Looking back 20 years: Top most popular applications

Let's Download.com.vn discover the most popular messaging, games and antivirus software for the past 20 years (1996-2016).

20 years have passed with so many changes, the information technology industry in general and the software and application development industry in particular have witnessed the birth of so many new products, along with the collapse of "empire" is outdated. Previously, computer software was often labeled expensive, inflexible and difficult to use, but today, the most popular applications in the world are cheaper (even free). with users and more intuitive.

Messaging application

1996: The Internet Relay Chat application line is quite popular in the market, followed by the launch of ICQ (I Seek You) in November 1996. At the time, IM instant messaging apps tended to focus on personal accounts and private 1: 1 chats. ICQ was extremely hot around 2001 with hundreds of millions of users, but after being sold to AOL, the reputation began to decline. Instead , AIM , Yahoo Messenger on Windows, and the introduction of Facebook Messenger for iOS and Android in the coming years.

Looking back 20 years: Top most popular applications

2016 version of WhatsApp for Windows , Mac , Android and iOS rolled more than 1 billion user mark, becoming the messaging app, video call and call the world's most popular. In Vietnam, users prefer a product called " Made in Vietnam ", which is Zalo ( Windows , Mac , iOS , Android ). Now OTT applications are not just for texting, but also for sharing photos, videos, sending voice messages, video calls, private or group chats with a huge number of members.

Game

1996: 90s marked the birth of the Duke Nukem II and Duke Nukem 3D video games with action hero images fighting against aliens. Although the graphics are limited and controversial, these are still the two most typical names in the first-person shooter FPS series at that time.

Looking back 20 years: Top most popular applications

2016: Although Pokemon GO ( iOS , Android ) was first launched in 1996 (remember the famous Game Boy series with 2 versions of Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue?), But the Pokemon GO super product was released in the second half of 2016. is really the name causing worldwide fever. Family members love this AR game. They can hunt Pokemon anytime, anywhere, from indoors to the streets, on the subway ... then let their Pokemon fight in the real world. The number of 45 million users per month is the clear evidence for this super product's success!

Utilities

1996: At the time, machines were mostly mechanically with limited memory. That's why WinZip becomes the # 1 utility for compressing large files into compact ZIP files, saving your disk space or sending via email faster. Although WinZip is still popular today, it also faces fierce competition with cloud services and other new data compression tools.

Looking back 20 years: Top most popular applications

2016: Along with the continuous development of information technology industry, the issue of security and network security is also paid more attention. Wherever you are and at your time, you are at risk of being attacked by hackers, stealing data, passwords ... Therefore, password management applications are many users choose. These include some famous names like Dashlane ( Windows , Mac , Android , iOS ) or LastPass . The common point of all password management software is that it supports cross-platform, works in the browser, supports storing and encrypting passwords and sensitive data. In addition, you can create strong passwords right in this program.

Photo and graphic editing application

1996: 20 years ago was the "era" of JASC Software with PaintShop Pro - a versatile photo editing program, supporting viewing, editing and converting images strongly. Currently, PaintShop Pro has come home to Corel with many improvements such as adding templates, professional gradient image editing tools, preset captions, 1-click image editing, quick image editing, image processing on layers, brushes. .. Currently, you can experience the 18th edition called PaintShop Pro X9 (Windows) with more powerful and flexible features than before.

Looking back 20 years: Top most popular applications

2016: After all, Photoshop CC ( Windows , Mac ) - the 26th and also the latest version of Photoshop, is still the most mentioned name in the photo editing software group. With Photoshop CC, you will have the most basic image processing features such as cropping, resizing, increasing brightness, contrast, processing images on layers, adjusting colors, creating 3D images ...

Besides Photoshop CC, there are other versions like Adobe Photoshop Express , Adobe Photoshop Mix or Adobe Photoshop Fix . With a paid Creative Cloud account, you can sync your graphic designs across multiple devices.

Antivirus software

1996: At a time when computers were still a vague concept, McAfee Virus Scan for Windows 95 was one of the best antivirus software for PCs. It is capable of scanning and removing viruses from drives, message boards, email and the Internet. However, the scanning speed is quite slow. With McAfee Antivirus Plus 2016, everything has become a lot simpler. Not only anti-virus, this program also detects and detects spyware, malware, phishing websites ... to help you feel secure when surfing and entertainment on your computer.

