If you had to use windows, what version would it be?

[Marvin666]

What version would you use and why?
I'd have to go with server 2003. It is similar to xp, but way faster, less buggy, and more stable.

[MaxIBoy]

Where is Windows PE on this list?

[ve4cib]

Windows 1.0. It has a clock and Reversi! And it only costs $99!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGvHNNOLnCk

How can anyone say no to a sales pitch like that?

[steveneddy]

I already use Vista and 7 in a VM.

I chose 7 on the poll because it won't let you choose more than one answer.

[lisati]

I have Vista, XP and 98SE. For familiarity I'd probably go with XP, but like how Vista came with its own DVD authoring software.

[Marvin666]

I'd prefer 98 over vista. I've used both at some point or another...
Why does everybody think 7 is so great anyways?

[MaxIBoy]

As of Windows 7, Windows has come out of beta. That's why everyone is excited about it.

[Marvin666]

You mean they prepared a windows version to the same level as an ubuntu version?

[LookTJ]

I would much rather be using Windows 7 over XP and any others. :)

[Crunchy the Headcrab]

I'd prefer 98 over vista. I've used both at some point or another...
Why does everybody think 7 is so great anyways?
Wow, I have quite the opposite opinion. I've used every version of windows since 3.1 EXTENSIVELY and 98 doesn't even hold a candle to Vista. 98 was like a bsod magnet.

[bmuluu]

Windows XP or Windows 2000
Stability!!!

[doorknob60]

Windows 7. I already use it, and I like it better than the others, so yeah :)

[mbrowning2000]

I would have to say Vista or Win 7. I have had Vista for the past 2 years, and not one time have I had a problem or a bsod. I dont really know why people hate it..........

[fromthehill]

windows 7 because it runs faster than xp in my virtual machine
I really hate the changes in the taskbar(those icons :() but luckily you can change it back to the vista look.

never had any problems with windows vista. for me it runned great from the start

[Khakilang]

I would use Window XP due to hardware constraint. You know Intel Pentium 3 or 4 with only 512mb or 1 gb RAM and its work with all major software like Photoshop. So far it is stable and by now most virsu had move to Vista or Window 7 so in a way I think its quite safe but not safe enough.

[u.b.u.n.t.u]

What version would you use and why?

Windows 7, gaming rig.

[RichardLinx]

Windows 7.

[fatcrab]

I have used most of them and I think 7 is the best, at lest so far.You never know when it will go bellyup after a pack or two!

[khelben1979]

Windows XP.

[Psumi]

Windows 2000.

[forrestcupp]

Windows 1.0. It has a clock and Reversi! And it only costs $99!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGvHNNOLnCk

How can anyone say no to a sales pitch like that?Great vid. Ballmer is about the worst thing that happened to Microsoft.


I have had Vista for the past 2 years, and not one time have I had a problem or a bsod. I dont really know why people hate it..........
Because people are like sheep and they were told to hate it. ;)

[RiceMonster]

ReactOS or Windows ME

[chucky chuckaluck]

7 or ME.

[Arthur_D]

XP for app compability.

[Megrimn]

I said win95. Our old 95 worked perfectly fine up until the power supply died about 5 years ago.

But of course, that would be if I was using it as a hobby machine. If I needed a win computer for actual work I would get win 7, after sp1 of course.

[BrokenKingpin]

I have a Windows 7 PC for Windows Development (for work). It's not too bad.

[gmjs]

Windows 2000

It's more like Windows XP than people think, is NT-based (unfortunately a 'requirement' these days for newer Windows apps) but has the system requirements of Windows ME.

[forrestcupp]

Windows 2000

It's more like Windows XP than people think, is NT-based (unfortunately a 'requirement' these days for newer Windows apps) but has the system requirements of Windows ME.

2000 didn't have DirectX, did it?

[Calmor]

I've used every version of Windows since 3.0 except Server 2008, and various versions of DOS before that (anyone remember MS-DOS 4.0? Like ME, it was only out for a couple months). For a day-to-day machine, I'd run 7. I run a Server 2003 machine in a VM at home (on my Mythbuntu box), which fulfills the needs I have for MS-SQL and ASP.NET hosting and an RDP host when I need to use MS Office apps from my Linux boxes.

I'm actually using 7 for three months as a to-be-fair comparison experiment. I've found it all integrates very cleanly, I've had very few problems, and with MS Office and its add-ons, it's really tightly knit productivity-wise. Like any OS, it has its pros and cons. It boots/shuts down/hibernates faster than any of my Linux boxes or even other installs on this machine, and is actually as fast or faster than any other *buntu install I've had on it except 8.10 Xubuntu. I also have Office, which while I don't care for it and its price tag, it is the standard, and when professors want a Word document, I can't trust OOo - I've seen too many cases where formatting is just not right. (I blame MS for this point, but I still can't change that Office is the standard).

That said, I miss several of my open-source tools, and the ones I can't live without, I have their windows counterparts if applicable, and use Putty to get to a Linux box if necessary. I miss the configurability of the environment and the entire OS if necessary... and of course I miss the spirit of using open-source.

