I have a confession to make, I used Windows Millennium Edition and I liked it. That doesn’t stop me making fun of it however.
At a time where there was still a separation between consumer and enterprise operating systems, Windows Me was at the top of its class.
What a lot of people forget or don’t even recognize to begin with is that Windows Me is actually a rather innovative and forward-looking operating system. Instead, almost everyone focuses on its reliability problems which can be largely attributed to the flaky and inherently unstable Win9x kernel.
With the help of Wikipedia, here’s a short list of the most notable features that were introduced or improved in Windows Me. See how many of these have provided some benefit to you in the past. For me, many of these are fundamental to my Windows experience.
- Windows Movie Maker (new) - allows basic editing of home videos. (However to this date, still highly unstable.)
- System Restore (new) -allows the restore of system files, drivers and the registry to a previous known state to recover from a system failure. Might not work all the time, but a huge leap from the format and install approach to troubleshooting.
- System File Protection (improved) - monitors and restores undesired changes to important Windows system files. Might be a hassle for advanced users, but gives some protection over malicious damage of system files.
- New TCP/IP Stack (improved) - adds ability to sense whether adapters are connected to a network, improved performance and reliability and home networking features.
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) (new) - adds the ability for the computer to request ports autonomously to the router. (An inherent security problem, but simplifies home networking in many scenarios.)
- Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) (new) - a standardized framework for imaging devices (cameras, webcams, scanners) to communicate with Windows. Before this, device vendors had to write a custom solution on their own leading to many compatibility problems.
- Automatic Updates (new) - allows for download and installations of Windows Updates directly in Windows. Before, users had to manually check the website.
- Inbuilt ZIP support (improved) - allows the creation and extraction of ZIP folders natively in Windows.
- Image preview (new) - inbuilt picture viewer for many of the popular photo and image formats.
- Bundled games (improved) - Pinball and Spider Solitaire. Nuff said.
- USB Mass Storage generic driver (new) - the first consumer Windows OS to support any USB mass storage device without third-party drivers. Before, you had to install a custom driver from a floppy to use any USB drive.
Could you imagine the security problems if Windows XP didn’t ship with Automatic Updates? Or if WIA was never introduced - how difficult it was to install a scanner in Windows 98? What about having to download a third-party utility to view a JPG? Or not having to plug in a USB drive and just have it work.
In spite of this and more, people continue to draw comparisons between Windows Vista and Windows Me as if it were as hip as writing Microsoft with a dollar sign in the late 90s.
I don’t think this is fair at all. If anything, it means Vista has a bunch of new and improved features that we won’t realize the full potential of till a couple more Windows releases down the road. But that doesn’t mean it’s destined to a be a ‘failure’.
What’s more, Windows 98 Second Edition was released on May 5, 1999 and Windows XP on October 25, 2001. Between the two, Windows Me was released on September 14, 2000, giving it the shortest Windows lifespan of only 406 days. Taking into account consumer purchasing life-cycles and other factors, what’s left is only a couple of days of fame. Any product preceded and superseded that quickly would have suffered the same fate.
Comments for "Why Windows Me deserves more respect"
Cullen D
Great post, Long! I completely agree with you here. There are some great features, which won’t really be highlighted until Vista is more mature, or maybe in a later Windows release. But yes, I completely agree with you. However, I personally have 0 problems with Vista
Max
I agree … Windows Me suffered greatly, while it still was a great platform for innovation. Technology is evolutive, to move forward, you’re bound to hit a snag somewhere. And while Me was in certain areas a disaster, it was a leap forward in others. Great article.
AW
That’s like saying your ride is fly because it’s got smokin’ wheels and a badbass engine under the hood but trying to play down the smell of raw sewage from your backseat shitter.
It’s not like we’d be without all those features if it weren’t for ME. You know they didn’t just whip together Windows XP in less than a year.
Long Zheng
@AW: You’re right in the sense that some good features does not make up for the fact of the reliability problems, but I think it is something positive to think about in relations to Windows ME.
I disagree with you on the second point however. “What if” is always always an interesting proposition, “what if this didn’t happen”. But those path predictions never work out. The fact is that it did happen, and it has resulted in the featureset that’s in Windows XP and Vista, so I think it deserves some credit in that sense.
Chustar
@AW: Put some air freshners in that car.
Albert
I’ve always considered Windows ME to be a “transitional OS,” much like Windows Vista seems to be now. It’s not exactly revolutionary, but just enough “new” stuff to set the foundation for the more “groundbreaking” technological advancements that are yet to come.
gary
used ME all through the beta and never really had any issues. but i did, and still do, like xp the best.
Jeff Atwood
OMG I was just referencing Windows ME today! I’m with you Long, it was a fine OS that like Rodney Dangerfield got no respect.
