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I skipped Windows ME. Since I was using lots of technical applications, I got a high performance workstation with Windows 4 NT in 1997. By 2001 that computer had had memory, processor, and graphics upgrades, and NT had gotten unstable. I upgraded to Windows 2000 in 2001 and that same computer started performing flawlessly even though it was a mishmash of parts. Win 2K had lots of the Windows ME interface applied to it.

When my mom needed a new computer in late 2000, my brother and I noticed that the configurations we were looking at from Dell had enough power to run Win 2K, so my brother and I decided we should get Win 2K rather than Win ME. Mom used that computer for over 7 years till we got her a high powered HP laptop with Vista for Xmas 2007 so she could use Photoshop. She's still using that laptop in part due to its 17" monitor. I upgraded it to a Win 7 just 2 years after she got it due to how horrible Vista was. After having a second system crash that made the Windows 7 installation unbootable, I got her an SSD to replace the original physical system drive. In part I got the SSD, because I no longer have the patience to have to wait for the extra hours it takes to wait for hard drives to copy all the files during installation. Two years later, the computer works better than ever, and we'll probably keep it as long as Win 7 is supported by Microsoft.