4 ms·

The technical ingenuity is impressive. I personally find this visual quite cold and soulless, compared to previous Windows wallpapers, mostly XP's of course.

The technical ingenuity is impressive. I personally find this visual quite cold and soulless, compared to previous Windows wallpapers, mostly XP's of course. For me this also coincided with Windows becoming completely useless and my moving to a Mac.

vsnf 2y ago
There was definitely a kind of warm, optimistic vibe that came with the Windows XP wallpaper. The whole UI language of the OS was similar too, with bubbly blues and greens everywhere. I suppose it captured a kind of positive cultural attitude towards computing.
- tavavex 2y ago
  I think it was aimed at making the OS look less threatening and complicated to a new user. Then again, people did complain about it being a "Fisher-Price UI", so maybe this overwhelmingly positive perception is a result of people spending so much time with the OS and getting used to the way things were.
  - vsnf 2y ago
    I do recall the Fisher-Price complaints. As I recall it mostly came from the Linux (or Linux-inclined) crowd. I never really understood the complaints, though it was common enough that I must have just been missing something. But really, I don't get whats wrong with a functional UI that's also friendly and inviting.
    - amatecha 2y ago
      Just today I was thinking about XP and the phrase "Fisher-Price" came to mind. I liked XP's UI, even as whimsical and toy-like (and easy to make fun of) as it was. I'd prefer if computers and OSes retained the whimsy and character of that late-90's-early-2000's era of Win XP and the colourful iMacs, etc.
- userbinator 2y ago
  I suppose it captured a kind of positive cultural attitude towards computing. It was a time when MS was about giving users tools to do whatever they want, and not trying to coerce them down a path to be milked for $$$. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34021851 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34021851
  - sureIy 2y ago
    Yes but also it was the same exact time when MS dominated and stagnated. IE6 shipped with Windows XP
thefz 2y ago
Really? W10 is the best just after W7.
- qiqitori 2y ago
  Yes, especially if you like ads in your start menu.
  - ruszki 2y ago
    I had no Windows edition since 98, which I didn't need to alter right after a fresh installation because of Microsoft bullshits. At least, it doesn't take a full day anymore to install and configure a fresh Windows.
  - scotty79 2y ago
    Start menu in W10 is terrible. Especially since they had wonderful menu in developer builds which I was using as my daily driver. But in the end they replaced it with this monstrosity.
  - thefz 2y ago
    I don't have any.
- gizajob 2y ago
  Windows 2000 was the platonic ideal Windows. Has been downhill since then.
tivert 2y ago
> I personally find this visual quite cold and soulless, compared to previous Windows wallpapers, mostly XP's of course. For me this also coincided with Windows becoming completely useless and my moving to a Mac. Honestly, I kind of feel that's the contemporary style. My employer recently moved to a new office building, and feel exactly that way every time I have to go there. It doesn't help that it's 100% hoteled seating, so there's no "lived in" vibe to counter the sterility.
epolanski 2y ago
I feel the other way around. Windows 10 with WSL, Power Toys and many other things sold me on windows for development. I still use a MacBook on the move, but if I work from home I would never swap to OSX. Way too many things annoy me: the filesystem, the file explorer, poor windows and multi monitor handling (to this date OSX sucks with 3 monitors and switches the output randomly when coming back from sleep/rebooting), the consistent issues with unlocking cameras/microphones, somewhat questionable support of non-Apple accessories (Bluetooth headset is an example), Docker support and there's some more. Win11 with Ubuntu22 on WSL2 is all I need.
- Rinzler89 2y ago
  Same feeling from me. Windows 11 could be the perfect OS if they dropped the anti-user features and pestering, and make new features like Copilot and AI stuff opt-in instead of being forced down your throat by major updates. Basically have Windows behave like Linux, where you get the bare minimum and the letting you choose what to add on top.
- Shacklz 2y ago
  > OSX sucks with 3 monitors and switches the output randomly when coming back from sleep/rebooting This drives me nuts with my Mac at my workplace. It's mostly an awesome workhorse, but when I switched to Mac I was flabbergasted that this can be an issue. The window-management I find also rather awful. When I asked the Mac-nerds I knew they all had their custom setup that includes some third-party-tooling, the built-in mission-control or whatever they call it didn't exactly receive favorable remarks...
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
resource_waste 2y ago
Try Linux/Fedora intead. Windows is really awful, and Macs are super limited in hardware. (It might work if you only do web dev) Fedora is literally better than both. People are just so used to repeating the linux prayer of 'debian/ubuntu/mint', that most people don't know: Debian is an outdated/old distro with limited features and lots of bugs. Fedora is up-to-date, loaded with codecs and drivers, works with Nvidia, and has a 10/10 pro-consumer experience. No ads, no harassment, smooth, fast, everything just works.
- suby 2y ago
  Fedora favors shifting the technological overton window over shipping working software. I first tried Fedora out on the initial release which switched on Wayland by default -- this was in like 2017, or around there. I installed it, booted to the login screen, and then logging in went to a black screen which booted me back to login. I was on an Nvidia card which was unsupported and I had no idea what Wayland was, so I ended up uninstalling it in favor of Linux Mint. It's not like they weren't aware this wouldn't work for the majority of the desktop marketshare. They didn't try to mitigate this by detecting your card and defaulting to x11. They did not apparently care. Evidently causing friction and getting the ecosystem to switch was more important to them then my machine working with their software. I'm sure Fedora is great, but I think it's poor form to recommend it to people new to Linux.
  - resource_waste 2y ago
    The irony is that last year, Mint didn't have a recent kernel, so you couldn't use NVIDIA on Mint. Not sure what to recommend then.

