The computers we use every day today have a relatively short history. However, they keep up with technological developments so well that many computer programs continue to be written every day. These programs, which help us shape our computers for our own personal purposes, have been in development since the computer was invented.
While we can do most of our work over the phone or cloud systems nowadays, this was not the case in the past. Today, we can listen to any music we want from our phone wherever we go, not so many years ago, we had to download a program to our computer to do this. We have listed old computer programs to evoke nostalgic feelings and to be grateful once again for what today’s technology has given us.
Computer Programs You Will Go Back To When You See The Name
- Winamp
- LimeWire
- ZoneAlarm
- Norton AntiVirus
- MSN Messenger
- Nero Burning ROM
- Command Prompt
The most nostalgic way to listen to music: Winamp (1997)
Winamp, a media player application, was one of the most popular software in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Freemium model shared from the early days meant that users could enjoy the program for free, but had to pay to unlock the extra features.
Winamp has won the hearts of users with plug-ins, great visual effects and easy ways to manage your library. However, it was eventually bought by AOL and started to go downhill.
Nowadays, tools like Winamp can still come in handy if you have a large collection of MP3s on your desktop, but with the rise of Spotify and other streaming services, younger computer users probably have no idea what Winamp is.
When downloading music, we encounter the wrong things: LimeWire (2000)
Designed as a peer-to-peer file sharing program, LimeWire was used to download much more than music. LimeWire allowed users to share movies and other files, occasionally causing viruses to spread through the system. LimeWire was a widely used Java-written program in the past, which helped it disperse across multiple operating systems.
After encountering predictably legal issues, LimeWire was shut down in 2010. But the program still exists today in a different form: FrostWire. A group of developers imitated LimeWire and created this alternative software in 2004 that was initially quite similar to the original, but over time it gained new features and became a software in itself. Nowadays, FrostWire is only available for BitTorrent, so it doesn’t have all the functionality of LimeWire, but the idea remains.
Before Windows Firewall: ZoneAlarm Firewall (2000)
Today, Windows Firewall is a security system that can provide the security that the average user needs on its own.
But when ZoneAlarm first came out, it was quite popular with users who wanted to lock in exactly what information could come and go on their system. If you’ve ever used early versions of ZoneAlarm, you know what it’s like to see constant pop-ups asking you to monitor internet traffic.
When ZoneAlarm was first released, it wasn’t all that common for software to constantly access the Internet, so it made more sense to keep track of what was going on. Nowadays, every application on your computer is always requesting internet access, so using this kind of solid firewall may not work well. Despite all these improvements, ZoneAlarm is still available. Currently ZoneAlarm’s homepage advertises mobile security apps, but mobile antivirus isn’t a necessity. The company also sells premium antivirus and firewall software, but like most paid antivirus products, ZoneAlarm isn’t really worth the asking price.
The best known of the antivirus programs: Norton AntiVirus (1991)
When it comes to antivirus software on Windows, there is no clear winner software leading. However, there are a few antivirus programs that are in the minds of long-time computer users. Norton AntiVirus is one of these programs.
Although it was said by its users that it negatively affected computer performance, it was a very effective program against the virus. Norton is still available for purchase today, but it doesn’t offer much more than its free alternatives on the market.
Legend of once: MSN Messenger (1999)
MSN Messenger, the chat program most used by the youth of a time, can be counted as the beginning of socializing on the internet. This program, which later changed its name to Windows Live Messenger, first appeared in 1999 as MSN Messenger. Coming with legendary innovations according to its release time, MSN quickly outperformed its rivals such as ICQ and MIRC.
With the update that came with Windows XP in 2001, it started to allow communication over the internet as well as sending files. The switch from MSN to Skype came as no surprise, although it was well liked by its users. Microsoft bought Skype for $8.5 billion in 2011. It was envisioned that Skype could replace MSN, but Skype never reached the popularity of MSN, who passed away on April 8, 2013.
Nero Burning ROM with which we can create our MP3 CDs
Nero Burning ROM was software that we used a lot when we still got our work done on CDs and DVDs. This software, which works in harmony with Microsoft and Linux operating systems, is a disc burning software. During its development, Nero was sold with other peripheral software such as Newo Wave Editor, Nero ImageDrive, Nero Recode. Nero Burning ROM, which develops itself in parallel with technological developments, still continues to be used. While previously burning 13-song discs, Nero now has Blu-ray Disc burning capability.
Command Prompt (1981) for those who want to make Windows changes manually
The average Windows user has probably never used the command prompt. Especially in Windows 10 we do not need the command prompt because almost everything can be done through a simple graphical interface. But we still have this outdated option.
Although we can do whatever we want on our computer with much easier interfaces, the command prompt allows us to make all changes manually by writing code.
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