Timeline for Is it legal to download and run pirated abandonware because I'm curious about the software?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
19 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 12, 2023 at 6:55 | vote | accept | Someone | ||
| Aug 2, 2022 at 21:43 | comment | added | user4574 | @Someone Microsoft open-sourced DOS 2.0 about 4 years ago and put it on GitHub. The Microsoft Employees listed as contributors on that project might be a good starting point. Rich Turner (aka bitcrazed on GitHub) notably stands out. They have been through this process before and presumably have an interest in making old Microsoft stuff open source / free. github.com/microsoft/MS-DOS/graphs/contributors | |
| Aug 2, 2022 at 19:04 | comment | added | Someone | @user4574 how would you recommend contacting them? I sent an email to the CEO a few months ago asking them to open-source another program that's even more obsolete than Win95 several months ago, and never got a response. | |
| Aug 2, 2022 at 18:55 | comment | added | user4574 | It's always possible to ask Microsoft if they would consider putting Windows 95 in the public domain. You may be surprised. Intel put the 4004 processor in the public domain (schematics and all) based on a request by a retro-enthusiast who wanted to build a replica for the Intel Museum. 4004.com | |
| Aug 2, 2022 at 17:01 | comment | added | Clockwork-Muse | @NeilMeyer - regardless of whether an old release of Windows could even properly be considered abandonware (since there are current releases), an old program being abandoned by a company doesn't suddenly remove all IP considerations, or make them fair game (as a practical matter a company may not choose to enforce those rights, but that's not a legal requirement). | |
| Aug 2, 2022 at 14:53 | comment | added | Neil Meyer | I would think there would be way more obscure pieces of computing that still have active fanbases than the OS that brought the home computer to the masses and was the de facto standard for the home computer the world over for nearly a decade. Linux and Apple only got their niche recently and long after windows 95. | |
| Aug 2, 2022 at 14:44 | comment | added | Neil Meyer | You could check on the RetroComputing SE but you may find hundreds of questions there that prove the idea of there being "little or no practical value anymore in knowing how to use Windows 95." untrue. | |
| Aug 2, 2022 at 12:53 | comment | added | U. Windl | @NeilMeyer Windows/95 is mostly 16-bit (it runs on top of "real-mode" 16-bit MS-DOS), not 32-bit, and recent CPUs lack 16-bit mode (AFAIK). | |
| Aug 2, 2022 at 11:42 | comment | added | reirab | @NeilMeyer Why would you have trouble running a 32-bit OS on 64-bit hardware? Running a 64-bit OS on a 32-bit CPU would certainly be a problem, but running a 32-bit OS on a 64-bit CPU is not only possible, but was actually the recommended approach for running Windows XP in its later years. The vast majority of XP installations on 64-bit hardware were 32-bit XP, not 64-bit XP. They only recommended 64-bit XP for people who needed the extra address space (which was mostly just very high-end machines back then.) It wasn't until Vista that running a 64-bit OS became normal. | |
| Aug 2, 2022 at 10:21 | comment | added | komodosp | "I'm not sure it's really "educational" because there is little or no practical value" - does there need to be practical value for it to be "educational" - schools were teaching Latin for years after it fell out of use, but you'd still call it educational... | |
| Aug 2, 2022 at 10:15 | comment | added | Neil Meyer | You're going to have trouble running a 32-bit OS on 64-bit hardware. XP was the first MS OS to have 64-bit hardware support. | |
| Aug 2, 2022 at 10:13 | comment | added | Neil Meyer | Your question has an oxymoron. You cannot pirate abandonware by the mere definition of it being abandonware. Im not sure any version of Windows is abandonware though. | |
| Aug 2, 2022 at 2:51 | comment | added | Someone | @Harper-ReinstateMonica a VM on my Linux laptop that came with Windows 11 | |
| Aug 2, 2022 at 2:16 | comment | added | Harper - Reinstate Monica | What iron do you plan to run Windows 95 on? Almost any commercially made hardware of that era will have a Windows 95/98 license. | |
| Aug 1, 2022 at 20:02 | answer | added | Davislor | timeline score: 7 | |
| Aug 1, 2022 at 13:08 | comment | added | cbeleites | Side note 1: did you check whether MS offers trial versions of win 95? Side note 2 from EU: over here, it's perfectly legal to re-sell software licenses you own. Just checked, and found Win 95 installation media with proper license for about 10 €. | |
| Aug 1, 2022 at 10:41 | history | became hot network question | |||
| Aug 1, 2022 at 3:32 | answer | added | David Siegel | timeline score: 23 | |
| Aug 1, 2022 at 2:40 | history | asked | Someone | CC BY-SA 4.0 |