Every now and again, I like to revisit my internet history (no – not that sort of history). I like to look at the past stuff I did on the internet. Today is one of those days, so I thought I would bring you along for the ride.
Wanting to relive my days as a home software developer, I have taken the evening to go back to the year 2000 when I thought I was going to be a full time programer.
Back in 1998 and 1999 I started a site “www.anonymous-software.com” (please not any site currently on this URL is nothing to do with me in anyway – I stoped using it over 20 years ago).
The site was rapidly put togerher in Microsoft Front Page editor using one of the default themes and layouts. This is before CSS and Javascript took over the internet and html tables where still all the rage. I am unable to show the horrors of the pre 2000 website, but thanks to The Internet Archive you can see this work of art from later life (2001)
A work of art indeed. This is from a capture on 31st March 2001.
One hit
During these days, I liked to create software that allowed me to tweak hidden settings in Windows and the relitivly new Windows Registery. This need to tweek got me working on a program I called CommandSuiteXL. This was created for Windows 95, 98 and 98SE. Thanks to the internets ability never to forget, I have managed to find the last ever release ZIP (CommandSuiteXL 5.1). So I will let the include readme.txt file give you the run down.
Anonymous Software’s
CommandSuiteXL – Anonymous-Software – AKA Vincent Willcox
Command SuiteXL
Version 5.1
This program lets you change and edit windows settings, like the recycle bin name, control panel name, it also alows you to give all programs an opening and closing sound!
This program does not need to be installed, simply copy the contents of the .zip to a directory and run!
This program is distributed as FREEWARE and can is freely distribitable as long as it is in zip format.
Downloading this app and taking precautions like viritial machines and ant-virus I have run my own app for the first time in 20 years on a Windows 11 machine.
Again, my design eye for detail is fully apparent in this splash screen. You can see the touches of my skills in the purple to red fade! But wait, it gets better once the splash screen fades from view. Please enjoy, for your viewing pleasure CommandSuiteXL Light 5.1
So, there you have it, my master piece. It worked, it did it’s job and – it was actually popular! I originally hosted this on a free web host that gave like a 100Mb bandwidth a month and this software being hosted on there, took the site offline. Forcing me to find other distribution methods like download.com.
If you have a Windows 95, 98 or 98SE machine, you can download this from The Ineternet Archive as somebody has backed it up there!
https://archive.org/details/csxl51_zip
That’s really the story of my time as a software developer. I brefily tried again under SentientCreation but this was short lived, coming to an end around 2005 when I realised I had a better talent in supporting software and less in actually writing it. This turned into a brief Web hosting reseller business when I stopped trying to write software.
That’s where this story ends. My life took me into specialist software support for companies like RBS (Through a company called Intelligroup), BT (Through a company called Subex) and now Civica where I run the clock down enjoying supporting a team of technical support people!
Well, sort of.
I still like to code in things like Python on the Raspberry Pi or Pi Pico. So you could say the love of code never fully left me. Now fully FOSS and not interested in making money from my work, just happy if 1 person finds it useful and that one could be me!
If you made it this far, thank you and have a plesent day.