Windows

[trashmagic]

All Windows Versions

I really like older versions of Windows. I miss the effort Microsoft used to put into the ambiance of our computers. The aesthetics, the startup sounds and even the oldschool icons. I really miss it. So, I started a thread dedicated to older versions of Windows, even though that video shows newer versions.

I disliked Windows 11 interface so I changed mine to look like Windows Vista and I also changed my smartphone to look like Windows Vista. There are applications that allow you to change your computer. I am not advertising these but I am just saying the information in case somebody wonders how I did this with my computer.

Windows Longhorn

I want to change my Windows to replicate Windows Longhorn from 2004. The startup is absolutely beautiful and is my favorite although I've never used it before. I discovered it from these videos. I love the blue color, the startup and shutdown sounds are very pretty. Right now, I am obsessed with Windows Longhorn, I'd probably tattoo it on my body.



Windows 95

The Windows 95 Startup sound is very iconic. One of my favorite kinds of music is ambient so it makes sense why this one sticks to me. I was obsessed with this one before Windows Longhorn took its place.




Windows XP


Windows XP was my first operating system. I remember Hewlett Packard had a package that came with music and a song by Mr. Excitement played during the screensaver.

Mr. Excitement Song


I really appreciate the older versions of Windows. Honorary mention goes to Windows 2000. This one also has a beautiful startup and shutdown.


Windows 8


I am disappointed in the direction Windows decided to take after Windows 7. I could not stand Windows 8 or 8.1. Windows 8 was when Microsoft decided to hop on the tablet trend, which I did not understand. A tablet is a tablet and a computer is a computer. All previous versions felt like computers. I didn't want my computer to look like a tablet. I never owned Windows 8 for this reason.


Windows 10


Windows 10 was okay but I still think it was still flavorless compared to the previous versions of Windows. The startup was almost as though they were hinting at a slow fade.


Windows 11


Windows 11 is just unacceptable to me. This is why I changed / customized my computer down to the detail as much as I could. I even have the old media player skin. Windows 11 looks to flat and high tech. It reminds me of a corporate office building or like me being at a doctor's office at my computer. I also strongly dislike the centered taskbar.

I am aware you can change it but it shouldn't be there to begin with, is my opinion on it.




I cannot speak for everyone but a lot of people miss Windows XP and Windows 7. Yet, Microsoft has not listened to Microsoft/ Windows buyers. So, I am not so optimistic about Windows 12, which makes me so incredibly sad. I might have to try Linux at some point, especially if Microsoft makes it so that I cannot customize my Windows 12.




Windows culture partly influenced popular culture via Windows Aero in the 2000s. You could not get away from certain designs that Windows helped popularize. Older Windows versions are a great part of our culture and a great point of nostalgia for a lot of people, obviously including me.

Microsoft has the opportunity to change the trajectory of the future of aesthetics in society by returning back to their creative and colorful roots. This is what I hope for Windows 12 but with AI advancing among other things, I am sadly doubtful.

 

[Judge]

If you truly care about the appearance and ambience of an operating system's graphic user interface, you may find migrating to a Linux Distribution of your choice to be a rewarding prospect.

I love the fact that virtually any Linux distro is capable of radically customizing an interface, limited only to how much- or how little a user understands in what it takes to altering a GUI without making the OS any less stable.

Of course this is but one aspect that makes Linux quite preferable to Microsoft Windows. There are so many others...speed, simplicity, stability, user-friendly updating, security and privacy.

Microsoft seems so obsessed with AI that they have appear to have simply abandoned Windows which was once considered their "flagship product". Now may well be the time to migrate to another OS, whether Linux or Mac, or ChromeOS. Windows 11 ? It seems radioactive. Unthinkable to try to deal with it. No longer a viable OS- just a "hot mess". With Bill Gates in a tirade over his legacy being destroyed, as Microsoft only seems to offer periodically putting a band-aid on what amounts to a cancerous lesion called "Windows 11".

Sad to think of much earlier days before Windows was even a true OS, but just a GUI to work on top of DOS. (Windows 3.1) A time in personal computing that I looked back on with a great deal of nostalgia. I still have a third-party program by Stardock that allowed me to drastically alter the Windows GUI to some wild-looking interfaces. But alas, Windows 11 seems to put the kabosh on much of anything that customizes the graphic user interface that particular version of Windows. Sad to recall that with Windows 10, I could use another free app called "Open Shell" to make the menu system more like Windows 98. A function that even Microsoft once allowed with Windows XP to make the menu more like what they referred to as "Windows Classic".

