Run Windows 95 on any computer

Windows 95 gave us many of the elements of a modern operating system, including a Start menu, desktop and taskbar, but it’s very different from the bells and whistles of Windows 10.

You probably haven’t used the groundbreaking OS in a good 20 years, but you can take it for a spin once more thanks to an enterprising developer who has wrapped it inside a virtual machine. The program is available for Windows, MacOS and Linux, which means you can revisit the joys of Win95 on any computer, within a window on your desktop.

Most features, including WordPad, Calculator, FreeCell and Media Player work just like they used to, with the notable exception of Internet Explorer, which opens but is unable to loads web pages. When you’re ready to go back to your modern operating system, just tap Esc to free your cursor from inside the virtual space.

Travel back 23 years in time by running Windows 95 on your current computer

Run Windows 2000 Professional in your browser

While consumers were running the dreadful Windows Me back at the start of the new millennium, businesses, professionals and those in the know were using the superior Windows 2000. It wasn’t the fanciest of operating systems, but it was stable and fast, meaning you could rely on it when you needed to get things done.

You can run the old operating system directly in your browser by going to bit.ly/win2000-460. This emulator works brilliantly on desktop computers, and you can even run it on your phone or tablet, although your results might vary. Because it’s running in a browser, it isn’t amazingly fast – but that only helps reinforce the idea that you’re using an operating system from 18 years ago.

If you never got the chance to use Windows 2000, you can now give it a go

Download Windows XP for free

Windows 7 comes with Windows XP Mode, a compatibility feature designed to run XP and its software inside a virtual window. If you’re using Windows 10, this option isn’t available to you, but you can still download and run the ancient OS inside your current one, although it takes a little time to set up.

To get started, first download VirtualBox and 7-Zip, if you don’t have them already, and download Windows XP Mode from Microsoft.

When XP has finished downloading, right-click the executable file, select 7-Zip, ‘Open archive’ and pick ‘cab’ in the context menu. Go into the sources folder and double-click ‘xpm’ – the XP Mode virtual hard drive folder – and extract all the files inside to a folder on your hard drive. Click VirtualXPVHD in that folder, and press F2. Insert a full stop between P and V – VirtualXP.VHD – and hit Enter.

Next, install and run VirtualBox. Go to New and name the virtual machine Windows XP. The rest of the information will be filled in automatically below. Use the slider to increase the available memory to 2048MB and select ‘Use an existing virtual hard disk file’ at the bottom. Click the folder icon to the right of the box below, and navigate to, and select, the VirtualXP.VHD file. Click Open.

Hit the Create button. Now click Settings at the top, select System in the new Window, and untick Floppy. Move Hard Disk to the top of the list, select Display and increase the Video Memory to 128MB (the maximum). Close this window, select XP on the left and click Start above. Windows XP will load in the window.

You will need to use your keyboard to navigate the installation pages (tab is especially helpful here) as the mouse won’t work properly. When you see a black screen, press Right Ctrl+R to reset the OS. Select Cancel on all the windows that appear, and then in VirtualBox, go to Devices, ‘Install Guest Additions CD Image’, and install it (select the ‘Continue Anyway’ option when warnings appear). When finished, reboot and you can start using XP, just like in the early Noughties. Switch between full-screen, seamless and scaled modes via the View menu.

Windows 10 users nostalgic for XP can run the classic OS as a virtual machine

Get back classic Windows themes

If you don’t like the modern look of Windows and hanker for the old-school style sported in the likes of Windows 98, you can download a ‘Windows classic‘ theme for Windows 8.1 and 10. Unzip it and move the file to the ‘C:\Windows\Resources\Ease of Access Themes’ folder. Right-click a blank area of the desktop, select Personalise and select High Contrast. Enable the High Contrast option, and then select Classic from the list of themes.

It’s worth pointing out that this more basic theme won’t actually make Windows 10 run any faster, but it will push your nostalgic buttons.

Apply a classic theme to make your modern desktop look like Windows 98

Restore the classic Start menu

Not everyone loves Windows 10’s tiled Start menu as much as Microsoft clearly does. If you prefer the old-style menus found in XP and Windows 7, you can get them back by installing Open-Shell (previously Classic Start).

