Microsoft’s operating system took a giant step forward with the arrival of Windows XP, an operating system loved by all. So dear that even Today there are companies that risk their own security by continuing to have this outdated system installed.
With a great face lift on a visual level, and with tremendously useful tools and features, Windows XP rose to stardom in 2001, representing a great change at home and at the business level. We still have good memories of him (and not so good), and that is why today we bring you some curiosities of this operating system.
Fun facts about Windows XP
- The wallpaper used is about ‘Bliss‘, photographed in 1996 by Charles O’Rear, a former National Geographic employee. It was taken in the Napa Valley, north of San Francisco. Now that landscape is a famous vineyard.
- It is estimated that more than 90% of copies of Windows XP in China were pirated.
- Windows XP was the first system to unified NT kernel for both home and business.
- According to StatCounter, Windows XP is still used by 0.59% of all computers in the world, a figure that is still equivalent to a few million computers.
- Bill Gates went to Columbus Circle in New York to sign autographs at the launch of Windows XP.
- Applying themes in the Windows interface was paid until Windows XP. With this OS you could already download custom themes to change the visual appearance of the interface.
- Many banking systems such as ATMs continue to use Windows XP to this day.
- The ‘XP’ in its name refers to ‘Experience’.
- To offer a much more personalized experience, Windows XP developers released TweakUI tool, which focused on customizing various aspects of the interface in a faster and easier way.
- The recycle bin in Windows XP could only hold 10% of the total hard drive. However, it was an option that could be modified separately.
- Windows XP was known in code as ‘Whistler’ and referred to a site in British Columbia where Microsoft employees went skiing.
- Windows XP ended its official support in 2014However, sales of OEM licenses for equipment ceased in 2008. It was not until 2019 when its Embedded POSReady 2009 version oriented to professional environments came to an end.
- There are around 70 security vulnerabilities in Windows XP, many of which have been related to hacking incidents.
- According to StatCounter today, Armenia is the country where Windows XP is being used the most, with a market share of 53.5%, higher even than Windows 10.
- The Windows XP toolbar made it possible for the first time to group open windows to make it much less cluttered.
- In Windows XP it is impossible to create a file with the name ‘CON’. This name was reserved in MS-DOS days for console access. ‘AUX’, ‘NUL’, ‘COM1-COM9’, ‘PRN’ and ‘LPT1-LPT9’ are other designations that Microsoft also has reserved.
- The Windows XP startup theme is one of the most loved by the community. This topic was in the path of “C: Windows Media”, where we could listen to it as many times as we wanted. In addition, by renaming the files we could insert any other sound.
- If we create a text document in the notepad and write “Bush hid the facts” in it and save it as “bush666.txt”, when we open it again completely illegible characters will appear. This is due to a problem in the Windows XP IsTextUnicode API. And is that when a file was encoded in ANSI, that function was interpreted in the UTF-16LE format
- If we go to the Windows XP Control Panel and go to the ‘Voice’ settings icon, by typing ‘I am’ in the text box and click on ‘Test’ we will hear Sam’s voice as if it came from hell itself.
- Typing “telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl” in Windows XP CMD We will see a summary of Episode IV of Star Wars animated in ASCII code.
The nightmare came with Windows Vista
These have been just some of the most striking curiosities and Easter eggs that can be found about Windows XP. However, this operating system still hides many more secrets. Although not everything was rosy, if we can conclude that Windows XP made history, something that is out of step with the opinion that the vast majority of the public has regarding its next version, Windows Vista. We support you from afar.