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Virtual OS Museum: Relive computing history now!
7 Jun
Summary
- Vast collection of over 1,700 operating systems for over 250 platforms.
- Spans computing history from 1948's Manchester Baby to 2011 Android.
- Full download is a sizable 127GB zipped file.
The Virtual OS Museum offers a comprehensive digital journey through computing history, housing over 1,700 distinct operating system installations. This impressive collection encompasses more than 600 operating systems designed for over 250 different platforms, all accessible via emulation on a personal computer.
Developed primarily by OS historian Andrew Warkentin since 2003, the museum's library begins with the 1948 Manchester Baby, the first stored computer program. It extends to early builds of Android from 2011, showcasing a vast range of software, including obscure DOS variants and hobbyist operating systems.
Users can download and run these historical operating systems, though software beyond the OS's original inclusions is generally not provided. The sheer scale of the collection is notable, with the full, zipped version requiring a 127GB download, while a more streamlined Lite edition still amounts to 14GB.
