Actually my understanding is that in Japan and other cultures, right hand side start menu has been the standard preference. It’s amazing to me that that cultural preference even has been ignored.
Windows 98 felt as if it was very sensible (when it didn’t hang). Windows 2000 Server I still remember as the best one. XP was too bright in visual design, but homely.
Using XP was almost the same as using W2K, except uglier, but more sci-fi-feeling. IIRC.
But yes, I too remember W2K as the best one.
From the PoV of a kid visiting websites, reading books on the Web, playing forum RPGs and some video games, and downloading MP3s. And talking over ICQ.
From that PoV it was fast, clean and without distractions and I liked the icons, the sounds and the wallpapers.
I was just getting seriously into CAAD, VR and visualization when I switched from NT to 2k - and to Linux on my second machine. I had Blender (still proprietary of NaN, then) importing DXF files via network share and render them in the backgroud while I was working on the next drawing on my W2k machine. Nobody understood what the heck I was doing but the visualisations (and even an animation in real 3D - gasp!) were quite a killer back then…
And it kind of makes sense to have the taskbar at the right or left on a widescreen monitor as there is so much space there
Actually my understanding is that in Japan and other cultures, right hand side start menu has been the standard preference. It’s amazing to me that that cultural preference even has been ignored.
What does making sense have to do with MS-Windows?
Windows 98 felt as if it was very sensible (when it didn’t hang). Windows 2000 Server I still remember as the best one. XP was too bright in visual design, but homely.
The only two incarnations of Windows I found to be acceptable were NT4 and W2k. Anything later was mostly a step into the wrong direction.
Using XP was almost the same as using W2K, except uglier, but more sci-fi-feeling. IIRC.
But yes, I too remember W2K as the best one.
From the PoV of a kid visiting websites, reading books on the Web, playing forum RPGs and some video games, and downloading MP3s. And talking over ICQ.
From that PoV it was fast, clean and without distractions and I liked the icons, the sounds and the wallpapers.
I was just getting seriously into CAAD, VR and visualization when I switched from NT to 2k - and to Linux on my second machine. I had Blender (still proprietary of NaN, then) importing DXF files via network share and render them in the backgroud while I was working on the next drawing on my W2k machine. Nobody understood what the heck I was doing but the visualisations (and even an animation in real 3D - gasp!) were quite a killer back then…