Finding a Microsoft Windows laptop under the tree in 2016 versus 2006: five key differences
Back in 2006, we had just a taste of how fast things were going to change for the laptop PC. That was the year when, according to a 2008 CNET article, Intel “pulled the carpet” out from under AMD, with its Core 2 Duo, which started the race to the most cores to be squeezed into a mobile CPU, and manufacturers were counting on a game-changer for a variety of reasons.
Reason number one was that 2006 was the year when laptops began to go on a strict diet. Thin aluminum began replacing thick black plastic, and USB ports multiplied, as Windows laptops strived to look more like Apple MacBooks.
Reason number two was that battery life was still terrible, and Windows XP’s successor, Windows Vista was a buggy nightmare, which would come pre-filled with obnoxious bloatware to keep the price tag down.
Things have changed indeed, but just how much is hard to say without putting things in perspective. Let’s take a look at five key differences between then and now:
No more bundled adware
As mentioned earlier, laptops in 2006 were still a bloated mess. PC manufacturers used to bundle all sorts of third-party “utilities”, including the infamous “Bonzi Buddy”, a purple animated gorilla pitched as a desktop helper application. It didn’t take long for users to learn about Bonzi’s dark side, a malware-filled program designed to sneak ads, and gather personal information to be sold to third parties for commercial purposes... was the most optimistic take.
By comparison, Windows 10 laptops in 2016 couldn’t be further apart from that era. Today, even if manufacturers do try to sneak in third party bloatware of any kind, Microsoft itself provides a tool, freely downloadable, to do a clean install of Windows 10, completely bloatware-free. Get the tool here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10startfresh
No more rushing to buy antivirus protection
Bloatware wasn’t the worst thing about buying a laptop PC in 2006. Malware was rampant, because antivirus companies threatened to sue Microsoft for trying to bundle its own antivirus software with Windows. That resulted in most Windows PCs staying completely unprotected, as many users didn’t bother to go the extra step to install any kind of security suite. Needless to say, the result was a mass epidemic of malware attacks on Windows XP and Vista machines, and the decade-long anti-Windows smear campaign rhetoric Microsoft has finally began to wipe out with Windows 10.
Finally, Microsoft Windows 10 comes with its very own, comprehensive security suite, Windows Defender, which kicks in automatically should any third-party antivirus software fail, keeping Windows PCs protected. While it may not be as advanced as BitDefender or Norton, it is most definitely sufficient to stop most malware in its tracks.
Say goodbye to a cluttered desktop
Remember a time when we used to save everything on the desktop? While that might be still a thing for some, those who like to be able to actually see the wallpaper image in all its high-definition glory, will have an easier time accomplishing that, with an operating system that works a lot more like a smartphone or a tablet, than a traditional desktop PC. Windows 10, much like Windows 8, supports Universal Apps, that are set to save files and other data in proper folders, selectable from the Settings App, which means that for the first time, users will actually make use of the Photos, Documents, Downloads and Music default folders, instead of dumping everything on the desktop.
Your PC actually listens to you
Cortana comes with Windows 10 as the default voice-activated virtual assistant, and she can be rather helpful if you need to find a setting, a file or a program, as she integrates with Windows 10 file indexing service, as well as OneDrive. She also works in a very similar way as Google Search, by pulling information directly from the web, in a contextual manner. For instance if you need to find out movie times, just ask “Hey Cortana, what time does ‘Passengers’ start tonight?”, which will trigger a display of movie times available for the movie Passengers, starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence... and no, she won’t reveal any spoilers.
Get used to do things a lot faster
2016 laptops are amazingly faster than their 2006 ancestors, and part of the reason is that software is a lot more lightweight, and, thanks to 2016’s much faster Internet connectivity, most of it is web-based. This includes entertainment as well, like movies, TV shows, and even games, the latter of which can be played instantly after purchase, once they are downloaded through any of the major distributors like Steam, Origin, and UbiSoft UPlay, and of course Xbox Live, which lets you play Xbox multiplayer games simultaneously on any Windows 10 device, including Xbox One consoles.
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