# Your favorite obsolete computer program/utility. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 4, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717 "2010-02-04T21:09:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/61 "2010-02-07T03:33:13Z")
The proper DOS version of FRACTINT, the world’s best fractal software, and the only reason I can think of to run Windows 98 under VMWare. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/62 "2010-02-07T03:46:37Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Last time I checked, Adventure had an entry on Wikipedia. This includes a version that runs on current Windows machines. > > I have vague (but very happy) memories of playing Adventure with Dad when I was about 5 or so. A Windows Adventure? There are no just gods… ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/63 "2010-02-07T04:24:48Z")
We still have CompuShow on 3½ around here somewhere. Wish I could remember the terminal program that I spent many hours having my C64 communicate with almost every single BBS in the New Orleans area. I could go look but that would mean fighting with my closet doors. ---
**Author:** ![Floppy\_Joe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3bc359/32.png) [@Floppy\_Joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floppy_Joe)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/64 "2010-02-08T21:12:55Z")
I was a big fan of, and I hope I get this right, 1-Der. It was an Xtree-like file utility. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/65 "2010-02-08T22:48:00Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > I always enjoyed using DOS Shell. Ditto ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/66 "2010-02-09T00:19:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > IEBPTPCH . It was a generic copy utility on OS/360 designed mostly for duplicating parts of decks of cards or doing simple dump to print operations. Back in the 70s I moved a lot of cards with that thing. Wiki has a real stroll down memory lane here [Support programs for OS/360 and successors - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_mainframe_utility_programs#IEBPTPCH) > > For all I know, z/OS still has that utility for backwards compatiblity. Yes. They do. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/67 "2010-02-09T02:24:09Z")
> [@Floppy\_Joe](#): > > I was a big fan of, and I hope I get this right, 1-Der. It was an Xtree-like file utility. I would yell “band name!” but I don’t know … the 1-Ders … I don’t really like band names with numerals. Maybe The Oneders! ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/68 "2010-02-09T04:16:20Z")
One I remember is Neko, a little cat that would chase your mouse pointer around the screen. I first saw it on IBM OS/2, but it was originally from the NEC PC clone in Japan. Now there are versions available for lots of machines, including a html web one at [http://webneko.net/](http://webneko.net/). ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/69 "2010-02-09T13:43:03Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > One I remember is Neko, a little cat that would chase your mouse pointer around the screen. I first saw it on IBM OS/2, but it was originally from the NEC PC clone in Japan. > > Now there are versions available for lots of machines, including a html web one at [http://webneko.net/](http://webneko.net/). Yes! When I first got OS/2 2.0, there was a kind of three-way conflict between OS/2, my RAM, and my motherboard. Any two worked OK, but with all three, when OS/2 was idle, my computer would crash. I found that if I had Neko running, the computer was busy enough that it wouldn’t crash, so that was set to go on startup. I still have my 486 in the basement, capable of booting to OS/2 (without the problem any more), DOS, and maybe Windows 95 too. 66 MHz DX2, 32 MB RAM, and a 4 MB caching disk controller. A screamer. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/70 "2010-02-09T17:44:39Z")
> [@RoniaBorkason](#): > > Modern games are all bells and whistles. ASCII illustration was so cool. Check out Dwarf Fortress ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/71 "2010-02-09T18:10:18Z")
> [@rivulus](#): > > “Reveal codes” in WordPerfect. I don’t know if WP is really obsolete, but in my work environment, it might as well be. Sometimes when working in Word, I long for my beloved “reveal codes” when the formatting gets FUBAR. > > If anyone knows how to do the same in Word, let me know. You would be a lifesaver! In Word 2003, Format \> Reveal Formatting, or Shift + F1. Not quite the same as WP’s Reveal Codes, but about as close as you’re gonna get. I also miss After Dark and would run it if I could. Loved the rock-paper-scissors one, and also Bad Dog! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/72 "2010-02-09T22:38:46Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > The “What was your first computer?” thread got me to thinking about the old programs that I used to love to use. My favorite was a utility called [Xtree.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xtree) As you can tell from the screenshot, it looked very much like Windows Explorer but it predated Windows by several years. I thought that Og himself had written it. Xtree was the very first thing I thought of upon reading the thread title. How I loved it. It took so much of the stupid out of MS-DOS. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/73 "2010-02-09T22:48:55Z")
