbook pro 13". That's: 16384MB RAM, and 1400-3900 MHz cpu (x8 threads) with 8MB cache. Which includes branch etc etc. All that aside, it looks pixel-perfect to me, and it behaves the same afaict :-)
    - ricksharp 6y ago
pseudosavant 6y ago
I stumbled around their github and they have a project that I think is far more fun and interesting that even this great Windows XP clone. A bunch of very real looking fake screens: OS update that won't ever finish, crashed, Google Search that doesn't return any results. Check it out. This would be great for pranking co-workers, you know, if we could work in the same room... https://github.com/ShizukuIchi/fake-screen https://github.com/ShizukuIchi/fake-screen
yskchu 6y ago
The source code: https://github.com/ShizukuIchi/winXP https://github.com/ShizukuIchi/winXP
ricardobeat 6y ago
It is astonishing that so little has changed in almost 30 years. Despite visual differences, menus and windowing in general is almost exactly the same.
- ricardobeat 6y ago
  *are
csdreamer7 6y ago
Memories. Really was sad to see XP go... Maybe one day Microsoft will release it under the GPL (also would take the Mozilla Public License or the Eclipse Public License). Of course, even if the code was released, getting the theme released is a different matter.
idktech 6y ago
This is something else! Great job!!!
bishala 6y ago
Really very impressive. The applications like Paint, Notepad etc. actually work! WOW!
anta40 6y ago
Very nicely done. But wait... can't open any page on IE? And no cmd.exe? :)
zeptonix 6y ago
Absolutely amazing!
tomcat27 6y ago
So many memories from school days!!
arthurcolle 6y ago
no filesystem? :(
stanislavb 6y ago
I love that there's a Winamp with playable music. Such a joy.
known 6y ago
You may want to install/configure xcompmgr -cCfF -r7 -o.65 -l-10 -t-8 -D7 for rendering good looking fonts in Linux;
Stratoscope 6y ago
Now this is fun. The S Pen on my Note 8 works in MS Paint! I guess I shouldn't be surprised - it just treats it like a mouse - but it was neat to see. https://imgur.com/a/R8rbdYZ https://imgur.com/a/R8rbdYZ
jp1016 6y ago
this is so cool, I have created a code screenshot tool with windows xp and windows 98 theme on https://codekeep.io/screenshot https://codekeep.io/screenshot
qubex 6y ago
Very pretty... but just about everything I wanted to try out (Control Panel to switch to the Classic interface, the Run command, Command Prompt) just gave generic “program not found” errors, which I understand, but which makes this little more than a tableaux—though indeed it is termed a ‘recreation’ and not an ‘emulation’, so maybe I was just hoping for too much. Well done on the visuals, though. Very impressive.
onion-soup 6y ago
XP was such an aesthetically pleasing OS.
rawoke083600 6y ago
Lol windows has never felt faster ! :D
jmnicolas 6y ago
I wish you had a functioning Internet Explorer, a browser running inside a browser, but yeah I expect it would be tremendous work!
- mszcz 6y ago
  Oh, I thought that's actually how it's supposed to be. You could never browse the internet with Internet Explorer ;))
CornCobs 6y ago
Paint has a "Render history as gif" function??? That is amazing! Or is this a new feature in paint?
anilakar 6y ago
The sad part: It feels more snappy than my Windows 10 desktop it runs on.
ziggystardust 6y ago
Honestly, windows XP is still a better interface than windows 10.
rcshubhadeep 6y ago
Really nice. Is the source code available?
- syx 6y ago
  Yea it’s on GitHub here: https://github.com/ShizukuIchi/winXP/ https://github.com/ShizukuIchi/winXP/
philjackson 6y ago
I miss Winamp so much.
scared2 6y ago
So beautiful. Good job.
timonoko 6y ago
Office Droids are rejoicing. I do not get any this, because (pirated) Window 95 was the last one, as Linux was quite complete already.
- timonoko 6y ago
  I love when the Downvoting Crew finds something they dont like and then go back in history to downvote something totally unrelated and mundane.
anonymfus 6y ago
I like how unimplemented menu items in your Notepad clone are grayed out as disabled, I would love to see this principle implemented in the rest of this art piece.
dpedu 6y ago
Somehow, this feels more snappy and responsive than my native OS. Bravo.
nojvek 6y ago
This brought back so many memories. Thanks for building this.
nojvek 6y ago
“Anything that can be built in a browser will be built in a browser” Not sure who said that but I love that quote.
brailsafe 6y ago
This doesn't really seem to work on my OnePlus 3, but if I think about it, what part of this would emphasize React's performance characteristics? Aren't most things on the XP desktop just static images and buttons and so on? That being said, the assets are spot on and visually it seems identical.
szszrk 6y ago
Wow, a fast winamp, like it used to be. It even collapses to those tiny little menu and can use skins. Pure awesomeness.

