

It's time to bring back Windows NT - supersiteforwin
http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/it-s-time-bring-back-nt

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3amOpsGuy
"Tech old-timers like myself fondly remember Windows NT and all it stood for"

This is just rose tinted glasses really.

Remember all the "there must be a better way" conversations that were rampant
in the NT3/4 eras. If you're in any doubt, pick up any old IT magazine of the
90s and remind yourself what we were concerned about. Things that Windows 8
does in its stride: hardware compatability, backups, speed - these are distant
memories these days.

Usability was a bigger problem then than now. Fewer people in general had any
idea about computers - how many can recall a first hand experience of a new-
start talking into the mouse as a microphone (or similar caper).

~~~
astrodust
If when you started your career, Windows NT was the shiny new thing, then
maybe you would remember it fondly. You wouldn't know any better.

For me, Windows NT was like some kind of joke that nobody understood, instead
taking it as a serious server platform even though it had uptimes usually
measured in hours or, if you were really lucky, days. I'm pretty sure server
admins at the time would be seeing Blue Screens of Death in their nightmares.

------
gesman
I made tons of cash developing for NT both for clients and for myself. I loved
the platform and loved clear, well defined and well documented set of Win32
API's, exceptional debugging tools and development tools. And then came
Ballmer with his complete lack of vision, absence of creativity, bigger-than-
god ego and "me-too" business strategy producing nothing but mediocre and
frustrating copycat products and services.

I deviated from development for Microsoft platform as it became overbloated
with useless and then quietly abandoned with layers and layers of
miscellaneous technologies.

Microsoft superiority is gradually rusting away by more creative and
intelligent tools and solutions from other vendors. Until Ballmer is there - I
do not think we can see any major improvements or anything even close to
revolutionary new directions.

I wish Bill Gates would take a few months break from developing advanced
toilets for Africa and clean up his old beautiful house, starting from the
attic.

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leoedin
What the author is really saying is "Drop metro and brand the resulting
product NT". It's broadly what everyone else in corporate IT has been saying
since Metro (or whatever it's now called) was announced. It reflects the fact
that touch screen interfaces and twitter feeds are redundant for people who
use windows for work. I agree with the premise, but the article is quite a
long winded way of saying it.

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nvk
Just ditch the MS stuff and come to the *nix/bsd side, pasture is a lot
greener.

~~~
UnoriginalGuy
There is no *NIX/BSD side to speak of.

I mean, sure, as a server Linux is exceptional. But as a client it is not even
competitive in the business environment.

It isn't cost effective, time effective, or even well supported.

~~~
akandiah
What do you think OSX is based on?

~~~
UnoriginalGuy
I wouldn't use OSX in an enterprise either. For almost exactly the same
reasons.

~~~
astrodust
What's wrong with OS X in the enterprise?

Many large companies have ended up with large installations because of a
choose-your-own-laptop policy.

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linohh
I think using Windows Server Core nodes for actual work and a dedicated node
for administration and UI has more potential than Windows NT ever had. And
honestly, Windows NT was a nightmare. It seemed compatible with Win95/98, but
wasn't entirely. And I'm not talking about DirectX here. Back in the days, a
HP-67 was a major innovation and some people didn't know what they ever did
before getting one, but no one would really want them back today, right?

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mmcconnell1618
Instead of a whole new windows how about this:

Disable "Metro" = true, Enable Start Button = true

Done! Now you have Windows 8 NT

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UnoriginalGuy
I agree with this article, but I think the way they suggest fixing it is over-
kill.

What they're proposing is to have a new SKU for businesses/schools/etc. But
having a new SKU will be expensive. More to maintain. More to market. More
DVDs to ship. More QA. And so on. There is no way to view a new SKU such that
it SAVES money.

What I would like to see is for Microsoft to keep the same number of SKUs but
to give consumers more choice. Windows 2008 and 2012 Server come with two
modes of installation - core and standard.

The issue with Windows 8 in particular is not that it has Metro ("modern"), it
is that they forced people to use it. If they had just allowed people to
install the Windows client in a "business" mode, people would have been happy.

So maybe Windows 9 needs a client equivalent of "core" mode. Essentially cut
away all of the crud until you're left with a Windows 2000-like desktop
experience, no thrills, no fun, just the absolutely basics of what Windows is.

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jiggy2011
I know a few old time Windows IT people, when they mention NT it's usually in
the same sentence as a cuss word.

~~~
astrodust
For a long time, NT stood for "Not Tested".

Remember that Windows NT used to crash after 49.71 days when the uptime
counter overflowed. Most people never noticed this because the server would
crash for other reasons long before that.

~~~
venomsnake
It was windows "No Thanks" in my circles. But win 2000 was a gem - I liked it
much more than XP back in the day.

~~~
waterlesscloud
Win2k was as good as Microsoft got. Reliable, stable, functional. Happily that
was the last Windows platform I developed for.

~~~
astrodust
Apart from the fact you had to reboot to change just about anything and there
was no USB support, it wasn't bad for the era.

Stable where MacOS at the time was anything but, with the no-nonsense Windows
95 theming. As far as a desktop operating system, it was a pretty good
package.

You didn't have the command-line tooling of Linux, but at least you could
install it on your computer without having to dive into X configuration hell.

~~~
jiggy2011
Pretty sure Win2k did have USB support, though you may have needed to install
a SP.

~~~
astrodust
At the time the "service pack" was called Windows XP. Maybe they added it
after XP came out, though.

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edandersen
Microsoft will never do this now that Paul has written the idea down in
public, at least not with the NT name. No manager in Microsoft will push to
reuse the NT brand and risk being called out on getting the idea from Paul
Thurrott.

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webwanderings
Windows Server 2012 can already be a bare bone command line server without
GUI. As far as workstations are concerned, the corporate world would hardly
see Win8 for a long time to come. By that time, things will be changed anyway
and/or the IT folks would strip the heck out of Win8 gui to suit their
corporate environment.

PS: I don't know much about the author except to say that his About Me section
is terribly written piece for any stranger visiting his site.

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snake_plissken
correct me if i am wrong, but don't windows XP/2000 and windows 7 both use
significant parts of the NT kernel, and aren't they the best OSs MS offers?

~~~
od2m
You are correct my good man. Came here to say YOU ARE USING NT.

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illuminate
Nostalgia for a time that never existed doesn't bring the world to a better
place. It certainly doesn't help the state of technology.

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venomsnake
Or you know ... microsoft should drop the "emulate badly Apple" act and show
real innovation.

