Windows 93[1][2][3] (often stylised as WINDOWS93) is a website stylised to look and work as an operating system,[4] often called a Web OS, and a parody of the Windows 9x series. It was developed and is managed by two French musicians and programmers who go by the handles jankenpopp and Zombectro. The site features several web applications which reference and feature Internet memes from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Windows 93
Type of site
Web OS
Created byjankenpopp, Zombectro
URLwindows93.net

History

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Version 0

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Version 0 is an initial proof-of-concept build that jankenpopp gave to Zombectro. It features an interactive start menu and draggable icons. The version only had 1 working app.[5]

Version 1

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Version 1 is the first release version, finished on November 1, 2014. It added more functionality to windows and the start menu, and introduced several apps (for a total of 38), including a fully-functional web browser.[6]

Version 2

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Version 2 is the previous version of Windows 93, published on June 10, 2017. Version 2 added the A: drive which allows users to store files, run custom JavaScript and apply custom CSS from the browser's local storage. It introduced several more apps, including Trollbox, a web chat application; and Bindowzuchan, an imageboard (the latter of which is discontinued).

Version 3 (Public beta)

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Version 3 is the latest version of Windows 93, currently in public beta, which was released on February 14, 2023. It was released with a complete rework of the Sys42 framework. It removed almost all the apps from Version 2 and added some new ones. Trollbox was brought back in the winter of 2023.

Popularity

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When Windows 93 was released in October of 2014, it became viral on social media and blogs. It amassed 4,000,000 users in two weeks.[7][8]

Applications

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The website contains many applications:

Version 1 and 2

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  • Terminal: Executes commands
  • Cat Explorer: A semi-functional web browser
  • Trollbox: A live chat.
  • 93 Realms: A text-based RPG
  • ANSI Love: An image browser
  • ASCII Gallery: A gallery of ASCII Art
  • MIDI Jukebox: A MIDI music player
  • Potato.yt: A YouTube video
  • Recorder: An audio recorder
  • Piskel: A Pixel Art editor
  • CodeMirror: An Integrated Development Environment
  • HexEd: A Hex editor
  • 3D: Creates 3D text saying "Windows93"
  • Calc: A Calculator
  • Bananamp: An audio player
  • SAE: A Commodore Amiga emulator
  • Maze 3D: A 3D maze rendered with characters
  • Poney Jockey: Meme soundbard
  • Byte Beat: Music composition application
  • Speech: Voice synthesizer
  • FX: Applies effects to the screen
  • Robby: A thief simulator with text-based graphics
  • Virtual PC: Launches another instance of Windows93 inside the current instance
  • Hampster: Displays GIFs of hampsters with music

Version 3

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  • Chess960: A chess implementation
  • Diapson: Simulates various instruments
  • I know basic: A BASIC interpreter, with support for three different versions.
  • ImageViewer: An image viewer
  • Karoké: A kareoke application
  • MediaPlayer: A video and audio player
  • TextEdit: A text editor that imitates Windows Notepad

References

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  1. ^ "Meet Windows 93, a glimpse at what Windows could have been if Bill Gates loved LSD". PCWorld. March 9, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  2. ^ ""Windows 93": a psychedelic nightmare that could have been". SlashGear. March 9, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Windows 93: a version to make fun of Windows". LinuxAddicts. March 10, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  4. ^ "WINDOWS 93, A Surreal Online Version of a Nonexistent Computer Operating System". Laughing Squid. October 27, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "WINDOWS 93". v0.windows93.net.
  6. ^ "WINDOWS93". v1.windows93.net.
  7. ^ Fernández, Jorge Sanz (April 25, 2019). "Vuelve a los noventa con Windows 93, una genial mezcla de Windows 95 y 3.1" [Return to the nineties with Windows 93, a brilliant mix of Windows 95 and 3.1]. Cinco Días (in Spanish). Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  8. ^ "Windows93, un «Windows» online que no puedes dejar de visitar" [Windows93, an online "Windows" that you must visit] (in Spanish). March 6, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
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