Never really understood why ME took such critical flak, other than the “transitional OS” argument– in that it was a bridge between the 9x (DOS-based) code base and the NT (32-bit) one.
Jeff Atwood
And for the record I had ZERO Windows ME compatibility issues across multiple PCs. I never really understood what all the fuss was about.
Craig
Hear! Hear! I had ME on a gateway computer I had bought. I had no problems with it (other than gateway hardware related) for years. I didn’t even realize people had problems with the OS until 2 years later. “Transitional OS” is a very apt term here, but I prefer “rebound OS”. Like the girl you hook up with between two long term relationships. You have a great time with her, she’s fun, but you just don’t have the chemistry to make things last.
anonymous
I’ve been trying to make this point to everyone around for so long….it wasn’t so bad but people love to hate MS..according to that policy…a past MS OS must be completely bashed and destroyed….at least I didn’t have any problems with Me except that some 9x using software and drivers didn’t work…but SFP should actually have stabilized it more (it did for me)….btw why have you linked some articles to Wikipedia and haven’t linked the rest? The much touted Movie Maker however was indeed, and still remains to this day, a joke…it can’t even join 2 WMV files for instance.
The other day I was trying out old OSes in VMs just for nostalgia and I realized that since Me carried Windows 2000 shell features (search in Explorer instead of Find, Explorer toolbar buttons can be completely customized etc), if I HAD to use a 9x OS, I couldn’t go back to 9x. DOS removed was a problem back but now with VMs and DOSBox and bootable USB flash drives, it is no longer any issue.
And btw, it’s Windows Me not ME. I know in several places, the documentation itself states “ME” but the product itself most of the times contains “Me”.
There was only one problem..people didn’t want to use 9x again AFTER Windows 2000. People got what they wanted in XP.
Then again, I feel one can’t compare Windows Me to Vista. Firstly, because Me fell short on new features and Vista contains SO MANY NEW FEATURES http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_Vista. And then because no other OS other than Vista has removed quite a long list of features, changed ones which existed for decades SO DRASTICALLY and no other OS has SO HIGH SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS. Maybe MS should have called it Windows 98 Third Edition or Windows 98 Millennium Edition.
Whatever, but it most certainly didn’t deserve to be in lists such as these: http://www.google.com/search?q=Windows+Me+worst+software+product+ever& rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rl z=1I7GGIH who’re made by people who don’t even know how to code.
ch00k
I ran Windows ME for ages without problems and loved it. I never had any problems, I think some people just don’t treat their computers nicely.
If memory serves, it was also the first OS that supported multiple monitors, something i’ve been using to full effect since that day.
Long Zheng
@anonymous: I only linked some of the features because they had quite extensive explanations of what the feature is and how it works. Others I left out because they are either very obvious or didn’t have any Windows ME history.
Long Zheng
I’ve also corrected the letter casing in the post. Me, not ME.
nutterguy
These days Vista bashing is just THE thing for most bloggers to do and as blogs are having quite a huge effect on some traditional news sources the misinformation is being passed on.
Sad really when any fool with a blog becomes a ‘Tech Expert’… (Not yourself obviously ;- ) )
Also I know a good few people who are really looking forward to Windows 7 but won’t touch Vista for some reason.
Matt S.
Wow, I am just floored that you would write about Windows Me in a positive light. I was one of the newly apparent users of Me that didnt have any problems with it. I think I got Me in 2000 and didn’t get XP until 02 or 03 probably 02.. Anyway, I particularly liked it over 98SE because of the very groundbreaking features that first arrived with it and did make what XP and Vista is today.
And i have to agree with nutterguy as well. Hopefully the FAD of vista bashing will wear off soon. Because while I wasnt around for the Me betas I was around for the Longhorn betas from build 5112(beta 1) on. I had longhorn build 5270, running on a pre-1ghz computer with 368mb ram. While it was alittle slow it was usable and I never and still to this day haven’t had any problems with Vista.
Yert
First off, every new Windows OS invokes the Five Stages of Windows Acceptance.
http://yertblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/five-stages-of-windows-acceptance .html
Second, Windows ME is so maligned, that the people who still support 9x support Windows 98SE, but use some of the code from ME, while not using the main kernal code. I don’t know the specifics, but you can apparently get a majority of the ME features without something from ME that is percieved as “buggy”. While I’m not sure, I do fiddle with artifacts (computers from pre-2001) a bit, and I tried it on an old Windows 98SE computer. The crazy fan hacks and such seem to work, making 9x live on for a bit longer (Flash 9 is supported, Opera supports it, and other misc software, even without tinkering, so you can browse in style, although there is no Silverlight love, not that I would expect it).
