How do I build a small, usable replica of AOL?
January 7, 2020 12:44 PM Subscribe
I'm having a 90s themed event, and would like to present a simulation of AOL circa 1994. How do I do this? Difficulty level: no knowledge of programming.
I'd like to make a program with a simulated login screen, animation with modem noise, then have a portal screen where the user can click items, such as news, which I'd populate with articles and content from 1994. Problem is, I have no knowledge of programming or what tool to even look for to attempt this -- back in 2002, I might have thought about creating a website with frames and image maps but I'm sure there are better ways to do that now, and it's not meant for public consumption, so doesn't need to be a website. Is there a WYSIWYG tool that can help me?
I'd like to make a program with a simulated login screen, animation with modem noise, then have a portal screen where the user can click items, such as news, which I'd populate with articles and content from 1994. Problem is, I have no knowledge of programming or what tool to even look for to attempt this -- back in 2002, I might have thought about creating a website with frames and image maps but I'm sure there are better ways to do that now, and it's not meant for public consumption, so doesn't need to be a website. Is there a WYSIWYG tool that can help me?
How firm is your 1994 requirement? The Wayback machine has a snapshot of aol.com from 1996. Also, Netscape; yahoo.
posted by craven_morhead at 12:59 PM on January 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by craven_morhead at 12:59 PM on January 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
You might check out Code.org's AppLab. You can build very simple apps very quickly and they're easy to share on mobile devices.
posted by mezzanayne at 1:01 PM on January 7, 2020
posted by mezzanayne at 1:01 PM on January 7, 2020
I like craven_morhead's links above, but they just don't resonate on my 4K screen. Whichever content you end up choosing, an old school CRT monitor would go a long way towards bringing back the 1994 vibe. Perhaps you can borrow one from that friend who can never get rid of anything.
posted by fairmettle at 1:28 PM on January 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by fairmettle at 1:28 PM on January 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
Just make sure whatever you run starts with one of these sound files...
posted by Mchelly at 1:34 PM on January 7, 2020
posted by Mchelly at 1:34 PM on January 7, 2020
https://github.com/erfg12/AOL_4.0_Emu is a modern app that simulates AOL, and you can customize the channels to show an image of your choice.
Unfortunately, you need Visual Studio to compile the application, so that is not super helpful if you don't already have experience building apps. :(
You could at least use it to simulate connecting to the internet and then go to another website that you set up?
posted by hankscorpio83 at 1:55 PM on January 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
Unfortunately, you need Visual Studio to compile the application, so that is not super helpful if you don't already have experience building apps. :(
You could at least use it to simulate connecting to the internet and then go to another website that you set up?
posted by hankscorpio83 at 1:55 PM on January 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
Ooh, the Geocities-izer could be up your alley. Oldweb is supposed to be a ye olde internet emulator as well, but I couldn't get it to work.
CNN's 1996 year in review website is still live. Links still seem to work.
posted by craven_morhead at 2:09 PM on January 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
CNN's 1996 year in review website is still live. Links still seem to work.
posted by craven_morhead at 2:09 PM on January 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
You can download a pre-built binary of the AOL simulator mentioned by hankscorpio83 here: https://github.com/erfg12/AOL_4.0_Emu/releases/tag/0.0.4 (direct link to zip) It looks pretty realistic.
posted by bradf at 5:43 PM on January 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by bradf at 5:43 PM on January 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
Maybe you could clone Windows 93 and make some mods.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:04 PM on January 7, 2020
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:04 PM on January 7, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
The other thought would be to use some presentation software like Powerpoint to do what you want; I'd argue that'd be a quicker route since you can add things like sounds and animations without knowing a programming language.
posted by Aleyn at 12:53 PM on January 7, 2020