# Favorite old pieces of software (not games) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059 "2021-02-02T15:34:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/101 "2021-02-07T08:24:50Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > The books are better, imho. At least they look better on my shelf: My uncle dumped his set on me. It appears there were different versions, as mine has different covers from yours. I haven’t tried to start reading it. My uncle admitted he only read two of the volumes. I had a copy of Encarta from 1998 or so that I favored. At some point I concluded it was outdated and discarded it. I regret that decision now. I have a CD-ROM my university issued to all incoming freshman that contained a collection of “essential software” ca. 2003. I held onto it for many years because it was more convenient than tracking it all down online. I still have it but all of the programs on it are probably out of date now. I also used a program called 2xExplorer which was a more-or-less generic file explorer but with two panes. I liked it. > [@JohnT](#): > > ($150 for set of books) That is more what my set looks like. > [@GreenWyvern](#): > > IrfanView was first released by Irfan Skiljan in 1996. > > It’s still going strong, and I still use it all the time. I’m also an IrfanView user but I use the latest 64-bit version. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/102 "2021-02-07T08:33:46Z")
> [@Tabco](#): > > I’m also an IrfanView user but I use the latest 64-bit version. I didn’t mean I was still using the 1996 version! 🙂 I’m also using the latest 64-bit version. ---
**Author:** ![mundylion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundylion/32/3604_2.png) [@mundylion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mundylion)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/103 "2021-02-07T15:56:56Z")
I think perhaps Borland Sidekick was the program Mr. Downtown referred to above, where you could highlight a phone number and it would dial for you. I remember reading that Sidekick was going to be the next 123 and like a sucker went out and purchased some Borland stock. How can a guy named Phillipe not be a genius, right? Hah. I was smitten by Lotus Agenda, a program that would somehow figure out what words went together and build a sort of database out of them. Sometimes touted as a ‘spreadsheet for words’ and James Fallows of the Atlantic was a big fan. It’s the only program whose big slipcover with two books in it I still have on my shelf. Those books were pretty common back when everything cost $400 (!). Before Quicken I used Managing Your Money. It arranged history and budgets in a vertical monthly array just like the General Ledger software did at my place of work. And the writer was funny with a monthly newsletter. And lets not forget, Leisure Suit Larry. God I loved that game! ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/104 "2021-02-07T16:50:49Z")
What feels like eons ago – 15 or 20 year – I bought, on a whim, a program called _3D Home Architect._ The user could design a home from the ground up, with seemingly endless customization. You could even IIRC, design garden and yard spaces. My wife and I had just gotten married and we spent many hours designing our dream house. I have no idea what happened to it, and a quick Google search tells me there isn’t a good replacement available anymore. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/105 "2021-02-07T18:11:27Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > > [@Tabco](#): > > > > I’m also an IrfanView user but I use the latest 64-bit version. > > I didn’t mean I was still using the 1996 version! 🙂 > > I’m also using the latest 64-bit version. I might make the case that software that is actively maintained and updated (and used) is not old software from the days of yore. So none of Irfanview, Word, TeX, POV-Ray, Linux is “old software”. GOOSY and TECO kind of are. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/106 "2021-02-07T18:56:51Z")
Is the “zip” function built in to Windows a direct descendant of PKZip, which I first bought as an add-on piece of shareware? How does the line of evolution travel? Plumb useful, that’s for sure, both then and today! ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/107 "2021-02-08T14:27:56Z")
That’s a good question. I don’t know anything about it being a “direct descendant” as in they actually licensed code from Phillip Katz, but the great thing is that the file format he invented is in the public domain so they did not have to. Note that Katz’s free software strategy ensured “zip” is still going strong over 30 years later. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/108 "2021-02-08T15:01:03Z")
[7-zip](https://www.7-zip.org/) was released in 1999, free and open source, and still provides the best compression overall [according to benchmarks](https://www.topattack.com/list/file-archive-formats-test-and-comparison/23). Zip format scores quite badly. I’ve been using 7-zip for many years, because it also allows to you unpack practically any archive format, and it can also create archives in several other formats besides 7z. ---
