Forget all concepts of traditional counting because this form of logic Microsoft has thrown out the window. We start with Windows ME, then Windows 2000 and Server 2000 , next Windows XP, then then Windows Vista, then finally Windows 7 (what Windows Vista should have been).
Windows ME (September 2000)
Windows Millennium Edition, also Windows ME, is considered by most as the worst form of Windows until Windows Vista (I agree, so ME shall avoid). The guardian agrees with me while HongKait disagrees. “Considered a low point in the Windows series by many – at least, until they saw Windows Vista – Windows Millennium Edition was the last Windows to be based on MS-DOS, and the last in the Windows 9x line. Released in September 2000, it was the consumer-aimed operating system twined with Windows 2000 aimed at the enterprise market. It introduced some important concepts to consumers, including more automated system recovery tools. IE 5.5, Windows Media Player 7 and Windows Movie Maker all made their appearance for the first time. Autocomplete also appeared in Windows Explorer, but the operating system was notorious for being buggy, failing to install properly and being generally poor.” (Gibbs, 2014) “Designed for home computer users, Windows ME offered consumers numerous music, video, and home networking enhancements and reliability improvements.” (Lim, 2017)
Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2000
According to HongKait “More than just the upgrade to Windows NT Workstation 4.0, Windows 2000 Professional was also designed to replace Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT Workstation 4.0 on all business desktops and laptops. Built on top of the proven Windows NT Workstation 4.0 code base, Windows 2000 added major improvements in reliability, ease of use, Internet compatibility, and support for mobile computing.” (Lim, 2017) I can say that with this operating system, Microsoft had taken an L and then bounced back. To further support, here is the Guardian “The enterprise twin of ME, Windows 2000 was released in February 2000 and was based on Microsoft’s business-orientated system Windows NT and later became the basis for Windows XP. Microsoft’s automatic updating played an important role in Windows 2000 and became the first Windows to support hibernation.” (Gibbs, 2014)
Windows XP (October 25, 2001)
At this point, people were happy to have an operating system that was not like Windows ME and what was then released did the windows fans justice, in fact windows XP is considered the most popular form of windows. The XP in windows XP stands for Experience, according to The Guardian. You don’t believe me? Here’s the evidence. “Arguably one of the best Windows versions, Windows XP was released in October 2001 and brought Microsoft’s enterprise line and consumer line of operating systems under one roof. It was based on Windows NT like Windows 2000, but brought the consumer-friendly elements from Windows ME. The Start menu and task bar got a visual overhaul, bringing the familiar green Start button, blue task bar and vista wallpaper, along with various shadow and other visual effects. ClearType, which was designed to make text easier to read on LCD screens, was introduced, as were built-in CD burning, auto play from CDs and other media, plus various automated update and recovery tools, that unlike Windows ME, actually worked. Windows XP was the longest running Microsoft operating system, seeing three major updates and support up until April 2014 – 13 years from its original release date. Windows XP was still used on an estimated 430m PCs when it was discontinued. Its biggest problem was security: though it had a firewall built in, it was turned off by default. Windows XP’s huge popularity turned out to be a boon for hackers and criminals, who exploited its flaws, especially in Internet Explorer, mercilessly – leading Bill Gates to initiate a “Trustworthy Computing” initiative and the subsequent issuance of to Service Pack updates that hardened XP against attack substantially.” (Gibbs, 2014)
Windows Vista (2006/2007)
Ah Vista, one of the world’s worst PC operating system. Released to the public one full year after businesses obtained it. The nonpublic release was November 30th, 2006 and the public release was January 30th, 2007. Vista had 2 service packs. Service pack one was released on February 4th, 2008 and service pack two was released on April 28th, 2009. “Windows XP stayed the course for close to six years before being replaced by Windows Vista in January 2007. Vista updated the look and feel of Windows with more focus on transparent elements, search and security. Its development, under the codename “Longhorn”, was troubled, with ambitious elements abandoned in order to get it into production. It was buggy, burdened the user with hundreds of requests for app permissions under “User Account Control” – the outcome of the Trustworthy Computing initiative which now meant that users had to approve or disapprove attempts by programs to make various changes. The problem with UAC was that it led to complacency, with people clicking “yes” to almost anything – taking security back to the pre-UAC state. It also ran slowly on older computers despite them being deemed as “Vista Ready” – a labelling that saw it sued because not all versions of Vista could run on PCs with that label. PC gamers saw a boost from Vista’s inclusion of Microsoft’s DirectX 10 technology. Windows Media Player 11 and IE 7 debuted, along with Windows Defender an anti-spyware programme. Vista also included speech recognition, Windows DVD Maker and Photo Gallery, as well as being the first Windows to be distributed on DVD. Later a version of Windows Vista without Windows Media Player was created in response to anti-trust investigations.” (Gibbs, 2014) Microsoft has taken another L but will they bounce back?
Windows 7
Windows 7 was what vista was supposed to be. This was Microsoft’s attempt at a bounce back from Vista (the name alone gives me goosebumps). “Considered by many as what Windows Vista should have been, Windows 7 was first released in October 2009. It was intended to fix all the problems and criticism faced by Vista, with slight tweaks to its appearance and a concentration on user-friendly features and less “dialogue box overload”. It was faster, more stable and easier to use, becoming the operating system most users and business would upgrade to from Windows XP, forgoing Vista entirely. Handwriting recognition debuted in 7, as did the ability to “snap” windows to the tops or sides of the screen, allowing faster more automatic window resizing. Windows 7 saw Microsoft hit in Europe with antitrust investigations over the pre-installing of IE, which led to a browser ballot screen being shown to new users allowing them to choose, which browser to install on first boot.” (Gibbs, 2014)
Windows through the Ages 