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Starting with Microsoft Windows.
Microsoft have gone through a lot of changes over the years from DOS (the disk operating system) to the latest version, Windows 10. So lets list them for you:
- DOS
- Windows 3.1 (The first publicly accepted version of Windows)
- Windows NT
- Windows 95
- Windows 98
- Windows ME
- Windows 2000
- Windows XP
- Windows Vista
- Windows 7
- Windows 8
- Windows 10
I have deliberately missed out the different editions such as XP pro and XP home as well as all the server versions (NT, 2003, 2008, 2012 etc).
To work out Microsoft's numbering system you take out business editions, NT and 2000 and add in 8.1 (instead of 9). That makes more sense.
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I have since found out that Windows 9 was missed due to incompatibility with applications written using the 9x date system. The boom of personal computers in the 90's meant that a large number of applications were created not considering the future of their application beyond 1999. This is commonly referred to as the millennium bug.
So when an application for example runs a piece of code looking to find out if the OS is compatible it performs something like this:
if(app.getOs().startswith(9)) ... run stuff
Unofficially however this could be negated using the official windows build number instead as even Windows 10 runs builds starting with a 1 but who knows how legacy applications were made!
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Ok so the chances of anyone preferring Windows XP anymore is very slim especially with the introduction of so many new memory hungry applications that just love more RAM and the 64 bit version of XP has so little driver support, you might as well be playing a tape (yes we used to have non digital media to store music!! and that's not a reference to XP).
So lets review the modern choices.
Windows 7
Probably the best version of Windows ever released by Microsoft, 64 bit support is there and so is hardware compatibility. In fact I know of NO ONE who has needed to buy a new computer to run Windows 7. I tested a beta release 10 months before release on a 1/2 gig ram 2003 laptop and quite simply was stunned at the capability of the old system to be able to handle such an up to date operating system.
Windows 7 Pros
Its lightweight at installation compared to Vista, although a heavyweight in comparison to XP's tiny 1 gig fresh install
Fast, seriously fast. Stick an SSD in an old pc and place a fresh copy of 7 on and it launches in under 30 seconds.
Program compatible. Now this is a bit of a stick, MOST applications work from the old 32 to a modern 64 bit. BUT this is actually not really an advantage or disadvantage as Windows 8 and Windows 10 should hold very similar program compatibility as they are built on the same system.
Windows 8
Never got to grips with it, having 2 screens instead of a start menu or something similar on one screen. The tablet idea was a good one but it doesn't work well and is actually quite confusing. Want to find an application, there is no directory tree easily found and the closest it gets is a list of all applications. The tiles idea is not bad but should really be part of the desktop and not a menu and would also be a better option for Windows 10 but I will get to that.
Windows 8 Pros
Its basically the same as Windows 7 but with one major difference, it uses a UEFI BIOS.
OMG what is a UEFI BIOS? Ok, basically this type of BIOS allows the operating system to have more direct control over the hardware meaning that the small chip on the motherboard that gives basic instructions can be enhanced with more complex plug and play commands and also means that some major operating functions such as refreshing can be more easily implemented without rebooting all the hardware and finding the drivers all over again.
Refreshing, basically the ability to clean out all the crap you added in without losing much data
System Refreshing, the ability to clean the system and ALL settings and extra files.
Windows 10
The first time I tried it out, I couldn't find a simple menu, mostly because they have removed so many menus and tried to make it even more tablet proof. It's not, I installed it on a Windows 8 tablet and now have many hours of frustration. Problem after problem in tablet mode and regular mode. Lets list a couple. Click in the search bar with your finger.... Where's the keyboard so I can type? ... Open a settings menu.... 2 errors appears (after a fresh install) indicating missing files from a c++ library.... Check how much battery is left.... Ok so the %age is correct but the amount of time left on the battery? Apparently I always have 1 day and 14 hours remaining even when there's almost no battery left!
Window's 10 Pros
Its the same as Windows 8 but worse
The ONLY thing I liked (which I haven't tried in Windows 8) is tablet mode MS Outlook oh and thats not Windows, thats Office...
There might be more pros but for business, stick with Windows 7 or 8
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