Retrospective Ranking: Every Major Windows GUI Version from 1.0 to 11
By
phendrenad2
Not artisan, but a perfectly fine bagel. Hits the spot.
Summary
The article provides a retrospective ranking of every major Windows GUI version from Windows 1.0 (1985) to Windows 11 (2023), evaluating their visual design from a modern perspective rather than their historical context. The author uses a rating system to assess each Windows version's graphical user interface, acknowledging that judging early versions by today's standards may not be entirely fair but proceeding with personal criteria. The content covers the evolution of Windows interfaces over nearly four decades, offering both nostalgic reflection and critical analysis of Microsoft's design choices throughout the operating system's history.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledWindows launched way back in 1985, when I was still using a Commodore 64 and PCs were all of four years old–barely out of diapers.
I thought it might be fun/horrifying to rank every major version of the Windows GUI, from Windows 1.0 in 1985, to Windows 11 as of 2023.
I'm rating not based on how the system looked at the time (you can do only do so much with CGA/EGA graphics, after all), but how they look now.
Is this fair? Probably not, but as always, I make the rules!
The rating system is based on a scale of 1
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