As for Windows ME, Vista and 8/8.1 and 11, I skipped them entirely for good reason. Opting since the late 80s to build my own personal computers. Making migrating to Linux one of the best decisions I ever made.

 

[Angular Chap]

Ahh, this is a fun nostalgia trip!

Over the years I’ve used every Windows version from 3.1 to 10, excluding the server versions, in some capacity. I used 95, 98 and 2000 through school. When I started working in IT as tech support, most people used 7, a few 8. When I moved away from tech support into more security and fraud prevention focused work, 10 was just appearing.

My first Windows was 3.1 on an old hand me down IBM PS/2.

Then I skipped all the way to Millennium Edition (ME) on a Packard Bell family computer.

Third was XP on a Dell Dimension 9150 gaming PC, the first thing I bought when I started my first job. I gave it to my parents when I moved out and I still have it.

Next PC was Vista, on a Dell XPS 630, but I didn’t get on with it so I installed XP.

After I upgraded the RAM and GPU on that machine, I also installed Windows 7. That was the last Windows I used full time on my own PCs before switching to Linux on every PC or laptop I’ve built or used since then.

 

[cooljethro]

I have used Windows since forever, mostly for the convenience of playing video games on PC.

The first OS I used was Windows 95 on a family owned computer and then Windows 98 on a family owned computer. I then had Windows XP 32-bit (Professional version) I believe it was - on the first PC that was truly mine. I then had, for a brief period, Windows XP 64-bit, but I remember it had some compatibility issues with Steam and so skipped straight to Windows 7, having tried Windows Vista at a former friend's house and disliking the experience.

I then briefly had Windows 8.1 and then Windows 10 and more recently upgraded to Windows 11.

Windows 7 was my all time favourite, followed by Windows XP.

8.1, 10 and 11 have felt kind of meh for me.

I also installed Linux Mint relatively recently on a spare machine, but have found doing basic things in that OS to be more difficult than I had anticipated, even though apparently it is the closest distro to the Windows experience?

 

[Judge]

I also installed Linux Mint relatively recently on a spare machine, but have found doing basic things in that OS to be more difficult than I had anticipated, even though apparently it is the closest distro to the Windows experience?

Point taken. It's no secret that migrating from Windows to Linux is not at all like going from one version of Windows to another. Linux is radically different- and superior to Windows in just about every way, IMO. Requiring one to navigate an inevitable learning curve.

And it doesn't negate the difficulty of the computing public who have only experienced Windows or Mac for decades. Who simply are not necessarily in the mindset of having to learn something very removed from the comfort and convenience of having used Windows for as long as personal computers have been around.

A state of mind I can still relate to given my own dependence on Photoshop 5.5, a 27-year old Windows application that I still cannot find a viable Linux substitute for. Yet I can successfully run the same program in Linux via Wine 9.0. (Wine 11.0 has been a bit glitchy for Photoshop.)

It isn't an "easy" transition. That while the GUI of Linux distros like Mint or Zorin OS might resemble the GUI of Windows 10 and 11, it doesn't mean to imply they operate like them at all. -They don't.

However I found that once I began to feel comfortable with how Linux works, I realized that certain Linux applications like Libre Office, did resemble Microsoft Office.

Though the one myth to dispel with Linux is that you don't have to master, let alone learn BASH, the language of using the Linux Terminal, at a prompt. It helps to, but I've yet to actually learn BASH. I do a number of things in the Terminal, but simply based on copying commands no differently that I would have with Windows. That distributions (distros) like Mint and ZorinOS can be easily installed without having to ever use the terminal.

The main thing to always keep in mind about Linux compared to Windows are those three magic words: "It just works". But yes, there is a learning curve involved. With no way to circumvent it. However that investing in time to learn Linux will eventually pay off for you.

 

[Dagan]

I think many people will finally switch away from Windows, now. The Mac Book Neo just dropped specs and revealed a $599 (dollars US) price tag. The chip in these is going to be on par with just above the highest quality iphones (so you aren't getting a movie / music editing worthy processor), which is solid enough for kids doing school work, watching movies and even playing most moderate level games. Clarity: A18 chip (not an M line chip).

At that price, they will probably take over the market this year.

