Hacker News with Generative AI: Nostalgia

Still booting after all these years: The people using ancient Windows computers (bbc.com)
CTRL+ALT+DEL, but make it forever. As technology marches on, some people get trapped using decades-old software and devices. Here's a look inside the strange, stubborn world of obsolete Windows machines.
Technology, Operating Systems, Windows, Nostalgia, Computers
7 points by pantalaimon 31 days ago | 0 comments
NES Zapper Becomes Telephone (hackaday.com)
Although there was a time in the 80s (and early 90s for fans of the SuperScope) where light guns were immensely popular, with games like DuckHunt cultural touchstones, their time in the video game world has largely come to an end.
Retro Gaming, Hardware Hacking, Nostalgia
5 points by nickbild 33 days ago | 0 comments
Why old games never die, but new ones do (wordpress.com)
It’s well known that video games today are disposable pieces of slop. Modern multiplayer games tend to fall into one of two categories: they’re abandoned after a while and the servers are pulled (sometimes comically fast, like with Concord), while other games are endlessly changing “live service” games where they get endless updates and free content at the expense of having microtransactions in all their predatory varieties.
Video Games, Gaming Industry, Trends, Nostalgia
300 points by airhangerf15 34 days ago | 324 comments
My Epic, 40-Year Dungeons and Dragons Odyssey (timharford.com)
In 1984, when I was 11 years old, a friend told me about something new, something exciting. He urged me to try it. He struggled to explain exactly what it was he was talking about, and I didn’t really understand what had so fired his enthusiasm. But that enthusiasm was unmistakable, so I tried it. And I loved it.
Gaming, Personal Stories, Nostalgia
11 points by jruohonen 34 days ago | 0 comments
The Monster-Slaying Game You Can Play Almost Anywhere (nytimes.com)
For decades, tech enthusiasts have made the 1993 video game Doom playable on screens of all sizes, including treadmills, calculators and pregnancy tests. (Even this article.)
Gaming, Retro Gaming, Technology, Nostalgia
22 points by jaredwiener 35 days ago | 10 comments
Winamp Source Code (github.com/alexfreud)
Winamp is a multimedia player launched in 1997, iconic for its flexibility and wide compatibility with audio formats.
Software, Open Source, Nostalgia, Music Players
7 points by gaws 35 days ago | 1 comments
Desktop Icons of Yore (datagubbe.se)
After reading an excellent blog post about the intended use cases for moricons.dll in Windows 3.1, it seemed pertinent to spread some further love for these little images.
Desktop Icons, Windows, History, Operating Systems, Nostalgia
7 points by blakespot 36 days ago | 0 comments
Ask HN: How to Make Friendster Great? (ycombinator.com)
I bought the domain friendster.com because I loved the old Friendster and wanted to bring it back. I built a social network on the site and have started to invite people from the waitlist. I'd like to make Friendster great again - do you have ideas on what I should do?
Social Media, Nostalgia, Entrepreneurship, Web Development
98 points by ca98am79 37 days ago | 141 comments
Desktop Icons of Yore (datagubbe.se)
After reading an excellent blog post about the intended use cases for moricons.dll in Windows 3.1, it seemed pertinent to spread some further love for these little images.
Windows 3.1, History, User Interfaces, Nostalgia, Software
13 points by zdw 38 days ago | 2 comments
The Golden Age of computer user groups (arstechnica.com)
Long before subreddits, computer enthusiasts used to get together—in-person!
Computer History, Communities, Technology, Nostalgia
11 points by rbanffy 38 days ago | 0 comments
Still Booting: People Stuck Using Ancient Windows Computers (bbc.com)
CTRL+ALT+DEL, but make it forever. As technology marches on, some people get trapped using decades-old software and devices. Here's a look inside the strange, stubborn world of obsolete Windows machines.
Technology, Operating Systems, Windows, Software, Nostalgia
12 points by andrewl 39 days ago | 2 comments
Still booting after all these years: The people using ancient Windows computers (bbc.com)
CTRL+ALT+DEL, but make it forever. As technology marches on, some people get trapped using decades-old software and devices. Here's a look inside the strange, stubborn world of obsolete Windows machines.
Technology, Operating Systems, Nostalgia, Computers, Software
13 points by graeme 39 days ago | 2 comments
The people stuck using ancient Windows computers (bbc.com)
CTRL+ALT+DEL, but make it forever. As technology marches on, some people get trapped using decades-old software and devices. Here's a look inside the strange, stubborn world of obsolete Windows machines.
Technology, Operating Systems, Windows, Nostalgia, Computing
20 points by zdw 40 days ago | 9 comments
Why Every Generation Thinks It Was the Last to Touch Real Life (clickworlddaily.com)
Memory plays tricks, but maybe the truth is deeper than that.
Generations, Culture, Nostalgia, Sociology, Psychology
8 points by versiqcontent 40 days ago | 6 comments
The dial-up modem lives on, in office meeting rooms (digitalseams.com)
Remember the AOL dial-up sound? In case you forgot, here’s Bernz shredding it on Guitar Hero:
Technology, Nostalgia, Music, Internet
6 points by bobbiechen 40 days ago | 0 comments
Building my childhood dream PC (fabiensanglard.net)
In 1993, I was 14 and already passionate about computers[1]. That year my mother managed to buy a PC for the household. That was quite an effort for a single mother. My brother Aurelien and I spent every waking hour on this machine, staying up all night on weekends.