582 points by fibo 6y ago

Run it at full screen and can't back to the browser view. All function keys are captured. Nice. Now add Excel or Word to it. Running it at full screen would be a nice "I'm working hard" wallpaper for the people peeping over your shoulder.

alexdumitru 6y ago
Is that possible? I can get out of fullscreen with no problem.
ngcc_hk 6y ago
Does it run the Tetris with a key to show a spreadsheet that you are working

sxp 6y ago

Wow. You can even load a Winamp skin from https://skins.webamp.org/ https://skins.webamp.org/ into the player and adjust the EQ. Though, I'm not sure if I trust that OS since I see a tooltip telling me that I don't have AV installed :)

Closi 6y ago
Thank this repo! https://github.com/captbaritone/webamp https://github.com/captbaritone/webamp

hiidrew 6y ago

“Your computer might be at risk” That extra detail made it very realistic.

lostgame 6y ago
Came here to say this. As soon as it popped up, I was like; oh, shit, yup - there it is. WinAmp and it's fantastically on-point UI-mockup and functionality was also a super nice touch. tbh I still use Windows XP SP3 in my VM on my Mac for the occasional Windows utility I need. It's super no-cruft and lightweight - especially as a VM - compared to anything since - and is surprisingly compatible. Because it's in a VM, I'm not too worried about the security issues, and most of the Windows-only utilities I use are fairly archaic anyway. (In computer years)
- jyrkesh 6y ago
  Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised that the Winamp EQ is fully functioning.
- giancarlostoro 6y ago
  I am hoping to someday see total stability in ReactOS to the level where we can use that as a Windows VM. I forget what that VirtualBox mode is I think its called Seamless it would be neat to be able to just run ReactOS in Seamless mode in a VM with low memory footprint.
- airstrike 6y ago
  https://github.com/captbaritone/webamp https://github.com/captbaritone/webamp
  - Wezl 6y ago
    Which is used in https://98.js.org/ https://98.js.org/ . (submitted: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24955925 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24955925)
    - lostgame 6y ago
      Needs anti-aliasing disabled on the text - really ruins the otherwise awesome effect and otherwise excellent effort.
- ChrisSD 6y ago
  Wait are we seriously at the point where XP is now considered "super no-cruft and lightweight"? XP? How times have changed.
  - toper-centage 6y ago
    > How times have changed. Windows has become a 20+GB OS with a mess of dumbed down UIs. So yes, XP was effective and light by today's standards. That's partially because your current mobile phones are more powerful than the PCs that used to run XP.
mulmen 6y ago
I appreciate that it can only be dismissed. Clicking the bubble as asked does nothing.
- 6510 6y ago
  how do I secure it?
  - kempbellt 6y ago
    Ctrl + W (Or Command + W on Mac)
badrequest 6y ago
For me, it was the fading to grey when you hit "Shutdown"
- pseudosavant 6y ago
  I hadn't noticed that. That is a small but very authentic part of the XPerience. I didn't even remember it did that, until I saw it happen in this.
ksrm 6y ago
It just needs periodic "Messenger Service" popups to be 100% authentic.

