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Calmira Reborn – a Windows 9x-inspired shell for Windows 3.1

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Re: Calmira Reborn – a Windows 9x-inspired shell for Windows 3.1

#21

Post by pantalaimon »

qwerty456127 wrote: post #18

I'd rather have a good (all I've seen are grotesquely low-quality gimmick) Windows3x/9x/XP shell for modern OSes. IMHO what we need to preserve is retro UX seamlessly integrated into the modern world (e.g. a pixel-perfect Win3x-like DE based on all the modern libraries/kernels and this way capable of interacting with modern web and peripherals). But it's definitely nice to see people are developing anything cool for…

I mean you can install CDE on a modern system.

And SerenetyOS tries to re-create the look and feel of that era.

Re: Calmira Reborn – a Windows 9x-inspired shell for Windows 3.1

#22

Post by MrGilbert »

gattilorenz wrote: post #11
ickoonite wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gosh, the first screenshot took me back. The MIDI player was part of a set of apps that came with the SoundBlaster 16 that stacked together like hifi separates. There was a CD player and a WAV player as well. Haven't seen them in, oooh, 25 years. http://calmira.net/screenshots/andrew.htm

A CD player, a Wav player... and a remote! They came also with later Creative SoundBlaster cards, I had that on my AWE 64 driver disc.

Somehow, your first sentence sounds to me like: "An iPod, a Phone and an Internet Communicator!" - gosh, already more than 15 years. I'm getting old.

And yeah, I also remember the SoundBlaster cards. I really like them.

Re: Calmira Reborn – a Windows 9x-inspired shell for Windows 3.1

#23

Post by askonomm »

integricho wrote: post #6

So is there a light, Windows 9x-like (so really really fast and responsive) shell for Windows 10? I cannot believe how unresponsive Windows 10 is, the menus, windows, all opening with so huge delays, it's a disgrace.

I don't know, with 64GB 6000mhz RAM and Ryzen 9 7950X processor, things are instant for me on Windows 11, and even faster on Windows 10. Surely nobody runs on Windows on any lesser system?

Re: Calmira Reborn – a Windows 9x-inspired shell for Windows 3.1

#24

Post by the_mitsuhiko »

Somehow related: Windows NT 3.51 looks pretty much exactly like Windows 3.11. However at a later point where customers able to try the "new shell" beta which added Windows NT 4.0 / Windows 95 UI on top of Windows NT 3.51.

You can see the transformation on youtube: https://youtu.be/lTeeml8RULM?t=793

Re: Calmira Reborn – a Windows 9x-inspired shell for Windows 3.1

#25

Post by doix »

integricho wrote: post #6

So is there a light, Windows 9x-like (so really really fast and responsive) shell for Windows 10? I cannot believe how unresponsive Windows 10 is, the menus, windows, all opening with so huge delays, it's a disgrace.

Back when I was forced to use windows, I used ClassicShell[0], but it looks like it's abandoned now. The spiritual successor seems to be OpenShell [1].

I can't remember if the shell was enough, but I remember that all the store apps were disabled, search in the start menu didn't search online, no cortana stuff, it was actually quite usable.

You might need the non-home edition to do some of the those things, I think group policies were involved. It's been a long time though, I've been using Linux for everything ever since Proton became good enough for gaming.

[0] http://www.classicshell.net/ (not https) [1] https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu

Re: Calmira Reborn – a Windows 9x-inspired shell for Windows 3.1

#26

Post by leeman2016 »

integricho wrote: post #6

So is there a light, Windows 9x-like (so really really fast and responsive) shell for Windows 10? I cannot believe how unresponsive Windows 10 is, the menus, windows, all opening with so huge delays, it's a disgrace.

Using Windows 10 with the 6th Gen 6700 HQ, 16 GB ram and an SSD. There are some annoying lags here and there.

Like the login screen, for example. Lock the PC (Windows Key + L) followed by CTRL key to activate the password prompt, and immediately put in my password ... then the 1st one or two characters from my password won't usually make it into the password input.

Re: Calmira Reborn – a Windows 9x-inspired shell for Windows 3.1

#27

Post by lm2s »

derefr wrote: post #3
erremerre wrote: post #2

If only there was a screenshot in the site...

While I don't have anything to point to for what this version (Calmira Reborn) specifically looks like, I know that a number of YouTubers have done walkthroughs/reviews of previous iterations of the project. (One such review, of Calmira II 3.3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMeIwShY434 .) I don't expect this new iteration differs much from the previous release; my impression is that this is just a resumption of mai…

The screenshots don't need to be in the main page, there can be links to them as it used to be done in the past.

Re: Calmira Reborn – a Windows 9x-inspired shell for Windows 3.1

#28

Post by ickoonite »

gattilorenz wrote: post #11
ickoonite wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gosh, the first screenshot took me back. The MIDI player was part of a set of apps that came with the SoundBlaster 16 that stacked together like hifi separates. There was a CD player and a WAV player as well. Haven't seen them in, oooh, 25 years. http://calmira.net/screenshots/andrew.htm

A CD player, a Wav player... and a remote! They came also with later Creative SoundBlaster cards, I had that on my AWE 64 driver disc.

The remote! How could I forget the remote!

Re: Calmira Reborn – a Windows 9x-inspired shell for Windows 3.1

#29

Post by nirimda »

protoman3000 wrote: post #16

Who uses these things productively as daily driver in 2023? No judgement, just curious.

The copyright in the source code has a big jump from 2007 to 2022, so I guess possibly no-one, it's probably more entertainment/skills development for someone who finds modern always-on internet computers too distracting.

I sometimes used Calmira when I was in school until I switched to RedHat 5.1.

Re: Calmira Reborn – a Windows 9x-inspired shell for Windows 3.1

#30

Post by pocketarc »

ttrrooppeerr wrote: post #7

Took me a while to find the link, so here are some screenshots for you: http://calmira.net/screenshots/index.htm

The Chrios screenshot is interesting.

> Sorry for my Bad English i am a 14 Years old Boy who loved old OS's!

That's actually amazing. You have to wonder what the story is. How did he end up even hearing about/using Calmira? And he's got his hands on an old laptop as well, apparently.

It's stuff like this that makes you appreciate that the internet is just as quirky as it always was. Curious people are still using it to learn and explore. It's great.

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