"Which operating system
do you use?"
"XP... Windows XP!"
Yes! This is the scenario
of the world of personal computing. And it isn't a recent development. It has
been this way for ages... since the time when PCs made their way into the
common household, when computers no longer remained a mere device for intricate
calculations, but became the curiosity for the common folk. As years rolled
down, just like wine and women, it grew more beautiful, more elegant.
It has been ruling the software industry for nearly four decades now and come
what may, it never stops to amaze the world! With a plethora of software and
services starting from operating systems to smartphones and smart gadgets,
Microsoft has undoubtedly revolutionised the world of technology.
It is really amazing how Microsoft has become a part of our lives. I
still remember the day I first sat in front of a computer. Well, I had to use a
floppy to boot it up. Yes, those were the days when a bootable floppy diskette was a priceless
asset of a PC operator! Those PCs ran on Disk Operating System, popularly known
as MS-DOS. It was the first such Command User-Interface based operating system
that was actually pretty cool to work on. And if you think you might get bored,
you are gravely mistaken. The developers, even in then, were anything but
boring, for they made available over a hundred games that can get you really
hooked to your PC. They used to come in different floppy disks, so I always
made sure I kept them properly indexed! In fact, the first time I sat in front
of the computer as a kid, I spent most of my time playing Dangerous Dave and Duke Nukem. I really enjoyed as Dave
jumped his way through the bricks, collecting gems and trophies, fighting all
odds and finally "going thru the door"! Well, if you haven't had the
thrill, don't worry. The games are still available online can
be run easily on DOS-BOX on a Windows machine.
Time passed and along the way, I have had the experience of working on nearly all the OS from Microsoft - Windows 95, 98,
2000 and ME. Nevertheless, the best experience award should surely go to
Windows XP, because it deserves it. It was far better looking than any of the
previous versions of Windows, ran smoothly on machines of all configuration,
and provided an amazing user experience. Microsoft has provided a huge number of security hotfixes
for XP from time to time, making it the most favoured OS in the corporate
sector. Unbelievably, nearly 95% of the ATMs worldwide run on XP! Now, that
Microsoft has finally decided to discontinue its services for Windows XP, it is
somewhat really sad, though more than 500 million of its copies are still in
use!
The introduction of Windows Vista really changed the way we looked at Microsoft's OSs. No doubt, it was beautiful, but it always had peculiar issues with any new device I would like to connect with my computer. And before I could get frustrated, Windows Se7en came. With the beauty of Aero desktop and power of XP, it again amazed the world. I have used it for nearly four years, until I decided to switch to Windows 8.1.
The best thing I love about windows is its adaptability to the changing needs of its customers. As the race for better User Interface hit the world, Microsoft did a wonderful job with Windows. Though, I have worked quite a lot on Linux systems as well, I would still prefer Windows any day - be it work or entertainment. You can play high-end games, watch HD movies on MediaCenter and work on almost any kind of software. And if you get bored, there is always MS-Paint to scribble on, or Minesweeper, Pinball and Spider Solitaire to while away your time, though, I used most of my idle time on Hearts, when I got the first copy of Windows 7. One more feature I love about Se7en is the Sticky Notes gadget. Besides the flattened colour panes, another feature that sets Windows apart is its Internet Explorer. Though there has been a few glitches over time, don't forget to get amazed by the IE 11 app on Windows 8.1.
One of the best things about Windows OS is the Microsoft Office package. I have tried a few other open source text editors, but nothing beats MS-Office. I remember using MS FrontPage from the ME edition to create my first website for the school project and it rocked. The features available in MS-Word and Excel are more than anything one needs to create an amazing piece of office work. Presentations are butter-smooth with the power of PowerPoint. Remember Clippy, the Office Assistant? With him at my side, I never lost my way at "Office"! Another outstanding feature of MS-Office is the Spell-check and Grammar. In the latest edition of 2013, it even knows what actually you want to write and makes intelligent grammatical suggestions and corrections.
"Googling" has become an integral part of our lives. But have you ever tried "Bing"ing? Actually, a large percentage of search engine users prefer Bing to other engines, simply because of better results and images. Besides its recent integration with Facebook makes it a really awesome choice to search something.
Windows smartphones have quite a craze in the market. Though I have had little experience with one, I have seen the ones running Windows 8. They are unbelievably amazing - looks, features and hardware integration.
Given the current generation, a kid actually grows up with Microsoft on his side. My cousin had an Xbox 360, and trust me, the gaming experience on it is like nothing else. Given the amount of time I spend with my laptop a day, I will not hesitate to say that it has always been a wonderful friend.