Looking back 20 years: Top most popular applications

2016: No one else, Avast Free Antivirus is one of the best antivirus software for Windows. In Vietnam, users also have many other options such as BitDefender , BKAV or Avira . Not only scan the entire system for quick virus detection, these security programs also detect new viruses, spyware, malware, fraudulent websites ... and quarantine them in real time.

Web browser

1996: Despite being discontinued, at 20 years ago, Netscape Navigator was the most popular cross-platform web browser. In 1996, Netscape Navigator 3.0 received positive reviews for its ability to manage Email, news readers and many useful plug-ins. In 2000, when Netscape Navigator disappeared in the market, Microsoft Internet Explorer was replaced. However, Netscape developers still have the right to pride themselves because their replacement product is Firefox ( Windows , Mac , Android , iOS ) still has a foothold in the web browser segment.

Looking back 20 years: Top most popular applications

2016: Undeniably Google Chrome ( Windows , Mac , Android , iOS ) is the most popular web browser today, accounting for 40% of the world market share. Chrome supports multiple platforms, allowing tab syncing, bookmarks and searching through Google accounts. In addition, Chrome is also appreciated for its interface with many themes, integrated apps and plug-ins, add-ons to customize the user's browsing experience.

For Vietnamese users, it is flawed not to mention Coc Coc ( Windows , Mac , Android , iOS ) - a web browser for Vietnamese people. The strength of Coc Coc Browser is the ability to surf the web super fast, download files, download videos ... - features that not just a web browser can do.

Music player

1996: In the mid-1990s, the playlist of music players was quite modest. People know a lot about Microsoft's Windows Media Player with the ability to play music (CD and WAV files) as well as videos (WMV) and the ability to display album images. However, the number of users began to decline sharply when Microsoft decided to stop developing this music player after Windows 7.

2016: Music became the main source of entertainment for all users. Instead of listening to music on traditional CDs, Spotify ( Windows , Mac , Android , iOS ) with hundreds of millions of users is the leading music streaming service today with Pandora (Web, Android , iOS ), Apple Music and Google Play Music ( Android , iOS ).

Looking back 20 years: Top most popular applications

Spotify offers smooth and stable playback quality and many interesting features such as watching concerts, exciting playlists for parties with friends, jogging music or new mixes every day.

Performance software

1996: Microsoft Office 97 was born in 1996 as an effective office suite at that time. The interface of MS Office 97 is designed as a bar, natural language system and has the option to check spelling errors. It is also the first time that a word processing software is integrated with the web, allowing the creation and publishing of web documents, finding information and collaborating with other users on the Internet. Microsoft Office 97 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Currently, MS Office is integrated with Office 365 accounts to synchronize across multiple computers.

Looking back 20 years: Top most popular applications

2016: Today, Google applications are capable of meeting all the work and learning needs of users. The special thing is that it is completely free. You can handle documents with Google Docs , spreadsheets or slide shows, Email services and the Google Drive cloud ( Windows , Android , iOS ) - all for free.

Video player

1996: QuickTime - a product built on Mac OS that has its own version for Windows, supports playing a variety of video, image, audio, panoramic and interactive formats.

Looking back 20 years: Top most popular applications

2016: VLC Media Player ( Windows , Mac , Android , iOS ) is open source software for streaming media from computer or disc, even streaming from the web. You can customize VLC with skins and extensions. The publisher confidently asserted, VLC is completely free, does not contain spyware, ads or user tracking.

Email Management

1996: Outlook Express is the successor of Microsoft Internet Mail and News , an email manager integrated with Internet Explorer. Internet Mail and News only supports Plain Text and Rich Text (RTF), but cannot handle HTML. Meanwhile, Outlook is more modern and is one of the first Email clients to support HTML and scripts, but email is often infected with viruses and scripts that can not open attachments automatically.

Looking back 20 years: Top most popular applications

2016: At this time, users still tend to choose Gmail ( Web , iOS , Android ) - Free Email Client supports multiple platforms and devices. Gmail provides real-time information, supports up to 5 accounts, powerful search capabilities in Inbox, and other effective Email organizational tools. You can save, label, star, delete and report spam. Integrating with the Google application, Gmail allows direct reply to invitations from Google Calendar and post on Google+ . Thanks to support from Google Drive, Gmail allows sending up to 25MB attachments as a Drive link.

So after 20 years, from 1996 to 2016, the software, application and game markets have had many positive changes and changes. There are products that still exist today with new optimized looks and features, while there are names that have been wiped out of the software market, making users regret it. But above all, whether it's old or new, developers are always trying to create free, more convenient and intuitive services for their users.

Loc Nguyen

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