4 ms·

> It was first introduced for Windows 95, I had no idea it was there for that long! Honestly, from their perspective it probably makes sense to keep it separa

> It was first introduced for Windows 95, I had no idea it was there for that long! Honestly, from their perspective it probably makes sense to keep it separate from the main OS if they like keeping it open source.

drdec 4y ago
That wouldn't stop them from shipping it by default.
lhoff 4y ago
Its a little more complicated. While its true that there was a Powertoys apllication for win95 the current one is not related to that. It's more like a spiritual successor with not direct heritage. The first release of the current applicaiton was 2019. The wiki article is quite detailed: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PowerToys https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PowerToys
zamadatix 4y ago
Windows ships many open source components these days be it first party (Calculator, Windows Terminal, WLSG) or third party (wholesale like OpenSSH or just libraries used in components).
filmgirlcw 4y ago
The OSS stuff doesn’t really have anything to do with it. The genesis of PowerToys was to provide a way to create utilities for power users that could be quickly iterated in public. When it’s part of the core OS, that makes updates/iteration harder (hence, why Windows Terminal, WSL2 beta, calculator, Notepad and some other components have moved to getting updates in the Microsoft Store separate from the main OS. So you can run an older IT mandated version of Windows but still ostensibly have a newer version of a certain component), and with stuff like PowerToys, the intended audience is different than the standard OS user, who may not be comfortable with things that can change more frequently. That said, the feedback from PowerToys and some of those components has been upstreamed back into core Windows. The improved window management stuff in Windows 11 is a less-advanced version of Fancy Zones (FZ has more features and options), and the same is true for the universal mute button in Windows 11, that started out as a PowerToys feature. (Disclosure: former Microsoft employee (currently at GitHub) who knows the PowerToys team well)
- texaslonghorn5 4y ago
  Good to know, thanks for your insight!
johnwalkr 4y ago
In the original incarnation, it included the legendary TweakUI.[1] [1]http://misweb.cbi.msstate.edu/~rpearson/tips/tweakui.html http://misweb.cbi.msstate.edu/~rpearson/tips/tweakui.html

drdec 4y ago

That wouldn't stop them from shipping it by default.

lhoff 4y ago

Its a little more complicated. While its true that there was a Powertoys apllication for win95 the current one is not related to that. It's more like a spiritual successor with not direct heritage. The first release of the current applicaiton was 2019. The wiki article is quite detailed: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PowerToys https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PowerToys

zamadatix 4y ago

Windows ships many open source components these days be it first party (Calculator, Windows Terminal, WLSG) or third party (wholesale like OpenSSH or just libraries used in components).

filmgirlcw 4y ago

The OSS stuff doesn’t really have anything to do with it. The genesis of PowerToys was to provide a way to create utilities for power users that could be quickly iterated in public. When it’s part of the core OS, that makes updates/iteration harder (hence, why Windows Terminal, WSL2 beta, calculator, Notepad and some other components have moved to getting updates in the Microsoft Store separate from the main OS. So you can run an older IT mandated version of Windows but still ostensibly have a newer version of a certain component), and with stuff like PowerToys, the intended audience is different than the standard OS user, who may not be comfortable with things that can change more frequently. That said, the feedback from PowerToys and some of those components has been upstreamed back into core Windows. The improved window management stuff in Windows 11 is a less-advanced version of Fancy Zones (FZ has more features and options), and the same is true for the universal mute button in Windows 11, that started out as a PowerToys feature. (Disclosure: former Microsoft employee (currently at GitHub) who knows the PowerToys team well)

texaslonghorn5 4y ago
Good to know, thanks for your insight!

johnwalkr 4y ago

In the original incarnation, it included the legendary TweakUI.[1] [1]http://misweb.cbi.msstate.edu/~rpearson/tips/tweakui.html http://misweb.cbi.msstate.edu/~rpearson/tips/tweakui.html