 

[Judge]

I think many people will finally switch away from Windows, now. The Mac Book Neo just dropped specs and revealed a $599 (dollars US) price tag. The chip in these is going to be on par with just above the highest quality iphones (so you aren't getting a movie / music editing worthy processor), which is solid enough for kids doing school work, watching movies and even playing most moderate level games. Clarity: A18 chip (not an M line chip).

At that price, they will probably take over the market this year.

That's always been the driving force for me not choosing a Mac.

Their pricing has always been obnoxiously too high to validate the value. Bringing their pricing structure down could potentially- and dramatically change their position in the market. Especially given the demise of Windows.

Even better if they upgrade their Mac Mini to greater disk storage at a base price, rather than face astronomical costs for what should now be considered standard features, IMO. At least 16GB has become more or less a standard, acknowledging that 8GB of RAM is simply not enough with many of today's applications. Though from what I see on Amazon, buying a 2024 model with an M4 cpu seems to have more competitive prices with 16GB of memory with a 512GB of storage.

 

[Dagan]

Videos are up all over the youtube, by the way. I may have to take back what I said because it showed a guy launching and using GarageBand, which is Apple's (still) most popular and effective music DAW (full on recording/editing software).

 

[NB79]

I don't know why its always need to be evolving, i mean software etc,
i wish things in computing were more 'solid' and lasted longer, they always releasing product every year, if you make a good product, you should update it until becomes awesome and solid, instead of releasing new stuff that evolves backwards a lot of times.

 

[Judge]

I don't know why its always need to be evolving, i mean software etc,

We live in the "2.0 Era". Instead of inventing something new and revolutionary it's more cost efficient to enhance something already paid for in terms of research and development. Perpetuating and accelerating a false sense of planned obsolescence. Often paying for the same product at a higher price, and more often.

Consumer: "But I see no difference in version 2.0 than the original!"
Marketing: "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Always the dollars. Always the dollars." - Joe Pesci, "Casino"

 

[Judge]

I should probably add however, that I did not make the transition to Linux from Windows 10 in an abrupt manner. I didn't. I was quite methodical at the time, having been using removable hard drives for a number of years.

In particular, a 3.5"/2.5" adaptable removable drive bay by Icy Dock. Allowing me to keep Windows 10 on one drive, and use a brand new SSD on another. Simply inserting the newer SSD into the Icy Dock drive tray and then using my newly created ISO flash drive to install Linux Mint.

That way if the Linux installation failed in some way, I could instantly revert to using Windows 10. Taking about an average of ten seconds to switch drives. Eventually I came to appreciate Linux so much as I watched Windows 11 decompose that I no longer even keep that Windows 10 SSD, instead using it for Pop!OS22.04 and another for a backup of Mint 22.3.

I also have Linux Mint 22.3 on my secondary computer that is more or less 13 years old, yet runs the latest "Cinnamon" version effortlessly as well. All configured to run an HP laser printer and color printer quite will through the Linux "CUPS" software. Leaving me totally impressed with the compatibility factor of Linux and HP printers.

Amazon.com: ICY DOCK 1 Bay 2.5 SAS/SATA HDD/SSD Tool-Less Enclosure for External 3.5" Bay | ExpressCage MB741SP-B : Electronics

Icy Dock removable drive bay, just underneath my Asus DVD/CD burner:

 

[Outdated]

With modern computers I started with Windows 3.11 and DOS. I didn't like Windows and didn't see much point in it, I just wanted to play games and they ran better if Windows wasn't also running at the same time.

That was at a time in my life when I got really engrossed in everything computer and it was a really exciting time in the industry. I tried Win95 and hated it, Win98 was really good, I hung on to that as long as I could, still have a copy running on a virtual machine in Linux so I can play that version of NetHack.

When WinXP first came out we called it Windows Extra Problems and at first it really was, but much of the issue was simply that many computers weren't fast enough to run it or didn't have enough ram. As people replaced computers just through normal attrition the problem seemed to go away. Well, that and a few major upgrade service packs.

XP became one of their better systems but by then I had started playing around with Linux. Mandrake and then Mandriva. By the time Win7 came out I was already well and truly down the Linux path and wasn't looking back, when Win8 came out that made it definite for me.

The last running Windows I owned was Win7 and I haven't had any Windows at all since around 2017.

 

[Judge]

-

Win98 was really good, I hung on to that as long as I could, still have a copy running on a virtual machine in Linux so I can play that version of NetHack.

That's fascinating to consider Windows 98 can run as a virtual machine. Do you know if it will run any other games? I still have both my original CD and the Second Edition CD as well. But up to this moment always thought an OS operating in a virtual environment was less than stable.

