Best Windows?

[Fred Barclay]

Please, no Windows bashing here. I don't like Windows personally...

Sorry Fred, I had to laugh this

-Hinto

Well, I thought I might as well see if this was even possible...

[deleted]

^ Guess my point was that you couldn't help yourself either
-H

[Fred Barclay]

^ Guess my point was that you couldn't help yourself either
-H

Nope!

[tuxer]

My choice was 7. But my favorite three are Windows 98 SE, XP (when they finally got the bugs worked out.) and Windows 7 is the best out of all of them. I did have Vista installed on another computer some years ago and I hated it. Not from what I read but from my experience. I am not going any further than that so this thread doesn't turn into a bashing one. If some people liked Vista, good, no disrespect intended.

[Algus]

I actually liked using XP. 7 might be ok but its only purpose for me is to launch games so I really don't have enough experience with it to say one way or the other. I get very nostalgic for 98 SE. It was packed with tons of fun customization options but the main thing I remember about it is it just being riddled with security flaws.

[killer de bug]

I voted for Vista.
It was so horrible, so instable, always updating itself and always asking to click on 10 buttons to install something (are you sure you want to... ? are you really sure you want to...? could you please check that you are sure you want to...?).

After 3 months, I just installed Linux Mint. And here am I.

So yes, in fact it was the best Windows

[z31fanatic]

Windows 8.1 for me. Faster, uses less resources, and more secure.

[viper37]

Of all places to ask this, I know a Linux forum is a strange choice, but I'm curious what the preferred Window's OS of the forum members would be. Which Windows edition do you use, or if only Windows existed, which edition would you choose for everyday use?
Please, no Windows bashing here. I don't like Windows personally, but I am not asking what you don't like about it, but what edition you would use if you had no choice. If you wouldn't use Windows under any circumstances, please don't post here. I am interested in the opinions of those who would/do use Windows. If you do use Windows, please feel free to list what you don't like along with what you do. But if you wouldn't use it, please don't judge it here.
In case you can't pick one favorite, I've set it up where you may choose up to 2. For example, my favorite is Win 7. However, I think that having an XP machine would be highly practical, so I would run both.
Note: This ignores security issues. I am aware that from XP back Microsoft is no longer offering support. However, my focus is more on which Windows fit your computer style most. Which did you find most appealing? or usefull? or efficient?
Best to you!
fred_B

Windows 8.1, with Start8 (Stardock).

And it remains my favorite OS, in front of Linux Mint, even if I really like that OS on my HTPC, I'm still struggling on trying to build a NAS/backup server/cloud, everything is so complicated!

Anyway in Win 8.1, with Start8, I feel I have the prettyness of the modern interface with the usability of the Win7 desktop interface, since I'm a power user, and I can easily switch between both. I wish I had something like this for Mint.

[tdockery97]

While I primarily use Mint, as far as a preferred Windows version I would have to agree with those above who named Windows 8.1. With a few tweaks (Classic Shell was my personal favorite) it looks and runs like Windows 7, but a little snappier in my opinion.

[The Dark Side]

Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 are the best (in this order). But any Linux is better than anything that makes Microsoft.-

[nuagedeboucane]

The one I have used more was XP. I still use it at my job. (I'm not the one that makes decisions...) And I have it as dual boot on my older machines. I have two slightly newer ones that run W7. I could use them like that, but I have preferred to put Mint aside W7 on both.



XP was OK for me, apart from security holes. I'm not a fan of fancy UI's. What thing I disliked the most about M$: The license check. As soon as I had to replace a major hardware component, I had to re-enter the key. I felt like in front of a customs officer, with rubber gloves

So, to make it short, if I had to keep a W$, it would be XP.

[Jedinovice]

Actually, I am voting for Windows 3.0! Stay with me here….

