For my Recording Studio application, Win 8.1 works equally well as Win 7. I recently had to send the Windows 7 motherboard in for warranty repair. I set up my back up system which has Win 8.1 64 bit for Recoding. I have Start8 installed so it boots directly to the desktop and absolutely no difference. All my hardware installed without problems. However I did have to install one older device in a Vista Compatibility mode.

But going back to Microsoft's more or less record of hits and misses on Operating Systems, Win 98SE was good, Windows ME was not, Win XP was, Vista was not, Windows 7 was good, Win 8 for many is not good, so Win 9 should be a "good" OS.

Another wow Microsoft really screwed this one up again. . .can't people just get over themselves. . .

Well I found window 95 was a nightmare in the beginning, ME was a nightmare I put in on one computer and took it off in a week. For me the first really good Windows was 2000. it took quite a bit to get me to upgrade to XP and again to Windows 7, I had one notebook with Vista it wasn't so bad. Windows 8 I didn't try 8.1 I have and find it good as 7 and 2000. Following the 8 forum by the time I moved any computer to 8.1 I knew about Classic Shell and how to set up with a Local Account instead of the Microsoft account. So I find 8.1 as good as any MS OS, I have moved one Desktop to 10 Pro and will move my main business computer to 10 Pro soon. I don't like some of the 10 features Updates for one and having to continually check my hardware drivers as the MS ones cause problems for me. Seems MS just wants us to use there generic ones and keeps installing them with updates.
I don't think 8 or 8.1 were 95 or ME or Vista at all. Once you learned to get around all the Metro crap and one drive and other cloud stuff its as good as any versions were.

Vista was the first good Windows in my opinion and experience. Too bad that the hardware at the time wasn't up to snuff.

Hmm, I guess you weren't around for earlier version windows 2000 was as monumental as SSD are today.

Agree with you. Vista was not THAT bad. The problem was the amount of requirements, or the lack of them on the computers those days. I got a Packard Bell with Vista back in 2010, I think, and it was good. I got the 7 update quickly too -because all the upgrade promo back in the day-. But Vista was fine at that moment. Of course, 7 ended up being much better.

Just for the record: that computer is still alive, and upgraded to 10, having been running 8 and 8.1 too.

Clintlgm said:

Hmm, I guess you weren't around for earlier version windows 2000 was as monumental as SSD are today.

98 was my first Windows, then XP, and then Vista. 98 was pretty terrible, XP not much better and I still don't understand how some people don't seem to move on from it.
I don't remember ever having a crash or BSOD in Vista or later Windows.