Road to the Alternativity

Road to the Alternativity (RttA) is an alternative timeline made by MDTTV which is mainly about the alternative tech landscape which diverges from 1995, especially the alternate roadmap of what's after Windows 95. RttA also has political and cultural differences alongside a different tech landscape, including World War III (2008-2011) and World War IV (2032-2037). The main differences include: Windows Longhorn never being reset, MS Whistler/Neptune/Odyssey being "Oslo" instead (evolving into Windows Oslo in 2000, Oslo II in 2001, and Avant in 2002), Metro/MDL2 design coming sooner (in 2018), yearly 9x versions (Windows 96, 97, 98, 99, Jakarta (2000), Wellington (2001), and Wellington II (2002)), and no new Windows versions during WWIII and WWIV.
== Lore ==
=== Windows ===
The point of divergence was in 1995, the year when Windows 95 released. However, with RttA, Microsoft's roadmap would be partially different as Microsoft releases Nashville as Windows 96, Columbus as Windows 97, Memphis as Windows 98 (as in OTL, but with differences), and so on. Meanwhile, Windows NT is partially different, with Windows NT 4.0 released in 1996 (as in OTL, but with differences), NT 4.5 in 1998, and NT 4.6 in 1999.
In 1998, Microsoft starts working on the Oslo Project (Neptune, Odyssey, and Whistler in OTL), which brings NT to households while merging it with 9x so that they can run 9x programs on NT. It was finalised as Windows Oslo (2000, equivalent to Windows 2000, Neptune, Odyssey, and XP). While the 9x series would go on until 2002, Windows releases yearly updates, such as Oslo II (2001), Avant (2002), and an interim version, Windows Florianopolis (2003).
In 2001, Microsoft starts development on the Longhorn project (as in OTL, but it never got reset) and became finalised as Windows 6 (2005). Later versions are Windows 6.1 (2006), which includes WinFS, and Windows 6.5 (2007), which included the Diamond UI (as in OTL as a scrapped feature of Longhorn) and multiple desktops. Development started for codename "Barcelona" in 2007, but was paused due to the Third World War. During the Third World War, no new versions of Windows were made, and only minor updates and service packs were delivered.
When the war ended in 2011, development of Barcelona was reset, and eventually became Windows 7 (2013) when it reached RTM and GA, while Windows 6X was released a year prior in 2012 some time after the end of WWIII. However, Windows 7 gained negative reception for its high system requirements and the Recall feature (in OTL, it was announced in 2023, in RttA, AI technology is 10 years ahead). While it lost some popularity, Microsoft did not gave up and continued providing good updates, including the discontinuation of the Recall feature.
In 2015, Windows 8 was released to highly positive reception, being known as the best version of Windows since Windows Oslo. It included lots of lock screen, desktop, and theme customizations, flexible desktop layouts, and other features. It is the last version of Windows in RttA to use skeuomorphic design.
Windows 9 released in 2018 and brought flat design into the minds of millions which is what it caused mixed reception. While people praise its new features, including the flexible size of the Start Menu, some others criticise it for its flat design and the eventual trendsetter that will put flat design everywhere (in OTL, Apple popularised flat design in 2013 with iOS 7). Microsoft also put up the feature update model since then (in OTL, it was since 2015).
Development of Sun Valley began in 2018 after the release of Windows 9 and was finalised as Windows 9X in 2020. It includes the Metropolis II design language, an improvement over the original design in 2018. Other than that, it includes snap layouts, "Scale-aware" dynamic wallpapers, and other features on UI, apps, and security.
When 2023 came, Windows 10 became available and was the last NT-based version before moving on to SuperCore. It contained the Fusion design language which contains a flat design but retaining some skeuomorphic elements. As Brian Kodley became CEO of Microsoft a year prior, they made huge changes to Windows which everyone praised about.
=== IE/Edge ===
=== Xbox ===
=== Microsoft Office ===
=== Apple ===
=== Linux ===
=== NeXT ===
=== Other companies ===
== Differences ==
=== General ===
=== Microsoft ===
* There are more 9X versions, such as Windows 96, 97, and 99.
* There are more NT 4 versions, such as NT 4.5 and 4.6.
* The Neptune, Odyssey, and Whistler projects are unified as the Oslo Project, which eventually released into retail as Windows Oslo (2000).
* The logo designs of Windows from 2000 to 2013 are heavily different from OTL.
* Longhorn never reset in RttA, ending up finalising as Windows 6. Due to technological constraints, some planned Longhorn features were on later versions, such as 6.1 and 6.5.
* Windows started using the number scheme earlier than in OTL.
* There were no new major versions made for Windows during the 3rd and 4th world wars.
* The Barcelona project (OTL: Vienna/Windows 8) was reset instead of Longhorn.
* Microsoft Recall, Copilot, and some other AI tools came 10 years earlier.
* Flat design entered Windows later than in OTL.
* The Metropolis II design language is inspired from Windows 10X build 18875.
* NT was replaced by a new kernel earlier than in the creator's future Windows timeline, The Clear Path.
* The Fluent design system is slightly different in ATL with some more skeuomorphic elements, called as Fusion Design.
* Steve Ballmer was resigned 1 year earlier in 2013 than in OTL after the criticism of Windows 7. Instead of Satya Nadella, Robert Gould took over and was then replaced by Brian Kodley in 2023.
* Microsoft was forced to close along with many other companies in 2039 sometime after the 2nd Great Depression and the 4th World War.
=== Apple ===
* Mac OS X 10.0 and 10.1 are combined together in this ATL and released one year earlier (2000).
* Apple's flat design in iOS came one year later (2014).
* iPadOS never has a separate branding.
* Siri was never bought by Apple.
* Since iOS 6 (2012), you can change themes.
* iPhone transitioned to USB-C 3 years earlier (2020).
* Apple was forced to close along with many other companies in 2039 sometime after the 2nd Great Depression and the 4th World War.
=== Google ===
* Google never used the JFK Design Language and continued using the preceding design language until 2015.
Category:Alternate Timelines
Category:MDTTV