January 1st 2019 / still 4%

[antiproton]

Windows 10 appears to be a work in progress. Don't be surprised if MS eventually comes out with a "classic desktop" installer it sells through the Windows Store.

 

Edited February 18, 2019 by antiproton
Word left out

[bluebolt]

1 hour ago, antiproton said:

Windows 10 appears to be a work in progress.

And they're making it up as they go...

[FranceBB]

Yes, Windows 10 is more like a Linux distribution: it's updated regularly, it changes its internal components from time to time (sometimes even drastically) and it drops support for old outdated versions 'cause they are virtually a different OS, but they keep the overall feeling the same (same desktop environment etc).

For those of you who have been using Linux, this is pretty much what happens with Linux. For instance, you could probably spot only a very few differences between Fedora 25 and Fedora 29 on the UI and the overall user experience, but they are two very different OS underneath, just like Windows 10 (2015 version) and Windows 10 (2019 version).

[hotnuma]

47 minutes ago, FranceBB said:

For those of you who have been using Linux, this is pretty much what happens with Linux.

The biggest problem with Linux is the poor binary compatibility.

Under windows if you download this program :
https://www.7-zip.org/

7-Zip works in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP / 2016 / 2012 / 2008 / 2003 / 2000 / NT.

You have 20 years of binary compatibility !!! That was a huge advantage of windows. Under Linux there is absolutely no binary compatibility and you *must* install programs from the repository of your distribution, it's totally enclosed.

Under windows, I use most of the time some Linux programs, gcc, Qt, QtCreator, etc...
I'd rather use Linux, it would be simplest, but using XP I have that binary compatibility with a huge amount of programs.

That was an advantage of windows in the past, but nowadays, Redmond guys are so stupid that they destroy everything that was good in windows. It's now buggy, bloated and it forces users to play the Russian roulette with automatic updates. That's incredible.

[rloew]

Add a few more years. The latest 7-zip with run with my unicows wrappers in Windows 98.

[Mcinwwl]

Wasn't windows 98 released after windows NT listed by hotnuma?

[dencorso]

Windows NT 3.1 was released on July 27, 1993... almost 26 years ago. NetBSD and FreeBSD are from the same year, while Linux is from 1991, mind you.

[FranceBB]

4 hours ago, dencorso said:

Windows NT 3.1 was released on July 27, 1993... almost 26 years ago. NetBSD and FreeBSD are from the same year, while Linux is from 1991, mind you.

I wish I could go back to the 90s...

Edited February 19, 2019 by FranceBB

[cc333]

On 2/17/2019 at 3:40 PM, hotnuma said:

That was an advantage of windows in the past, but nowadays, Redmond guys are so stupid that they destroy everything that was good in windows. It's now buggy, bloated and it forces users to play the Russian roulette with automatic updates. That's incredible.

Funny. I remember people saying more or less that same thing about XP it was still the latest and greatest.

And Vista. AND 7....

It just keeps getting worse with each new release I guess.

On 2/18/2019 at 5:07 PM, FranceBB said:

I wish I could go back to the 90s...

Me too. Computers, in many ways, seemed much more interesting then, despite their limitations. The hardware industry has, in my opinion, become rather boring and unimaginative lately. The data mining, ad and SaaS industries, however, are in their prime right now.

c

[sdfox7]

13 minutes ago, cc333 said:

Funny. I remember people saying more or less that same thing about XP it was still the latest and greatest.

And Vista. AND 7....

It just keeps getting worse with each new release I guess.

Me too. Computers, in many ways, seemed much more interesting then, despite their limitations. The hardware industry has, in my opinion, become rather boring and unimaginative lately. The data mining, ad and SaaS industries, however, are in their prime right now.

c

All initial software products have bugs. However, I enjoy Windows XP and Windows 7 more than Windows 10. I've tried Windows 10 just to see what all the "excitement" is about. It still feels rudimentary and unfinished nearly four years later. I also have concerns about the quality control being employed, since there have been numerous buggy updates to Win10 and Microsoft recently laid off thousands of QA personnel.

For me, the difference with Windows 10 vs XP and 7 is that 10 has a lot more "phoning home" telemetry parts to it, and you have to jump through a few hoops to disable it all. Also, it's more work to disable automatic updates; with Windows XP and 7 you simply went into the Control Panel ==> Automatic Updates ==> Turn off Automatic Updates. Finally, Classic Shell is a must since I don't care for the Windows 10 interface at all! Your average home user is not likely to know how and/or jump through the hoops, which is why they stay with Windows XP and 7.

[win32]

Windows 10 is also very un-customizable compared to XP, which basically blasted the door open on UI skinning. You had many options available if Luna or Windows Classic didn't suit your tastes (even a few direct from MS).

Even if you manage to restore some sanity to the look of 10, an update comes along and wrecks your hard work, as well as altering many of your settings, crushing your anti-telemetry safeguards and rearranging the UI like the chairs on the deck of the Titanic.

Edited March 11, 2019 by win32

[Mathwiz]

Win 10 is a rolling disaster. Win 8 (and, I assume, 8.1) aren't bad as long as you install Classic Shell so you don't have to deal with the "Metro" UI. With Win 8, you can get WMC for the Pro version, and IIRC there's even a Web site where you can get Win 7's "gadgets" back. (Gadgets were removed in 8 for "security;" IOW, M$ didn't want to deal with patching any security holes that might crop up, so they just dropped gadgets in Win 8 entirely. Ironic since Win 7 & its gadgets are supposedly supported for another year.)

I think Win 7 Pro is the last version with "XP Mode" (XP in a VM), though. If you have 7 Pro, grab XP mode while you can; it's still the best solution for folks needing XP for older programs and 7+ for newer ones!

[caliber]

20 hours ago, sdfox7 said:

 Classic Shell is a must since I don't care for the Windows 10 interface at all!

the first thing I do right after a clean XP installation is to swap over to the classic menu (task bar / properties)

to me the Classic Start (Shell) app is a must for all of them 7, 8, 10

on W7 and later the desktop quick access icon is at the lower right corner and you are not able to manually place icons anywhere inside folders !!!

 

 

[Dave-H]

On 3/11/2019 at 12:39 AM, sdfox7 said:

Classic Shell is a must since I don't care for the Windows 10 interface at all!

Absolutely, Classic Shell (now Open-Shell) is one of the greatest programs ever released IMO, and it's free!
It was the only thing that made Windows 8/8.1 usable for me, and even improves the Windows 10 UI enormously.
Its writer cannot have enough praise from me!

[antiproton]

On 3/12/2019 at 8:42 AM, caliber said:

the first thing I do right after a clean XP installation is to swap over to the classic menu (task bar / properties)

 

Same here. Classic start menu all the way.

I saw an interview with Steve Ballmer at the time Windows 7 was released and he said 7 is an improvement over Vista because they got rid of a lot of old code.

Such as? The interviewer asked.

The old start menu.

I thought, you id***, that is the first setting I change on a clean install.

Well, we all saw what happened with Windows 8. The start menu dissappeared altogether. Apparently Ballmer had a tic about the start menu. Not long after that MS gave him the bum's rush out the door in the form of retiring on an accelerated timetable.

MS if you are reading this, WE WANT THE CLASSIC START MENU BACK.

ReactOS is looking better and better all the time.