XP vs. 10 - Some Contrasts

[j7n]

img: DesktopForComparison.jpg

The fonts are darker and a little more readable on Win 10's browser.

A little too "austere". I find that the win95 neutral grey color clashes oddly with ClearType; it's almost depressing compared to the default reddish tint on 2k/xp. ClearType makes text purple for no reason on my basic LCD, observed at a steep angle and also when I scroll.

People have contradictory impressions about the quality of type under Win Ten. It doesn't use ClearType in this sample, which is also the way I prefer.

..and of course the machine you may have run XP on way back when likely didn't have the same capability as the one you're using now.

I suspect that many reports of Win Eight Ten feeling faster can be explained by the system being new and also freshly installed. But Microsoft of course takes the credit for the amount of RAM in the system. And the video card's power is also the product of their DirectX.

Not to mention that you can now open a cmd prompt from any folder.

If only they added small enhancements like this one. One registry association for HKCR\Directory allows to launch CMD from it.

[jaclaz]

 

If only they added small enhancements like this one. One registry association for HKCR\Directory allows to launch CMD from it.

 

You mean on previous OS?

To be fair, NO.

 

The Registry association works by right clicking on the folder, what I personally use (on 2k and XP) is much more convenient, as it allows to open the cmd prompt inside the folder which is opened in Explorer, it is a .dll,

Here:

http://www.roggel.com/NGNeer/BackgroundCMD/index.shtml

 

More here:

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/111384-util-or-shell-extension-to-have-dockable-cmd-bar-in-xp/

 

jaclaz

Edited January 28, 2015 by jaclaz

[vinifera]

having a local account has been considered unfashionable since Windows 8 came out.  And no, I don't mean to say that makes it right.  But those of us who resist will likely ultimately be assimilated.  Microsoft is raising the heat slowly, so we frogs will not jump out.

 

thats why we either stay on ntos that uses local acc's

or jump on different OS (hate to say linux is obvious only alternative )

 

or just make fake/empty online acc for future winblows ?

Edited January 28, 2015 by vinifera

[Christine_ts]

Missing a Clean desktop mode (Like Xp / Win 7) we can use at the office, reading and writing Doc's, sending mail and so on.

My office have a job to do, we actual don't need to pay and use a lot of money to pay for all this crap, apps, s*** and fancy layout.

 

Think we stay on Xp / Win 7

[NoelC]

Please describe what you mean by "Clean desktop mode".

 

For what it's worth, I've configured and augmented Windows 10 into a setup that is just about as usable as a desktop system (though with a slightly worse looking/working style) as similarly set up earlier versions. 

 

It seems compatible with all the released desktop applications I've tried, and even runs old versions of Office if that's important.  My point is that It's quite possible to do, though you have to expect to put a lot more effort into achieving that as Windows being a good desktop system is not where Microsoft's heart has been for some 3 or more years now.

 

 

So you have to ask yourself...  What's the value of keeping current when the company you're considering partnering with is going in directions you don't necessarily want to follow?

 

-Noel

[vinifera]

doubt that companies have time to customize that shit OS on massive scale

[jaclaz]

doubt that companies have time to customize that s*** OS on massive scale

... and, on the other hand, the actual user will not have the permissions/privileges (let alone the knowledge needed) to do anything similar, so they will be stuck to the senseless interface as MS provides it. 

 

...BUT big OEM's (like -say - Lenovo or Samsung) will add to the system any kind of crapware in an attempt to mitigate the impact, with the net result that you will have several slightly different interfaces, some better and some worse, as it already happened with (respectively) Pokki and Quick Starter for Windows 8.

 

jaclaz

[NoelC]

Very true.

 

...And of course since we've been talking about what we can do with the OS to move it back toward a small measure of sanity, Microsoft people will have been working to close off the avenues for customization, so it may not be possible in the release or even the next build.

 

-Noel

[vinifera]

well personally I don't care
as they are shooting themself in the leg

 

all I see in my country widely, that goverment institutions use either win7 or server 2003

while stores and supermarkets use XP for cashiers

 

that says something

[xpclient]

no, I had to create a new XP VM to run an old software 2 weeks ago. It was the pure horror in terms of UX. I would even prefer the ugly Win8 (without StartIsBack or Aero Glass) over XP.

 

 

Your baby duck syndrome is extreme.

It's only called the baby duck syndrome if the new way of doing things is objectively superior or allows the user to do more yet for some reason he's unable to learn or adapt. It isn't called the baby duck syndrome if different is sold as "improved" without any objectivity. Oh well not everyone understands that so never mind.

 

See I don't deny that Windows Vista was a HUGE improvement in many, many areas and Windows 7 too. Not every change they did was bad. Far from it. But it's the principle of the thing. I am against the policy of MS getting to decide what to call "improved" and what they stubbornly refuse to fix despite knowing that it is broken or made worse. The customer should get to decide that, yet if you're in the minority, Microsoft will not fix it because they are a monopoly. Only if the majority rejects the bad product, then they bother to make it slightly better.

 

I haven't myself stuck with XP either, I do use Windows 7 and try my best to keep an open mind about using later systems but the fact remains that OSes after XP and even more so after Windows 7 require *FIXING* by third parties in many areas to make the user experience more comfortable or more complete. With each new Windows release, more FIXING is required. This is not the baby duck syndrome. These are real issues because functionality got deleted, not changed. And I am not alone in this rejection of certain Windows releases. Vista, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 were rejected by most users for this very reason - that Microsoft is making few genuine improvements and FAR MORE REGRESSIONS.