Xorlev 6y ago

Paint et. all work too, what an incredible simulation! :)

martijnvds 6y ago

That's another way to make "ReactOS" :)

dmitrybrant 6y ago

This is excellent, with the very minor detail of the fonts, which look a little off, and perhaps a little too anti-aliased? This seems to be the main issue with all web-based retro simulations of Windows 9x and XP. I'm guessing this is because the default font (Tahoma?) isn't freely licensed? Everything else is spot on, though!

kevingadd 6y ago
Browser text rasterization isn't configurable enough to make text look like XP, even if you have the right font.

reificator 6y ago

I am very disappointed in the lack of response from Explorer > Help > Is this copy of Windows legal?

hashtagmarkup 6y ago
I was disappointed that winamp visualizations didn't work, especially considering milkdrop has already been ported to the web: https://webamp.org/ https://webamp.org/
- reificator 6y ago
  I thought someone else in the thread said they did work. That's a lot more work than a quick easter egg, I'm just impressed it's as complete as it is. And a lot of the places where it's not (Antivirus popup) are funnier by not being implemented.
- Philip-J-Fry 6y ago
  This project is using Webamp. Maybe it's an older version or something. It also uses jspaint https://github.com/1j01/jspaint https://github.com/1j01/jspaint
- trashburger 6y ago
  As soon as I tried to play the visualizations the nvidia driver gave up and I had to hard reboot, the heck?
Defenestresque 6y ago
In a moment of serendipity, I was just finishing up a tiny project prompted by a moment of nostalgia: installing a Windows XP system under VirtualBox and getting the internet working on it. I always had fond memories of Win2k and WinXP and I wanted to know if my feelings today would match what I remembered, or if I was just seeing the past through rose-coloured glasses. I couldn't get IE to co-operate with modern browsing bar a few websites, I'm assuming this was to do with SSL. I did get Firefox 41 .0 working a few minutes ago and immediately went to HN to test it (as an easy https-enabled text-based website) only to find this to be the top post. For those curious, clicking Help -> Is this copy of Windows legal? goes to a 404 [0] page in IE. To answer my own question: Windows XP feels incredibly more user-friendly and accessible than the version of Windows 10 that I bailed from to Linux. I don't know how much of that is familiarity and how much is actual difference, though I did use Windows 10 far longer than I did Windows XP before finally deciding it's not working for me. Why are there two control panels? Why do I have to move the mouse all over the screen to click something because the OS uses a weird mix of desktop-oriented and touchscreen-oriented design? Why do I have to dive into the guts of the system to disable the invasive features that track me and send my information to Microsoft? Opening Windows Media Player prompted me with some privacy options such as obtaining licensing info and sending diagnostics back to Microsoft, each of which were clearly explained and had to be toggled on/off in the setup. It was so clearly out of the norm at the time that they went out of their way to make it visible. I feel like today it would not even warrant a mention, bar locales where that's required by law. Perhaps I'm wrong, but with WinXP it feels like I own the system. The customer-merchant relationship is clear. I paid Microsoft money, they provided me with software and now I am using it. 15 years ago I never would have though to consider that a company whose software I use would be selling my personal data to figure out exactly what kind of ads I should see. Using Windows 10 now feels like a constant battle between me and the company that sold me the software ("do you want to enable Cortana? can we send your keyboard input to our servers? can we update your system without permission unless you have an enterprise account? can we, can we, can we...") I'm not RMS. I don't care if companies use binary blobs to distribute drivers or collect basic usage info without full disclosure. Yet I still feel the pendulum has swung too far and its momentum continues to push it in the same direction. In both UI design and privacy. I'm glad that there are still a vocal group of enthusiastic people that are keeping the spirit of FOSS alive, but I'm concerned about the commoditization of our information. Phew, sorry, I got really bloody off-topic. Great website! It didn't work on my WinXP VM under Firefox or IE but it did work on my Linux system. Congrats! [0] https://i.imgur.com/M2NoHrt.png https://i.imgur.com/M2NoHrt.png

pachico 6y ago

I couldn't contain a smile when I saw Winamp's interface :)

djtriptych 6y ago
Same! I need to print up posters lol

deleted 6y ago

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emilsedgh 6y ago

How much work was put into this it's impressive!

