5 ms·

> This is always a repeated cycle in operating systems, they bloat up, then eventually have a cycle of removing the fat. Windows been thru this cycle many times

> This is always a repeated cycle in operating systems, they bloat up, then eventually have a cycle of removing the fat. Windows been thru this cycle many times. I worked at Microsoft during Windows 7 & 8. There was a strict edict that minimum hardware requirements would not be increased and we were expected to improve performance on the same hardware. Have you actually seen windows get worse over the last ~9 years since vista or is this an impression that's just too hard to shake?

runjake 9y ago
It's probably an impression pushed by people who didn't regularly use those versions of Windows. W7 performed great and W8.1 (I skipped 8) only improved upon that speed and power efficiency. W8.1 with Classic Shell and before Metro spread throughout the system was my favorite OS-stays-out-of-the-way Windows.
mrpippy 9y ago
I generally agree that Windows has done a good job of getting faster on the same hardware (particularly boot time) over the last 10 years, but the hardware requirements have changed. Disabling desktop composition (the Desktop Window Manager/Aero) was a supported option on Windows 7, but is not an option for W8 and above. Windows 8 also requires NX and SSE2 support, which leaves out 2003/2004-era P4 and Athlon XPs.
- TazeTSchnitzel 9y ago
  Even if Windows 10 still supported non-SSE2 CPUs, few software packages would. Most software is compiled to use SSE for floats now. Interestingly, disabling compositing doesn't mean increasing system requirements, because Windows 8 can do it in software. A GPU will improve your experience, however.
Zenst 9y ago
No, in fairness, since Vista they have made a very conscious effort and seem to of stuck with it.
Feniks 9y ago
I'm running win10 on an old laptop with 3Gb of RAM. It's win10 enterprise LTSB but still damn impressive.
- dingdingdang 9y ago
  How did you get a LTSB license? I tried getting a license off ebay but unlike Pro licenses I have bought in the past the whole thing failed to work.
Sylos 9y ago
Microsoft did recently increase system requirements quite a bit, I believe with the Anniversary Update. And well, he specifically said that operating systems go through bloat and debloat phases over and over. XP to Vista was quite a step towards bloat. 7, 8, 8.1 partially debloated that again. 10 with its telemetry and increased online focus seems to chew on that, again. But even then, it's not like Windows is a miraculous feat of efficiency. There's functionally equivalent Linux systems with down to a quarter of the resource usage.
mistermann 9y ago
> Have you actually seen windows get worse over the last ~9 years since vista or is this an impression that's just too hard to shake? If Microsoft put any effort into some tooling people could use (without taking a week off work to study to learn how they work, what claims in the documentation are true vs lies, etc) discover wtf is slowing down their system and why, they might get a bit more respect from the technical community.
Multicomp 9y ago
OT: And you did a good job of it too. I have a WP7 device that I use for the work emails and while it is strictly a Lync/Calendar/Exchange email device, it is still snappy and responsive even after all of these years.

runjake 9y ago

It's probably an impression pushed by people who didn't regularly use those versions of Windows. W7 performed great and W8.1 (I skipped 8) only improved upon that speed and power efficiency. W8.1 with Classic Shell and before Metro spread throughout the system was my favorite OS-stays-out-of-the-way Windows.

mrpippy 9y ago

I generally agree that Windows has done a good job of getting faster on the same hardware (particularly boot time) over the last 10 years, but the hardware requirements have changed. Disabling desktop composition (the Desktop Window Manager/Aero) was a supported option on Windows 7, but is not an option for W8 and above. Windows 8 also requires NX and SSE2 support, which leaves out 2003/2004-era P4 and Athlon XPs.

TazeTSchnitzel 9y ago
Even if Windows 10 still supported non-SSE2 CPUs, few software packages would. Most software is compiled to use SSE for floats now. Interestingly, disabling compositing doesn't mean increasing system requirements, because Windows 8 can do it in software. A GPU will improve your experience, however.

Zenst 9y ago

No, in fairness, since Vista they have made a very conscious effort and seem to of stuck with it.

Feniks 9y ago

I'm running win10 on an old laptop with 3Gb of RAM. It's win10 enterprise LTSB but still damn impressive.

dingdingdang 9y ago
How did you get a LTSB license? I tried getting a license off ebay but unlike Pro licenses I have bought in the past the whole thing failed to work.

Sylos 9y ago

Microsoft did recently increase system requirements quite a bit, I believe with the Anniversary Update. And well, he specifically said that operating systems go through bloat and debloat phases over and over. XP to Vista was quite a step towards bloat. 7, 8, 8.1 partially debloated that again. 10 with its telemetry and increased online focus seems to chew on that, again. But even then, it's not like Windows is a miraculous feat of efficiency. There's functionally equivalent Linux systems with down to a quarter of the resource usage.

mistermann 9y ago

> Have you actually seen windows get worse over the last ~9 years since vista or is this an impression that's just too hard to shake? If Microsoft put any effort into some tooling people could use (without taking a week off work to study to learn how they work, what claims in the documentation are true vs lies, etc) discover wtf is slowing down their system and why, they might get a bit more respect from the technical community.

Multicomp 9y ago

OT: And you did a good job of it too. I have a WP7 device that I use for the work emails and while it is strictly a Lync/Calendar/Exchange email device, it is still snappy and responsive even after all of these years.