 

So yes my stance may be extreme in calling "Everything after XP" as bloated crap because ultimately it wastes a great deal of my time and productivity.

Edited June 25, 2015 by xpclient

[NoelC]

In my opinion, on a scale of 1 to 10, the effort required to tweak/augment/work around OS deficiencies in order to derive value:

 

XP -

Tweak effort needed: 3, resultant value: 6

 

Vista -

Tweak effort needed: 5, resultant value 8

 

Win 7 -

Tweak effort needed:6, resultant value 9

 

Win 8.1 -

Tweak effort needed:9, resultant value 9.2

 

Win 10 -

Tweak effort needed:10, resultant value 8

 

-Noel

[jaclaz]

In my opinion, on a scale of 1 to 10, the effort required to tweak/augment/work around OS deficiencies in order to derive value:

 

XP -

Tweak effort needed: 3, resultant value: 6

 

Vista -

Tweak effort needed: 5, resultant value 8

 

Win 7 -

Tweak effort needed:6, resultant value 9

 

Win 8.1 -

Tweak effort needed:9, resultant value 9.2

 

Win 10 -

Tweak effort needed:10, resultant value 8

Interesting way to depict the situation , though I have to object on the use of "needed", it should be more like "limit" in the sense of "maximum possible at the level of our knowledge" we could use "tested" in your case where you threw at the thingies the more you could, which is very good but that possibly is not "enough" in the sense that you have still some little things that you would like to better but that have no means to implement to get closer to your perfection ideal.

Then by extension, let's see what happens if NO tweaks are applied (i.e. the experience of the common, average, user/customer):

XP -

Tweak effort needed tested: 0, resultant value: 5.9

 

Vista -

Tweak effort needed tested: 0, resultant value 4 <- This is Vista "as released" and on the (crappy) hardware it was released initially.

 

Win 7 -

Tweak effort needed tested:0, resultant value 6.5 <- This also apply to Vista SP2, which BTW for some aspects is even better than 7

 

Win 8.1 -

Tweak effort needed tested: 0, resultant value 5

 

Win 10 -

Tweak effort needed tested: 0, resultant value 4 <- this applies to the beta's it is entirely possible that the final release will get a much better rating, like 4.1

 

jaclaz

[NoelC]

There's nothing like an OS that out of the box does nothing particularly useful for you.  It might as well do something useful for THEM, right?

 

Even though out of the box it was a real loser, Windows 8.1 (tweaked) is hands down the best OS that I've used so far.  But certainly not because of what Microsoft delivered.  Add-on software, secret config changes, and (courtesy of Microsoft not allowing it to run with UAC disabled) avoidance of anything to do with the Metro debacle makes it the service pack for Win 7 that never was.

 

And yes, there are still a few nags I haven't yet tweaked out of existence.  Accidentally Shift - Alt - Tabbing to the "Show Desktop" icon is one.

 

But Win 10 will not become that "next service pack" I fear.  ALL the development is in the Metro BS, which even after 3 years of Win 8 hasn't turned into anything useful.  Years ago I predicted it would fail - just like the Windows Live Gallery, Gadgets, and a host of other Microsoft "initiatives".  Most of us kind of figured that would happen with Win 9 10.  I wonder whether Microsoft possesses the critical mental mass to pull back from the threshold.  Of doom.

 

-Noel

Edited June 26, 2015 by NoelC

[MrMaguire]

If I may be so bold. Microsoft as a company is being run into the ground...

 

What is it that they don't understand about Windows' use in an environment where security, productivity, the classic theme and active directory matter? Windows 7 is fine for now, since it caters to all of those needs quite nicely. But once its support cycle completely runs out, where do these customers go?

 

They have nowhere to go. Windows 8 is not suitable for such an environment, and Windows 10 definitely is not going to be... They need to go backward to progress forward. Not to when Windows was unproductive because of a inadequate interface. Ahem, Windows 3.1. Go backward to when Windows was split in two: consumer and professional.

 

i.e: Windows OS X 10.x (Consumer crap), and Windows 2015 Professional (Professional). with proper service packs, the classic theme and all, and nothing less.

[rn10950]

If I may be so bold. Microsoft as a company is being run into the ground...

 

What is it that they don't understand about Windows' use in an environment where security, productivity, the classic theme and active directory matter? Windows 7 is fine for now, since it caters to all of those needs quite nicely. But once its support cycle completely runs out, where do these customers go?

 

They have nowhere to go. Windows 8 is not suitable for such an environment, and Windows 10 definitely is not going to be... They need to go backward to progress forward. Not to when Windows was unproductive because of a inadequate interface. Ahem, Windows 3.1. Go backward to when Windows was split in two: consumer and professional.

 

i.e: Windows OS X 10.x (Consumer crap), and Windows 2015 Professional (Professional). with proper service packs, the classic theme and all, and nothing less.

 

That's exactly what I need, and what I had wanted for a while. Make a Windows OS with all of the consumer garbage removed, with Classic and a sane update model, and allow me to download (usually better IMO) third-party applications for any consumer features I need (VLC and Winamp for media, Firefox for browsing, etc)