Personal Projects, Nostalgia, Computing
189 points by todsacerdoti 40 days ago | 86 comments
The people stuck using ancient Windows computers (bbc.com)
CTRL+ALT+DEL, but make it forever. As technology marches on, some people get trapped using decades-old software and devices. Here's a look inside the strange, stubborn world of obsolete Windows machines.
Technology, Operating Systems, Windows, Legacy Technology, Nostalgia
9 points by padolsey 40 days ago | 3 comments
The MiniBook X N150 "netbook" (taoofmac.com)
The netbook era has come and gone, but I am one of the many people who miss small form factor laptops (12” or smaller), and I’ve found it somewhat frustrating that they’ve been nowhere to be found in mainstream offerings.
Laptops, Form Factor, Nostalgia, Technology
18 points by rcarmo 43 days ago | 13 comments
The most annoying video player of all time (mux.com)
It’s 1995. The arcade is a cathedral of noise and neon. I’ve thrown my hands up in the air, again, in disbelief; the unfairness of the Area 51 sneak attacks has me all riled up. I clutch a single quarter, heart pounding, eyes locked on the “Continue?” screen. Ten seconds. Nine. Eight. The world shrinks to a single question: Can I keep playing? Should I? What time is mom supposed to be here?
Video Players, Nostalgia, Gaming
21 points by mooreds 43 days ago | 10 comments
Sea Monkeys and X-Ray Spex (collectorsweekly.com)
Amazing! Incredible! Unbelievable! Eyeglasses that let you see through clothes. The secrets to super-human strength. Scary seven-foot tall ghosts that do your bidding. All of this could be yours for a dollar or two. At least, that’s what vintage comic-book ads would have you believe. Six years ago, artist and historian Kirk Demarais, who runs the brilliant Gen X nostalgia site, Secret Fun Blog, became determined to uncover the truth behind these comic-book ads published between the 1950s and late ’80s.
Vintage Comics, History, Advertising, Nostalgia
4 points by udit99 43 days ago | 0 comments
Ask HN: Why is no one making FILE_ID.DIZ anymore? (ycombinator.com)
Back in the BBS days, nearly every ZIP folder contained `.nfo` and `FILE_ID.DIZ` files. I searched for "FILE_ID.DIZ" on GitHub and found only [1], [2], [3] files from last year.
Nostalgia, File Formats, BBS Culture, Software Development
11 points by reconnecting 44 days ago | 6 comments
I Miss Visual Basic (webology.dev)
I miss Visual Basic. I could build something meaningful with it in 15 to 30 minutes in a way that I have never seen anything since then, even come close to.
Programming, Nostalgia, Software Development
19 points by speckx 44 days ago | 27 comments
Show HN: Sam TTS – Recreates the classic Microsoft SAM voice in the browser (samtts.com)
SAM TTS brings the iconic Microsoft Speech API (SAPI) voice from Windows XP to your browser.
Software, Web Development, Nostalgia, Voice Technology, Microsoft
15 points by chrisweiindie 45 days ago | 8 comments
Apple Turnover (hypercritical.co)
Mac users of a certain age may remember Ambrosia Software, maker of iconic shareware hits like Maelstrom and Escape Velocity. For over a decade, the Ambrosia website included this quotation on its homepage:
Software, Macintosh, History, Nostalgia
53 points by tobr 49 days ago | 8 comments
Remembering the Emergency TV Broadcast System (itsabouttv.com)
One of the wonders of the Internet has been the ability to remember and relive pleasant memories of the past.
Television, History, Nostalgia
5 points by speckx 50 days ago | 0 comments
Show HN: Clippy – 90s UI for local LLMs (felixrieseberg.github.io)
Clippy lets you run a variety of large language models (LLMs) locally on your computer while sticking with a user interface of the 1990s.
User Interface, Software, Nostalgia
1122 points by felixrieseberg 52 days ago | 275 comments
Space Invaders on your wrist: the glory years of Casio video game watches (theguardian.com)
Their tech may have been primitive, but for 80s schoolchildren of a certain kind they had a glamour to equal any modern iPhone
Video Games, Technology, History, Nostalgia
40 points by bookofjoe 56 days ago | 8 comments
The BeOS file system, an OS geek retrospective (arstechnica.com)
It's the day after Independence Day in the US, and much of our staff is just returning to their preferred work machines. If this was 1997 instead of 2018, that would mean booting up BeOS for some. The future-of-operating-systems-that-never-was arrived just over 20 years ago, so in light of the holiday, we're resurfacing this geek's guide. The piece originally ran on June 2, 2010; it appears unchanged below.
Operating Systems, Nostalgia, History
8 points by rbanffy 60 days ago | 1 comments
From HyperCard to Vibe Coding (iryanbell.com)
Remember the wild west days of the early internet? I'm thinking back to the GeoCities era, circa '97. I was twelve, hacking together hit counters on table-based pages with manually rounded corners on my parents' AOL account, sandwiched between homework and failed kickflips.
Web Development, History, Nostalgia
13 points by iryanbell 61 days ago | 0 comments
The BeOS file system, an OS geek retrospective (2018) (arstechnica.com)
It's the day after Independence Day in the US, and much of our staff is just returning to their preferred work machines. If this was 1997 instead of 2018, that would mean booting up BeOS for some. The future-of-operating-systems-that-never-was arrived just over 20 years ago, so in light of the holiday, we're resurfacing this geek's guide. The piece originally ran on June 2, 2010; it appears unchanged below.
Operating Systems, History, Nostalgia, Retro Computing
14 points by birdculture 61 days ago | 2 comments