14 DAY TRIAL // A couple of days ago, I have written a piece entitled Window Graveyard in which I indexed all the Windows platforms transitioned to non-support in 2004, 2005 and 2006. This got me thinking. Are these operating systems still available? And the answer is yes, of course.
The first place I went was Amazon.com. Apparently, you can buy Windows 95 for as low as $1.28. Well, it isn't what it used to be. But the product features still read: "Unlock the potential of your PC, 32-bit operating system that can run on 40Mhz 386 PCs, 486 and 586-class AMD/Cyrix/Intel PCs and higher, Windows 95 replaces the older Write word processor with WordPad, Has advanced Paint and Defrag programs and built-in networking, Internet Dial-Up Networking, multimedia CD player and Media Player."
The last update for Windows 95 has been issued back in August 2000, but nowhere on Amazon.com does it say that the operating system is no longer supported by Microsoft. And since I found Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE were not as big surprises. The two operating systems are available for $19.19 and $59.99. I also had little problems in finding Windows ME. Amazon.com is offering the operating systems for $87.95. Microsoft has cut support for Windows 98, 98 SE and ME since July, 11 2006.
Much to my surprise, I couldn't find Windows XP SP1 as easy as the other editions of Windows. The first service pack for Windows XP is somewhat more elusive, but still quite easy to find. Which is surprising because Microsoft has cut support for XP SP1 on October 10, 2007.
However, I have also entered a few queries in a website that claims to be a superindex for more than 5,000 torrent trackers. And all these Windows platforms are available for download over peer-to-peer networks. Well, I guess that since Windows 95 will unlock the potential of your computer...