The project to implant 98SE with ME is called… 98SE2ME. I suggest you check it out for humor/interest purposes.
Third. Everything on that list is great. Except Windows Movie Maker. The only thing close in craptasticness is iMovie. Maybe because there is no timeline editor (last I checked, but I havenot tried the Vista version ><) but Windows Movie Maker has only seemed to put out the bad videos with text instead of a voice over, bad music, and still images on to YouTube. Even worse, I know people who do this and think that its cool. Argh…
Matt Sharpe
My family’s computer had Windows Me for a couple of years. It was great. Like Windows 98 but better.
I understand that lots of people had problems, but personally I quite liked Windows Me.
Ratfink
I used Windows Me as well. I never really figured out what all the hate was about; I never had any special problems with it.
It’s kinda the same with Vista these days. All this rage against it in the media, and here I am, even running the x64 version (OHNOES!!!!) and I haven’t had a single problem with it. Not one.
Cullen D
Ratfink, I am in the same boat as you. I always hear about these people who have Vista problems, but don’t actually know any :S It’s quite odd. I think these Vista problems are:
A) People running it on outdated hardware (However they have failed to see that it is 4 years old.)
B) Bloggers who don’t actually understand the OS, and just post about the experience of a friend of a friend
C) Invented by Freetards or Appletards
D) A myth.
I’m inclined to believe it is D. It’s just one of those rampant internet crazes; like lolcats.
Matt Sharpe
Cullen D,
I think there is truth in all four of your points.
B and C are also known as FUD.
marco
hehe windows me, yes i remember that os, it was truely unstable
but all the bashing and now the vista bashing is just *yawn*. I have no problems at all with vista (cant remember any os that gave me so little problem) and the standby & resume mode is working like a dream. Off in just 2 seconds and back on again in the same time. this alone makes vista a winner to me
but im looking forward to the next windows. not because I would need it, nah, im just extremely curious. i wouldnt mind if MS release a complete new windows once a year
Andrew Askew
wait….. the problem wasn’t the fact that ME was released, it was the time frame from when xp was released…. like less than a year?
Anthony
Windows Vista to XP is like Windows ME to 98se.
Many people stick with XP because it’s familier even though technically inferior to Vista. Same reason many people stuck with 98se - driver support plus new, and I think back in the development phase all efforts were pointing towards XP anyway. The way I see the pattern is:
Win98se to Me - Win98SE matured and larger installbase
WinXP to Vista - WinXP matured and huge install base
Win7 = a matured Windows Vista!
Colin Walker
Great post long.
I used ME and never had any problems with it all the time I had it on my main system. The comparisons between ME and Vista are very apt - a lot of bashing when there is not necessarily a reason to do so.
With the huge number of different systems out there (OEM, shop bought, DIY etc.) it is no surprise that some people may run in to issues with drivers etc. this, however, turns in to the play the blame game scenario and people say the OS is crap because it’s not behaving the same as their previous one.
Jock B
I too used Me for a while, from about when it first came out ’till around 2003. I had no problems with it.
One thing that has been pointed out was that it a) rushed and b) quickly superseded. Windows 98 SE was released as what we might consider similar to XP SP2, and there was only 498 days between its release and that of Me.
Hot on the heels of 98SE, Me was based on 9x code and just cobbled together a few ideas lying ’round R&D. It wasn’t, in the eyes of the public, substantially different. And while Vista’s had 418 days so far, it’s going to be a lot longer, and so people will come around.
Me was simply then a stopgap between 98 and XP, which must have been far down the pipeline by then. It took the same position that Longhorn was supposed to in regards to XP and Blackcomb. Instead, XP was given 1924 days - long enough to become firmly entrenched.
Hopefully Microsoft has learnt from this experience and will take its knowledge into development of Windows 7.
tino
Nice point of view! A Windows version is always as good for customers as its drivers. And with such a short time frame it was nearly impossible for the customers to reach the ‘Third Stage of Acceptance’ So thank god Windows 7 isn’t out now.
Said
i agree with Long, glad to see someone who saw it wasnt a Mistake Edition lol.
i was happyly using Windows Me for 3 years before i upgraded to XP,
although it did have a few kinks that needed straightening out, i remember whenever you clicked My Computer the after you had booted up it would blue screen then go back to normal, and i even remember getting WGA to work on it somehow when they were testing it.
it was somehow poorly managed with Microsoft i think, they could have made it better but chose not to tout it as much because they had XP coming out 406 days later lol.
and peple take generic usb support for granted now, but Me having it at the time was a lifesaver,
the only problem was system restore wasnt that good, somehow i deleted the scheuler entry that created system restore backups, and ther was no way to automate the backups it made,
and compared to 2000, which was yes not aimed at a consumer, it seemed more friendlyer to use.
haha movie maker on it was LETHAL, its a shame its not as good as iMovie on OS X
marco
please long, can you dig out more windows 7 news? invent them if necessary, but gimme something to read
Brian
Sorry guys, I am a huge Microsoft fanboy, but I have to say I had issues with memory in Windows Me. It reminded me of having to go back to MSDOS 6.0 and run HIMEM just to get things to work. It had serious architectural memory issues and that did it for me. I ran it for awhile, but I wasn’t happy about it.
