We value your privacy

We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalized ads or content, and analyze our traffic. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to our use of cookies.

Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

NewApp Digest
search bot

Windows 3.1

moricons.dll, A Remnant Of Windows 3.1 Lives On To This Day
Winsage
May 11, 2025

moricons.dll, A Remnant Of Windows 3.1 Lives On To This Day

Microsoft often conceals legacy features during software upgrades, exemplified by the Disk Cleanup utility, which may not appear in drive properties but can still be found through search. The moricons.dll file, a 12KB library of icons, was created to manage an increasing number of program icons beyond the capacity of progman.exe. This file has persisted through the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit systems, representing a piece of digital history.
silver Android smartphone
Winsage
May 8, 2025

The 12 KB Windows just can’t quit

Raymond Chen discussed the moricons.dll file on his blog, highlighting its significance in the Windows operating system. The file, sized at 12,288 bytes, contains icons from the Windows 3.1 era, including those for Turbo Pascal, Quattro Pro, WordPerfect, Lotus 123, and cc:Mail. Originally, icons were stored in progman.exe, but as their collection grew, they were moved to moricons.dll for better organization. This library has persisted through various Windows upgrades, evolving from Program Manager icons to shortcut files in Windows 95. Despite the transition to 64-bit Windows, which no longer supports MS-DOS programs, moricons.dll has survived, suggesting that some users may still find value in these nostalgic icons.
Windows 3.1 is now available for the Game Boy Color... kind of
Winsage
April 24, 2025

Windows 3.1 is now available for the Game Boy Color… kind of

Developer Ruben Retro has launched GBS WINDOWS for Game Boy, a unique homage to Windows 3.1, available for the Game Boy Color. The software, developed in GB Studio, is priced at €40 but is currently sold out on Etsy. Customers can sign up for notifications when new stock becomes available. GBS WINDOWS is encased in a physical Game Boy cartridge, providing a tangible connection to the past.
This cartridge lets you run a fake Windows 3.1 on your Game Boy, complete with Minesweeper
Winsage
April 23, 2025

This cartridge lets you run a fake Windows 3.1 on your Game Boy, complete with Minesweeper

The GBS Windows cartridge, created by Rubenretro using GB Studio, allows users to experience a faux version of Windows 3.1 on the Game Boy. It includes applications like Minesweeper, a media player, and Paint, enabling creative expression with features such as printing via a Game Boy printer. The cartridges have sold out due to high demand, but customers can sign up on Etsy for restock notifications.
Someone made 'Windows' for the Game Boy Color, and you can buy it
Winsage
April 22, 2025

Someone made ‘Windows’ for the Game Boy Color, and you can buy it

The Game Boy Color, launched in 1998, features a project called GBS Windows that mimics Windows 3.1, developed using GB Studio. This homage is available as a physical cartridge from an Etsy shop named RubenRetro, complete with a retail box that combines Game Boy and Windows 3.1 designs. The cartridge offers applications like Minesweeper, a game called “Cannon,” a MIDI piano, a media player, and a Paint program for pixel art. It includes a faux BIOS screen showing the “American Megatrain” text and the Game Boy Color's eight kilobytes of memory. The initial stock sold out quickly, but new retro boxes and accessories will be produced regularly. The package is priced around USD, with varying shipping costs from Spain.
10 Facts you probably didn't know about Windows as Microsoft turns 50
Winsage
March 31, 2025

10 Facts you probably didn’t know about Windows as Microsoft turns 50

- Windows was originally named "Interface Manager" before being changed to "Windows" prior to its launch in 1985. - Early versions of Windows (1.0, 2.0, and 3.x) operated on top of MS-DOS and required users to boot into MS-DOS before launching the graphical interface. - The Briefcase folder was an early tool for synchronizing files between computers, which became obsolete with the rise of cloud storage solutions. - Prior to Windows XP, user profiles were basic and lacked robust security; full user accounts were implemented with Windows NT. - Several applications from Windows 1.0, including Calculator, Paint, Notepad, Clock, and Control Panel, are still present in Windows 11 in modernized forms. - The "Format" dialog in File Explorer has used the same code for over 30 years, although updates for FAT32 support are being developed. - TrueType fonts were introduced in Windows 3.1 in 1992 through a licensing agreement with Apple, improving font rendering quality. - The "Ctrl + Alt + Delete" shortcut was created by IBM engineer David Bradley as a debugging tool and later adopted by Microsoft for secure attention sequences in Windows NT. - Windows 1.0 required a minimum of 256KB of RAM at its launch in 1985, while Windows 11 requires at least 4GB.
7 ancient apps you can still use in Windows 11
Winsage
February 19, 2025

7 ancient apps you can still use in Windows 11

Disk Cleanup, introduced in Windows 98, helps users reclaim disk space by removing system restore points, temporary files, and remnants from outdated Windows Updates. Windows Media Player, which debuted with Windows 3.0, remains available in Windows 11 and is used for playing DVDs and organizing music collections. The Control Panel has been part of Windows since 1985 and provides access to legacy tools, although Microsoft encourages users to use the modern Settings app. Character Map, introduced in Windows 3.1 in 1992, allows users to access every glyph in installed fonts and is useful for inserting specialized characters. Notepad, a staple since 1983, has received updates including spell check and rich formatting options in Windows 11. The Snipping Tool, first introduced in Windows Vista in 2007, has evolved to include features like screen recording and OCR-powered text extraction. WinZip, a third-party compression tool that debuted in 1991, remains popular for managing ZIP files and continues to function on Windows 11.
Why was Windows 95's setup text-based? After 29 years, a veteran Microsoft Engineer admits "MS-DOS could do graphics," but the company opted for a lackluster UI — as Windows 3.1 runtime already checked the missing boxes
Winsage
February 19, 2025

Why was Windows 95’s setup text-based? After 29 years, a veteran Microsoft Engineer admits “MS-DOS could do graphics,” but the company opted for a lackluster UI — as Windows 3.1 runtime already checked the missing boxes

On August 24, 2025, Windows 95 will celebrate its 30th anniversary. Microsoft Engineer Raymond Chen explained that the setup process for Windows 95 was primarily text-based due to the challenges of implementing graphics in MS-DOS, despite its technical capabilities. The graphical setup would have required intricate programming and optimization, as MS-DOS graphics were primitive and relied on slow BIOS calls to plot pixels. Windows 95 had a minimum VGA video card requirement, which simplified installation, but managing planar modes for effective graphics rendering was complex. The setup program needed dialog boxes, a window manager, and keyboard support, with additional challenges posed by accommodating non-alphabetic languages. Including animations would have required a scheduler for event management, and the limited storage capacity of 640KB further complicated the process. Although Windows 3.1 had the components for a graphical setup, the justification for creating a new installation process for Windows 95 remains questionable.
Search