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I’m still upset with Microsoft for making me buy a lot of new hardware in order to run Windows 11 (notwithstanding that the new hardeware, with all-SSD drives, is blazingly fast!  But it has to because Windows continues to bloat…).

My PC journey started with DOS and a ‘286 processor.  Hardware and software evolved, Windows 3.1 arrived (for me) and that too evolved.  By the way, you forgot to mention Windows 2000, which was another good operating system.  My favorite was Windows XP.  Transistioned to Windows 7 in 2013, and now I’m transitioning to Windows 11, rebuilding two machines and buying a third.  The purchased machine cane with Windows 11, and it’s taken me a month to make it look like — you guessed it — Windows XP.  (Went through the same exereices for Windows 7.)  The new Windows look-and-feel is,to me, simply awful.  I can see no good reason for changing a useful human-machine interface.  I’m still using Office 2003 because it doesn’t have that horrible ribbon interface.

I just came across a great article on the subject “How to make Windows 11 more useable, less annoying” at  https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/windows-11-usability-guide.html.  He describes all of the steps that I had to learn the hard way to make Windows 11… less annoying!

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Lars220, windbg, Ulti P. Uszer, Cybertooth

Absolute worst feature — the ribbon.   Tried Word 2010.   I’m still using Word 2003.  It does everything that I need.  Why is it that people think that changing the look and feel of a program is a Good Thing?  Mark it up to job security.

 

 

1 user thanked author for this post.

Cybertooth

Boy, you’re an old fart!  Bet you did that on an  IBM 407!  Wonderful machine.  (I’m an old fart, too.)

I have two rather simple questions:

I’m still using Windows 7, and the desktop is configured in “Classic Windows” (i.e., like Windows XP and earlier).  (See attachment.)  What is the best Linux distribution to approximate this look-and-feel?

Will executables (.exe) files written to run under Windows run under Linux?  I’m particularly concerned about all of the utility programs that I have in my software library.

Thanks.

I’ve been using Office 2003 since, well, 2003. I tried Word 2010 but I didn’t like the “ribbon” interface. I’ve found no reason to switch.