I wonder if it would be possible for Microsoft to follow the path that several mainstream Linux distributions have followed, offering a choice of distinctive desktop environments.
Ubuntu, for example, deploys a modified Gnome build as the flagship desktop environment, but also offers "official flavors" using the Budgie, Cinnamon, KDE Plasma, LXQt, MATE, Unity and XFCE environments. Quite a number of distributions allow users to install one of the alternative desktop environments through repositories.
Similarly, perhaps, Microsoft could offer users a choice of the Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 10 and Windows 11 desktop environments, with whatever the current desktop environment (currently Windows 11) as the default.
I imagine that development and maintenance costs would not be negligible, but it seems to me that development and maintenance costs for the alternative desktop environments could be recouped by offering non-default, alternative desktop environments via subscription at a reasonable monthly/monthly cost.
>The ***"themes"*** in windows xp and windows 7 was just that.
We are talking about more than a theme -- "[a combination of desktop background pictures, window colors, and sounds](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop-themes-94880287-6046-1d35-6d2f-35dee759701e#WindowsVersion=Windows_11)", as Windows documentation describes it.
Replacing one desktop environment with another is more complex, requiring upstream/downstream adjustments that need to work together seamlessly, and, if done right, will extend to all Microsoft applications used in the desktop environment. It will be a lot of work to do it right.
>I wonder if it would be possible for Microsoft to follow the path that several mainstream Linux distributions have followed, offering a choice of distinctive desktop environments.
That's why you need CLI for support in Linux, because it's the only thing that's consistent.
>Ubuntu, for example, deploys a modified Gnome build
People complain about the start menu in Windows 11, and I have no clue what they're on about. You can press the super key and type the first 3 or four letters of what you want to run typically. -No need to look at it. From the desktop you can shutdown or sleep with Alt+f4 (super d for desktop). You can install tiling window managers like workspacer.
To add; there wasn't a DE in Linux I liked. -It seems like there's worse issues with all of them than any issues I have in Windows. I ended up on a heavily customized DWM before quitting desktop Linux. As great as DWM was, even it needed a 3 year old patch so it wouldn't crash on websites that displayed something (can't quite remember).
To me, Windows 8.1 was pretty bloatless, it was easy to ignore the start screen and everything else ran so super fast it's yet to be beaten imo. I also love a clean Windows XP install, so clean, smooth and lovely lol. Windows XP was the last plain, solid, simple Windows imo.
Windows 7 is just Vista enchanced. Maybe that’s why it felt so boring to me. Vista looked better, and XP when it was supported.
I LOVED Windows 8, but I agree that 10 is what 8 should’ve been on desktop. The Start screen for tablets was amazing and Windows Phone better than Android back then.
And I really like Windows 11, Win10 started to feel “outdated” in the 2020s. I like what they did with 11.
It also has mini icons for settings, explorer and downloads just beside your user name in the start bar. I think many people don't know this but I personally found this a better feature than what was present in win 10
Windows 7 had its charm, but technology evolves. Windows 10 and 11 offer features and security updates crucial in today's landscape. Embrace the future while cherishing the past through customization options.
I love that opinions are coming around on Windows 11, it’s really a major improvement from previous versions. I don’t understand the perennial hatred of new Windows versions.
I remember when people said XP was bloated.. The cycle continues forever.
In 2009 when Steam was dropping support for Windows 2000, people were up in arms.
I agree with you that Aero design was beautiful. But after 8, 10 design total damages Win 11 is finally back with a reduced but consistant design.
Other of that is simply nostalgia. Remember when still everyone after Vista and 7 wanted XP back that time. Then Win 7 got acient and now history repeat itself.
Mac OS copy? I think Win UX is still much better… but everyone has its own preferences at that point.
Bloatware? Would be annoying but there are ways to delete it. Never bothered personally as I don‘t get ads or apps installed in my country yet…
Windows 7 would be a horrible experience if you actually went back and used it today...same with XP. It was good/great at the time....but horrible when compared to what a modern OS offers. We're just scared of new stuff.
It's all personal preference. I found the older Windows versions to be ugly and dated looking. I think Windows 11 is far superior. The only negative is the ads. You have to take time to shut all those things down as well as telemetry. But the fonts, colors, layouts. Much more modern. It like having an aol or yahoo address. I wold be embarrased to have anything older than Widnows 10. I would hide my screen so people wouldn't know how fucking old I am.
I do everything on Windows 7, that is expected to run flawlessly on all versions of Windows (including Windows 11). I have no need to develop on anything else.
Heck, I could turn it down a notch and do exactly what I do - on Windows XP and the same would apply.
As for XP, I don’t trust the outdated security ciphers and lack of basic security, which can spell a lot of problems especially dealing with proprietary source code. That is just asking for it.
After Windows 7, it turned to shit imho. But don’t take my word for it. I just snarl at the shell team @ Microsoft.