If it looks familiar that’s because it’s a continuation of the popular Classic Shell app which was discontinued (and open sourced) late last year. The software gives you a choice of three different menu styles – Classic, Two Columns and Windows 7 – as well as other options for customizing various elements of your operating system, including File Explorer.

To complete the retro look, download a high-res version of Bliss – the famous green and blue wallpaper used by Windows XP – from bit.ly/bliss460.

Undo Microsoft’s unwanted changes to the Start menu using Open-Shell

Run Windows Essentials tools in Windows 10

Windows Essentials (also known as Windows Live Essentials) was a suite of desktop applications that included various Microsoft-developed programs, such as Messenger, Mail, Movie Maker, Photo Gallery, Writer and OneDrive. The last version of the suite was released in 2012, with the final update in 2014, and Microsoft removed it from its website last year.

However, you can still download and install the pack by visiting the Internet Archive. The direct download is pretty slow, but there’s a BitTorrent version on offer if you prefer. Some tools, such as Messenger, no longer work, but Movie Maker and Windows Photo Viewer run perfectly on Windows 10.

Make Windows Essentials essential again by grabbing it the Internet Archive

Get Office assistant Clippy on your desktop

Remember Clippy, Microsoft’s amusing/annoying (delete as applicable) Office assistant from the Nineties? He would spring into life and try to assist you whenever you started a task such as writing a letter or making a spreadsheet. He would also change his shape and perform funny little actions to entertain you.

Well, now you can bring him back, and run him on your desktop for endless nostalgic larks (until he starts to irritate you again). You don’t need to be using Windows either, as he’s also available for MacOS and Linux. Download Clippy from bit.ly/clippy460. 

Citrix Systems has acquired micro-app maker Sapho in a $200 million all-cash deal.

The startup makes micro apps for legacy software and team collaboration apps such as Slack and Microsft Teams.

Sapho CEO Fouad ElNaggar said that the two companies shared the same a vision for improving employee experiences by helping them to be more productive.

“Our technologies create an intelligent environment that solves productivity challenges that employees and companies are facing by organizing work in a single place,” he said. “And together, we can deliver a truly intelligent workspace that redefines the way work gets done.”

Sapho began in 2014 and its micro-app platform, which launched two years later, provides contextual actions that employees can take to complete work faster and use to make better decisions.

With its platform, companies can automatically surface personalised and relevant tasks from existing systems and deliver them to any device, such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop.

It uses pre-defined APIs that integrate with leading enterprise applications such as Salesforce, Outlook and Google Drive. According to Sapho, companies can effectively guide employees through their most common work so that they can get things done and move on.

By acquiring Sapho, Citrix said it can “redefine the future of work” by offering a better customer experience than the competition.

“In today’s tight labour market, the advantage goes to companies that can recruit, develop and engage employees better than the competition,” said Tim Minahan, chief marketing officer at Citrix.

“Employee experience will ultimately determine winners and losers and Citrix is committed to delivering intelligent digital workspaces that give companies an edge.”

The edge needed by many companies is to do with managing workloads from different sources as hybrid cloud services become more popular.

“Organizations are experiencing a need to securely aggregate and automate access to applications and data from an increasing number and variety of sources, both on-premises and in the cloud,” said Chris Marsh a researcher director at 451 Research.

“Citrix understands the need and is evolving its workspaces product to balance security with an improved end-user experience with the goal of elevating employee productivity, and reducing frustration with corporate IT systems among users.”

Businesses are spending more money on cloud infrastructure compared to legacy, on-premise environments for the first time, according to the Cloud Industry Forum.

The CIF’s study, conducted by Vanson Bourne revealed that firms are more open to multi-cloud environments, with three-quarters of firms adopting the use of more than one cloud service to power their digital transformation process.

“UK businesses clearly recognise the need for transformation and are gradually leaving legacy technologies behind in favour of next generation technologies as they pursue competitive advantage,” Alex Hilton, CEO of CIF said.

“Cloud is critical to this shift, thanks not only to the flexibility of the delivery model, but also the ease with which servers can be provisioned, which reduces financial and business risk. Furthermore, cloud’s ability to explore the value of vast unstructured data sets is next to none, which in turn is essential for IoT and AI.”

