Best Micro$oft OS?

[markjs]

Whats your favorite? Whats the most versatile and stable? I am especially interested in hearing from people who use serious intense programs like Photoshop, and 3D Studio Max. I have a friend that swears 100% by Win98SE, but I doubt I'll find that to be a popular opinion.

 

[Electrode]

Of the ones on your list, Win2000 is the clear winner.

However, the best M$ OS is, without question, XENIX. It wasn't a great *NIX, but for a M$ product it was almost good.

 

[markjs]

Oh, BTW, I happen to like WinXP Pro a lot....some of the new features are nice, I liked 2K almost as much, but I find that it really needs to be run with NTFS. I dont like the "dumbing down" they have done to XP personally, but I think it could be of great benefit to the average mostly computer illiterate consumer.

 

[Mem]

I would have to say WinXP at the moment for me .

 

[MGMorden]

<< Oh, BTW, I happen to like WinXP Pro a lot....some of the new features are nice, I liked 2K almost as much, but I find that it really needs to be run with NTFS. >>



But NTFS makes for the most stable system when running demanding programs.

 

[freebsddude]

Windows 2000 may be the best since it is more mature and relatively stable. I am not sure if it is the best, since Windows 95/98 may be better suited for people who run games or applications that do not run happily on Windows 2000/XP. I think XP may also be good, I have not used it, I generally feel more comfortable with Windows 2000 especially after service packs releases, etc.

 

[CTho9305]

<< Whats your favorite? Whats the most versatile and stable? I am especially interested in hearing from people who use serious intense programs like Photoshop, and 3D Studio Max. I have a friend that swears 100% by Win98SE, but I doubt I'll find that to be a popular opinion. >>


I used to prefer win98se... it just isn't stable enough. When one app crashes, you generally want to reboot. 2k/XP are awesome, i'd say XP just for fast-user-switching, the quick boot, and becuase students get XP pro for $10

i'd say 2k over xp home though. NTFS is important.

are you the markjs from ocn/xi/jjr?

 

[markjs]

I'd also like to hear what typ of apps you guys are running? Anyone running 3DSMax or Photoshop a lot?

 

[Saltin]

98 and/or ME are not even potential candidates for a "decent OS".

As for the 2k/XP debate, it ultimately depends on the use the machine is going to be getting.
In a large business environment, 2k takes the cake. There is no desktop OS that can match it.
At home I use XP pro, I like to game.

 

[Priit]

DOS 5.0 probably...

 

[grrl]

I'm not sure how I should vote - either 98SE or 2K pro. I'm using both at the moment and while 2K is clearly more stable, it's not as good as I expected. Plus, with some of my programs - like Photoshop 5, Presto! Pro 3.0 and even the updated '2K ready' Microtek ScanSuite - don't always work as well in 2K as in 98. Could that be because they are older versions? I can't be sure because I've even gotten bizarre errors with NoteTab 4.86c (the most current version) in 2K, yet have hardly ever gotten them in 98.

 

[rip22]

I say its a close call between XP and 2k both are stable. But I prefer 2k right now.
I use a wide veraity of content creation (photo, videoediting) tools daily. 2k is much more robust, stable and secure compared to w95/98/Me

 

[mesonw]

I've been an adamant 98SE user for a good while... but recently it completely screwed up after installing JediKnightII ... so I'm now moving to a dual 98/XP setup.
XP seems nicely stable, but 98 is needed if you're serious about retro gaming at all.

I've yet to compare 3DStudioMax and Photoshop (or much for that matter!) on each OS, but intend to...

 

[zimmie6576]

CTho9305, how do students get XP Pro for $10!? I'm a student (college), and never heard about that. I ended up paying $100 for XP Home.

BTW, my vote is for XP. For some reason, Windows 98 (first or second edition) will not work on my PC. It usually installs fine, but then I have major problems, like continual reboots and several bluescreens even without doing anything. So I bought XP, and have been running over a month with it with no problems at all.

 

[markjs]

So I just changed my mind! XP took a big crap on me and made my network computers unable to access each others files even though the connection was present! So I now vote for 2K Pro which I am now installing on my machines.

