The best View(er) on the Planet

I like to think I am a simple man. But I know that everyone that ever said that is the complete opposite. The reason I say this is because I don't immediately jump on the latest technology.

When a new product comes out, I let the world test it, fight it, abuse it, and when it's battle ready I get it. I do this for every console that ever comes out, or smart phone for that matter. But for once, I decided to not be lame and join the bandwagon.

The second I saw a small notification on my laptop saying that I can upgrade to windows 10 I clicked on it. My computer was out of service for a good 3 hours but it was worth it. I was tempted to write about it, to be the first to tell the world about how amazing it is to use windows 10. But I kept quiet. In the software world, first impression will generate page views, but no good information.

I am Operating System agnostic, so don't think about hearing a complaint about Windows 10 here. Instead I want to talk about the default image viewer that comes with it.

Note that I am not an expert on the internals of Windows, I know how to tweak the register but don't count on me for memorizing any of the paths.

With that said, in pre Windows 8 machines, Microsoft seemed to be using Explorer, or a subset of it to display images. By that, I mean the default way of previewing images. I believe it was called Windows Photo Viewer, or maybe it was just Explorer in disguise. Using it felt like a feature of the Operating System, not an external program.

Anyway! On windows 10, it is not the default. Instead we have Photos, an application "trusted by Windows 10". Unfortunately it is the slowest application ever. The problem is that it does so much more than just show your images. And in order to do the other things, it takes memory and CPU cycles, in order words, it is so slow. But that's not what I was looking for. I just wanted to view my images.

So before I spent too much time trying to dig through the operating system to find the good old Photo Viewer, I discovered a little neat application.

Irfanview. Consider this a fullhearted non-sponsored recommendation of irfanview. I fell in love with it instantly. If there is one thing I want from a photo viewer, its that it opens my photos to be viewed.

The great thing about it is that it opens instantly. No question asked. I don't know what else to say. Oh right, it can open a multitude of files not just pictures. I downloaded the plugins that come with it, and now I can view my pictures, videos, and music instantly. It doesn't take time to think like windows apps cordially like to do. It just opens.

I finally found Windows Photo Viewer. I tested it and works very well even on Windows 10. But now I have something better and don't need it anymore. So if you didn't know, now you. Go get irfanview.

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