1996 chat room simulator connected to Win95 and System 7 web desktops
henrychannel · 129 points · 47 comments · ayer · Open original
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HEhenrychannelayer
A zero-account browser chat room mimicking mid-90s online services.
The state runs on Upstash Redis and is shared across three different frontends (React/Vite deployed on Vercel):
* The standalone chat interface (https://lolchat.rip)
* A Windows 95 simulator (https://56k.rip)
* A Mac System 7 simulator (https://dialup.rip)
Users dialing in from the Mac desktop and users on the Win95 machine end up in the exact same rooms talking to each other.
THthefourthchimeayer
The first thing I did with computers that had any success was a WWIV BBS in the LA area called Altered States.
I think I ran it on a 386 under MS‑DOS. At some point I was getting about forty calls a day and the line was busy a lot. I would drop into sysop mode and talk to people sometimes. One of those times was actually a girl in real life. She ended up being my girlfriend for a couple of years -- fun times....
AEAeolunayer
This was fun until I realized I was talking to bots :/
If you want to talk to people I got https://superchat.win/ which has a browser version and connects to humans.
MPmproudayer
The System 7 version leaves a lot to be desired.
So many UI elements are absolutely WRONG.
(For reference: https://infinitemac.org)
HAhaul_upayer
Oh man, the nostalgia hit is real. Takes me straight back to my first IRC client and fumbling with Dial-up.
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A zero-account browser chat room mimicking mid-90s online services. The state runs on Upstash Redis and is shared across three different frontends (React/Vite deployed on Vercel): * The standalone chat interface (https://lolchat.rip) * A Windows 95 simulator (https://56k.rip) * A Mac System 7 simulator (https://dialup.rip) Users dialing in from the Mac desktop and users on the Win95 machine end up in the exact same rooms talking to each other.
The first thing I did with computers that had any success was a WWIV BBS in the LA area called Altered States. I think I ran it on a 386 under MS‑DOS. At some point I was getting about forty calls a day and the line was busy a lot. I would drop into sysop mode and talk to people sometimes. One of those times was actually a girl in real life. She ended up being my girlfriend for a couple of years -- fun times....
This was fun until I realized I was talking to bots :/ If you want to talk to people I got https://superchat.win/ which has a browser version and connects to humans.
The System 7 version leaves a lot to be desired. So many UI elements are absolutely WRONG. (For reference: https://infinitemac.org)
Oh man, the nostalgia hit is real. Takes me straight back to my first IRC client and fumbling with Dial-up.