Windows On Windows @wowstartsnow Twitter profile

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

3 years

…EXCEPT IN NEBRASKA!

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

3 months

Windows Vista icons, 2006. 🪟🤩

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

8 months

Bill Gates posing for the press at the Windows XP launch in New York, 25th October 2001.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Evolution of the Windows Taskbar (including development builds)… 👀 [📸: @orbitron507 ]

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 months

Billboard ads for Windows Phone 8, 2012.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Billboard ads for Windows Phone 8, 2012.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Name a bigger downgrade.

No Context Brits

@NoContextBrits

1 year

Name a bigger downgrade.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Windows XP wallpapers, 2001.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

Need. 👀

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

3 months

Ok, but it’s actually not Windows Vista in that pic… 🫣

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 month

Bling-dows 7 👀

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

In January 1996, Charles O’Rear was driving through Sonoma County, California. “My God, the grass is perfect!” he thought, as he caught sight of a hill. Pulling over, he had no idea the photo he was about to take would become the most famous & loved @Windows wallpaper ever. 🖼

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

👀

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Windows XP build 2210, from 2nd March 2000, is the earliest available build of a 64-bit edition of Windows. Designed for DEC Alpha, it predated Intel Itanium, which XP would eventually support. Its boot screen is notably just Windows 2000’s with “64” crudely spray painted on top.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

Something happened

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Peak. Windows. UI. 🤩

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

3 months

⏰🕰️⏱️⌚️

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

3 months

During Windows XP’s (2001) development, Microsoft asked design company Frog Design to help “generate key elements of the UI”. This included a new Windows logo. 50 potential logos were drafted - which one is your favourite? 👀

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Most are familiar with Windows 7’s (2009) default wallpaper, Harmony. But, less familiar may be how involved the process of arriving at the final image was. Many ideas were tried, but ultimately rejected for one reason or another. Here are just 4 deemed “not quite right”. 🧐👀

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Phone Dialer is a Windows app that lets users make & answer phone calls via a modem connected to their PC. First seen in Windows 95 build 73f, from 23rd November 1993, it is one of only a few apps whose icons have not changed since their official debut in Windows 95 (1995). 📞

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 months

Microsoft @Surface ad (featuring Windows 8.1) from Wired magazine, 2014.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

Evolution of the Start menu and Taskbar (including development builds): Windows 95 build 58s (1993) - Windows 11 build 25188 (2022) 👀 [📸: @orbitron507 ]

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

During Windows XP’s (2001) development, Microsoft asked design company Frog Design to help “generate key elements of the UI”. This included a new Windows logo. 50 potential logos were drafted, which were whittled down to a top 3. With a few tweaks, the final XP logo was born. 🤩

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Windows has an undocumented “Emergency Shutdown” feature. Though info is scarce, it existed at least as far back as Windows NT 3.51 (1995). To access it, a user must press Ctrl+Alt+Delete & click Shut Down whilst holding Ctrl. After confirming, the system immediately shuts down.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Luna or Aero? 👀

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

8 months

To combat the problems users had navigating the system in Windows 3.1 (1992), Microsoft introduced the Start Menu & Taskbar in Windows 95 (1995). Both would quickly become synonymous with @Windows , going through various iterations over the years. Which was your favourite? 👀

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 months

Photographer Charles O’Rear poses with his photograph, Bliss - the default wallpaper of Windows XP, 2001.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Mom, can we have Windows XP? Mom: No, we have Windows XP at home. Windows XP at home:

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

Bill Gates poses for the press at the Windows XP launch event in New York on 25th October 2001.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Windows Vista advert (& Microsoft Office truck) seen at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, 2007.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

15 days

Office goals. 🤩

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

POV: It’s 2007 and you’re deciding whether to take the plunge and upgrade from XP to Vista. 👀

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

9 months

In the early 2000s, @hillel led the Windows User Experience team working on Windows Vista’s (2006) new “Aero” user experience. He described it as “the biggest project I’d ever worked on, as well as a huge honour”. Aero remains one of Windows’ most loved visual designs. 😍

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

7 months

Windows has an undocumented “Emergency Shutdown” feature. Introduced in Windows NT 3.1 (1993), to access it, a user must 1st press Ctrl+Alt+Delete. Then, if the Shut Down option is chosen while holding Ctrl, a dialog box will allow the user to confirm an immediate shut down. 🚨‼️

