List of Alternative Shells for Windows

My family had a Compaq PC with TabWorks. The MS blowback at the time rings true:

>Microsoft did not like that Compaq was creating systems that replaced the primary Windows user interface. "Since the release of Windows 95, Microsoft has become aware of instances in which OEMs are modifying the product as a method of differentiating their hardware. This has caused considerable confusion with our end user customers. As a result, Microsoft is taking this opportunity to define the requirements and restrictions of the preinstallation process, so that all of our end users have a consistent experience with our products."

I used Cairo for a couple months and really enjoyed it. I stopped using it because something in my workflow was causing it to freeze and crash. Gonna give it another go, seeing it again made me miss the UI.