More than two decades ago, Microsoft introduced Windows 95, at the time considered a major leap forward in personal computing.
But now, it's treated as nothing more than a prehistoric dinosaur.
When the Fine Brothers—producers of the popular "Kids React to…" Web series—presented teens with a 20-year-old computer, CRT monitor, and Windows 95, most mocked the outdated technology.
"You [used to] boot up, and then you go get your snack. And then once your snack is all done, then you come here and it's done booting up," 16-year-old Moises said, explaining the belabored process of waiting for the machine to start.
A successor to Redmond's MS-DOS-based Windows 1, 2, 3, and 3.1 operating systems, Windows 95 required a 386 or later processor, 4MB of RAM, and at least 40MB of free hard drive space just to initialize.
"The noises are very interesting," Morgan, 19, said as the clunky computer loaded. "I don't think I've heard a computer make these sounds before in my life."
Accustomed to their high-definition television, smartphone, and laptop screens, these teens took one look at Microsoft's early operating system and laughed. The blue background and pixelated icons look impersonal, blank, ancient, and dull, they said. Also puzzling? Early Internet Explorer.
"The dreaded Internet Explorer. I can only assume that it's even worse than we think it is right now," 18-year-old Nora lamented.
But what's worse than a buggy browser? Dial-up—a term known to most of the teens as that "really loud like eeeehhh–rrr thing."
When prompted to open Internet Explorer and AOL, the participants were confused by connection errors. "How do you get on the Internet if there's no Wi-Fi?" Alicia, 16, asked in bewilderment, before learning of the old-fashioned family struggles over using the telephone and connecting to the Web.
Even that process is too lengthy for Moises, who suggested it's time to move on to your second snack while the AOL Running Man moves across the screen.
"It's scary to think that Wi-Fi is so vital to us now," Morgan said. "If you go somewhere and don't have Wi-Fi, that's the worst thing that could ever happen to you."