If you're old enough to remember tweaking your Autoexec.bat and tackling IRQ conflicts, days when launching
Windows required typing "win" at a command prompt, prepare for a blast of nostalgia. YouTuber Andrew Tait (aka "TheRasteri") took a freshly minted
VMWare instance and spent what looks to be a full day running through every version of Windows starting with DOS 5.0 and Windows 1.0, which was basically just Explorer paired with one heck of a crummy text editor. From there he dutifully leads us on a crazy upgrade path all the way up to modern times, charting interesting things like how long a version of
Doom installed in DOS ran (failed in Windows 2000, but worked again in Windows XP) and when color settings made in Windows 2.0 were finally overwritten (also in 2000). It's 10 minutes in length and is probably the most interesting video you won't watch today.
VIDEO
<a href="http://gdgt.com/microsoft/windows/8/">
Microsoft
Windows 8
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Reviews • 197
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Type
Computer OS
Source model
Closed
Architecture
64-bit, 32-bit
Released
2012-10-26
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7.8 average user rating
Ease of use
7.7
Speed
9.1
Configurability
7.6
Ecosystem (apps, drivers, etc.)
7.5
Openness
7.1
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<a href="http://gdgt.com/microsoft/windows/2000/">
Microsoft
Windows 2000
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Reviews • 7
</a>
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Type
Computer OS
Source model
Closed, w/ open source
Architecture
64-bit, 32-bit
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8.3 average user rating
Ease of use
8.3
Speed
8.3
Configurability
8.6
Ecosystem (apps, drivers, etc.)
8.9
Openness
6.7
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Windows 3.1
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Reviews • 9
</a>
Prices
Type
Computer OS
Source model
Closed
Architecture
16-bit
Discontinued
2001-12-31
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7.1 average user rating
Ease of use
7.8
Speed
7.1
Configurability
6.9
Ecosystem (apps, drivers, etc.)
6.2
Openness
6
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Microsoft
Windows 98
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Reviews • 21
</a>
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Type
Computer OS
Source model
Closed, w/ open source
Architecture
32-bit, 16-bit
Discontinued
2006-07-11
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6.9 average user rating
Ease of use
7.6
Speed
6.8
Configurability
7
Ecosystem (apps, drivers, etc.)
7.1
Openness
5.4
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Microsoft
Windows Vista
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Type
Computer OS
Source model
Closed
Architecture
64-bit, 32-bit
Released
2007-01-30
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6 average user rating
Ease of use
6.9
Speed
5.7
Configurability
6.7
Ecosystem (apps, drivers, etc.)
6.8
Openness
5.6
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Microsoft
Windows XP
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Reviews • 78
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Prices
Type
Computer OS
Source model
Closed
Architecture
64-bit, 32-bit
Released
2001-10-25
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7.6 average user rating
Ease of use
7.9
Speed
7.4
Configurability
7.8
Ecosystem (apps, drivers, etc.)
8.3
Openness
6.6
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