Re: Vin7 Simu
Harbin Pelletier
Win7 Simu is a kind of game-launcher that lets you enjoy a Windows 7 look on your Android device if you keep the app open, which is to say: once you close the app, your device's interface will look the same as always, so it's more like a game than a real launcher.
When you open Win7 Simu, the legendary Windows 7 animation will appear on your screen. After that, the app shows you the login box, which you can tap on to access the desktop. By default, the app places a series of applications on your desktop, which you can change, of course. You can modify the desktop however you like and create as many shortcuts as you want.
By default, there's a recycling bin, Google Chrome, access to the device's memory, a game library, and Paint. On the lower bar, you'll find the notepad, where you can write whatever you want. You'll also find the typical drop-down menu where you can access any of the apps you have installed. There's even a built-in file explorer, which lets you manage all the files on your device just like on a Windows 7 computer. Finally, when you're tired of it all, just tap "shut down" to see the classic animation that appears whenever you turn off the computer, exit the app, and return to your usual interface.
best windows simulator ever besides ads you can change the windows version to anything even chromeos or macos or all windows available its simple go on bsod advanced click the windows you want or anyt...
Uptodown is a multi-platform app store specialized in Android. Our goal is to provide free and open access to a large catalog of apps without restrictions, while providing a legal distribution platform accessible from any browser, and also through its official native app.
By default, there's a recycling bin, Google Chrome, access to the device's memory, a game library, and Paint. On the lower bar, you'll find the notepad, where you can write whatever you want. You'll also find the typical drop-down menu where you can access any of the apps you have installed. There's even a built-in file explorer, which lets you manage all the files on your device just like on a Windows 7 computer. Finally, when you're tired of it all, just tap \"shut down\" to see the classic animation that appears whenever you turn off the computer, exit the app, and return to your usual interface.
Win7 Simu is a recreation of the Windows 7 operating system on the Web/Android platform. It is built out of pure joy and nostalgia for the sake of reliving the good old time with the elegant Aero and Glassy interface.
As a simulator of Windows 7, it attempts to simulate every aspect of Windows 7, from the most familiar programs of Windows 7 such as Calculator, Command Prompt, the striking glass effect of the Aero themes, to the exclusive Desktop Gadgets only available in Windows Vista and 7. The simulator also comes with some other cool and nostalgic Windows themes designed on the core of Windows 7 such as Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 8...
On August 28, 2021, a web version of the app was released. It is accessible for those who do not own an Android device. The graphics, interface, and most of the features are identical to the Android app, except for some, which are exclusive to Android and cannot be replicated for the web due to technical constraints. A comparison of some key features is listed as below:
Win7 Simu supports several languages. However, most of the translations are done via machine, therefore, the accuracy may be off or not correct whatsoever. If you wish to contribute to your language, please find the translation project on Crowdin (opens new window).
Win7 Simu is and will always remain FREE to use. However, as it has been growing in popularity, the time and effort invested in the development and maintenance, as well as the server costs for the app, are also increasing. Therefore, a small subscription was introduced to help cover the costs and keep the service running. The subscription is completely optional and does not affect the core features of the app. It is available at $1.99/month or $19.99/year. Subscribers will be able to enjoy the app without any ads and may cancel their subscriptions at any time.
Windows 7 was first released by Microsoft (opens new window) on October 22, 2009, succeeding Windows Vista, which was criticized for its long development time, performance and compatibility issues at launch, and many other critiques. Windows 7 was well-received and praised, stating it to be a "big improvement" over Windows Vista and a "worthy successor" of Windows XP at the time.
Today is October 10, 2022, Win7 Simu has nearly reached 5M downloads on Play Store (opens new window) ever since it was released on February 13, 2020 (4.4M to be exact, but who cares). As an early celebration of this success (in silence, as I have always been), I decided to write another blog post, to have a reflection on my journey with it so far, and to share my experience, my lessons learned, and some boring technical stuff that you may find somewhat interesting and useful, or not. So sit tight, read through my journey, and hope you will enjoy it.
As an average guy growing up in a developing country, I did not get to know about computer science or software development at an early age. It was not until I finished high school that I started to learn about software. But reckon that's not something big to complain about, though I've gotta say, it has never been easy to walk down this path, and I guess many people reading this, who are also working in this field would perceive that well. There are times that I wanted to quit and find another job to do, something else that would unstrain my brain, not having to keep trying to get up to speed with the crazy tech world, even if it comes with less income. However, considering the fact that there are always people who are not as lucky as I am, the opportunities they were given in life may be very limited, therefore, the hardship I am facing barely means anything. In the end, I still managed to find my passion in software, which lies with front-end development. For those who are unfamiliar with the term "front-end", it's an aspect of software development, involving more on the ability to create beautiful interfaces and tailor the experience for the users.
So what does that have anything to do with Win7 Simu you may ask? Well, everything. Front-end development is something that I learned all by myself, so at the time, I needed to build something to familiarize myself into the basics and concepts. And oddly enough, rather than picking something that most people do to practice, probably an e-commerce website or some Twitter/Facebook/Netflix clones, out of the ideas that could not seem to be more impractical, I picked an OS clone. And there goes this Win7 Simu, my very first pet project which I have been nourishing and is growing.
As mentioned, I started the project with the goal to practice and learn more about front-end. The idea of cloning an operating system on the web is pretty unique (due to the fact that it's time-consuming and impractical, or rather...useless), but apparently, it has so much potential in what I could learn and achieve just from using the web techs. Like, imagine having a calculator and a text editor opening side by side, or switching between nostalgic themes, just in a single website. It's like a super app containing several child apps, built from one single codebase, you get to train your brain to think about how to structure the project in a maintainable and scalable way, and all the different and various web techs you could apply to expand your knowledge. Sounds ideal, doesn't it? Unfortunately, people's minds don't work the same way, even my close friend called it a stupid app that is of no use. But I didn't give up on the idea and kept nourishing it. As a result, I did learn a lot about software/app making, a whole process from prioritization, implementation, testing, deployment to maintenance and user feedback collection. Even better, it has become a side hustle that I could earn a bit from the advertisements I placed within the app.
Starting with such a simple goal, I didn't think far ahead and intended to drop this project at some point in the future when there's not much else to learn. However, I have been receiving a lot of positive feedback and encouragement from my users (my fellow Windows lovers), reviews and comments telling me that Win7 Simu has been serving them well in teaching or learning about computers, where computers and devices are not easily accessible for people in some countries. Such feedback literally has been making my days, making me realize that my silly project has helped people in some ways that I could have never thought of. Therefore, I decided to dedicate more of my time over the weekend and keep improving it, bringing forth more useful (though only basic) features and functionalities based on user suggestions, with love and appreciation.
There are several more open-sourced packages I used to build Win7 Simu, but the main tech stack is there. So yep, that may be to your surprise, despite being an Android app, the project was built from the ground using entirely web technologies, from the most fundamental stuff like HTML, CSS, JS to something a little more advanced such as Vue or Sass.
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