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 months

Manifesting: 🕯 🕯 🕯 🙏 🕯 Windows 🕯 Phone 🕯 come back 🕯 📲 🕯 🕯 🕯

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 months

During Windows 7’s (2009) development, Microsoft tested out these 2 boot screens, both based on Windows 7’s new “light & energy” visuals. If either had made the final release, this would have been the first Windows version with a full-screen boot image since Windows ME (2000). 🖼

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

8 months

For 2009’s Windows 7, Corporate Vice President of the Windows Experience, @Julie_LGreen , noted Microsoft had kept features used by even a small number of users in the OS: "So if you're 1 of the 0.8% of people who put [the Taskbar] down the left-hand side, it still works for you.”

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

7 months

The Browser Choice Screen was a mandatory screen shown to Windows Internet Explorer users in the European Union between March 2010-December 2014. It resulted from the EU ruling the inclusion of Internet Explorer in Windows gave Microsoft an unfair advantage in the browser market.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Microsoft @Surface ad from Wired magazine, November 2014 (featuring Windows 8.1).

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

👴🏻

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

25 days

Xbox One OS is a modified version of Windows designed to power the Xbox One & Series X/S consoles. Debuting with the Xbox One on 22nd November 2013, it was initially based on Windows 8 (2012). Games run inside virtual machines powered by Microsoft’s Hyper-V virtualisation app. 🎮

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

UI vs. UX 🧐

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

POV: It’s 2013 and you’re personalising your new Windows 8.1 Start screen:

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 months

Royale Noir is a cancelled dark variant of Windows XP Media Center’s visual style, Royale. Leaked online in October 2006, it is notably incomplete, with unusually dark inactive titlebars, plus the Start button graphics for hover & clicked states unchanged from regular Royale.◼️🖌

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Happy 14th Birthday, Windows 7! Developed in response to the poor reception of its predecessor, Windows Vista (2006), Windows 7 was released on 22nd October 2009. It introduced the beefed up “Superbar”, new window management features, performance improvements & much more. ✨

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Metro was truly beautiful.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

11 months

|￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣| Windows 7 is the GOAT |＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿| \ (•◡•) / \ / —— | | |_ |_

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Windows XP or Windows 7? 👀

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

True Windows 7 fans perfected this skill… 🖱️🤣

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

9 months

Windows Vista (2006) introduced the Start Orb: a new, orb-shaped, textless iteration of the Start button. Simply displaying the Windows logo, it exceeded the height of the Taskbar (a feature unique to Vista, as this changed with Windows 7’s (2009) debut of the taller “Superbar”).

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

POV: It’s 24th August 1995, you queued overnight and just bought your copy of Windows 95. 🤩

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

11 months

Thanks for the goodies, @Microsoft ! 👀

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

5 months

This was the original design for the Windows 8 (2012) logo. 👀 Director of Program Management for the Windows 8 User Experience, @jensenharris , explained that the now-familiar lines were added as “we didn’t think we could get trademark protection for a simple solid trapezoid”.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

8 months

Personal tweet. Today I lost my lovely mum. 💔 She spent her whole life thinking of me & everyone else she loved. Even with cancer, she worried about us too much, & herself not enough. Thankfully, I was there at the end to hold her hand, say goodbye & thank her for everything. 🕊️

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Windows Vista (2006) introduced the Start Orb: a new, orb-shaped & text-less iteration of the Start button. Simply displaying the Windows logo, it actually exceeded the height of the Taskbar - though this would change in Windows 7 (2009), with the debut of the taller “Superbar”.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

7 months

Windows XP (2001) has proved to be one of - if not the - most loved Windows versions. Though support ended on 8th April 2014, Microsoft - appreciating its continued significance - made unprecedented moves in late 2014, 2017 & 2019 by releasing security updates for the system. 👀

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

POV: It’s the late 90s and you’re busy choosing your latest Windows 98 desktop theme. Life is good. 🤩

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

In 2009, @joebelfiore became Director of Program Management in Microsoft’s mobile division. He & his team worked on a new user interface: Metro. Introduced in Windows Phone 7 (2010), it would later also become the primary user interface of Windows 8 (2012) & 8.1 (2013). 🟦🟪🟩🟨

