4 ms·
I'd replace 9x by windows 2000. It was the only decent windows. 9x were BSOD crashfest, 2000 was stable as NT but without the enshittification of XP (ugly defau
by prmoustache 4mo ago
I'd replace 9x by windows 2000. It was the only decent windows. 9x were BSOD crashfest, 2000 was stable as NT but without the enshittification of XP (ugly default themes, stuff above calling internet services with zero value).
I think what you describe as responsive are 2 things:
1. absence of animations. I don't know about windows but on linux DE you can disable them, it feels snappier but more raw and I think most people still prefer the animations.
2. Visual and audio clues. Back in the days we were on spinning disks so anytime you'd click on somethimg you would hear the disk moaning in pain and see that disk led blinking. You knew that something was happening, even if it took a long time. When SSD were introduced, everything became instant and silent for a few years, it was pure bliss. Then over the last decade apps continued growing and growing in size and as fast as they were SSDs and NVME started not feeling that fast because so much stuff had to be loaded into memory. Nowadays many apps are still starting much faster than before but the biggest one still take a substantial time. Worse, we have lost all visual and audio clues that something is happening.
- inigyou 4mo agoIt's interesting how many people don't like the XP theme. I think it was cool, it was productive yet colorful, but I have to wonder if that's just because it arrived when I was at a certain life stage, the same way I had no problem with the COVID lockdown. We used XP in high school computer class the whole time I was there.
- BirAdam 4mo agoIt was change. People don’t like change.
- nailer 4mo agoIt was directional and trendy - which meant it was short lasting. Like building your UI based on floaty 3D shapes 5 years ago, except these days it's much easier to change when you start to look silly.
- inigyou 4mo agoAh, yeah, I can see how if you had worked with the 9x theme for 10 years you'd prefer it didn't change. (Conversely I don't think anyone is clamoring for the 3.1 theme back) But XP did include that theme and it was pretty simple to select it.
- hulitu 4mo agoIn the good Microsoft tradition, you had programs where this theme will not be applied, just like in Win 10 and 11, leading to inconsistencies.
- pjerem 4mo agoIt was much, much, more coherent. Also there was a trick which I don't remember that allowed to apply the theme on all applications. Now, the notion of theme don't even exists anymore. It's just web and css and branding colors for whatever software you run.
- marysol5 4mo agoI always put XP into "Classic Mode"
- minusLik 4mo agoI for my part didn't like the sparse selection of colors. Blue, silver, green, but nothing reddish. But later there came the Zune theme and it was awesome (silver-black with orange X buttons).