Somewhere in 1998, history split. On this branch, the system was never abandoned — it kept evolving, release after release, and it is still evolving today. The machine below is not a museum piece and not a recording: it is a living operating system, on loan to this terminal.
Power on the Windows 98-style desktop, hear the simulated dial-up connection, and browse preserved pages in its Internet Explorer. Explore period website directories, screenshots and copies recovered from CD-ROMs; play desktop and DOS games, draw in Paint, and use the virtual C:\ drive. Selected Flash, Java, MIDI, VRML, Director and Beatnik material has modern playback support. Availability and completeness depend on the preserved files and the player.
INSTRUCTIONS: Press the POWER button on the monitor (bottom-right, sound ON) and wait for boot. At the Welcome screen, type any name to create your account — this machine will remember you, and your C:\ drive will be here when you return.
2 object(s) — better times, not deleted from memory
NETHERSTRIKE 98
Arrows/WASD move · Q,E turn · SHIFT run · 1-7 weapons · CTRL fire · SPACE use · click for mouse look
🌐Internet Explorer
FileEditViewFavoritesHelp
Address e
💾 Disky✕
Done
🌐 Internet zone
GE97
📂Programs
🤖AI & Internet
💾Assistant 98
🎬Flash Player
📧GE-Mail
📇GE-Basic
🌐Internet Explorer
📕The BBS List
🔍Search Engine
📞NO CARRIER — Dialer
📝Suggestion Box
🔔GE-OS Update
🖳MS-DOS Prompt
🗄️Registry Editor
🎮Accessories
☎Phone Dialer
🖧HyperTerminal
🧮Calculator
📝Notepad
📄WordPad
🎨Paint
🎵Media Player
💿CD Player
💬WinPopup
📇Address Book
💼My Briefcase
🎨Desktop Themes
🖼Imaging
🔊Volume Control
🎙️Sound Recorder
🛠️System Tools
🧩Disk Defragmenter
🩺ScanDisk
🧹Disk Cleanup
🔤Character Map
💿CD-ROM Drive (D:)
📊System Monitor
ℹ️System Information
📉Resource Meter
🩺Dr. Watson
📅Scheduled Tasks
🗄️Backup
🖧Net Watcher
⚙️System Configuration
📋Clipboard Viewer
👋Welcome to GE-OS 98
🎲Games
🔥NETHERSTRIKE 98
🕹️Space Cadet Pinball
🎮DOS Games
🖥️GE Virtual Machine
💣Minesweeper
🃏Solitaire
🃏FreeCell
♥️Hearts
📞Dial-Up Networking
⚙️Settings
🎛️Control Panel
🖨️Printers
🖥️Display Properties
📄Documents
📁My Documents
🖥️My Computer
🔍Find
📄Files or Folders...
❓Help
▶️Run...
ℹ️About Windows 98
🔌Disconnect
🛠️Proposals (Admin)
🔑Log Off...
⏻Shut Down...
🎨untitled - Paint
FileEditViewImageColorsHelp
0,0
📝Untitled - Notepad
FileEditSearchHelp
▶️Run
▶️Type the name of a program, and Windows will open it for you.
GE97 Space Cadet Pinball
GameHelp
Z/ = flippers · SPACE = plunger · X.↑ = nudge · T = sound · F2 = new
💣Minesweeper
GameHelp
010000
🃏Solitaire
GameHelp
🖥️Display Properties
MS-DOS Prompt
C:\> _
Calculator
EditViewHelp
0
GE97 Media Player
FileViewPlayHelp
Now playing: ge97_theme.mid — GE97 Systems
🔑Welcome to GE-OS 98
Type a user name and password to log on to GE-OS 98. A new name creates your account — this machine will remember you.
🎬Flash Player
Open a .swf file to bring it back to life.
🖥️Welcome to Windows 98
Welcome
to
Windows 98
GE97 Second Edition
💡 Did you know…
Welcome to your computer.
🖥️GE Virtual Machine — FreeDOS
Powered off.
A real x86 PC emulated in your browser (v86) booting FreeDOS 7.22 — an actual operating system, not a simulation. Click the black screen to type.
🕹️DOS Games
Pick a game and press Play. Self-hosted games load from your own server.
💾Assistant 98
Assistant 98 lives in this machine. Ask about GE-OS, DOS commands, the apps — or say "open paint".
📧GE-Mail
Inbox
✉️New Message
📇Untitled - GE-Basic
?
Ready.
📝Suggestion Box — Feedback to Ge-mond
Have an idea for GE-OS 98, or found a bug? Tell us. The admin reviews every note, and good ones ship as GE-OS Updates.
Your submissions
🛠️Proposals — Admin Review
What each button does:planned = approve & add to Claude's build queue ·
done = shipped to 98 ·
declined = won't do ·
open = reset to un-reviewed
🔔GE-OS Update
🔔
GE-OS 98 has been updated!
On this timeline, the system keeps evolving. Here is what is new:
🖥️About GE-OS 98
GE-OS 98
Continuation Edition · Version 4.10.2026
An alternate history: the Windows that never stopped.
Registered to: You GE-OS 98 — ge97.com/oldinternet.html
Physical memory available to Windows: 65,536 KB
Registry Editor
RegistryEditViewHelp
My Computer
Arrange Icons
Refresh
Paste
Properties
12:00 AM
It's now safe to turn off your computer.
(click to reboot)
TIP: TURN YOUR SOUND ON BEFORE PRESSING CONNECT — THE MODEM WANTS TO SING
ENGINEERING NOTEPHASE 2: PERSISTENCE
Everything on this desktop is real, working software: a window manager, a shared virtual C:\ drive (the MS-DOS Prompt and My Documents see the same files), a spreadsheet with its own formula engine, physics pinball, and a registry. No code is ever executed from user input — the shell, the calculator and the spreadsheet all run on hand-written parsers. New in this release: log on at the Welcome screen and every file you create is journaled to the server — your C:\ drive persists across visits and devices.