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 month

Windows XP Starter Edition (2004) is a lightweight version of Windows XP (2001) intended to be bundled with cheap, low-end PCs in developing countries. Differences from regular XP include a limit on the number of running apps (max 3) & use of Windows Classic as the default theme.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Installing Windows 98 (1998). 🍿

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

5 months

Bubbles is a screensaver introduced in Windows Vista (2006). It shows bubbles of various colours that move around the screen in front of the user’s desktop. It is one of a few screensavers still included by default in Windows 11 (2021). 🫧

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

5 months

Windows XP’s (2001) branding wallpaper (simply called “Windows XP”) shows the Windows wordmark on a coloured background of a 3D rendered Windows logo. Designed by studio REZN8, the colour was edition-dependent & included a variant for XP’s server counterpart, Windows Server 2003.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Windows Vista (PRODUCT)RED Edition was a variant of Windows Vista (2006) released to promote Product Red: a campaign to raise awareness & funds to eliminate HIV/AIDS in various African countries. It included a unique (PRODUCT)RED desktop theme, wallpapers & Sidebar gadgets. 🩸

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

Anyone for a road trip to Cool Sign? 🛣️

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Windows XP’s (2001) branding wallpaper (simply called “Windows XP”) shows the Windows wordmark on a coloured background of a 3D rendered Windows logo. Designed by studio REZN8, the colour was edition-dependent & included a variant for XP’s server counterpart, Windows Server 2003.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

It’s a classic! 🎬🤣

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

During the development of Windows 8 (2012), in builds 8161-8176 from late 2011/early 2012, an oddly-detailed generic user account picture was present. It was a nod to the now infamous mugshot of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, taken in 1977 for a traffic violation. 🫣

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

👀👀👀

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Bill Gates at the launch of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition in New York City, November 2002.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 months

Which Windows XP user account picture are you choosing? 🤔

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

11 months

The original release of Windows 10, from 2015, had a hidden surprise for fans of Windows 8’s (2012) Start screen (some of us liked it!). With seemingly no-one bothering to remove the underlying code, a simple hack allowed it to be reactivated in (almost) all its former glory. 😎

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

3 months

7 is heaven… 😌

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Good night. 🌝

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

8 months

Aurora is the default wallpaper of Windows Vista (2006). Designed to be “peaceful, calm & open” according to Windows design team member Jenny Lam, it was inspired by the Aurora Borealis (or Northern Lights) as seen from Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington. ✨🟢🟡👀

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

10 months

“Frutiger Aero” refers to the UI aesthetic used in the latter years of Windows XP (2001) & development of Vista (2006). Characterised by glossy textures & glass effects, Windows Media Player 10 (2004) & Windows XP Media Center Edition (2005)’s Royale visual style are examples. ✨

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

11 months

Early builds of Windows 95 (1995) contained a hidden feature called Folder Tabs. Upon activating it, a tabbed interface in Windows Explorer is revealed…almost 30 YEARS before its official debut in Windows 11 (2021). 🤯 The tabs acted as quick links to recently-opened folders. 🗂

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

6 months

On 1st April 1996, Microsoft Coffee appeared in stores. ☕️ This “Java-compatible Internet development tool” (Java…coffee…get it?) was designed for Windows 95 (1995), inspired by Sun Microsystem’s new Java programming language. The only issue? It was fake. 👀 @microsoftcoffee

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Windows XP (2001) has proved to be one of - if not the - most popular Windows versions. Though support ended on 8th April 2014, Microsoft - appreciating its continued significance - made unprecedented moves in late 2014, 2017 & 2019 by releasing security updates for the system.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

3 years

During Windows XP’s development, Microsoft contacted design company Frog Design to help “generate key elements of the UI”. This would include a new Windows logo. 50 potential logos were designed, then whittled down to a top 3. With a few tweaks, the final XP logo would be born.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

“Frutiger Aero” refers to the UI aesthetic used in the latter years of Windows XP (2001) & development of Vista (2006). Characterised by glossy textures & glass effects, Windows Media Player 10 (2004) & Windows XP Media Center Edition (2005)’s Royale visual style are examples. ✨

