Martian

Or maybe because they're unmitigated piles of kludge...

For old school gamers, I have two recommendations. The first is Ur-Quan Masters. It takes the DOS version of Star Control 2 and the 3DO version and combines the best features of both. Seriously good stuff. The second recommendation is DOSBox. It's a DOS emulator, so you can play all those old DOS games you have kicking around on floppies on your XP box. It emulates support for Soundblaster, MIDI or Adlib sound and interfaces with DirectInput, so you can use your USB mouse or joystick too. Both of these programs are freeware.

Other than that, the GPL is our friend.

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame