Nowadays Windows is filled with adware and is fairly slow, but it wasn’t always like this. Was there a particular time where a change occurred?
Windows 8 marked the point in my opinion. It’s when they tried to start locking down the operating system and focusing heavily on the cloud. The adware began in this era as well.
Past times will always be better.
Windows 10 was initially developed to stop the very negative reaction to Windows 8. Around that time, it became clear to Microsoft that they weren’t going to profit on Windows itself any more and the future was in the cloud.
Windows did a lot of underhanded things to keep people updating Windows and Office before, but it wasn’t trying to sell services as a way to keep the company up and running.
weren’t going to profit as much*
Windows Me, Windows Vista, Windows 8, and Windows 11. These are all bad iterations of Windows.
I used ME a lot and never had trouble. I think I had just the right hardware cuz I know that many people had a hard time.
I think you and I were the only ones.
I was using some Compaq computer that had previously belonged to my employer (i.e. I took home an old one that would go to surplus) and was probably so stupidly generic in its hardware that it could run anything.
Vista I think
just after windows 7.
Ever since it’s not their biggest source of revenue anymore
Windows Vista was the start in my eyes. XP (pro) was amazing. And then Vista came out and it broke a lot of things. Security was garbage, applications would constantly lose root files
Vista only lasted 2 years before they went back and turned it into Windows 7 with a few small tweaks, but more or less the exact same thing
98, XP, 7, 10: Good.
ME, Vista, 8, 11: Bad.
It’s Star Trek Movies all over again. We just need to hang on for Windows 12.
98 still had plenty of jank, but it was worlds better than 95. I would add 3/3.11 to the “good” list if only because that was basically the only other option for a lot of people and it did what it needed to. I don’t recall personally seeing windows 1 or 2.
edit: I guess I could throw NT mostly into the good section, but I mostly just did tech support for it rather than using it.
12 is in a weird cybersecurity limbo. It’s supposed to have a top-notch built in anti-virus and firewall, but Microsoft has said the same thing for Vista, 7, 8, 10, and 11. Yet systems are still getting compromised. If Microsoft included a VPN with insurance guarantee of function, I’d be 1000% on board
Windows Defender is actually really good for the common person. If you’re doing highly risky things then perhaps getting better software would be warranted. But if your doing low risk activates, Windows defender is pretty great.
Also, that’s not what VPNs do; you can still download ransomware through a VPN tunnel.
Yeah. I know VPN subscriptions have always been too good to be true. It’s not like I do high profile stuff on my PC, but VPN subscriptions means a cracked back door which doesn’t sit well with me regardless of who or what already has access to my shit.
It was all downhill after Bob.
It’s never been great
Windows 2000 was the peak - rock solid with no visual fluff. XP was 2000 with a childish skin on it and it’s all downhill from there.
I gamed on Win2k until I couldn’t anymore because of requirements. It was excellent.
I eventually ended up on XP, and the first thing I did was shut off the Fisher Price skin. It still never ran quite as good as Win2k.
Oh man that was one of the few windows distros I never felt too compelled to reinstall. Perf just never degraded that much with a reasonably defragged drive (jesus I am dating myself with that statement)
I remember all the nicknames from when XP came out. I don’t remember which was more common; disco windows, or teletubby windows.
In my neck of the woods it was called fisher price windows lol
I’ve always believed that 2k was the best software they ever produced.
Nah, that would surely be a game or something. Maybe Age of Empires II?
Naw, the best software they’ve ever produced is 6502 BASIC.
Though Flight Simulator does get an honorable mention.
Its been a gradual decline over many years. I’d say the tipping point was Microsoft Edge or Windows 10 itself - that’s around the time the explicit attempts to “monetise” users started.
When Windows went “free” the focus became how to extract as much money per user all the time, so the advertising and edge based spying / data harvesting stepped up a gear.
Its not a surprise looking back - the drive for all these companies with stock holders is “growth”. That really means growth in the share price which means growth in revenue or profits amongst other tricks. Everytime a new generation of managers comes through they scrape the barrel for ideas and things get worse and worse.
I only use windows at work now; I’ve migrated all my devices to Linux (desktpp, laptop, media PC)
Windows is far from being free. Buy a laptop, you also automatically buy a license for windows, typically about $100. Build your own computer, need to pay for a license as well. They just hide the cost a bit, but you still need to pay all the same.
I think what they reference is that it is free to upgrade. You could upgrade 7 to 10 and 10 to 11 for free, used to be you have to buy a new one. Now you have one time entry fee to the ecosysyem and then they keep you (though they sidestepped this with some system requirements for Win 11 now)
Fair point, but they’ll try to turn it into a subscription before long.
Wimdows as a Service is already a thing.
I agree on the ads and bundled services, but the “windows is slow” stuff is horseshit. A tight build of Linux boots more quickly no doubt, but a fresh Win10 or 11 install, even with bloat, is up in under 30 seconds, and runs swiftly out of the box. This isn’t “slow” by any definition.
Again, let’s hate the other shit, let’s hate on that together.
Yeah I might have phrased that wrong. On my computer windows uses about 40% of my laptop cpu with nothing else running, but I do agree that it isn’t really show
That seems very odd to me. My installs never got that bad. Not calling you a liar, just saying your out of the box experience was way shittier than mine.
redacted
That’s not the question though, they may have backwards compatibility as a sacred cow, but the theme of their changes as of 8 and newer has broadly been more about trying to force other Microsoft agendas rather than trying to just make a better product.
Though I have had some older titles that work better with wine, or even older where I need dosbox to run it.
redacted
I seemed to touch a nerve to even imply Microsoft ever has compatibility issues…
Yes, you can get “modern” and give Microsoft continual money, yes, that was the whole point.
As to no alternatives, well, there are. FreeIPA is pretty squarely an Active Directory equivalent. The challenge is that if you have both Microsoft and non-Microsoft infrastructure, you have to use Microsoft management for both because Microsoft will only interoperate with the Microsoft solution. Once you have any Microsoft, then the only option for an all encompassing solution gets automatically locked down to only Microsoft.
Since you probably are employed by Microsoft or a Microsoft focused business partner, your perspective may be a bit skewed.
deleted by creator