fredley 6y ago

Very sad MSN Messenger did not open. This was still a hell of a nostalgia trip for me.

anthk 6y ago
He could map it to a Jabber client. Or IRC.

jeroenhd 6y ago

Not quite Win2k in the browser [0] but it's a pretty good simulation of Windows. Sounds like this would be a fun project for trying out new frameworks. It's missing one feature that's been in Windows since 1.0: closing an application by clicking the top left (icon) in the task bar. [0]: https://bellard.org/jslinux/vm.html?url=win2k.cfg&mem=192&graphic=1&w=1024&h=768 https://bellard.org/jslinux/vm.html?url=win2k.cfg&mem=192&gr...

contravariant 6y ago
Finally a way to play the real solitaire!

skee0083 6y ago

I love windows xp. always have and still find it eaiser and more intuitive than windows 10. I encourage everyone to donate and support reactOS. It's our only hope for a sane open source OS.

deleted 6y ago
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beprogrammed 6y ago

http://www.windows93.net http://www.windows93.net

collaborative 6y ago
That's really cool too
dinkleberg 6y ago
The music really makes this one
- aperrien 6y ago
  The Diablo Swing Orchestra made a sale from me today. Does the same music list show up for everyone?
banana_giraffe 6y ago
The little things in life make me happy: https://imgur.com/a/GGwKJQo https://imgur.com/a/GGwKJQo
vecinu 6y ago
I can't believe I actually spent 15 minutes getting lost in Castle Wolfenstein 3D on this, thanks for the memories!

collaborative 6y ago

Amazing

jaytaylor 6y ago

Does this work for anyone on mobile? When I try to click on things it doesn't seem to register, for example- the start button.

joshspankit 6y ago
I’m on an ipad, and yes. Not perfect but decent. Paint recognizes touches. Have to quickly double-tap the start button, but other than that it works
- saagarjha 6y ago
  iPad runs a heuristic to convert touches into clicks or hovers.
codazoda 6y ago
Same problems on my Pixel 3a. Looks pretty accurate. This must have been a significant labor of love.

mrlambchop 6y ago

I didn't realize that I needed half an hour therapy from playing minesweeper, yet I feel so much better now. Nice work ShizukuIchi!

stareatgoats 6y ago

Wow - that's impressive! Now all you need to implement is the file explorer interface on top of indexedDB ...

djtriptych 6y ago

Really nice. And seeing winamp running just instinctively made me smile. Computers used to be fun!

gao8a 6y ago

NO PINBALL?!?! Other than that well done :)

Dalrymple 6y ago

Windows XP is reportedly the last version of Windows where Bill Gates played a key role in its creation and quality control – something he was very good at. In my view he should return to this job and stop listening to the Melinda Gates and Lorraine Jobs of the world encouraging him to work on saving the universe when Windows has been going downhill ever since he left. If Bill were to start with a Windows XP sp3 base, here are a bakers dozen of tasks to get him and his new software team started. I am calling this new product Windows XP-TNG for now. Feel free to add to this list: 1. WinXP-TNG should be 64 bit only, at the same level of reliability or better as Win XP 32 bit. Support for disks larger than 2tb and main memory greater than 4gb. 2. USB 3 support. 3. Investigate if and how this 48 bit address business could be expanded to the full 64 bits. 4. DirectX 12 support 5. Directory printer option (like the best add-on utilities provide) 6. Print to PDF file print driver (better than the best add-on utilities provide) 7. Integrate the old Office 2003 into Windows XP-TNG without separate activation. Customers that really want a newer Office would buy a Cloud version or the Windows 10 native app. 8. Integrate a “cleaner” utility that would remove any malware from PDF, and, if needed, epub files. 9. Deleted file recovery (beyond restore points). Search entire disk and rebuild desired directory entries functionality (much better than the best add-on utilities provide). 10. One button setup of “classic” Win 95/2000 options and developer settings like View-Details. 11. Fix bug that causes large, say 1tb file transfers, with Copy-Paste to fail. Drag-and-Drop works ok. 12. Long-term bug fixing and cybersecurity support. 13. Option for automatic registry backups, user can delay and specify number of backups before recycling.

