Blog12

Windows ME

Windows ME had at least a couple of design flaws. My recollection of the system is an impression that Microsoft was trying to "get on board" with a design revolution in computer operating systems. The revolution is known as bit-mapped GUI as first used by Xerox at PARC. Later Apple computer appropriated the technology to their Macintosh line of computers. I'm not sure if I have the time line correct but, I remember Windows ME as a poor imitation of the others. Another flaw has to do with their use of addressable memory allocation. The engineers at Microsoft did not foresee the explosion of application size or computational memory requirements. Windows ME also had the unenviable requirement of backwards compatibility with older DOS based programs. Some of the older programs required specific memory addresses and would not work unless these requirements were met. This memory management scheme (or lack of one) limited newer programs. By comparison the 10 digit telephone numbering system has yet to exhaust it's "address" space. Perhaps we should have left OS design to the Engineers at Bellcore. I have had a small amount of experience with Windows ME. I remember using LOTUS 123 and WordPerfect on this type of machine.