For those craving old-school Windows 9x applications, try ReactOS, a free OS compatible with some Windows applications and drivers.

It's not based on the Windows, Unix or Linux kernels, so it's an OS built from scratch. The code under GNU/GPL and aims to mimic the Windows mode to run applications.

But there's a caveat, and as the ReactOS folks say in their FAQ:

"ReactOS is in alpha stage and not recommended for everyday use. Many applications do not work (correctly) because many API calls simply haven't been implemented yet. This may be one of the reasons for the software not working."

The OS is not compatible with NTFS, so I'm guessing it works with the older FAT16 or FAT32 Windows file systems. It works on some Intel and AMD processors in 32-bit mode.

After years, ReactOS is alive and well. The roadmap to version 0.4.0 reveals some promising features being added to the OS, including plug-and-play and DHCP server capabilities. There's no date for the product's release.

This may be useful for a game compatible with Windows 95 that I haven't played in years. The game is based on MS-DOS, and it does not work with FreeDOS for the lack of Creative sound drivers, but let's see if it works on this OS. I'll publish the review at a later date.