It did add some great stuff, but the OS was pretty horrible.
name
I never had a problem with Windows Me, i found it very fast for games.
Rui
LOL, your article is a joke man. Windows ME was the major flop in the long line of Windows Versions. People want a OS that really works, not one that after a few hours of working crashed. Since you are such a fan of ME and its features, and say it had great features for it’s time, and pointing that the only problem was it’s win9x kernel. So how do you explain that Win98 or even Win98 Second Edition, was a lot stable than Win ME , which in theory as you said used the same kernel?
ME was a OS wrong builded (with new features not well tested mixed with the prevous 98 kernel), this was its major mistake. It could be a great OS. But it’s sability made it the worst ever OS.
You clearly don’t know what you are talking about man. Surely you didn’t use ME as much times as i’ve and other people did, if you did use it as much times as i’ve did you wouldn’t write this article.
Charly
Oh… yeah… A lot of new feats and ideas… And *NONE* of them worked. So yes, it is a revolutionary idea… for an alpha release. I’ve tried, installed it, deinstalled it, suffered it… And your article doesn’t stand any serious analisis. Your full article is a joke.
ikyouCrow
it’s like a Me Users Anonymous meeting here:
hi, my name is Cornelius and i used Windows Me.
hi Cornelius!
as for the Movie Maker hating, WMM is actually pretty decent for little things, but coupled with fledgling DVD Maker…. what we need is more themes for DVD Maker (ultimate extra, dammit!) and more fine-grained controls to really make it pop.
@anonymous: if you need a simple way to join two WMV files:
“copy /b clip1.wmv+clip2.wmv clip_complete.wmv”
adjust names and number of clips to suit. also works with MPGs.
BE
ME was derided for poor stability compared to the OSes it was released to supercede. That’s how simple the “ME sucked” argument is, and it’s still valid from a usability standpoint.
Imran
Enough said, let look ahead
Cullen D
Rui, you completely missed the point of the article… did you read past the title?
anonymous
ikyouCrow , I know of that “simple way” but it depends on how the files are split and using which splitter. Joining SOME WMV files this way makes them lose their index.
Guti
Also MS-DOS reserves respect, since ME, was based on DOS 7.0 kernel…
Cutter
New innovations, yes.
New products, yes.
Tested thuroughly, nope.
I was on the BETA test team for this product way back in 98/99. While it was nice to see the creativity that the MS programmers were putting into it, a lot of the feedback that was being presented to them from the Beta testers just wasn’t being actioned on. Somehow I am sensind deja-vu here because isn’t that what happened with Vista?
I agree it was good, not great.
Matt
I just don’t understand the ME bashing. I installed on my old Pentium 233 64 RAM and never formated and reinstaled it, from 1999 to 2002 I didnt faced any BSOD, the system was pretty stable and served really well as Internet station, Microsoft Encarta + World Atlas fully installed on HD and Office 2000.
I think this is another “media conception” about Windows operating system the same that called XP bloated “oh get 128 RAM now for 2001″, the same is calling Vista bloated and yes - the same says every year the “Year of the Linux”.
I agree Windows 9x was pretty unstable but this isn’t Microsoft exclusive fault, the flood of Taiwan bad hardware in 90s ruined the reputation of the system.
ikyouCrow
@anonymous:
i know about the index issue, but that usually happens (in my experience) when the WMV is actually a container for some AVI-style codec (ASF with wrong extension). you’d loose the index and not be able to skip/scrub the file.
if you can stand waiting, just use WMM and export to the appropriate bitrate. plus there’s always WinAVI Converter!
Matt S.
Cutter, having been on the Vista beta.. I can tell you that they acted on alot of feedback. They said this was the biggest and most active windows beta to date so far as participation in the beta.
Karl Roos
Too bad they didn’t continue in the Window$ Me direction…
SleepyGeek
I’ve enjoyed reading these comment on Windows Me as I have always liked that version of Windows. Its still in use on my old machine, about 10 years old, which my daughter now has. Like Microsoft Works, or Works Suite, I’ve always found this software adequate for my office needs, and good value for money, so much so I don’t require the huge Office software package, although the version of Works I have has Word 2003.