**Author:** ![Hook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@Hook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hook)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/109 "2021-02-08T16:47:23Z")
One item I have used since it first came out in 1999 is **PrintKey 2000**. Has survived all the Windows upgrades since then. Very easy to use and convenient. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/110 "2021-02-08T19:31:00Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > [7-zip](https://www.7-zip.org/) was released in 1999, free and open source, and still provides the best compression overall [according to benchmarks](https://www.topattack.com/list/file-archive-formats-test-and-comparison/23). Zip format scores quite badly. Sure. Even adhering to strict “zip” format, there was always a tradeoff between CPU time spent and the ultimate compression ratio, obviously more of an issue in 1989 and 1999 but still today and even with 7-zip (the default compression level is “5”, but you can crank it up to “9” if you want). Great free software btw. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/111 "2021-02-08T19:40:06Z")
BTW the current prize [contest](http://prize.hutter1.net/) is to compress a 1 GB snapshot from Wikipedia as much as possible. The current record is about 116 MB and takes ~23h to **un** compress. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/112 "2021-02-09T19:05:49Z")
I really liked Adobe ImageStyler. Super easy to use and could make some cool stuff. Sadly it doesn’t work on newer versions of Windows. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/113 "2021-02-09T23:21:26Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > BTW the current prize [contest](http://prize.hutter1.net/) is to compress a 1 GB snapshot from Wikipedia as much as possible. The current record is about 116 MB and takes ~23h to **un** compress. If I’m reading that right, the 116 MB includes the size of the application, not just the compressed file. Which makes it even _more_ challenging. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/114 "2021-02-09T23:42:28Z")
That’s the only sensible approach. Otherwise you could just embed the entire 1 GB inside the application, and have a 0-byte “compressed” file. The 1 GB may prove to be somewhat limiting, though. It might be that you need a really sophisticated neural net or the like to get really high compression rates–enough to contain real “understanding” of the text. But that may run multi-gigabytes as a baseline, making it uncompetitive for this test, even if it could hypothetically reduce 1 TB of text down to 50 GB. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2021, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/115 "2021-02-10T07:03:32Z")
The long-standing old contest was to compress 100 MB of Wikipedia; last year they bumped it up to 1000 MB. They are just trying to keep things reasonable (\< 100 hours on one core) on current-gen hardware. Nothing stopping you from testing on 1 TB though 🙂 I see that someone already got the 1 GB down to 112 MB using a context-mixing neural-network model with attention mechanism [like those GPT text bots]; it runs on a GPU though, therefore it does not qualify for the strict contest rules linked to above. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/116 "2021-03-29T03:56:24Z")
> [@mundylion](#): > > I think perhaps Borland Sidekick was the program Mr. Downtown referred to above, where you could highlight a phone number and it would dial for you. That sounds right! Thanks; I haven’t thought of those words together for 25 years. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/117 "2021-03-29T14:16:00Z")
As Dt. Strangelove has already posted (but the only thing I can think of that fits this thread); **James Gleick’s Chaos** , released as a tie-in to the book, was interesting. They had severa;l aspects, including features that let you zoom in endlessly at Julia and Mandelbrot sets and other fractal constructions. Apparently you can download a version free now > **[GitHub - rudyrucker/chaos: James Gleick's Chaos: The Software](https://github.com/rudyrucker/chaos)** > > James Gleick's Chaos: The Software. Contribute to rudyrucker/chaos development by creating an account on GitHub. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/118 "2021-03-29T14:21:20Z")
Polaroid’s PhotoMAX Image Maker software was an excellent, easy-to-use image editor. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/119 "2021-03-29T19:52:51Z")
My nominee (which nobody else may have heard of) would be [Plug-In for Windows](https://www.pcquest.com/plug-in-windows-26), a personalization/customization tool for Windows 3.1/3.11. What I appreciated most was something the linked article doesn’t mention: the ability to nest folders on the pre-95 desktop. Since at one time I supported eight different applications, each with its own sheaf of development tools and options (ah, the good old days before .Net), this was an Ogsend when it came to keeping my desktop from being overwhelmed. 'Course, it helps that I’m a Neanderthal who persists in thinking hierarchically … ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059/120 "2021-03-30T00:44:36Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > As Dt. Strangelove has already posted (but the only thing I can think of that fits this thread); Glad someone else liked it! I wasn’t even aware of the book until later (maybe I should pick it up someday). The app also helped prompt my interest in 3D graphics with its fractal planet rendering. I decided to make the catapult from _The Toy Shop_. The wheels actually turned out right this time! [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/5JTgwvw.png "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/5JTgwvw) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-old-pieces-of-software-not-games/932059.md?page=7)