Replying to
@cstross@wandering.shop Generally agree, but... Windows 2000 wasn't bad. It was rock solid (at least by Windows standards) and it wasn't exactly pretty, but it had just the right amount of chrome balanced with real UX improvements.
XP was also solid but too flashy already. From Vista on, it's an unmitigated disaster (and now Mac OS X asks exactly the same "allow or deny" questions that they lambasted Vista for... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyGUrPxG1iM)