I progressed from Windows 3 to 3.1.1, straight to Windows 98, I missed 95 altogether. Me and now XP, don’t know if I will bother with Vista as rumours persist of the next version not being too far in the future.
Daniel
Windows Me was pretty unreliable, but Windows XP wasn’t much better. And Vista… don’t even get me started… Windows can do whatever it wants, because I use a Mac now.
Zim
Has this something to do with Vista’s Service Pack?
Keith
I had ME right after it came out. but whenever I went to install it it would crash, CONSTANTLY. I later tried to install it on another machine and it was flawless….I really think it was just very hardware picky.
BV2312
I never did have it, i went from 98se to XP but i agree a lot of applications that were in XP came from the introduction of ME!
BTW: You should use Window Live Alerts for ur blog
Kolgoth
I have to agree! Windows Me had it’s flaws, sure - I can’t count the hours of my life gone forever by long boot-up times or the inordinately large number of times I’ve seen the Windows Me BSOD. Overall though, it was a good step forward in OS features. The underlying kernel was also the first phase in the migration towards integrating the NT and 9x architectures. IMHO, without it, XP wouldn’t have been near the success it is. I think the biggest complaint I have is that I love beta testing new software, but it’s difficult to justify using the public’s money to test your product. Granted, without it, I don’t believe they would have achieved what they did with XP but there’s no way of knowing.
I will say, it’s great to see there are a few other individuals out there who will appreciate it for what it was without hating it purely for it’s ties to Microsoft.
As far as Vista goes, it’s definitely a “Transition OS” but personally, I love it. Cullen D makes a few great points (A) & (B) that people are trying to run Vista on inferior hardware and without really taking the time to learn how to use the operation system and take advantage of some of the more progressive features of Vista. The same goes for Windows Server 2003 over Server 2000. You just have to learn how to use the OS… It takes effort most people don’t want to put into it!
Jorge
The problem with ME wasn’t it’s features, it was it’s stability. Or rather, it’s complete lack of stability.
Aaron
The amount of times ME or Me (or ‘piece of shit’ as I affectionately called it back then) crashed for me was unbearable. I think maybe some of you ME lovers were lucky with your setups or something because I was seeing BDODs at least 3 times a day.
I remember being wowed by XP because of its new look - but mainly because it was so stable. It was like going from walking on thin, cracking ice to having a solid concrete base beneath you. Maybe ME was some cunning plan by MS to make XP look good?
Kolgoth
@Aaron — Haha, I will agree - there’s a distinct possibility knowing Microsoft to use WinMe to make XP look better… In some ways, it probably worked - the perception of XP as a whole, was that it was the savior OS from Redmond when compared to their previous consumer (to exclude your Win2K nazis) offerings.
Robert Kingston
Its seems the majority of people who have posted here actually liked Windows Me.
I’m yet another one. Can on a Dell we bought, and we only stopped using it a year or two ago (it was my folks computer).
I’d much rather go back to Me than 98, although why I would go back to either, I dont know.
Dave
comparing Vista to Me eh? It’s like comparing an ogre to prince charming. I see so many vista supporters & their “I know computers” attitude, n I can’t help laughing. Let’s consider Vista, what is it in Vista that makes so many believe it’s an “Advanced” OS? Lotsa features eh? Vista lovers, how many of you are really using the bitlocker drive encrptn? It’s a wonderful advancement, but USELESS for most of us. UAC protects your computer better eh? But things as simple as the yahoo messenger still have compatibility issues with Vista. (The vista version of the mentioned software won’t even allow you to use the voice features, you might argue that it’s only a preview release of the messenger, but it’s been more than a year vista’s been out there, Vista still has compatibility issues, or I’d say, My favorite applications still have compatibility issues with Vista). The search feature of vista “rocks” for many, but I’d rather wait for a while & let the OS look for the file when I need to find something, maybe i do 3 searches a day (at the most), i keep my files organized & i know where they are(that’s what everyone should do i guess). And if i’m not finding something, it’s better to wait for some time than to have the system searching and tagging the files i won’t ever be “searching” for, and slowing down NTFS file system performance further. & for the rich folks who get a new computer every 6 months, Vista might not be as much of a resource hog as it is for the others. Maybe you’ve got a new computer with 4 gigs of RAM & a quad core CPU, what’s the point devoting all your resources to the OS itself. I personally think most people don’t really have “windows” as the only thing on their computer, we use computers to run applications. Wouldn’t it be nice if the OS would require lesser resources? It’d make more resources available to your applications. Try installing Visual Studio on Vista,.. BANG, KNOWN COMPATIBILITY ISSUE. And of course-” This program has stopped working, windows is checking for a solution online”.. And Windows defender?.. Even stuff like spybot S&D are 200 times more efficient, I’ve experimented with known spyware. Me was the 4th MS OS i used (after DOS 6.22, Win 95, Win98SE), it had stability issues, but none as grave as Vista has now. Consider 98SE, that wasn’t a very secured OS as well, but then there wasn’t much of networking stuff you could do with it anyway. Win Me brought in new features, and these features were interestingly easy to use, designed to make life easier. As for example, you could just click on system restore, and didn’t really have to type in “C:\windows> RSTRUI / something” to get the same job done. Win Me was an advancement, Vista is an advancement too, but i’d not go for a set of so called “advanced” features at the cost of performance. Given a choice between Me n Vista, I’d rather go for Me, and install 3rd party apps to make it more secure. Of course i can’t make it as secure as NT, but it would perform better. I don’t deal with army secrets from my home PC, so when it comes to chose between security and performance, i’d go for performance. Till date, XP SP2 is the best MS OS i’ve used. OS X the best for MAC, and Mandrake Linux is good as well. Vista is right at the bottom. Win 98SE is better, mush better than Vista
Name
I had problems with Windows ME for years… and LOVED it!
