Windows XP: 20th Anniversary Of Microsoft’s Most Popular Windows

Microsoft doesn’t give a damn about Neptune and Odyssey and prefers to do everything differently under the code name Whistler – as the successor to Windows 2000 and the predecessor of Windows Vista, you can’t go wrong anyway. Windows XP was released 20 years ago today.

The development based on a silly idea

Windows XP’s Appreciation Day is a perfect time to reminisce. The very successful history of the operating system only came about thanks to the failure of two other ideas. Microsoft actually wanted to further develop Windows 2000 separately with the projects Neptun for end-users and Odyssey for companies. Neptune had made it into a beta test in 1999 before the developers pulled the ripcord. The result: the development work was lumped together and the Whistler project was born.

It should take some time and a lot of development work before the new Windows gets its well-known name – not least because, contrary to its own ideas, a US court ruled Microsoft to make a number of adjustments. OEMs had achieved the ability to place their own programs on the desktop ex-works. Probably even more painful for Microsoft: The possibility of removing Internet Explorer and Outlook Express from the start menu had also been fought for in court.

Almost everyone knows Luna

For many users, an impressive part of their memory of Windows XP: The new user interface Luna was a clear departure from the look of earlier Windows versions. Instead of gray, blue becomes the standard accent color of the system, the start menu can shine in bright green. In the end, however, it is clearly a part of the new desktop that many will probably never forget: the iconic screen background “Green Idyll”, in English simply “Bliss”.

Windows XP was able to hold its own for a long time among the operating systems used around the world and, until a few years ago, repeatedly achieved values ​​of around 5 percent. On today’s special day, however, the Windows classic car has to be satisfied with 0.3 percent – but you can still take a seat at the table of the top 10 desktop operating systems. Last but not least, one thing that we had successfully suppressed, but here we want to remind you again: Yes, XP actually stands for … “eXPerience”.