 

[underpaid]

For my own personal use i prefer xp over anything else as far as m$ os's are concerned. I run xp pro on all of my machines, some dual
or triple booted with other os's like 98 or rh 7.2. I do not like the default look of xp. Instead i prefer to turn it into a visually appealing 2k. I
also change quite a few things with xp power toys like the search wizard and other things, simply because it runs sluggish on even the
latest stuff (search wizard). In a production environment, i would use nothing but 2k for desktop purposes, with a linux backend preferably.
98 and ME can't compare to xp as far as stability is concerned. Before i used xp, i used 2k, but switched to 98 often for games. Now i just use
xp. And you can use ntfs with xp home btw. XP does have its problems though, but the risk vs reward for using xp versus 98 or me is well
worth it.

 

[spyordie007]

There are a bunch of things here so I want to make sure I dont miss anything:



<< Oh, BTW, I happen to like WinXP Pro a lot....some of the new features are nice, I liked 2K almost as much, but I find that it really needs to be run with NTFS.
But NTFS makes for the most stable system when running demanding programs. >>


It also alows for security, compressed file structure, and encrypted file structure.



<< since Windows 95/98 may be better suited for people who run games or applications that do not run happily on Windows 2000/XP >>


With all the compatability updates and latest service packs just about everything that ran under 98 will run under 2000 an XP ("just about" being the key")



<< I'd also like to hear what typ of apps you guys are running? Anyone running 3DSMax or Photoshop a lot? >>


I am running many Adobe apps, Photoshop 7 (beautiful), 6, 5.5; Illustrator 10, 9; Golive 4,5,6; Livemotion 1,2; Acrobat 5; Premiere 6
also Visual Studio .net; MS Office; Maya and some others
every one of these programs run great under 2K and XP, however tend to be much less stable and happy when ran under 98



<< 98 and/or ME are not even potential candidates for a "decent OS". >>


amen



<< I run xp pro on all of my machines, some dual or triple booted with other os's like 98 or rh 7.2. I do not like the default look of xp. Instead i prefer to turn it into a visually appealing 2k. I
also change quite a few things with xp power toys like the search wizard and other things, simply because it runs sluggish on even the latest stuff (search wizard). In a production environment, i would use nothing but 2k for desktop purposes, with a linux backend preferably. 98 and ME can't compare to xp as far as stability is concerned. >>


I dual boot XP/2K (and used to have mandrake, but not running it right now). I also had to do some tweaking to XP because the interface looks pretty but just plain doesnt respond as quickly as 2k, and I like a quick UI (I set menu popups to 50ms, turn off some of the effects, etc)

Hope that helps!

-spy

 

[MrGrim]

Win9x = joke
Win2k = good, fast, stable, compatible everything worth having on your PC
WinXP = Win2k + crappy skin + spyware

^
Just my opinion.

 

[Dreadogg]

pretty close match but i wonder if you can vote more than once?

 

[spamsk8r]

DOS 7.0 was pretty stable

 

[markjs]

Why can't I see the poll? I was able to see it under XP, now I am back to 2K, yet still running IE6 and I can't see the poll anymore? whats the tally?

 

[markjs]

OOPS...can't see polls til you login....DOH!

 

[ProviaFan]

<< Whats your favorite? Whats the most versatile and stable? I am especially interested in hearing from people who use serious intense programs like Photoshop, and 3D Studio Max. I have a friend that swears 100% by Win98SE, but I doubt I'll find that to be a popular opinion. >>


All I can say is that anyone who thinks that Windows 98 is better than NT/2000/XP for professional use (though 98 is still better for old games) must be high.
As an anecdotal story, not too long ago I installed Windows 2000 Pro on an HP desktop machine that had been running Windows ME before that. Upon the first bootup of Win2k, it had detected most all of the hardware (except the modem and a SBLive MP3+ 5.1 card that was added in after the machine was purchased). What surprised me most, though, was that it seemed to be at least 2 times faster than WinME on that system, with only 128MB of RAM! :Q

 

[Cosmic_Horror]

NT4(w/sp5).

 

[Infohawk]

<< and becuase students get XP pro for $10

>>



Where do you get it for $10?