I was using it up until about 2007 on a P75. OK, I am inclined to retro and I am NOT going to sing Windows 3.0's technical merits…

But, I loved seeing people's faces when I could run up Word for Windows on an 8086!
Yes, Windows 3.0 was the last version of Windows that would run on an 8088/8086! I was even able to crowbar colour out of it. In theory, Windows on an 8086 would not run in colour… I fixed that. I love taking old, minimal tech and doing the impossible on it. Windows 3.0 was the ultimate for that!

Also, Windows 3.0 was the last version that was not corporate in its development. It was rushed and pieced together by the Microsoft programmers just to prove to Bill Gates that a 'real version' of Windows was possible. When Windows 3,0 was demoed in prototype mode Gates got the message and allowed full development along with Word for Windows as the killer app to run with it. Bear in mind that the focus on that point had been on OS/2 as the real OS and Windows existed prior to that really just to distract attention away from GEM and ensure it's demise; a plan that worked wonderfully and explains, in part, why Windows 1 was unusable. It existed only ensure the dominance of DOS.

When Windows 3.0 became a runaway success Microsoft split from IBM and released Windows 3,1 which was technically much better than 3.0 but was way more boring for me. I found 3.1 a total snooze but 3.0 felt like a prototype and that made it fun for me.

Also, while it was still damn unstable, it was way more reliable than 3.1. If you ran the right apps 3.0 could run quite reliably while 3.1 would NEVER run properly!

I still have it running under DOSBox in mint, though I don't do any real work under Windows now. But I love firing it up and demoing Word for Windows 1.0 to astonished students!

Windows 3.0 = fun.
Actually, I would say the same for Windows 95. Again, technically a mess but fun to use.
The rest…? No interest. They all bored me and I thought that days of computing as fun were long past.

Until I ran into KDE 4 and then Mint!! Whoa! That changed things for me!

[var]

I loved Windows 3.1. It was the first one I used after we migrated from DOS. Very fond memories, possibly seen from rose tinted glasses but it was great.

[gold_finger]

Voted for Windows 2000 because that's the one I used the longest. Used DOS, 3.1, 95, then 2000. Used 2000 all the way up until 2010. Used Windows 7 for only a few weeks before switching to Linux, so I don't really count that as me having "used" it enough to compare it well.

[ganamant]

Win 3.1 anytime: you could always kill it and revert back to DOS if it froze (and freeze it did alright). I was DOS oriented back then (WordStar, Lotus 123, you name it). As a second pick, Win XP, but it's now unsupported too. Win 7 or 8? Never ever. If I had no other choice? No way! I'd rather use paper and pencil forever, or draw shapes on wet sand with a stick like a Greek philosopher, for goodness sake! That's how I would "compute" if Win 7 o 8 were the only OSes around.

[Fred Barclay]

Wow, ganamant--I actually liked Win7. Of course, it had its bugs; but so does any other OS.

Easily prefer Linux, though.

[helloimustbegoing]

I've used 98-SE, XP, Vista (for a short period of time), and 7. Still using 7, dual booting with Mint Xfce. Windows 7 is a great OS, but is quickly becoming my secondary OS behind Mint. My preferred Windows is 7.

[wayne128]

I used Win3.11 all the way till Win8
cos I need to support a number of users on WinOS

The best for me: Win7
Second best : WinXP

Still continue to support a few PCs that has WinXP, because of software written in olden years.

[Southpaw]

I always liked Windows 2000.

It worked well on a variety of machines, hardware & software were easy to install, and it seemed very stable.

I used it for years. From release, to having machines in service in my office up until just a few years ago.

I never had any problems with it. When crap like vista & ME were released, I stayed away. I stuck with 2000 til the bitter end!

I started using a Mac a few years ago, but now I'm getting into Linux Mint, and liking it so far. We'll see if Mint can become my go-to OS in time.

A short history of windows note- for me, I started off with 3.11 in 1996, then went to 98 upon release- then went to 2000 upon release, & stuck it out with Win2K until just a few years ago, when I went Mac.

[Fred Barclay]

Thanks to Jedinovice, I've got Windows 3.1 running inside of DOSBox.
It's rather interesting.