People stuck in the past using ancient Windows computers

[CatCage]

Still booting after all these years: The people stuck using ancient Windows computers

 

CTRL+ALT+DEL, but make it forever. As technology marches on, some people get trapped using decades-old software and devices. Here's a look inside the strange, stubborn world of obsolete Windows machines.

 

Earlier this year I was on my way to a checkup at a doctor's office in New York City. As I rode up to the 14th floor, my eyes were drawn to a screen built into the side of the lift. Staring back was a glimpse into the history of computing. There, in a gleaming hospital full of state-of-the-art machines, was an error message from an operating system released almost a quarter of a century ago. The elevator was running Windows XP.

 

Windows 95 celebrates its 30th birthday on 24 August 2025, and this year is the 50th anniversary of Microsoft as a whole. The company may not have the cultural cachet it did when that hospital lift was installed, but after a couple of decades playing catch-up Microsoft is back on top.

 

Read more:

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250516-the-people-stuck-using-ancient-windows-computers

[proton]

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