The results are in, and it appears that – at least as far as The Register's most loquacious commenters are concerned – Windows Server 2000 was Microsoft's peak.

The tech giant is celebrating its 50th birthday, and we asked Register readers for their thoughts on the company's milestones and missteps over the years.

Many of you had a fondness for the halcyon days of Windows NT, with even NT 4 getting a nostalgic nod. However, it was Windows 2000 Server that seemed to attract the most affection.

Reader Decay remarked: "If I was to formulate a list of requirements and break them into Must Do, Should Do, Like To columns, W2K got the Must Do and Should Do columns nearly all ticked and didn't spend a lot of time in the Like To space."

'Bluey agreed, saying: "Sad thing is, back then Windows actually looked like it was going to turn into a great OS. Looked like it was going somewhere."

It was, but not in the direction many of you wanted. Yes, XP and Windows 7 received some love, and even Vista was acceptable for users with suitable hardware (rather than recommended), but Windows 8 and its successors were not universally praised. Windows 8, after all, had a user interface more suited to a mobile device, and Windows 11 has yet to set the world alight.

Away from desktop Windows, a few readers declared the acquisition of Nokia not necessarily a misstep, but what Microsoft did with Windows Phone thereafter was most definitely a misstep. A lack of an upgrade path for devices, combined with changing development frameworks, left users cold.

One wit (Boris the Cockroach) noted that the company's high points were the prices charged for its software, while the low point was the quality of the aforementioned code.

The company's Office productivity suite also received some recognition from readers.

We'd add the company's pivot to the cloud as another of its achievements, if not particularly innovative. Its survival and success despite legal and regulatory challenges to its dominance and sharper business practices is also notable, although unlikely to merit a mention during Microsoft's celebratory event.

Overall, as Microsoft turns 50, the consensus is that the company's best days are receding behind it. Its milestones included the iconic Windows 95, but its early foray into server operating systems is what it is remembered most fondly for.

It will be up to future IT professionals to decide whether the company's current obsession with AI and its efforts to force the technology on customers will be another notable milestone or something Microsoft will want to forget about in the years to come. ®