←back to thread

Why did Windows 95 setup use three operating systems?

(devblogs.microsoft.com)
304 points mooreds | 2 comments | 17 Nov 24 19:54 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
dusted ◴[18 Nov 24 06:48 UTC] No.42170325[source]▶
Raymond Chens blog and book (The Old New Thing) is an absolute delight! I always had a big respect for how intuitive the Windows 95 GUI is, and reading his description of the thoughts and methods behind its inception, it's no surprise that it became so good. It seems like Microsoft was extremely pragmatic and reasonable in many of their endeavors back then. It's a wonder how it degenerated into the absolute unit of sh*t that is modern Windows (even if the filesystem and kernel is arguably a lot better, everything on top seems to be developed by an army of interns)
replies(5): >>42171191 #>>42171616 #>>42171979 #>>42172243 #>>42174602 #
rqtwteye ◴[18 Nov 24 10:19 UTC] No.42171191[source]▶
Army of interns should about right. I always suspect that Teams is developed by some beginners who are learning Scrum.

But yes, Windows 95 to Windows 2000 were a huge jump in usability. From Windows 8 on and the “Metro” interface they threw it all away.

replies(2): >>42171598 #>>42172301 #
Cumpiler69 ◴[18 Nov 24 11:46 UTC] No.42171598[source]▶
>I always suspect that Teams is developed by some beginners who are learning Scrum

I get the same feeling from Google's android and Pixels. Lots of neat features keep getting added, but the SW and HW issues that end up in the final product make it seem like an incredibly amateurish effort for such a wealthy company hiring top talent.

replies(2): >>42171702 #>>42174224 #
hulitu ◴[18 Nov 24 12:09 UTC] No.42171702{3}[source]▶
I think they rotate the interns every year. That will explain the GUI^WUX advances. /s
replies(1): >>42171934 #
Cumpiler69 ◴[18 Nov 24 12:57 UTC] No.42171934{4}[source]▶
UI/UX keep getting shittier over time is an industry wide phenomenon not a Google exclusive one. To me everything kinda peaked in late 2000's and has been on a downwards slope ever since the mobile became the dominant platform so everything from desktop PCs to cars had to look and function like a phone.
replies(1): >>42173809 #
1. treve ◴[18 Nov 24 16:15 UTC] No.42173809{5}[source]▶
Perhaps controversial but I think the ability to ship continuously is also a factor. You just have to pass and fix the things with the most complaints after. A holistic view on the general user experience will never make it to the top of a pile now.
replies(1): >>42181395 #
2. rqtwteye ◴[19 Nov 24 09:12 UTC] No.42181395[source]▶
I think yearly releases were much better. I feel a lot of sites and software now have constant change you can’t keep up with and often the change doesn’t really improve anything. Reddit would be a good example. I constantly have buttons disappear and rep appear or move around. Same in YouTube. Much friction for no benefit.