UK businesses are spending 19% of their IT budgets on cloud infrastructure, compared to 18% of budgets spent on-premise. Within four years, the CIF thinks the amount of money spent on the cloud will increase to become 22% of budgets. The firm is predicting the gap will widen as more organisations realise the benefits of cloud vs. on-premise architecture.

Although take-up is growing, there’s still a way to go until more businesses can use the cloud to power their digital transformation journey, with the CIF highlighting skills shortages as a major barrier to both cloud and cloud-powered application adoption.

“It’s clear that the majority of UK organisations are right at the start of this journey and many are being prevented from exploiting IoT, blockchain and AI due to skills shortages, a lack of vision, and, indeed, a lack of support from vendors,” Hilton added.

“The research further supports this idea as 15% of respondents reported they would struggle to find the right partner to assist in the implementation process, suggesting that while there’s a willingness to adopt these technologies, businesses are challenged by supply-side issues in the channel.”

Mozilla has released its latest Firefox browser update, Firefox Quantum, and it ships with a new version of Firefox Monitor that will tell you whether a site you’re visiting has suffered from a security breach.

Firefox Monitor 2.0 will also tell you whether your details have been leaked online and desktop notifications will alert you if a website has been compromised over the last 12 months. You’ll also be able to see extra details, such as how many accounts were affected by the breach and what happened.

But don’t worry if you’re concerned you’re going to be spammed with messages every time you browse the internet – you’ll only see the notification once. So if you’ve already been told about the potential security issues, you can safely navigate back without being told again.

You will also be able to disable the notifications with a few clicks, straight from the notification, to prevent it from becoming a nuisance.

“We’re bringing this functionality to Firefox users in recognition of the growing interest in these types of privacy- and security-centric features,” the company said in a blog post.

Those downloading and installing Firefox Quantum will start seeing notifications over the next few weeks as Mozilla gradually switches it on.

Firefox Monitor works by pooling together notices of data breaches and the data that’s been reported stolen in such breaches. You can easily check whether your personal details have been stolen in a data breach, by checking them at monitor.firefox.com and then signing up to future alerts.

“Being part of a data breach is not fun, and we have tips and remedies in our project, Data Leeks,” Mozilla added. “Through recipes and personal stories of those who’ve been affected by a data breach, we’re raising awareness about online privacy.”

Cisco has said increased demand for its router hardware as well as a surging software business has led to an unexpected jump in year over year revenue and profits, according to a earnings report released on Wednesday.

Demand for its hardware had been declining as customers frequently turned towards cloud services provided by the likes of Amazon and Microsoft. However, revenue for its hardware unit rose 9% to $7.64 billion, beating analyst expectations of $7.39 billion, according to Reuters.

The company recently immersed itself in the software and cyber security market following a decreased demand for its hardware, resulting in the $2.35 billion acquisition of cyber security provider Duo Security back in August. Wednesday’s report showed revenue for its application software business had risen 18% to $1.42 billion for the year, while security sales, which include its firewall protection and breach detection services, were up 11% to $651 million.

“We had a strong start to fiscal 2019 and we believe our opportunity has never been greater,” said Chuck Robbins, chairman and CEO of Cisco.

“Our customers are looking to Cisco as a trusted partner to help them operate in a multi-cloud world and to transform their businesses. Our strategy is working and we are well positioned with our growing and differentiated portfolio across multiple domains to bring our customers a more secure, automated and simple IT infrastructure.”

The company’s shares which forecast unexpected growth in revenue, were also up 4% in extended trading, contributing to a near 16% gain for the year.

Cisco revealed that subscriptions were running steady, providing consistent revenue flow with 57% of total software revenue in the first quarter, following the previous quarter’s 56%.

“We executed well, with broad-based growth across all of our geographies, product categories and customer segments, and delivered 8% revenue growth and 23% non-GAAP EPS growth,” said Kelly Kramer, CFO of Cisco. “We are seeing the returns on our investments in innovation as we continue to transform our business model.”