simonklitj 6y ago
I feel like billionaires can't win, whatever they do.
- appleflaxen 6y ago
  huh. i kind of feel like they've already won...
  - simonklitj 6y ago

dheera 6y ago

And here's Windows 2000 in a browser: https://bellard.org/jslinux/vm.html?url=win2k.cfg&mem=192&graphic=1&w=1024&h=768 https://bellard.org/jslinux/vm.html?url=win2k.cfg&mem=192&gr... And Windows 95 in a browser: https://copy.sh/v86/?profile=windows95 https://copy.sh/v86/?profile=windows95 And Windows 3.1 in a browser: https://www.pcjs.org/software/pcx86/sys/windows/3.10/ https://www.pcjs.org/software/pcx86/sys/windows/3.10/

4gotunameagain 6y ago

Joke's on you; I don't need this. At work I still frequently use a winXP box to compile stuff. But, impressive and awesome :)

ChrisSD 6y ago
I can somewhat understand having to compile for XP (it's been 20 years but... legacy, I get it). However compiling on XP must be hell. Do you mind me asking what you do that requires this?
- mhh__ 6y ago
  I think a lot of embedded stuff still orbits around XP.
- 4gotunameagain 6y ago
  Aerospace. A specific instrument requires that its code is compiled with a gcc version from the nineties. It has been working since then and introducing a new compiler would change the binary generated, thus nullifying all the accumulated flight hours. And why windows XP? Well, the gcc binary is 16 bit...
  - ygra 6y ago
    Doesn't Windows 10 have a 32-bit version as well?
    - 4gotunameagain 6y ago
      There are a lot of potential solutions and tbh changing my host OS didn't occur to me. I don't think I would do it though, as the current plan is to recompile the desired version with a modern gcc. It's one of those tasks that stay on the backlog though..
  - e12e 6y ago
    > It has been working since then and introducing a new compiler would change the binary generated Surely making a code change and recompiling would also change the binary?

iammiles 6y ago

I was not expecting Paint to actually save my file, let alone paint. Bravo.

6510 6y ago
I might actually need it for projects locked into its unique cheap look.
john_miller 6y ago
fyi, paint is just an iframe containing https://jspaint.app/ https://jspaint.app/

l9k 6y ago

I just spent an hour on minesweeper

vaccinator 6y ago

Who would get Windows XP when you can have Windows 2000? (not kidding)

tracyhenry 6y ago

Nice work! I wonder how much effort did it take to get the the correct web layout and css styles? With React it seems like the logic should be simpler to implement (assuming there isn't much change to WinAmp and JSPaint).

pxi 6y ago

Oh no, my computer might be at risk! So that's what I missed out on when I switched to linux :) (Fantastic effort guys)

ineedasername 6y ago

Sadly it's not all functional yet: I couldn't play spades.

coupdejarnac 6y ago

This gives me the feeling I think I would have on a holodeck- everything is superficially very realistic if you don't dig too deep.

deleted 6y ago

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smusamashah 6y ago

It should already be in this list https://github.com/syxanash/awesome-web-desktops https://github.com/syxanash/awesome-web-desktops https://simone.computer/#/webdesktops https://simone.computer/#/webdesktops

osipov 6y ago

I miss the WinAmp sound: "it really kicks llama's ..."

