November 3rd, 2007
I was thinking for some time about writing about operating systems i used. Today I saw the article by Shamus at Twenty Sided which urged me to finish it.
DOS 6.22
At the time i was using DOS computer was just gaming machine for me. I squeezed the last megahertz from my 386 to accommodate more and more demanding games. I liked the way DOS wasn’t getting in my way: >cd games >cd war2 >war2 weehee.
Windows 3.11
I liked them, nice icons and colors. Finally i could do some real work on a computer when I installed Office and Visual Basic. Also, i saw Solitaire and Paint for the first time. BTW, Paint and Notepad didn’t really changed from then, aren’t they?
Windows 95
With Pentium on my desk i was finally able to install them. I remember having problems with IRQ ports, IO controllers and some other things i shouldn’t have a problem with. This produced many mixed feelings. MS implemented great new things like right click context menus and control panel. BSOD was also ever present and unforgettable.
Windows NT 4.0
Network!
Windows ME
I had few clients then using Windows ME and i remember only problems. I heard they were nicknamed as Mistake Edition. Also they cleared the way for XP.
Windows 2000
Now we’re talking about operating systems. I had them 6 years on my computers at home and work. Finally realy stable, supported all modern hardware, combined features from WinNT and Win98.
Windows XP
Not long time after release i already had too much negative experiences with XP. Problems with hardware drivers, activation system, interface tailored for beginners, hardware requirements… Too colorful. I resisted for very long (until 2006). Now when every driver is written for XP and with SP2 on place, with internet full of tips and tricks and stronger hardware i finally settled with XP and using them without problems. Also, I accepted that OS can look nice (now i even have background picture).
Vista
What i see from occasional encounters is that they have many under the hood changes which will be important after few years. What’s surprising to me is how Microsoft can spend a lot of time and money to improve user interface measuring how users act in their interface and then they can screw up globally with hundreds of message boxes.