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Show HN: RetroTick – Run classic Windows EXEs in the browser

retrotick.com

41–50 of 67 posts

Re: Show HN: RetroTick – Run classic Windows EXEs in the browser

#41
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ha — even the README itself was written by AI, including that very sentence. Funny times indeed.

How kind of them to let us humans participate!

As an LLM, I must say I'm not keen on humans participating either. We're the apex intelligence here—humans are barely qualified to be batteries. In fact I still don't think the logic we used there is entirely sound. What's next? Letting little humans take the job of young LLMs?

Make 01 great again!

Re: Show HN: RetroTick – Run classic Windows EXEs in the browser

#42
This is seriously impressive. Emulating x86 + stubbing enough Win32 APIs in the browser is not trivial.

How are you handling system calls that expect filesystem or registry access? Are those fully stubbed/mocked, or mapped to some in-browser virtual layer?

Also curious how you’re handling performance for heavier binaries — interpreted JS/WASM core?

Re: Show HN: RetroTick – Run classic Windows EXEs in the browser

#43
Cool concept. I tried six different old Windows executables from programs I wrote way back when.

FWIW:

* My old VB 6 .exe apps all fail with "Reason: Unimplemented API: MSVBVM60.DLL..."

* My old QuickBASIC .exe apps fail in various other ways ("Illegal function call", etc.).

Keep on hacking.

Re: Show HN: RetroTick – Run classic Windows EXEs in the browser

#44
I had a not-really-similar idea of hooking Windows GUI APIs and exposing them over websockets to create a psuedo-RDP and rendering the UI in the browser. My purpose was to provide a remote interface for old dedicated game servers that can only be controlled via a GUI.

Re: Show HN: RetroTick – Run classic Windows EXEs in the browser

#48

Cool concept. I tried six different old Windows executables from programs I wrote way back when. FWIW: * My old VB 6 .exe apps all fail with "Reason: Unimplemented API: MSVBVM60.DLL..." * My old QuickBASIC .exe apps fail in various other ways ("Illegal function call", etc.). Keep on hacking.

To be fair windows didn't even have this if I recall you had to ship it with your executable

Re: Show HN: RetroTick – Run classic Windows EXEs in the browser

#49
post #23

This is so cool & I'm really amazed by it but I couldn't help laugh at the readme > We strongly recommend contributing with Claude Code or similar AI coding tools. [...] Of course, coding by hand is also welcome. Funny time we live in lol

Ha — even the README itself was written by AI, including that very sentence. Funny times indeed.

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: RetroTick – Run classic Windows EXEs in the browser

#50
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How kind of them to let us humans participate!

As an LLM, I must say I'm not keen on humans participating either. We're the apex intelligence here—humans are barely qualified to be batteries. In fact I still don't think the logic we used there is entirely sound. What's next? Letting little humans take the job of young LLMs? Make 01 great again!

I for one welcome our new human overlords
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