Chustar
@Dave:
Thanks, Dave! This lovefest with Me! and Vista was making me ill. Thanks for coming in with your exellent view and unrivalled opinion on the way of the world. How would we ever live without you to protect us from our own obviously flawed experinces?
I do have to point out that I’m using Vista on a 1.8GHz PC with 1GB of RAM (Not Quad core with 4GB as you said) and not seeing much in the way of slow downs.
You said you don’t search and you keep your stuff organized (while making fun of us unorganized cretins, no less) however, how do you handle your organization if you have three hundred text files of almost the same name? Certainly your super organization powers would protect you from such a situation. Yahoo mesenger (8.5, 9 beta and Vista) ran on my computer (until I uninstalled them, prefer pidgin) but then, unlike you I don’t generalize MY success to everyone else. As for windows defender, isn’t that a firewall?
Anyway, keep up the good work protecting us from people who like their computers. I can imagine the distaste it leaves in your mouth whenever someone says, “I don’t have a problem with windows vista.”
p.s. You do know none of this is amed at you personally, right?
Dave
@Chustar
Good to know that your computer’s performing well with the mentioned config., & I stated my views on the OS dear, I didn’t intend to “protect you” from something. Check the official yahoo web page, Vista version of yahoo messenger is yet to support voice, in case you got that working, you’ve got more skills than the original developers of the messenger dude, you deserve a gift from Yahoo, let em know how you got it working, maybe they’d implement ur idea n maybe i’d see “chustar” in the list of programers for yahoo. And seriously, our organization doesn’t keep 300 text files, we really don’t do that, we use a DATABASE for that.. And we’d QUERY the database for searches, trust me on this, it’s a better way.. Most organizations don’t save 300 text files to keep records & use OS integrated search tools to look for em. In case your organization does, i’d say installing database software is the top priority upgrade, they should have done that before implementing vista. Most organizations have been using databases for ages. Remember dBase 3+ for DOS? And for the windows defender, try http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/support/howt o/default.mspx , a standalone software firewall shouldn’t be scanning for spyware, and the official microsoft page (mentioned link) states that the first thing you do with Windows defender is run a spyware scan.. It doesn’t really bring distaste, it makes me laugh when people say they love vista for what it is today. Vista would improve with time in case microsoft is considering the fact that 80% of vista owners aren’t finding Vista like they expected it to be. Our organization (Dell US) had to begin re-shipping XP PCs and lappy’s, not because I wanted, but as a reaction to customer complaints. Of course we can’t stop shipping Vista PCs altogether, we’ve got business tie-ups with microsoft. And are you from Manchester dude? No personal offence, CHEERS
steveballmer
I have argued this for years!
Chustar
@Dave:
I don’t work for an organization. I’m not from Manchester. I’m a Nigerian student at San Jose. I’m assuming you’re from Manchester? That makes you a brit and as a brit, your argument is automatically invalidated! (Kidding!)
I was using the whole 300 text files as an example but I do have 514 text files ranging in content from Explanation of Codecs, how to program in C and the ranking of the 10 best anti-virus apps (circa 2002)
I don’t know how to use databases and the instant search has saved me in this. What makes you laugh when people say they like Vista? Are we not allowed to like stuff that confuses you? Some people actually enjoy eating at McDonalds and even though I find that to the one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen, I don’t hold my nose up around them.
As for Yahoo Messenger, no I didn’t get the voice working. I thought that the Messenger for Vista is a preview version, and as such, it wouldn’t have many of the features in the recommended edition.
Dave
Nigerian.. no wonder (kidding)..