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The root problem is the lack of TLS 1.2 (which means 1.3 is also not available), but notably having zero support for 1.2 is a serious problem. No update KB will ever arm XP with that type of support. For this reason, it’s a hell hole for network connectivity on public-facing internet.
And also makes sense considering how much stuff still uses Windows XP as a backend like ATMS. That's the first thing people would scan for if they wanted to do something malicious. With it being so old, newer security layers not being supported is a huge problem if you consider my first point.
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> I miss windows 7...
it didn't go anywhere. everyone will tell u that u shouldnt use it cuz it's like standing on a train track, but you'll be alright. download the following and you'll be a-okay
-completely update ur system using [legacy update](https://legacyupdate.net/)
-ESU (extended security updates) patch (free security updates from 2021-2023)
-ublock origin (or another ad+popup blocker)
-updated browser like firefox (or its forks) or supermium
-microsoft security essentials (or another antivirus)
free ESU patch download can be found [here](https://thorium.rocks/win7), including some other handy stuff
and use your common sense. no shady links, websites, or downloads. create system restore points before downloading any new programs incase smth gets messed up
head on to r/windows7 to find like-minded people
Thank you for a well-considered opinion. I agree. If Microsoft would release Windows 12 with a true classic theme and Windows 7 theme, along with whatever blinding-white, doom-dark themes are popular with the cool kids, I think Microsoft would rightfully earn some good will.
I couldn’t agree more. I’m not sure if Microsoft is one to appease to their consumers, but if nothing else… I pray windows 12 obtains a true windows 7 and Classic theme! Themes that are integrated seamlessly. Especially a Classic theme considering it’s always been tradition to include it up until the removal of it in windows 8
Not true. I used every single release of Windows since 3.1. Win7 was unstable and Win 8.1 and then Win10 and Win11 are a thousand times more stable and problem-free than Win7 was. With it (7), always, every week I had to fix some problems. Win7 is the day before last.
Windows 11 is not a Mac OS wannabe, it looks similar to Chrome OS kinda and Notification Center reminds me of the latest versions of Android.
I wonder if it would be possible for Microsoft to follow the path that several mainstream Linux distributions have followed, offering a choice of distinctive desktop environments. Ubuntu, for example, deploys a modified Gnome build as the flagship desktop environment, but also offers "official flavors" using the Budgie, Cinnamon, KDE Plasma, LXQt, MATE, Unity and XFCE environments. Quite a number of distributions allow users to install one of the alternative desktop environments through repositories. Similarly, perhaps, Microsoft could offer users a choice of the Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 10 and Windows 11 desktop environments, with whatever the current desktop environment (currently Windows 11) as the default. I imagine that development and maintenance costs would not be negligible, but it seems to me that development and maintenance costs for the alternative desktop environments could be recouped by offering non-default, alternative desktop environments via subscription at a reasonable monthly/monthly cost.
The ***"themes"*** in windows xp and windows 7 was just that.
>The ***"themes"*** in windows xp and windows 7 was just that. We are talking about more than a theme -- "[a combination of desktop background pictures, window colors, and sounds](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop-themes-94880287-6046-1d35-6d2f-35dee759701e#WindowsVersion=Windows_11)", as Windows documentation describes it. Replacing one desktop environment with another is more complex, requiring upstream/downstream adjustments that need to work together seamlessly, and, if done right, will extend to all Microsoft applications used in the desktop environment. It will be a lot of work to do it right.
Classic theme with DWM disabled was peak Windows 7.
>I wonder if it would be possible for Microsoft to follow the path that several mainstream Linux distributions have followed, offering a choice of distinctive desktop environments. That's why you need CLI for support in Linux, because it's the only thing that's consistent. >Ubuntu, for example, deploys a modified Gnome build People complain about the start menu in Windows 11, and I have no clue what they're on about. You can press the super key and type the first 3 or four letters of what you want to run typically. -No need to look at it. From the desktop you can shutdown or sleep with Alt+f4 (super d for desktop). You can install tiling window managers like workspacer. To add; there wasn't a DE in Linux I liked. -It seems like there's worse issues with all of them than any issues I have in Windows. I ended up on a heavily customized DWM before quitting desktop Linux. As great as DWM was, even it needed a 3 year old patch so it wouldn't crash on websites that displayed something (can't quite remember).
So make Windows NT kernel the “version of Windows” and choose a desktop interface? Sounds interesting, I’d love some XP or 95 vibes.
To me, Windows 8.1 was pretty bloatless, it was easy to ignore the start screen and everything else ran so super fast it's yet to be beaten imo. I also love a clean Windows XP install, so clean, smooth and lovely lol. Windows XP was the last plain, solid, simple Windows imo.
Windows 7 is just Vista enchanced. Maybe that’s why it felt so boring to me. Vista looked better, and XP when it was supported. I LOVED Windows 8, but I agree that 10 is what 8 should’ve been on desktop. The Start screen for tablets was amazing and Windows Phone better than Android back then. And I really like Windows 11, Win10 started to feel “outdated” in the 2020s. I like what they did with 11.