[Martiini]

win 95 - the snappiest

[t0p]

I'm currently using XP in VirtualBox. Well, when I say "currently" I don't mean right now this very second. I should say I sometimes use a virtual XP when I have to run a particular app that doesn't work with Wine.

No way am I going to buy a 7 license just now. I'm wringing every last penny of value out of the XP license I got when I bought my desktop machine. I've had it for 4 years now, I think, and hope to use it for another 4 years. If I have to. Though hopefully I'll kick my last vestige of Windows dependency sooner than that.

[pookiebear]

2000 didn't have DirectX, did it?
You can install directx 8 on it. counter-strike 1.6 was much faster FPS wise on 2000 than XP with dx9.

[gn2]

W2kSP4 reasons: no product activation and no unnecessary bloat.

[Zoot7]

Either XP or 7.
XP annoys me a lot these days, but I just use it for compatibility, 7 while it still irks me at times not as much.

[Pogeymanz]

I picked 2000 Server because I assume it has less crap than 2000.

I believe that I can run a somewhat up-to-date Win2000 without the WGA, so that was my choice.

I will not use any version of Windows that has the built in spyware.

[forrestcupp]

Does anyone remember DOS Shell?

[Marvin666]

Wow, I have quite the opposite opinion. I've used every version of windows since 3.1 EXTENSIVELY and 98 doesn't even hold a candle to Vista. 98 was like a bsod magnet.
My first computer was a 98. It least it wasn't power hungry.
The last computer I got was a dual boot with vista, and the vista part BSOD'd more than the 98 ever did. All of vista's changes from xp annoyed the crap out of me, and reduced stability the almost zero. Removing of ms-dos from under it, and it's simulation made my programs mess up. Access control and user permissions never worked right. It prompted me every time I tried to do something, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get IE pried from it (as well as miscellaneous stuff that came preinstalled).

[nitstorm]

xp all the way!!! lol, although i prefer ubuntu, if it was a windows version then xp or 98, nothing else :D

[dragos240]

98 or 2000.

[Dr. C]

Here are some one of my favorites (not in the poll)

Windows NT Workstation 4.0
Leaner than Windows 2000 and very stable
One can add drivers for USB and FAT32
No DRM infections
Yet still supports applications such as Firefox 2.xx
None of the resource limits in Windows 3.xx, 98, 98, 98SE and ME that led to a BSOD after an hour or so of use unless the computer was rebooted.

Windows for Workgroups 3.11 / DOS 6.22

Windows NT Workstation 3.51 Very lean and stable. Ran this as a much superior alternative to Windows 95.
Again none of the resource limits in Windows 3.xx, 98, 98, 98SE and ME that led to a BSOD after an hour or so of use unless the computer was rebooted.

[amingv]

I'd use 7 or XP (I voted 7 on the poll).
Although I did have a fancy for NT and 2000, I don't think I could use them for anything other than hobby/geekwork or in a VM as they are verified to fail with some (poorly written, but necessary) applications I use at work (even Linux+Wine works better with them).

[ninjapirate89]

Definitely Windows CE </sarcasm>

I actually picked 7 because it is nice (for Windows) and I already use it occasionally.

[mamamia88]

i love windows 7

[fallingleaf]

I chose XP because it's familiar. I have barely used Vista and never Win7.

[JDShu]

Never used it, but I'm sure that using Windows 7 just makes sense at this time, given that I have a computer to run it. They all feel the same anyway.

[rocky5051]

Windows 7. Stable and a good balance of speed and visual appeal. The only letdown I've encountered with it thus far is XP mode...Virtual PC makes it run horribly. The same XP image used for XP mode ran flawless in Virtualbox. lol

[xuCGC002]

Windows 1.0. It has a clock and Reversi! And it only costs $99!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGvHNNOLnCk

How can anyone say no to a sales pitch like that?

Except if you live in Nebraska. ;)

I'd use 2000. I call it "the good Windows".

[clanky]

Win 7 for the awesomeness.

XP for the fact that I am so used to it and it is probably the most stable version of Windows that I have used..

And if I am being honest Vista, which has actually become a half decent OS beneath all the "ZOMG M$ VISTA SUCKS" hype, yes there where issues at first, but apart from the fact that it was a giant marketing disaster and the whole world seemed to use it as an excuse to let Microsoft know that they may not be the most popular company in existence Vista now is not as bad as people make out, although it is still only as good as XP was.

The good thing which has come out of Vista is that MS have learnt their lessons and have made sure that Win 7 was right from the start.

[forrestcupp]

Definitely Windows CE </sarcasm>


Don't knock it. The fact that it comes with Word and Excel and that are so many free of charge apps for Windows Mobile makes it worth putting up with its shortcomings. I have a Windows based xv6900 phone, and I love it.

[jordanae]

I would go with 7 only for the fact that a lot of what they're doing sounds like they're basing it off of Linux distro ideas.
"Oh look! It's so easy to connect to a network now! And this taskbar is so useful!"
Yeah... pretty far behind...