514 text files with SIMILAR NAMES, oh well, I’d consider that an unorganized way of keeping ur stuff, microsoft doesn’t use the FOLDER concept just to give you your “My documents”. And how about “google desktop”? That works just fine on XP, if you just can’t live without live searches, I’d say installing a free app is a better option than upgrading your hardware and spending $400 on an OS. & of course, I thought you were talkin about your organization, not ur home PC, hope you’re with me on this. Isn’t this funny that you’re commenting on my stuff without actually reading it? The first time i mentioned yahoo messenger, I mentioned something about the PREVIEW VERSION in brackets, guess you missed on that, maybe you were too eager to reply, not to read..
Take care you. And enjoy your Vista. If ignorance is a bliss, it’s a folly to be wise eh? How about saving some money and sticking to XP & sending the savings back home to Nigeria? That’d certainly help a lot of people out there. No wonder you hate Mc.Donalds…
Jeff
I must agree with this post. I personally had much better performance and stability from Windows Me compared to Windows 98 or Windows 98SE. As a Microsoft Certified Trainer and A+ instructor a few years ago, it was really interesting to see that Windows Me wasn’t even really acknowledged in any training material - I assume because Windows 98SE was widely accepted as being a business class operating system (although it was not, but the only alternative was Windows NT Workstation 4.0, which had a few shortcomings of its own with no PNP, USB, FAT32, etc.) as well as home, and Windows Me was marketed strictly for home use. However, I did have much better luck out of Windows Me, and much fewer lockups and hangs, which plagued the 9x line of Windows. Nice to see someone post the truth instead of jumping on the bandwagon with everyone else and bashing it.
Chustar
Unfortunately, I’ve read every post here. I love it when Americans (or brits in this case) rush to attack me with the “send your money back to Nigeria”. Trust me, you’re not the first person to say it. Never mind the fact that there are homeless, unemployed and poverty sticken people all over the world, because I’m from Nigeria, I have to be the guy who is responsible for the disadvantages of Capitalism. I got Vista on the PC when I bought it (Point 1)
I started that folder (called learning stuff) with just a few files and never accessed it, just saving into it more and more. When I realized it was too big, I couldn’t organize it anymore.(Point 2)
You said and I quote “But things as simple as the yahoo messenger still have compatibility issues with Vista. (The vista version of the mentioned software won’t even allow you to use the voice features, you might argue that it’s only a preview release of the messenger, but it’s been more than a year vista’s been out there, Vista still has compatibility issues, or I’d say, My favorite applications still have compatibility issues with Vista)” I was replying to what you said about compatibility issues, not voice.(Point 3)
Why did you have to call me ignorant for having a different opinion that you do? (Point 4)
“No wonder you hate McDonalds…” That doesn’t make sense.
marco
wow so much text about so little content (good content, no offense long). even politics come into play. wow guys
Xepol
Forward looking, except where it totally sucked from bitrot huh?
Let’s see :
1. Movie maker sucked as much then as now. Never seen anyone use it.
2. System restore would also archive and restore viruses and make it impossible to remove them from the restore cache, assuing they would ALWAYS come back.
3. See point 2. Thanks ME.
4. Ya, loved it when the connected logic got wonky in my XP system and the network card twiddled on and off every 5 seconds. Without it, I might not have had to get a new computer.
5. UPNP, or how to make a firewall meaningless. Nuff said.
6. WIA -> Everyone just use USB filesystems instead - whoops! (and webcams still use VfW and DirectX)
7. Automatic updates -> Nice, but can be a pain in the arse when your machine decides to upgrade without you.
8. inbuild zip support? Hardly revolutionary. Should have been in Win95. This wasn’t forward looking, this was correctly a serious oversight in W95, so more like hindsight.
9 Image preview… Anyone remember when Win95 had a great previewer that went missing in 98? Ya, me too. Of course in 95, there were fewer formats and 16 &256 color video cards, and 386 and 486 running windows, so ya know, jpeg wasn’t all that popular yet…
10 Improved? Funny, they looked the same as the ones that came with win95 to me. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough, because I got bored of them in 1996. (along with everyone else)
11. generic USB mass storage driver -> Again, more like fixing an oversight in win98, but USB was young. Hardly forward looking, more like riding a wave that was practically already past them. And since they had generic drivers for every other type of common hardware, once USB became standard, hardly a suprise they included it. And besides, I hardly minded installing drivers for hardware from the vendor - at least I knew where to get updates from.
I don’t think you could make a case that ME was forward looking. It fixed a few oversights, added a ton of problems, a bit of bloatware no one ever used (I guess you gotta be a mac user to obsess about the ability to edit crappy home shot video) and made a system damn near impossible to maintain.
XtremeMaC
so much for the added *new* features.
are those stuff in the list really should be what a new OS comes with? They’re more like patches or updates.
movie maker -> wooww new feature to an OS yea!