This welcome news follows its big announcement at its recent 2018 Partner Summit in Las Vegas. Cisco will be offering a range of its security products across its SD-WAN management portal by the end of the year. This includes new firewall services, an intrusion protection system (IPS), URL filtering and its cloud-based security from Cisco Umbrella.

The company said it was responding to the biggest market shift in networking for the past 20 years.

Oracle has announced an expansion to its AI programme in the UK, pledging to double the size of its development team at its site in Reading.

The company said it will take advantage of the wealth of local talent available and hire a new generation of data scientists and architects.

Oracle’s industry-leading technology has benefited many businesses, including the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) which used Oracle’s AI tools help the NHS and other clients make better-informed treatment decisions for patients.

Using their DALL built using Oracle AI tools, the NHSBSA was able to retrieve £581 million of savings for the NHS to re-invest in patient care.

“Our expansion in the UK reflects the region’s strong technology talent,” said Oracle CEO Safra Catz. “The global AI development hub in Reading accelerates innovation and helps customers take advantage of these critical emerging technologies by making them pervasive throughout our cloud offerings.”

It’s the latest endorsement to the UK’s surging AI industry. In April, the UK Government announced its AI Sector Deal – a £1 billion funding package backed by 50 leading businesses and organisations. Japanese venture capital firm Global Brain has also announced its plans to open its European HQ in the UK and invest £35 million in British AI start-ups, while Vancouver-based Chrysalix has also pledged to plough £110 million into AI and robotics enterprises throughout the country.

Professional services firms Accenture and PwC agree that the country’s GDP will be 10.3% higher come 2030, so it’s no surprise the country is getting a massive surge of investment.

“We are already Europe’s leading tech hub, with global firms and thriving startups choosing the UK as the place to grow their business and create high-skilled jobs,” said UK Government Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright, in response to Oracle’s decision. “We are a world leader in artificial intelligence and our modern Industrial Strategy puts pioneering technologies at the heart of our plans to build a Britain fit for the future.”

However, recent reports suggest the UK faces a brain drain when it comes to technology students, particularly given the lure of highly paid jobs in the US. A report in September found that only one in seven post-graduate students or research graduates are joining a UK tech startup after their studies. Also, around a third of leading machine learning and AI specialists have left the UK for work at Silicon Valley tech companies.

The UK government is hoping to put a plaster over the bleeding talent in the country with its AI Sector deal which promises to invest £17 million into AI development at British universities.

“The UK is one of the world’s leading technology nations and is recognised as a place where ingenuity and entrepreneurship can flourish,” said Sam Gyimah, the Science Minister, speaking on the brain drain issue.

“We are a beacon for global talent, and as part of our modern industrial strategy, through our £1 billion AI sector deal, we are capitalising on the UK’s global advantage in artificial intelligence.”

The majority of businesses think the hybrid cloud is the best option when it comes from transforming their operations, even though only a fifth are using a combined public and private cloud set-up.

According to Nutanix’s Enterprise Cloud Index, 91% of businesses think a hybrid cloud approach is the ideal model to adopt, with 88% believing that application mobility across cloud platforms has the potential to “solve a lot of problems”.

However, despite overwhelming agreement, the report found that only 19% of those surveyed said that had already deployed such a model.

Findings also showed that organisations are becoming increasingly jaded when it came to opting for public cloud deployments, with 35% of respondents admitting overreliance on public cloud resulted in frequent overspending of annual budgets.

Nutanix’s survey of 2,300 IT decision makers worldwide, released on Thursday, identified that interoperability between cloud types and the ability to move applications between cloud environments was more important than cost or security.

“As enterprises demand stronger application mobility and interoperability, they are increasingly choosing hybrid cloud infrastructure,” said Ben Gibson, chief marketing officer for Nutanix. “While the advent of public cloud has increased IT efficiency in certain areas, hybrid cloud capabilities are the next step in providing the freedom to dynamically provision and manage applications based on business needs.”

The report also highlighted that finding IT talent specialising in hybrid IT is a challenge and more than half of respondents said they are struggling to retain those with hybrid IT skills in their organisation.

This is likely to become a growing concern for businesses in the next 12-24 months and a problem that needs to be addressed if firms are to make the most of hybrid cloud infrastructure.