Bander ALSHARFI

Just installed Windows Vista RTM on my laptop =) yeah the RTM at last!!
I have been waiting for this moment since 2003, remember the Longhorn Build 4028? hehe

What took my attention is that the Windows startup screen is beeing changed with every major release, minor changes such as changing the colors of the progressbar or the logo it self. When I installed the RTM I was kind of eager to see the new logo because I couldn't find it since the Beta 1 release. grasping my breath and waiting for that screen to show up, and bang!!! the same Beta and RC bootup screen =( I thought that my Vista RTM copy is not working properly! and as always started using windows live search (code name google-ing) hehe dont tell anybody =p to find out what's wrong with my bootup screen. One of the interesting content was basicly residing at Long's blog " I Started Somthing "

Long's blog post:

Millions of computers starts each day with an image to remind users of which operating system they’re using. Here’s a look back at 22 years worth of the most agonizing waits in history.

Windows 1.01: Since the blue-screen-of-death has yet to be invented introduced, this color combination was fairly acceptable. Credits: PCForum.hu	Windows 3.1: The first and last vertical bootscreen. The designer must have just found the color palette, bevel and drop shadow commands in Photoshop. Credits: PCForum.hu
Windows 95: Clouds and infinite-scroll animation introduced. Copyright missing-in-action. Credits: WinSuperSite	Windows NT 4.0: Dark and scary. Borders make a return. First bootscreen to feature the Microsoft logo. Credits: Dabestsite
Windows 98: Better looking clouds for a better operating system. Copyright still missing-in-action. Credits: Windows Nation	Windows 2000: Clouds removed. Copyright return. SKUs introduced. Barely-accurate progress bar invented. Credits: The Best Website Ever
Windows ME: Just as colorful as the operating system experience. Progress bar abolished. Credits: Windows Nation	Windows XP: First white-on-black bootscreen. SKU branding (re)introduced, infinite-scroll color varied by SKU. Credits: The Elder Geek
Windows XP SP2: All operating systems are created equal - Microsoft no longer discriminates SKUs. Copyright years removed. Credits: Win History	Windows Server 2003: No points for knowing where this was inspired was. Credits: Toasty Technology

     
Windows Vista just has to be different. The first thing you’ll notice is there are two bootscreens, separating the low-level code and branding experience. The first bootscreen is an ultra-minimalistic scrolling animation featuring thin green lines which is only accompanied by a short copyright text. The second bootscreen features a full-resolution 32-bit animated glowing Windows pearl, synchronized together with the official startup sound. Credits: Ed Bott

It’s interesting to see how progressively smaller the Microsoft text gets.