Windows Notepad’s midlife renaissance continues ... 2021 was the same app that Microsoft shipped with Windows XP, ... a Windows 7-era refresh that added a user interface ribbon like ...

The UI of Notepad didn't really change all that much for decades after its introduction, but Windows 11 finally changed that.

Windows 11 has done a lot to update and modernize long-neglected parts of Windows' user interface, including many Settings menus and venerable apps like Notepad ... that shipped with Windows XP.

Microsoft created a secret Windows XP theme back in 2000 that looked a lot like Apple’s Aqua theme. It was used to create the initial theme engine for XP, before its release in 2001.