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AOL used a stripped down version called Geoworks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEOS_(16-bit_operating_system)

They stopped using it when they stopped supporting DOS and switched to a Windows client. Older AOL for DOS 3.5" floppies can take the Geoworks files out and run them by themselves without the AOL client.

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I loved Geoworks--it was how I got introduced to GEOS and how powerful a good GUI desktop could be. I was so disappointed when AOL dropped support of it. :(

Microsoft Windows kind of dominated the market once it got bundled with MS-DOS and was part of the OEM PC Tax.

Geoworks kind of fell to the side of the road, but it still exists in some form at Breadbox.com: http://www.breadbox.com/

Like GEM, OS/2, Vision, Desqview, Geoworks kind of got killed by Microsoft bundling DOS and Windows to make their monopoly. By the time Windows NT and Windows 95 made it to the market, people went crazy over Windows and forgot the alternatives to it.

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