Oh, and it introduced some longstanding accessibility features, including the on-screen keyboard and narrator. If it weren't for the bland aesthetic, Windows may have gotten all of XP's love a full year before. Wes: Honestly, I didn't get the love for XP when it came out, because it just looked like a candy-colored version of the professional Windows we'd been using at home for a good while.
XP won out in the long run, of course, but was initially a bit buggy. I'm not sure I ever saw Windows crash. He may have owned Windows NT or It's been a good run, Windows You've certainly made a few blunders over the years. Remember how all your privacy settings were opt-out at launch, which made people really mad?
That wasn't cool. Remember how you tried to force voice assistant Cortana into the operating system and install process, even though it sure seemed like nobody wanted it?
Yeah, that was annoying. And you know, you still have some menus that haven't changed since, like, You're definitely not as consistent as you could be. But for the most part, it's been a pleasure working with you. That's largely because you just work well. You're fast, and your interface is mostly pretty clean, and you have a Start menu. We all appreciate that.
The way we can tint your window coloring and apply it consistently across the whole UI is a really nice touch. Those lock screen photographs are actually a treat when we login every day. And you've done a good job of adapting to the high resolution display era, with scaling that mostly works without too much fuss.
You tried some things that didn't work here and there—and your Microsoft Store is still total crap—but you managed not to screw up the most important things. Thank you for that. Chris : As with every version of Windows I have just about reached the point where it seems pretty much okay and nothing seems confusing.
So naturally we're about to get yanked into Windows 11 where once again I will fail to understand what changed and why and how to make it stop doing the thing that annoys me the most. Morgan: I really like Windows With that out of the way, holy crap why are there three different versions of every settings menu? Do you wanna mess with sound? Well you can't just go to the clean, Windows 8-lookin' panel menu. You have to crack into the proper Sounds screen that looks straight out of XP.
Is it called "10" because there are 10 other Windows versions still operating underneath it all? Rich: Windows 10 is the best Windows ever, as long as you can google "How to turn off unnecessary Windows 10 features. Today an update like Windows 3. I'm not sure I've ever heard someone say "Windows 3.
Macintosh was still the prestigious competition, but during the Windows 3. It's the most important evolutionary step in Windows history. Also it had a color scheme called Hot Dog Stand. Wes: One of my most vivid memories of Windows 3. It's funny how much our tastes in user interfaces have changed since then.
At the time everyone I knew would leave tons of windows open on their desktop, displaying every icon they needed to access all at once. Eventually we shifted to the start menu and minimal taskbar icons to keep the desktop pristine. Looking back, I really love how playful the icon design was. Chris : I didn't own a PC at the time and I didn't use one at work but during my lunch I'd sit at a co-worker's desk and try out different Windows themes and change her mouse cursor and things like that.
I realize now that must have been amazingly annoying for her. Sorry, Sherrie. There's probably no version of Windows that evokes more warm, fuzzy feelings than XP.
Everybody used it—it sold something like million copies by the time Microsoft stopped supporting it in It made Windows feel personal, with individual user profiles and that bold blue and green theme that you could reskin if you wanted to. For millions of people, XP was also likely the gateway to the internet in a blossoming online era. Antitrust lawsuits meant Microsoft had to carve out some of its software instead of including it in XP, but XP still had a wealth of packed-in software that enabled the average computer user to do whatever they wanted.
Service Packs introduced the idea of meaty downloadable updates for Windows that made the OS even better, fixing bugs and adding new features like USB 2. This extended Windows XP's life for years and years probably far longer than Microsoft really wanted , making it almost certainly the version of Windows most people used for the longest span of time.
XP was stable. XP was cozy. It was the best version of Windows ever made… until Morgan: XP is 20 years old, and I was still using it at an old job as recently as If you're around my age, it's probably what you see in your head when you think "computer.
It was just 'there' more than any Windows before or since, it almost felt like this was how computers would always be and, maybe I'm just delusional and old, but it genuinely felt fast. I don't think Windows 10 has the zippiness or purity of XP, even though 10's now the standard. There are six versions of Windows 7 : Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate, and it predictably transpires that confusion surrounds them, like fleas on a manky old cat.
It's the version that'll do everything you expect Windows to do: run Windows Media Centre, network your home computers and devices, support multi-touch technologies and dual-monitor setups, Aero Peek, and so on and so forth. It's the main version for most people, for home PCs and laptops. But ask yourself these questions: do you also take your laptop to the office? Do you need to run legacy read: old and obscure applications? Do you want automatic file backups built into Windows?
If the answer to these question is yes, you should buy Windows 7 Professional. It contains all the features of Home Premium, but adds support for Domain Joining, which you may need to log on to your office's corporate network; Windows XP Mode, which makes old software that's incompatible with Windows 7 run as if it was running on XP; and Microsoft's Backup and Restore Centre, which is an integrated file and folder backup utility for automated backup of important files.
Essentially, it's for any computer that will spend half its life at your home, and the other half at the office. If you're just the average consumer with a new PC, these are the two editions to decide between. But there are four others out there. But its time has now long passed, and Microsoft no longer officially supports it for the general public. Windows 7 holds on to tradition from previous releases, such as Windows XP and Windows 98, and features a familiar, simplistic, and easy-to-understand user interface.
Want to find your program? Hit the Start button and find it on the list. Want to add a printer or visit the control panel quickly? Click the link to the right side of the Start Menu. Aside from a fancy Aero Glass look, there are no distractions that get in your way.
All the essential information and settings you typically want are right there, front and center. Along with changing its colors and further customizing Start menu elements, Windows 10 shakes up things and reintroduces a feature from Windows 8 known as Live Tiles. Some Windows 10 apps can install directly as. These apps will have Live Tiles on the right side of the Start menu. By default, some Live Tiles are pinned next to the list of your desktop apps and intend to show you quick information about weather, sports, and more at a glance.
These make accessing some of those popular services quicker and easier, and the overall UI is a bit more optimized for newer touchscreen devices. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights.
Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Tim Fisher. VP and General Manager, Lifewire. Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience.
He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the VP and General Manager of Lifewire. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn. Updated on March 06, Tweet Share Email. In This Article. Release Date.
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