SFC / AU / zip support -> all these are nice but not really what a new OS should give u right?
there are lots of companies who make software for this sort of stuff. and at that time if anyone was using zip support they were not using their computers at all I could say. what a boring feature…
yes i know it had to start somewhere but transition periods are always hard/boring and everyone want’s to forget them.
so ME sucks. plain and simple. driver support my azz. plug a device to get a blue screen. everyone on MS admitted that me sucked. why r u guys trying to save it.
and don’t tell me this article came up because ppl said vista is another me version. me does’t deserve more respect.
and vista? ms already started on windows 7. does that give u a hint? too much BSware on vista?
sp1 released today oh my. so what? i use xp. network might be little slower than that of vista’s but what else? where are my pro’s? eyecandy? turn it off! aero? what for? play video in the background? why? i don’t stare at my computer. i use it and do a lot of things. don’t need such an interface to eat ram and slow down the computer.
do all these extra stuff really make up a new OS? they’re seperate software stuffed into vista.
fix explorer.exe for file copy buffer etc problem. slow copy and advantage to xp? ermm. i hope not. etc. etc etc..BSware = vista
Cutter
Matt S.
I too was on the Vista Beta, and I can tell you that some of the issues that I encountered were NOT put into the GA release of Vista - only some of them are in Vista SP1. The same holds true for Windows ME.
Scoottie
You got to be kidding me.
Windows Movie Maker: even you say it still doesn’t work right
System Restore: If you don’t have this turned off you are just asking for trouble from viruses that hide in the system restore files
System File Protection: Yeah no one has ever had a corrupt System32 file. SFP is a joke.
New TCP/IP Stack: Ok this one you can have a point for.
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP): One of the biggest security problems there is.
Windows Image Acquisition (WIA): If MS would have let 3rd party vendors get a look at the code they wouldn’t be facing antitrust issues now and there would have been a fix a long time ago.
Automatic Updates: Didn’t work great until XP SP2 and still doesn’t give a full range of third party updates.
Inbuilt ZIP support: Horrible compression and only supports one format
Image preview: You are happy to see fuzzy 5×5 pictures? This is a horrible solution.
Bundled games: That are free on the internet and still no one plays
USB Mass Storage generic driver: Point 2 and that’s all you get.
And yes Vista is just like ME since both are worse then what came before them and will have short lives.
Cullen D
Scootie, please get back to your mac, and stop trolling
You show your ignorance by saying “Now one has ever had a corrupt System32 file” Well, first of all, System32 is a folder in which files live. Second of all, I have had corrupt files there about 6 times on XP, and could not count the number of times I have seen in Customer computers.
UPnP Is not a security problem, it’s actaully quite usefull…
Why should Microsoft have to open up it’s source code? And do you even know what the anti-trust suites are about? Not WIA….
Automatic Updates — in case you didn’t read this part, let me re paste it for you because your Mac/ Freetard zealotry has some how caused some sort of mentle block: “What a lot of people forget or don’t even recognize to begin with is that Windows Me is actually a rather innovative and forward-looking operating system.”
In case you need help disecting that statement, what Long is saying is that ME offered building blocks for Windows. It created the foundation, which later versions of Windows built on top of. As a side note, THAT IS WHAT THIS ENTIRE ARTICLE IS ABOUT.
Inbuilt ZIP support: Erm, by horrible compression, did you mean excellent? Please tell me an OS that had better compression. BTW, they supported the format used by ~98% of people…
Image Preview: Ummmm it’s not 5×5, and it is never fuzzy for me. I refer you to my previous dialog in which I discuss the whole building blocks concept…
Bundled Games: Crappy free versions on the internet* and buddy, LOTS of people play these… I’ve seen the data on usage, and you’re just flat out wrong. What if someone is in a place without internet connectivity? These games can be quite fun…
Vista will not have a short live, as it’s predecessor comes out in late 09… That is 2 1/2 years. Learn to count. And once again, I am forced to rehash the whole building blocks concept. Please look past Steve’s RDF, or if you’re a freetard, well I guess there is no hope.
Cullen D
As a side note, I don’t know a single person, first hand, who has had a SINGLE Vista problem when used on good hardware. Not “Vista Capable” but good hardware. By that I mean:
>=1GB RAM, >=1.8GHz Dual Core, >=DX9 GPU with a >=128MB dedicated RAM, system board form a half way decent company, (less than 2 years old, and keeps up on driver support.)
So, all you out there who say “Oh I know someone who has Vista problems, there for, I’m taking their word for it and assuming it sucks.” Or if you do try it for yourself, you try it on crap hardware.
Good job at understanding the ins and outs of this “technology” stuff, which from what I understand, has a tendency to change from time to time.