Back in 2014, Microsoft released the source code to the first Windows version of Word, version 1.1a. Now, Justin Marshall has ported this code to modern versions of Windows, so you can run it as if it were any other modern application.
This project is a fully working native Windows x64 port of Microsoft Word for Windows 1.1a, whose historical codename was Opus. It builds the original Word source and resources together with modern replacements for the 16-bit assembly, segmented-memory, and Win16 platform boundaries.
The result is the original Word application and user experience running as a 64-bit Windows executable. This is not an emulator or a reimplementation using a modern editor control.
↫ Justin Marshall
Neat endeavour.
Binary archeology of a time where the subscription model was not yet the apex predator.
If anyone at Microsoft notices the newly-updated code around, they will add copilot to it.
Shiunbird,
Copilot versions of 90’s software would be kind of funny.
“You say?” https://www.doctorsbaitso.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Sbaitso
Kochise,
I may have that somewhere in my archives. I do find it funny that somebody made a modern parody of it using LLMs.
It just seems funny to give old titles a pointless AI banter upgrade… like “worms”, or old sierra games. People would hate it, haha.
“Hoyle Vol. 1 – Sierra Games 1989 DOS game sample”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ux6cvu9522Q
I actually do think LLMs in games can make sense, although I don’t think it should be the central mechanic. An LLM could provide realistic & interactive ATC radio chatter for example.
I love how all the UI is on the far left of the screen because it was all designed to be a fixed number of pixels from the left edge on far lower resolution screens.
I’ve yet to see a screen shot of this to confirm it actually works…
Back to when Microsoft were the ones with innovations to battle against the incumbent monopoly of WordStar and WordPerfect…
I do wonder how many features of modern word i actually use (other than docx compatibility ofc) that weren’t there since the 80s. I might have to install it somewhere find out!
Microsoft Office peaked at 97 for me. I can’t think of anything that came after that added features I truly needed.
I have two friends who are accountants for big places and for them there’s nothing after Excel 2003. They do enjoy collaborative editing to train junior colleagues, though. One of them was excited about copilot but found out that it does more harm than good.
I’d go for Word 2.0, after that was when the enshitification started.
In that particular battle, I frankly think there was not much innovation from Microsoft. At that point WordStar was already dead, and had been out of the race for a while. And the first windows version of WordPerfect was basically a pile of steaming crap, a huge self inflicted wound they never fully recovered from. And with Word 2.o Microsoft made something quite good. It was still behind Ami Pro tho.
But the “innovation” from Microsoft that made them win and overtake the market was not technical at all. It was simply bundling and convincing the world they need all office applications in one collection, hence Microsoft Office.