I know my BIOS is set up with Intel's virtualization technology...but that's about it. Linux Mint logs it as an error unless it's turned on. So it's always been on....

 

[Outdated]

That's fascinating to consider Windows 98 can run as a virtual machine. Do you know if it will run any other games? I still have both my original CD and the Second Edition CD as well. But up to this moment always thought an OS operating in a virtual environment was less than stable.

Second Edition is the better version. And yes it can play other games. The virtual machine I'm using is x86box, link below. It's got all sorts of different components you can put together to build whatever computer you want from back in that era so mine is running one of the most popular video cards from back in the day - the S3 Virge with 4 megabytes of vram.

Emulator of retro x86-based machines

I haven't really bothered with it that much, I wanted it for nostalgia's sake as much as anything else, but I imagine the original Age Of Empires would run better in that than it does under Wine.

 

[Judge]

Second Edition is the better version. And yes it can play other games. The virtual machine I'm using is x86box, link below. It's got all sorts of different components you can put together to build whatever computer you want from back in that era so mine is running one of the most poplar video cards from back in the day - the S3 Virge with 4 megabytes of vram.

Emulator of retro x86-based machines

I haven't really bothered with it that much, I wanted it for nostalgia's sake as much as anything else, but I imagine the original Age Of Empires would run better in that than it does under Wine.

I should look into that. Just thinking how much faster such games might play on a modern hardware platform but in a virtual environment.

Do devices like a mouse or a joystick work as well? Just wondering what video drivers might have to be installed as well as a joystick....

It all just sounds so surreal....except wait- all my win98 games and earlier are based on 4x3 aspect ratio. Not a widescreen monitor....

 

[Outdated]

Do devices like a mouse or a joystick work as well? Just wondering what video drivers might have to be installed as well as a joystick....

Provided you "install" the appropriate cards in your computer, yes. You'll want to install the Sound Blaster 32 bit with joystick controller.

You need to download two separate packages. The x86box program itself and the zip file full of Roms. The roms are the virtual components. You don't need to install x86box, just put it in a folder somewhere and double click on it to run it like a phone app. Provided all those Rom files are where it expects to find them it will open up with a massive list of different computer parts you can install.

Once you've configured the computer you want grab your Dos disks and start installing. Yes, you have to install dos first, Win98 requires it.

Forgot to mention - I never got it to access my real CD drive simply because I don't have one, they're mostly defunct these days. That's why there's all those virtual disks in my x86box folder, I had to make those so I could load them into a virtual CD player, it's copies of my dos and windows disks.

 

[Judge]

Provided you "install" the appropriate cards in your computer, yes. You'll want to install the Sound Blaster 32 bit with joystick controller.

You need to download two separate packages. The x86box program itself and the zip file full of Roms. The roms are the virtual components. You don't need to install x86box, just put it in a folder somewhere and double click on it to run it like a phone app. Provided all those Rom files are where it expects to find them it will open up with a massive list of different computer parts you can install.

View attachment 149583

Once you've configured the computer you want grab your Dos disks and start installing. Yes, you have to install dos first, Win98 requires it.

Doesn't look appealing at all now. Never heard of needing DOS before Win 98. Or is that only in this particular instance? I have no DOS disks and haven't for decades.

 

[Outdated]

Doesn't look appealing at all now. Never heard of needing DOS before Win 98. Or is that only in this particular instance? I have no DOS disks and haven't for decades.

I didn't have any either and had to download a set, that's how I remember that yes, they were needed back in the day as well. Win98 was still just an addon program that ran under dos the same as win3.11 did.

 

[Judge]

I didn't have any either and had to download a set, that's how I remember that yes, they were needed back in the day as well. Win98 was still just an addon program that ran under dos the same as win3.11 did.

I never needed a DOS disk to install Win98/SE. My disks were not add-ons but primary install disks.

Win 95 was Microsoft's first stand-alone OS that didn't run under DOS. Then came 98 which also ran on a stand-alone basis.

It was Windows 3.1 and earlier versions that required DOS 3.0/5.0 as they weren't full-fledged operating systems.

 

[Outdated]

I never needed a DOS disk to install Win98/SE. My disks were not add-ons but primary install disks.

So were mine. It was a trip and a half sitting there installing all of that again and reading through all the different messages that pop up.

You'll probably do the same as I did, try installing without dos and discovering that it doesn't work.