In this video I show the most used Operating Systems on consumer personal computers and mobile devices from 1981 to 2025, reflecting the shift from PCs to mo...
The biggest thing was DirectX on an NT kernel (starting with Win2000). I think the history of DOS and Windows is inexorably linked to being able to do business and play games on the same machine.
It’s also when Microsoft started certifying drivers. They’d solved a lot of OS bugs with NT4 but systems were still unstable due to poor drivers (and dodgy hardware). WHQL solved a lot of those problems.
XP was more than just a reskin of 2000, but not much more. I think XP feels more significant than it was technically because of the different UI and the longevity due to the troubled Vista launch.
The biggest thing was DirectX on an NT kernel (starting with Win2000). I think the history of DOS and Windows is inexorably linked to being able to do business and play games on the same machine.
It’s also when Microsoft started certifying drivers. They’d solved a lot of OS bugs with NT4 but systems were still unstable due to poor drivers (and dodgy hardware). WHQL solved a lot of those problems.
XP was more than just a reskin of 2000, but not much more. I think XP feels more significant than it was technically because of the different UI and the longevity due to the troubled Vista launch.
Ah, yea, DirectX - that was HUGE.
And I remember printing became a lot better under NT4 and then again under 2000, then went back in the shitter, haha.