testing old computer legends

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testing old computer legends

Want to (re)discover the great classics that marked the beginnings of personal computing and video games? Take a look at PCjs Machines, a site where you can test legendary software in a web browser!

Whether you are a boomer nostalgic for the 80s and 90s, a millennial curious or even a generation-Z fan of retro gamingit is in your interest to take a look at PCjs Machines. Posted by Jeff Parsonsa developer who discovered computing in the seventies, this site acts as a veritable “living museum” by presenting software, games and machines that have marked the history of digital technology. “Alive” because it’s neither a list nor a gallery: it contains emulations written in JavaScript – hence the js in its name – of programs and devices that can be tested in a simple Web browser.

PCjs © 2012-2023 © Jeff Parsons

PCjs Machines: a living computer museum

Admittedly, the site’s interface is not very attractive, and its outdated design refers more to the prehistory of the Internet than to the latest trends on the Web. But whatever ! Because PCjs Machines makes it possible to (re)discover functional versions of programs and devices as legendary as the first Space Invaders (1978), IBM’s Multiplan (1982), Microsoft Word (1984), Windows 1.0 (1985), Wolfenstein 3D (1992) or the TI-57 (1978), one of the first programmable calculators from Texas Instruments! So many treasures with rudimentary graphics that worked with prehistoric – and therefore anemic – processors, but which paved the way for everything that followed and, above all, which testify to the genius of enthusiastic pioneers. The opportunity to offer yourself – for free! – a little trip back in time, with period sounds, without having to bring out old cuckoo clocks or juggle with cassettes or floppy disks: no reason not to!

Access to PCjs Machines

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© Jeff Parsons
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© Jeff Parsons

Launched in 2012, PCjs Machines is an open source project that continues to continually grow with incredible treasures from the past. Here is the full list of titles and emulations currently available.

  • TI-57 Programmable Calculator (1978)
  • Ohio Scientific Challenger 1P (1978)
  • Space Invaders (1978)
  • Microsoft Adventure (1981)
  • DONKEY.BAS from PC DOS 1.00 (1981)
  • VisiCalc (1981)
  • Multiplane 1.0 (1982)
  • Executive Suite (1982)
  • PDP-11/70 with RT-11 4.0 (1982)
  • CP/M-86 (1983)
  • COMPAQ Portable with monochrome graphics (1983)
  • Zork I: The Great Underground Empire
  • Exploring the IBM Personal Computer (1983)
  • Adventures in Math (1983)
  • Lotus 1-2-3 (1983)
  • Norton Utilities 2.0 (1983)
  • Fantasy Land EGA Demo (1984)
  • Microsoft Word 1.15 (1984)
  • Nine Princes in Amber (1985)
  • Snape (1985)
  • Microsoft Windows 1.0 (“First Edition”)
  • Microsoft Windows 1.1 on CGA (1985)
  • Microsoft Windows 1.1 on EGA (1985)
  • Balance of Power (1985)
  • IBM OS/2 1.0 (1987)
  • VGA Black Book Tests (by Michael Abrash)
  • Microsoft Windows/386 2.0 (1987)
  • Microsoft Quick Pascal 1.00 (1989)
  • Microsoft Windows 3.0 (1990)
  • Life & Death II: The Brain (1990)
  • The Oregon Trail (1990)
  • Commander Keen (1991)
  • Wolfenstein 3D (1992)
  • Dune II (1992)
  • Microsoft Windows 3.1 (1992)
  • Microsoft Windows 95 (1995)

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