One of the inherent downsides of technology's rapid advancement is how much of its history gets left behind with each new plateau we reach. However, the great minds at the Internet Archive (IA) have come up with a way to not only preserve our past, but make it accessible via the Javascript MESS emulator that can run a slew of classic games and programs in your browser. Next time you have a hankering to futz with WordStar or play E.T. The Extraterrestrial at work, you won't have to go blow the cobwebs off the relics sitting in the office supply closet, you can just check out the IA's Historical Software Collection. From there, you're but a few clicks away from reliving a curated swath of computing's best (and worst) moments. Now if you'll excuse us, we're going to be playing The Hobbit for the the foreseeable future.

[Image credit: wizzer2801/Flickr]