As a little kid I enjoyed playing [Odell Lake](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odell_Lake_%28computer_game%29). Funny thing is, until a few weeks ago when I decided to look up the game, I had always thought that the Dolly Varden trout was joke name based on Dolly Parton. I never knew it was an actual type of fish. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/74 "2010-02-10T01:13:35Z")
Forgot to mention: whenever I see a license plate with the letter combination “LFN,” I think of Long File Names, a handy utility I used on my first computer, bought in 1993, on which 8.3 filenames were still standard. It put a file with the extension .lfn in every folder, containing the pointers from my long file names to the “real” ones. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/75 "2010-02-10T01:21:00Z")
I miss my Windows ME, but haven’t actually replaced it. I had Explorer customized to my own eccentric parameters, & I think the search function worked better than in XP. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/76 "2010-02-10T01:42:39Z")
Procomm Plus…I got a pleasant surprise when learning how to access Cisco network equipment via the console port, minicom is open source, and reminds me a LOT of Procomm ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/77 "2010-02-10T02:16:41Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > Forgot to mention: whenever I see a license plate with the letter combination “LFN,” I think of Long File Names, a handy utility I used on my first computer, bought in 1993, on which 8.3 filenames were still standard. It put a file with the extension .lfn in every folder, containing the pointers from my long file names to the “real” ones. Funny, I think that’s pretty much how OS/2 used to handle it, too. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/78 "2010-02-10T03:20:38Z")
For years and years I did all my PC-based computing in **Geoworks Ensemble** , a vastly-more-efficient alternative to Windows. The difference in performance and memory usage and features (at least at first) was night and day. But, not being published my Microsoft, it faded away… Geoworks Ensemble : Windows 3.0 :: QDos : Dos (or something like that) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/79 "2010-02-10T06:25:33Z")
I had my share of old Commodore programs (wish I could remember some of the utility names, especially my old moderm terminal program and the disk-copy utility) but I had a moment today where I needed to download some files off an FTP site and realized that I’ve been using the same FTP client for nearly 15 years. I got it off one of those CDs you’d get with the “Explore The Internet!” style books back in the 90’s (which told you about UseNet and IRC and Lynx…). I’ve transfered it to every new computer I’ve bought and even use it at work. I just looked and see they’ve jazzed it up with a new interface and that they charge for it now ($40!). But I’m still using that freeware version from the mid 1990s. ---
**Author:** ![CuriousJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb9ed0/32.png) [@CuriousJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CuriousJ)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717/80 "2010-02-10T21:05:10Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > (Is there a file manager for XP with bulk rename?) Having recently gotten an apartment after an extended period of homelessness, and having further managed to salvage a working Windows 98 computer from two non-working computers, I found a need to locate a utility called StepUp 98. If you follow the links that claim to take you to it today, they take you to the right site ([Winability.com](http://Winability.com)), but try to get you to download something called “ABC commander”, or something like that, which bills itself as some kind of replacement for Windows Explorer if I understand things correctly. After extreme effort, I lucked onto the information that the setup file I was looking for was “su98.zip”, not “setup98.exe” or even “setup98.zip”, and without much further effort found a copy. StepUp 98 has “Rename by Mask” (i.e. rename cd\*.c\*, or even _._), as well as “Copy by Mask”, “Move by Mask”, and even “Stamp by Mask” (Change the Date/Time Stamp). No promises as to how it works on newer operating systems. One of the neatest features of SU98 is its “MicroDesk”. One of its System Tray icons will display a little miniature copy of the Desktop when you click it from which you can either launch the programs represented by the icons or right-click on them and get the normal response you would get by right-clicking on the actual icons. It’s the easiest way, “IMHO”, that anybody has come up with to get to the desktop icons. Another feature I like is its “Folder History”, which, when you right-click on a folder in Windows Explorer, provides a list of the most recent folders you’ve visited, and you can go back to them. These are remembered between reboots. I don’t remember how it handles multiple explorer windows open at the same time, and haven’t had time to experiment. If you use StepUp 98, I suggest using the Alternative Icons (go into Control Panel to change the settings). The new ones all look too much alike to me. I found su98.zip at: ftp://ftp.chatnfiles.com/Winfilesdotcom/winfilesdotcom-june-98-1-of-4/shell-custom/su98.zip Take Care, Jim H. (aka CuriousJ) “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.” – Albert Einstein [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-obsolete-computer-program-utility/527717.md?page=5)