ilrwbwrkhv 6y ago

This still is one of the best ux. This and Windows 2000. Straight to the point and fast.

gruez 6y ago
I kinda like Vista more (in addition to 2000). Less fisher-price and oversaturated colors.
- pmorici 6y ago
  I've always change to the 'classic' theme until it was finally removed in Windows 10.
qwerty456127 6y ago
By the way, what I find weird is NO Linux modification (DE/WM theme or whatever) marketed as a Windows XP (or Windows 98) clone ever actually looked close to the original - every single one looked a rough parody. I wish there were some really good... Even today the default Raspbian LXDE could look less ugly if they could make taskbar-based launcher and tray icons slightly smaller (kind of like in Windows 95-XP) rather than 100% taskbar height, but they won't.
- anthk 6y ago
  Classic 95 with XFCE is really good, and some modern themes from b00merang in Cinammon look really close. You didn't look enough then... https://b00merang.weebly.com/themes.html https://b00merang.weebly.com/themes.html
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- zozbot234 6y ago
  > Even today the default Raspbian LXDE could look less ugly if they could make taskbar-based launcher and tray icons slightly smaller rather than full taskbar height, but they won't. You can tweak size for icons and the taskbar in the panel settings, AIUI. It's relatively easy to give LXDE or Xfce that kind of "classic" look.

holler 6y ago

Winamp!! Wow, talk about nostalgia... this is really cool. I just realized thankfully we don't really need to test websites against IE6+ anymore but if we did and the browser worked, this would be really useful! nice work.

aplummer 6y ago

What an os. Less is more for the start bar

deleted 6y ago

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dmix 6y ago

This loads super fast on a phone and is very responsive. Modern js done right can provide top tier interfaces. So many frontend let performance go by the way side when making interactive web apps. And performance can also be UX, how things appear and the flow of the loading. Things like placeholder boxes [1] with the same size so the load isn’t janky is one good hack. The sort of thing you don’t have to care about with native apps. [1] I’m on the fence about the value of loading icons in each placeholder, they’ll figure out something is loaded soon enough. Not need for the distraction or highlighting loading times. Errors for components are another matter. Although of course server side rendering of everything is the ideal initial state.

ricksharp 6y ago
Yeah, this is amazing. Works great even on iPhone. Going to save this one for the next time someone says React is slow. This worked instantly for me (just like my website, I wonder if they are using Gatsby or something else for static pre-rendering).
- csande17 6y ago
  Funnily enough, you can actually run the real Windows XP in an x86 emulator on a recent iPhone or iPad, and the UI responds acceptably quickly: https://www.cultofmac.com/717191/run-windows-xp-iphone-ipad-without-jailbreaking/ https://www.cultofmac.com/717191/run-windows-xp-iphone-ipad-...
- jbverschoor 6y ago
  Well... You're comparing performance of almost 20 year old computers to your current machine. It takes 3 seconds to start paint. The webpage is 'only' using 85-101MB ram to do nothing. Remind you that the requirements were: 233MHz CPU + 64MB RAM Let's say you're running a late 2019 macbook pro 13". That's: 16384MB RAM, and 1400-3900 MHz cpu (x8 threads) with 8MB cache. Which includes branch etc etc. All that aside, it looks pixel-perfect to me, and it behaves the same afaict :-)
  - ricksharp 6y ago

pseudosavant 6y ago

I stumbled around their github and they have a project that I think is far more fun and interesting that even this great Windows XP clone. A bunch of very real looking fake screens: OS update that won't ever finish, crashed, Google Search that doesn't return any results. Check it out. This would be great for pranking co-workers, you know, if we could work in the same room... https://github.com/ShizukuIchi/fake-screen https://github.com/ShizukuIchi/fake-screen

yskchu 6y ago

The source code: https://github.com/ShizukuIchi/winXP https://github.com/ShizukuIchi/winXP

ricardobeat 6y ago

It is astonishing that so little has changed in almost 30 years. Despite visual differences, menus and windowing in general is almost exactly the same.

