Technology

I love powertoys. It's potentially (along with C#/.Net) the best thing Microsoft have made.

PowerToys is the sole reason I somewhat get along with binbows on my work laptop.

I linked to the top search result.

Coming from XP, 7 felt like an upgrade, but I wouldn't say I was enamoured. Peak Windows for me was 2000, and while it probably lacks more useful modern features than I recall, I definitely still think it's the best looking, and the visually most well put together version of Windows there has ever been.

I love Linux, and I love how it has managed to bring back, or even surpass, the enjoyment and the sense of wonder and possibilities, that I used to feel in regards to computer use, back then. And I love how it enables me to install, create and customise any graphical elements of the desktop environment to my liking. One of the first things I managed to do, after switching to Linux, was, in fact, to convert my desktop into a very convincing Windows 2000 look-alike - just looking at the desktop, I doubt many people would have been able to tell that it wasn't actually the real McCoy. Nowadays, though, I wouldn't want my desktop to look like Windows of any variety. I use a few different styles, depending on mood, that are all either replicas of other, real desktop environments from the 90's, or they're imaginary "fantasy desktops" from the 90's of an alternate reality. I love that can just do that, not just because I love that particular aesthetic, but also because it is SO much more usable for me. The current trends in visual design, aren't just off putting to me, it's difficult and straining to parse too, what with the contrasts that are all out of whack, and lines and outlines all but seemingly banned, and with all the drop shadows and the transparency effects, and things fading and sliding around everywhere all the time, it's just so much visual noise, and it makes my head hurt. The late 90's is when GUIs and the graphical part of UX were at their peak, in terms of usability and readability, if you ask me. It's sad to me that almost every type of design since has seemingly been a direct or indirect rejection of that period. I wonder how much better GUIs could be, if they had stuck with all the things that worked well from back then, and had then continued to build off of that.

Sorry I think I went off on a tangent there.

As for 7 being the peak in terms of usability, what with some of the features it had over earlier versions, you may be right. I think 7 was the first version that had indexed searches, or at least had them enabled by default, and I remember how good that felt, experiencing it for the first time. But wasn't 10, on release, pretty equivalent to 7, really? IIRC, much of its dark patterns, ads, spyware and enshittification was only added gradually over its lifetime, wasn't it? Going by memory, I think I even appreciated the minor facelift it got, as it seemed essentially like the same thing, but with the Vista-esque/Aero-style glassy, glossy, noisy stuff gone or heavily muted and toned down, which made it much less distracting.

I still think Win2K was the true peak. Everything since has been clown shoes and bloat.

... but I have to admit that my Mint Cinnamon customisation looks a whole lot more 7 than it does 2K.