Windows XP
Before Vista, Windows XP was the most reliable and best-looking version of the Windows operating system to emerge. Granted, it's no Mac interface, however, its the best Microsoft can produce. As the result of the unification of Microsoft's corporate series (Windows NT and 2000) with the home series (Windows 95, 98, and Me), Windows XP offers much that is pleasing to its users: (theoretical) rock-solid stability (Microsoft's opinion) and a fresh new look. [read more]

For the record, this author accepts no responsibility for aforementioned rambling diatribe and technological claims spewed by Redmond.

Windows 98 SE
Windows 98 Second Edition (often shortened to SE) is an update to Windows 98, released on May 5, 1999. It includes fixes for many minor issues, improved USB support, and the replacement of Internet Explorer 4.0 with the significantly faster Internet Explorer 5. Also included is Internet Connection Sharing, which allows multiple computers on a LAN to share a single Internet connection through Network Address Translation. [read more]

The Apple Universe
In the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote address on June 6, 2005, Steve Jobs officially announced that Apple would begin producing Intel-based Mac computers beginning in 2006. On January 10, 2006, Apple released its first Intel chip computers, a new notebook computer known as the MacBook Pro and a new, though cosmetically identical, iMac with purportedly two to three times faster performance compared with its predecessor.
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