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

Xbox One OS is a modified version of Windows designed to power the XBox One & Series X/S consoles. Debuting with the XBox One on 22nd November 2013, it was initially based on Windows 8 (2012). Games run inside virtual machines powered by Microsoft’s Hyper-V virtualisation app.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

11 months

In November 2006, Microsoft released the Zune theme for Windows XP (2001). Made to promote their new portable media player, the Zune, the theme included a new black & orange recolour of Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005’s Royale visual style, plus a new wallpaper. ⚫️🟠🖌️

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

10 months

Windows Thin PC, or WinTPC (2011), was a lightweight version of Windows 7 (2009) designed for use on older PCs in embedded/industry devices. It was aimed at businesses that weren’t able to upgrade their hardware, & was only available via the Microsoft Software Assurance program.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

Good night. 😴

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

7 months

Windows 98 (1998) was the last version of Windows able to be purchased on floppy disks. The 3½" floppy disk edition of Windows 98 was mail order only and came on THIRTY NINE(!!!) specially-formatted disks - each could hold 1.68MB (versus the 1.44MB of a standard floppy). 💾👀😱

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

11 months

Windows XP Starter Edition (2004) is a lightweight version of Windows XP (2001) intended to be bundled with cheap, low-end PCs in developing countries. Differences from regular XP include a limit on the number of running apps (max 3) & use of Windows Classic as the default theme.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Windows XP Starter Edition (2004) is a lightweight version of Windows XP (2001) intended to be bundled with cheap, low-end PCs in developing countries. Differences from regular XP include a limit on the number of running apps (max 3) & use of Windows Classic as the default theme.

10

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

18 days

Windows Vista (PRODUCT)RED Edition was a variant of Windows Vista (2006) released to promote Product Red: a campaign to raise awareness & funds to eliminate HIV/AIDS in various African countries. It includes a unique (PRODUCT)RED desktop theme, wallpapers & Sidebar gadgets. 🔴

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

Which rejected Windows 7 wallpaper is your favourite? 👀

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

3 years

In January 1996, Charles O’Rear was driving through Sonoma County, California. “My God, the grass is perfect!” he thought, as he caught sight of a hill. Pulling over, he had no idea the photo he was about to take would become the most famous & loved @Windows wallpaper ever. 🖼

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

1 year

Windows 3 (1990) introduced desktop wallpapers to Windows. But, the default background remained a solid colour until Windows XP (2001). Since XP shipped with a default wallpaper for the first time, it has become an integral part of each new release. Which is your favourite? 👀

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

10 months

📢 PSA: It’s pronounced “Me”, not “M.E.”.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

4 months

Windows 2000 (1999) updated the default Windows Classic theme: the original grey colour changed to beige, title bars became a lighter shade of blue & the font Tahoma replaced MS Sans Serif. This is how the default Classic theme would remain until its removal in Windows 8 (2012).

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

On 1st April 1996, Microsoft Coffee appeared in stores. This “Java-compatible Internet development tool” (Java…coffee…geddit? ☕️) was designed for Windows 95 (1995) & inspired by Sun Microsystem’s new Java programming language. The only problem? It was fake. @microsoftcoffee

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

10th January 2023 marks the end of the paid Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for Windows 7 (2009). It was designed for companies with Windows 7 PCs to continue to receive security updates while planning to migrate to Windows 8.1/10/11. What are your memories of Windows 7?

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

2 years

The original release of Windows 10 (2015) had a hidden surprise for fans of Windows 8’s (2012) Start screen. With seemingly no-one on the Windows 10 dev team tasked with removing the underlying code, a simple hack allowed it to be reactivated in (almost) all its former glory.😎

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

5 months

Windows Vista moment. 🧭✨🤩

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

10 months

Windows 8 build 8423, from 28th May 2012, is the last known build of Windows with Aero glass transparency. 1st seen in development builds of Windows Vista (2006), Aero glass was removed to make Windows 8’s desktop UI more consistent with its new, flat, touch-optimised “Metro” UI.

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Windows On Windows

@wowstartsnow

3 years

Windows 95 officially brought the Start menu to Windows. But it WASN’T the 1st version of Windows you could use Start in - that honour goes to Windows NT 3.51, released 3 months BEFORE 95, where Start could be activated via a download package called the Shell Technology Preview.

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