What version of Windows was it that either introduced or improved on the features below:
- Windows Movie Maker (new) – allows basic editing of home videos. (However to this date, still highly unstable.)
- System Restore (new) -allows the restore of system files, drivers and the registry to a previous known state to recover from a system failure. Might not work all the time, but a huge leap from the format and install approach to troubleshooting.
- System File Protection (improved) – monitors and restores undesired changes to important Windows system files. Might be a hassle for advanced users, but gives some protection over malicious damage of system files.
- New TCP/IP Stack (improved) – adds ability to sense whether adapters are connected to a network, improved performance and reliability and home networking features.
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) (new) – adds the ability for the computer to request ports autonomously to the router. (An inherent security problem, but simplifies home networking in many scenarios.)
- Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) (new) – a standardized framework for imaging devices (cameras, webcams, scanners) to communicate with Windows. Before this, device vendors had to write a custom solution on their own leading to many compatibility problems.
- Automatic Updates (new) – allows for download and installations of Windows Updates directly in Windows. Before, users had to manually check the website.
- Inbuilt ZIP support (improved) – allows the creation and extraction of ZIP folders natively in Windows.
- Image preview (new) – inbuilt picture viewer for many of the popular photo and image formats.
- Bundled games (improved) – Pinball and Spider Solitaire. Nuff said.
- USB Mass Storage generic driver (new) – the first consumer Windows OS to support any USB mass storage device without third-party drivers. Before, you had to install a custom driver from a floppy to use any USB drive.
It was Windows Millennium aka ME. 🙂
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