Ten years of Windows XP: how longevity became a curse

[JMH]

Windows XP's retail release was October 25, 2001, ten years ago today. Though no longer readily available to buy, it continues to cast a long shadow over the PC industry: even now, a slim majority of desktop users are still using the operating system.

Windows XP didn't boast exciting new features or radical changes, but it was nonetheless a pivotal moment in Microsoft's history. It was Microsoft's first mass-market operating system in the Windows NT family. It was also Microsoft's first consumer operating system that offered true protected memory, preemptive multitasking, multiprocessor support, and multiuser security.

The transition to pure 32-bit, modern operating systems was a slow and painful one. Though Windows NT 3.1 hit the market in 1993, its hardware demands and software incompatibility made it a niche operating system. Windows 3.1 and 3.11 both introduced small amounts of 32-bit code, and the Windows 95 family was a complex hybrid of 16-bit and 32-bit code. It wasn't until Windows XP that Windows NT was both compatible enough—most applications having been updated to use Microsoft's Win32 API—and sufficiently light on resources.

Ten years of Windows XP: how longevity became a curse

 

[echrada]

10-year-old Windows XP Ad Predicted the Future of Computing

Read more and see the video HERE

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
Interesting article but I can't see anywhere where Windows XP became a curse.

The WORST OS from a consumer point of view was Windows NT (Windows Neanderthal or Windows No Thanks).

cheers jimbo

 

[pparks1]

The WORST OS from a consumer point of view was Windows NT (Windows Neanderthal or Windows No Thanks).

Back in the days of NT 3.51...it was Windows 3.11. I don't think NT was that much worse. NT 4.0 server was decent and workstation was ok for most things other than gaming machines. Things improved with 2000 as far as hardware support. XP was a very solid improvement. ME was crap (I think it was worst as it wasn't much of anything but a problem). Vista was awful at launch, got better with time. Windows 7 is solid and always has been.

 

[Windows i7 920]

Hahaha, I never had the chance to see Windows 3.11, or NT, but I have access to 3.11 at anytime from my Technet subscription. I might put that in a Virtual Box VM to see what it was like.

 

[giblets]

Then run Win3.1 at work full screen and see what kind of looks you get!

 

[Windows i7 920]

Then run Win3.1 at work full screen and see what kind of looks you get!

I'm in college, but haha it would be quite funny to take my laptop to the computer lab and boot Windows 3.1 on it... well if it will even boot on a Core i7 system .

 

[Corazon]

Hi there
Interesting article but I can't see anywhere where Windows XP became a curse.

The WORST OS from a consumer point of view was Windows NT (Windows Neanderthal or Windows No Thanks)

Bit hard to believe as NT wasn't even marketed to the average consumer. 'Twas the time when everyone, including me, clung to their beloved Win98SE (tweaked with apps such as 98lite for the geeks, of course).

But I can see how eXPired has become a curse in the corporate IT world. I was still running XP until last summer, but after 1.5 years of 7 on my laptop I felt ready to give my desktop a totally fresh start with 7 as well. And boy, did that feel good! I could get rid of all the XP-specific tools and tweaking utilities too, and I no longer feel held back keeping an old (good, but old) OS up-to-date with compatibility updates and service packs.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
Windows XP originally was known as Windows eXPensive and the whole activation idea was totally rediculed. It wasn't at all popular in the beginning - especially as Windows 2000 was actually quite decent.

Amazing how things change over time.

I said from a CONSUMER point of view Windows NT was a disaster -- probably fine for servers --but for the average consumer to get to grips with Internet connections using Windows NT RAS (Remotr access services) and the like --forget it. Remember back then people weren't communications or even Internet savvy at all. This was also well before the day of smartphones and the like.

W7 (and from what I've seen of W8 developer preview) are totally fine these days.

I don't know anybody who actually ran Windows Me -- I've got a disk so I might try it on a VM !!.

Windows 3.11 runs perfectly on a VM also.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[prospero]

I started with DOS, going on to Windows 3.1, 95 and 98SE.
98 was fun, but needed lots of tinkering to get the best out of it in my experience.
I ran XP Pro for around 8 years on an older machine and seldom found major problems.
I stayed well clear of Vista because friends had bad experiences.
Windows 7 is, for me, easily the best MS OS to date; I've been running it for 18 months and never had a BSOD or any major problems.