Is Windows 95 back on track? Upgrading an old OS to work with modern applications and something else

The other day it became known that the Windows 95 operating system, which is already almost 30 years old, was modernized in such a way that it received .NET support. In addition, other work has been done, so that this OS is now compatible with a large number of modern programs. This also has a practical meaning – you can expand the functionality of hopelessly outdated hardware.

What's happened?

YouTube user MattKC reported that, that he managed to implement support for the .NET framework, which was not and could not have been previously in Windows 95. In Windows 98 – yes, but not in 95. According to the craftsman, in order to force the OS to support .NET, he had to not only copy various DLL files, but also make several thousand changes to the system registry.

It is clear that nothing could be taken from Windows 10 or 11 to be transferred to Windows 95 – the difference between the systems is too big. Instead, the craftsman took various components of Windows 98. And at the first stage, nothing worked, since Windows 95 lacked the important component ndphlpr, which was required for the functioning of .NET. But after a little additional configuration, they managed to deceive the old operating system – and .NET still worked.

Of course, at first there were problems and various bugs. But the craftsman managed to overcome them, achieving increasingly optimal operation of the system. As a result, Windows 95 began to support thousands and thousands of modern programs.

Why is all this? In general, the developer himself was involved in the project simply because it was interesting, just for fun. But, as mentioned above, there is also a practical application, because very old PCs with limited resources can now be revived a little. Of course, such computers will not be able to handle modern Photoshop, but various “light” applications will do just fine.

Not Windows 95 alone

There are other projects aimed at “reanimating” old computers. One of the most promising is ChromeOS Flex. The corporation proposes to use this system on those computers and laptops that simply will not support newer platforms, for example, Windows 11.

Google argues for its idea that both companies and private users will be able to extend the life of their equipment, regardless of what hardware characteristics the computers have. Also, switching from Windows 10 to ChromeOS Flex will help reduce the amount of electronic waste on the planet. In December 2023, the results of a study were published, according to which about 240 million computers will end up in the trash due to the inability to update their software to Windows 11. To understand the scale of this problem, it is enough to imagine about 480,000 tons of electronic waste that ends up in a short period of time. to landfills.

Google will put this information to good use by convincing the public that switching to ChromeOS Flex will solve the problem. “Businesses can choose ChromeOS Flex, which will automatically update on any year of computer. This will extend the life of the device, prevent it from ending up in a landfill, reduce the likelihood of cyber attacks and save money on hardware upgrades,” company representatives say. Without a doubt, Google sees the end of the Windows 10 life cycle as an opportunity to expand market share for its product. Although ChromeOS Flex is not exactly identical to the ChromeOS operating system, it still includes its core features. In addition, the OS is free and has minimal hardware requirements.

ChromeOS Flex was announced in 2022 as an operating system that can run on virtually any Windows or macOS computer. The installation process is really simple – you just need to download the software image and create a bootable USB drive to run it. One of the most significant advantages, which has already been mentioned, is compatibility with computers older than 2017. The user will need a device with a 64-bit x86 processor (Intel or AMD), 4 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. Also requires full access to the BIOS as an administrator and the ability to boot from a USB device.

The characteristics of most computers still running Windows 10 significantly exceed these modest requirements. And Google is ensuring that the transition to ChromeOS Flex will be easy, especially in spaces with a lot of computers, such as offices. Windows operating systems lead the global market, retaining 73% of users. At the same time, Windows 10 is used by 66.45% of consumers, and ChromeOS has a minimal presence in the software sector. Even Linux takes 3.77%, representing a more flexible alternative than Google's product.

And, by the way, Microsoft may well compete with Google. So, at the end of last year it became known that Microsoft was preparing a special version of Windows. It will be based on the Edge browser, which, in turn, is based on the Chromium engine. As far as we can tell, this OS will be aimed at educational institutions.

The latest project is still in doubt, since there is only preliminary information. But the fact that there is now a tendency towards the revival of old technology is good. If everything continues to increase, perhaps the volume of computers and laptops thrown into landfills will decrease significantly.