vsnf 2y ago

There was definitely a kind of warm, optimistic vibe that came with the Windows XP wallpaper. The whole UI language of the OS was similar too, with bubbly blues and greens everywhere. I suppose it captured a kind of positive cultural attitude towards computing.

tavavex 2y ago
I think it was aimed at making the OS look less threatening and complicated to a new user. Then again, people did complain about it being a "Fisher-Price UI", so maybe this overwhelmingly positive perception is a result of people spending so much time with the OS and getting used to the way things were.
- vsnf 2y ago
  I do recall the Fisher-Price complaints. As I recall it mostly came from the Linux (or Linux-inclined) crowd. I never really understood the complaints, though it was common enough that I must have just been missing something. But really, I don't get whats wrong with a functional UI that's also friendly and inviting.
  - amatecha 2y ago
    Just today I was thinking about XP and the phrase "Fisher-Price" came to mind. I liked XP's UI, even as whimsical and toy-like (and easy to make fun of) as it was. I'd prefer if computers and OSes retained the whimsy and character of that late-90's-early-2000's era of Win XP and the colourful iMacs, etc.
userbinator 2y ago
I suppose it captured a kind of positive cultural attitude towards computing. It was a time when MS was about giving users tools to do whatever they want, and not trying to coerce them down a path to be milked for $$$. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34021851 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34021851
- sureIy 2y ago
  Yes but also it was the same exact time when MS dominated and stagnated. IE6 shipped with Windows XP

thefz 2y ago

Really? W10 is the best just after W7.

qiqitori 2y ago
Yes, especially if you like ads in your start menu.
- ruszki 2y ago
  I had no Windows edition since 98, which I didn't need to alter right after a fresh installation because of Microsoft bullshits. At least, it doesn't take a full day anymore to install and configure a fresh Windows.
- scotty79 2y ago
  Start menu in W10 is terrible. Especially since they had wonderful menu in developer builds which I was using as my daily driver. But in the end they replaced it with this monstrosity.
- thefz 2y ago
  I don't have any.
gizajob 2y ago
Windows 2000 was the platonic ideal Windows. Has been downhill since then.

tivert 2y ago

> I personally find this visual quite cold and soulless, compared to previous Windows wallpapers, mostly XP's of course. For me this also coincided with Windows becoming completely useless and my moving to a Mac. Honestly, I kind of feel that's the contemporary style. My employer recently moved to a new office building, and feel exactly that way every time I have to go there. It doesn't help that it's 100% hoteled seating, so there's no "lived in" vibe to counter the sterility.

epolanski 2y ago

I feel the other way around. Windows 10 with WSL, Power Toys and many other things sold me on windows for development. I still use a MacBook on the move, but if I work from home I would never swap to OSX. Way too many things annoy me: the filesystem, the file explorer, poor windows and multi monitor handling (to this date OSX sucks with 3 monitors and switches the output randomly when coming back from sleep/rebooting), the consistent issues with unlocking cameras/microphones, somewhat questionable support of non-Apple accessories (Bluetooth headset is an example), Docker support and there's some more. Win11 with Ubuntu22 on WSL2 is all I need.

Rinzler89 2y ago
Same feeling from me. Windows 11 could be the perfect OS if they dropped the anti-user features and pestering, and make new features like Copilot and AI stuff opt-in instead of being forced down your throat by major updates. Basically have Windows behave like Linux, where you get the bare minimum and the letting you choose what to add on top.
Shacklz 2y ago
> OSX sucks with 3 monitors and switches the output randomly when coming back from sleep/rebooting This drives me nuts with my Mac at my workplace. It's mostly an awesome workhorse, but when I switched to Mac I was flabbergasted that this can be an issue. The window-management I find also rather awful. When I asked the Mac-nerds I knew they all had their custom setup that includes some third-party-tooling, the built-in mission-control or whatever they call it didn't exactly receive favorable remarks...

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

resource_waste 2y ago

Try Linux/Fedora intead. Windows is really awful, and Macs are super limited in hardware. (It might work if you only do web dev) Fedora is literally better than both. People are just so used to repeating the linux prayer of 'debian/ubuntu/mint', that most people don't know: Debian is an outdated/old distro with limited features and lots of bugs. Fedora is up-to-date, loaded with codecs and drivers, works with Nvidia, and has a 10/10 pro-consumer experience. No ads, no harassment, smooth, fast, everything just works.

suby 2y ago
Fedora favors shifting the technological overton window over shipping working software. I first tried Fedora out on the initial release which switched on Wayland by default -- this was in like 2017, or around there. I installed it, booted to the login screen, and then logging in went to a black screen which booted me back to login. I was on an Nvidia card which was unsupported and I had no idea what Wayland was, so I ended up uninstalling it in favor of Linux Mint. It's not like they weren't aware this wouldn't work for the majority of the desktop marketshare. They didn't try to mitigate this by detecting your card and defaulting to x11. They did not apparently care. Evidently causing friction and getting the ecosystem to switch was more important to them then my machine working with their software. I'm sure Fedora is great, but I think it's poor form to recommend it to people new to Linux.
- resource_waste 2y ago
  The irony is that last year, Mint didn't have a recent kernel, so you couldn't use NVIDIA on Mint. Not sure what to recommend then.