Windows
In spite of what you may think, there are other operating systems besides Windows. There are Linux and a few others. But most people use a version of Windows on their personal computer and use it for just about all their computing needs, unless of course, they are using a Mac. Macs have a totally different operating system.
My first computer was a Commodore 64. It did not have Windows. It had a command line & no GUI (graphical user interface). I was totally enamored with it. It had wonderful graphics and I could spend hour’s just playing games. When I got a Commodore 128, I could do word processing and use a basic database. It was wonderful! All programs were stored on a flimsy 5-¼ inch floppy disk and the disk drive was a separate piece of equipment.
I never imagined that I would one day give my Commodores away & go to something new. My next computer was a Tandy 1000 SL. It had an 8086 processor & it did not have Windows either. I added a 20mg hard drive & that was big! It came with word processing, but no Internet capability.
Then came computers with Windows. I got a Packard Bell 486 with Windows 3.11. Wow! It came with a lot of fun games & other programs. Still no Internet though. It did have a built in 9600-baud modem. My son used it to access his university system.
Then Microsoft came out with Windows 95. I bought the upgrade & installed it on the old Packard Bell. Now I had the Internet! I thought it was great. Then I kept seeing ads for newer & faster computers, Pentiums! So of course I had to have one, even though at the time I couldn’t really afford one. So I managed to find a rebuilt Packard Bell with Windows 95. This may have been a mistake. I became a real computer junkie & addicted to the Internet, too. I was always tweaking to make Windows better, always finding fixes for the everyday occurring BSOD (Blue Screen of Death).
Microsoft came out with Windows 98; I had to have it. (On a new computer!) Big improvement over Windows 95, lots more features and more stability. The Internet grew by leaps & bounds every day and I wanted to see it all. Whoops, not everything! Some of those sites were awful! Pornography & who knows what else. But there were so many good sites where I could download free programs, games, and utilities and oh, the wonderful pictures for wallpaper & themes. I really got hooked on themes and screensavers for a while. But still I got BSODs, so I was still tweaking & finding the fixes. I think I had more fun fixing problems than anything else I did on the computer. It was so satisfying when the error messages went away because I had isolated & fixed a problem.
I finally decided I need another new computer when Windows 98 was announced , but I did wait until Windows 98SE was available. I bought an HP Pavilion with a CD RW drive. This computer is still being used, although I did add more memory. I gave it to my niece for her two little girls to play their games. (They don't access the Internet.)
Next came Windows ME. I decided to skip that version as I kept hearing it wasn’t that much different than Windows 98 and there was no real reason to upgrade. Also kept hearing from folks who did upgrade & then formatted & re-installed Windows 98.
Then I got Windows 2000. Well, now I was truly happy with Windows! I had a dual boot with both Windows 98SE and Windows 2000. The only time I used Windows 98 is when I wanted to burn a CD or upload pictures for my camera, as the software is not truly compatible with Windows 2000. No more BSODs! What else can I say? Windows 2000 was faster, safer and a lot more stable.
Then came Windows XP. So, you guessed it, I have Windows XP Home Edition. I have been using it since March 2002 and I really like it. It has the stability of Windows 2000 & so far everything I have wanted to install works great. I no longer need Windows 98. There are two flavors of Windows XP, Home and Pro. There is also Windows Media Center which is Pro with Media stuff added.
I am using Windows XP on a Notebook and a desktop now. But Windows is still flying!
Now of course there is Windows Vista! I have a new laptop with Vista Ultimate and am in the process of learning. Sooner or later I will have a new section on this site for Vista!