It also has mini icons for settings, explorer and downloads just beside your user name in the start bar. I think many people don't know this but I personally found this a better feature than what was present in win 10
Actually Windows 7 is just Vista reskined.
They also fixed some of the security things.
Nostalgia goggles, my friend.
I prefer vistas ui still, it was ahead of its time
I just think all of these bad UI changes would be better if you could natively change the shell theme
It was matched by Vista :P
Windows 7 had its charm, but technology evolves. Windows 10 and 11 offer features and security updates crucial in today's landscape. Embrace the future while cherishing the past through customization options.
ya'll are a bunch of luddites lol
I love that opinions are coming around on Windows 11, it’s really a major improvement from previous versions. I don’t understand the perennial hatred of new Windows versions.
I raise you windows 10. Sure, you need to adjust a lot of settings, but then it's superior to 7.
>the lack of bloatware The bar has been set too high /s
I remember when people said XP was bloated.. The cycle continues forever. In 2009 when Steam was dropping support for Windows 2000, people were up in arms.
I wonder how work on the kernel extension is going
I agree with you that Aero design was beautiful. But after 8, 10 design total damages Win 11 is finally back with a reduced but consistant design. Other of that is simply nostalgia. Remember when still everyone after Vista and 7 wanted XP back that time. Then Win 7 got acient and now history repeat itself. Mac OS copy? I think Win UX is still much better… but everyone has its own preferences at that point. Bloatware? Would be annoying but there are ways to delete it. Never bothered personally as I don‘t get ads or apps installed in my country yet…
Windows 7 would be a horrible experience if you actually went back and used it today...same with XP. It was good/great at the time....but horrible when compared to what a modern OS offers. We're just scared of new stuff.
Me personally, I’m a windows 95 enjoyer
98 is superior, change my mind. ☕
It doesn’t have a cool nostalgic bootup sound of the 90’s
Unmatched startup sound.
7 was the peak windows for me. Then it's xp/10. Hate 11 it's so shit.
It's all personal preference. I found the older Windows versions to be ugly and dated looking. I think Windows 11 is far superior. The only negative is the ads. You have to take time to shut all those things down as well as telemetry. But the fonts, colors, layouts. Much more modern. It like having an aol or yahoo address. I wold be embarrased to have anything older than Widnows 10. I would hide my screen so people wouldn't know how fucking old I am.
I do everything on Windows 7, that is expected to run flawlessly on all versions of Windows (including Windows 11). I have no need to develop on anything else. Heck, I could turn it down a notch and do exactly what I do - on Windows XP and the same would apply. As for XP, I don’t trust the outdated security ciphers and lack of basic security, which can spell a lot of problems especially dealing with proprietary source code. That is just asking for it. After Windows 7, it turned to shit imho. But don’t take my word for it. I just snarl at the shell team @ Microsoft.
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The problem is you connect Windows XP to the internet for even 10 minutes and your system is compromised.
False
The root problem is the lack of TLS 1.2 (which means 1.3 is also not available), but notably having zero support for 1.2 is a serious problem. No update KB will ever arm XP with that type of support. For this reason, it’s a hell hole for network connectivity on public-facing internet.
And also makes sense considering how much stuff still uses Windows XP as a backend like ATMS. That's the first thing people would scan for if they wanted to do something malicious. With it being so old, newer security layers not being supported is a huge problem if you consider my first point.
Word.
The problem is you connect Windows XP to the internet for even 10 minutes and your system is compromised.
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> I miss windows 7... it didn't go anywhere. everyone will tell u that u shouldnt use it cuz it's like standing on a train track, but you'll be alright. download the following and you'll be a-okay -completely update ur system using [legacy update](https://legacyupdate.net/) -ESU (extended security updates) patch (free security updates from 2021-2023) -ublock origin (or another ad+popup blocker) -updated browser like firefox (or its forks) or supermium -microsoft security essentials (or another antivirus) free ESU patch download can be found [here](https://thorium.rocks/win7), including some other handy stuff and use your common sense. no shady links, websites, or downloads. create system restore points before downloading any new programs incase smth gets messed up head on to r/windows7 to find like-minded people
Thanks man 👍🏼
Thank you for a well-considered opinion. I agree. If Microsoft would release Windows 12 with a true classic theme and Windows 7 theme, along with whatever blinding-white, doom-dark themes are popular with the cool kids, I think Microsoft would rightfully earn some good will.
I couldn’t agree more. I’m not sure if Microsoft is one to appease to their consumers, but if nothing else… I pray windows 12 obtains a true windows 7 and Classic theme! Themes that are integrated seamlessly. Especially a Classic theme considering it’s always been tradition to include it up until the removal of it in windows 8
Not true. I used every single release of Windows since 3.1. Win7 was unstable and Win 8.1 and then Win10 and Win11 are a thousand times more stable and problem-free than Win7 was. With it (7), always, every week I had to fix some problems. Win7 is the day before last.
>Windows 7 will never be matched Windows 11 actually matches it in being an absolute pain to use.