ricardobeat 6y ago
*are

csdreamer7 6y ago

Memories. Really was sad to see XP go... Maybe one day Microsoft will release it under the GPL (also would take the Mozilla Public License or the Eclipse Public License). Of course, even if the code was released, getting the theme released is a different matter.

idktech 6y ago

This is something else! Great job!!!

bishala 6y ago

Really very impressive. The applications like Paint, Notepad etc. actually work! WOW!

anta40 6y ago

Very nicely done. But wait... can't open any page on IE? And no cmd.exe? :)

zeptonix 6y ago

Absolutely amazing!

tomcat27 6y ago

So many memories from school days!!

arthurcolle 6y ago

no filesystem? :(

stanislavb 6y ago

I love that there's a Winamp with playable music. Such a joy.

known 6y ago

You may want to install/configure xcompmgr -cCfF -r7 -o.65 -l-10 -t-8 -D7 for rendering good looking fonts in Linux;

Stratoscope 6y ago

Now this is fun. The S Pen on my Note 8 works in MS Paint! I guess I shouldn't be surprised - it just treats it like a mouse - but it was neat to see. https://imgur.com/a/R8rbdYZ https://imgur.com/a/R8rbdYZ

jp1016 6y ago

this is so cool, I have created a code screenshot tool with windows xp and windows 98 theme on https://codekeep.io/screenshot https://codekeep.io/screenshot

qubex 6y ago

Very pretty... but just about everything I wanted to try out (Control Panel to switch to the Classic interface, the Run command, Command Prompt) just gave generic “program not found” errors, which I understand, but which makes this little more than a tableaux—though indeed it is termed a ‘recreation’ and not an ‘emulation’, so maybe I was just hoping for too much. Well done on the visuals, though. Very impressive.

onion-soup 6y ago

XP was such an aesthetically pleasing OS.

rawoke083600 6y ago

Lol windows has never felt faster ! :D

jmnicolas 6y ago

I wish you had a functioning Internet Explorer, a browser running inside a browser, but yeah I expect it would be tremendous work!

mszcz 6y ago
Oh, I thought that's actually how it's supposed to be. You could never browse the internet with Internet Explorer ;))

CornCobs 6y ago

Paint has a "Render history as gif" function??? That is amazing! Or is this a new feature in paint?

anilakar 6y ago

The sad part: It feels more snappy than my Windows 10 desktop it runs on.

ziggystardust 6y ago

Honestly, windows XP is still a better interface than windows 10.

rcshubhadeep 6y ago

Really nice. Is the source code available?

syx 6y ago
Yea it’s on GitHub here: https://github.com/ShizukuIchi/winXP/ https://github.com/ShizukuIchi/winXP/

philjackson 6y ago

I miss Winamp so much.

scared2 6y ago

So beautiful. Good job.

timonoko 6y ago

Office Droids are rejoicing. I do not get any this, because (pirated) Window 95 was the last one, as Linux was quite complete already.

timonoko 6y ago
I love when the Downvoting Crew finds something they dont like and then go back in history to downvote something totally unrelated and mundane.

anonymfus 6y ago

I like how unimplemented menu items in your Notepad clone are grayed out as disabled, I would love to see this principle implemented in the rest of this art piece.

dpedu 6y ago

Somehow, this feels more snappy and responsive than my native OS. Bravo.

nojvek 6y ago

This brought back so many memories. Thanks for building this.

nojvek 6y ago

“Anything that can be built in a browser will be built in a browser” Not sure who said that but I love that quote.

brailsafe 6y ago

This doesn't really seem to work on my OnePlus 3, but if I think about it, what part of this would emphasize React's performance characteristics? Aren't most things on the XP desktop just static images and buttons and so on? That being said, the assets are spot on and visually it seems identical.

szszrk 6y ago

Wow, a fast winamp, like it used to be. It even collapses to those tiny little menu and can use skins. Pure awesomeness.