Windows was the first commercially available GUI Operating System from Microsoft founded by Bill Gates. In 1983 Microsoft announced the development of Windows, a graphical user interface (GUI) for its own operating system (MS-DOS), which had shipped for IBM PC and compatible computers since 1981. After 4 years in 1985 Microsoft released Windows 1.0 Since then, Microsoft has shipped many versions of Windows, and the product line has changed from a GUI product to a modern operating system.the most successful operating system from the house of Microsoft was Windows XP. The latest buzz is Windows 7 which is in Beta testing now.lets take a look at Microsoft Windows from version 1.0 to windows 7. The information & Pictures are collected from various sources like Wikipedia, Microsoft, Google etc.
Windows 1.0
Windows 1.0 was a 16-bit graphical operating environment that was released on 20 November 1985. Windows 1.0 was the first ever commercially available GUI Operating System.Windows 1.0 was only available on floppy disks. The user had to have DOS to install.Windows 1.0 offers limited multitasking of existing MS-DOS programs and concentrates.The system requirements for Windows 1.0 constituted CGA/Hercules/EGA (listed as “Monochrome or color monitor”), MS-DOS 3.1, 384K RAM (512KB recommended), and 2 double-sided disk drives or a hard drive.Windows 1.0 runs a shell program known as MS-DOS Executive. Other supplied programs are Calculator, Calendar, Cardfile, Clipboard viewer, Clock, Control Panel, Notepad, Paint,Reversi, Terminal, and Write.
Windows 2.0 was a 16-bit Microsoft Windows graphical user interface-based operating environment that superseded Windows 1.0. Windows 2.0 was supplemented by Windows/286 and Windows/386 in 1988.Windows 2.0 was packaged with AT&T Computers as test software for many educational institutions. This variation of Windows 2.0 has “plug ‘n’ play” capabilities.Windows 2.0 allowed application windows to overlap each other, unlike its predecessor Windows 1.0, which could only display tiled windows. Windows 2.0 also introduced more sophisticated keyboard-shortcuts and the terminology of “Minimize” and “Maximize”, as opposed to “Iconize” and “Zoom” in Windows 1.0.
Windows 3.0
Windows 3.0 is the third major release of Microsoft Windows, and was released on 22 May 1990. It became the first widely successful version of Windows and a powerful rival to Apple Macintosh and the Commodore Amiga on the GUI front. It was succeeded by Windows 3.1.Windows 3.0 includes a Protected/Enhanced mode which allows Windows applications to use more memory in a more painless manner than their DOS counterparts could. It can run in any of Real, Standard, or 386 Enhanced modes, and is compatible with any Intel processor from the 8086/8088 up to 80286 and 80386.
Windows 3.1X
Windows 3.1X series was the successor of windows 3.0, Windows 3.1 was released in March 1992.Windows 3.1x contains a color scheme named Hotdog Stand. This color scheme contains bright hues of red, yellow and black. The color scheme was designed to help people with some degree of color blindness see text/graphics on the screen easier.Windows for Workgroups 3.1 (originally codenamed Winball and later Sparta), released in October 1992, features native networking support. Windows for Workgroups 3.1 is an extended version of Windows 3.1 which comes with SMB file sharing support via the NetBIOS based NBF and/or IPX network transport protocols.
Windows NT 3.1
Windows NT 3.1 is the first release of Microsoft’s Windows NT line of server and business desktop operating systems, and was released to manufacturing on 27 July 1993. Two editions of NT 3.1 were made available, Windows NT 3.1 and Windows NT Advanced Server.Windows NT provided a 16-bit compatibility subsystem, called “Windows on Windows” (aka WOW), which allowed most Windows 3.x applications to run unmodified on NT. Applications which made direct access to hardware, or depended on DOS-level drivers, were not supported.NT also introduced Win32, a 32-bit implementation of the Windows API. This permitted many 16-bit Windows applications to be recompiled for the system with minimal changes. Win32 also allowed the growing body of 16-bit Windows programmers to leverage their skills on the new system
Windows 95 was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft.Windows 95 was intended to integrate Microsoft’s formerly separate MS-DOS and Windows products and includes an enhanced version of DOS, often referred to as MS-DOS 7.0. It features significant improvements over its predecessor, Windows 3.1, most visibly in the graphical user interface (GUI).The basic elements of the interface introduced in Windows 95 — including the taskbar, Start button and menu, and the Windows Explorer file manager. Windows 95 included support for 255-character mixed-case long filenames and preemptively multitasked pseudo-protected-mode 32-bit applications. Whereas earlier versions of Windows are optional “operating environments” requiring the MS-DOS operating system (usually available separately)
Windows 98
Windows 98 (codenamed Memphis) was a graphical operating system released on 25 June 1998 by Microsoft and the successor toWindows 95.Windows 98 Second Edition (often shortened to SE) is an updated release of Windows 98, released on 5 May 1999.It includes fixes for many minor issues, improved USB support, and the replacement of Internet Explorer 4.0 with the significantly faster and lighter Internet Explorer 5.0.
The release of Windows 98 was preceded by a notable press demonstration at Comdex in April 1998. Microsoft CEO Bill Gates was highlighting the operating system’s ease of use and enhanced support for Plug and Play (PnP). However, when presentation assistant Chris Capossela plugged a scanner in and attempted to install it, the operating system crashed, displaying a Blue Screen of Death.
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on business desktops, notebook computers, and servers. Released on 17 February, 2000.Four editions of Windows 2000 were released: Professional, Server, Advanced Server, and Datacenter Server.Additionally, Microsoft sold Windows 2000 Advanced Server Limited Edition and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Limited Edition, which were released in 2001 and run on 64-bit Intel Itanium microprocessors.Microsoft marketed Windows 2000 as the most secure Windows version ever, but it became the target of a number of high-profile virus attacks such as Code Red and Nimda. Almost nine years after its release, it continues to receive patches for security vulnerabilities nearly every month.
Windows Millennium Edition
Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me was a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit graphical operating system released on 14 September 2000 by Microsoft. ME stands for Millennium.It included Internet Explorer 5.5, Windows Media Player 7, and the new Windows Movie Maker software, which provided basic video editing and was designed to be easy for home users. Microsoft also updated the graphical user interface and the shell features and Windows Explorer in Windows Me with some of those first introduced in Windows 2000.n 1997, “Millennium” was the codename for a future version of Windows NT that was expected to be released in 2000 or 2001. In 1998, Microsoft stated that there would be no version of Windows 9x after Windows 98.
Windows XP
Windows XP was first released on 25 October 2001, and over 400 million copies were in use in January 2006, according to an estimate in that month by an IDC analyst.Windows XP is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. The name “XP” is short for “experience”.Windows XP is the successor to bothWindows 2000 Professional and Windows Me, and is the first consumer-oriented operating system produced by Microsoft to be built on the Windows NT kernel and architecture.The most common editions of the operating system are Windows XP Home Edition, which is targeted at home users, and Windows XP Professional, which offers additional features such as support for Windows Server domains and two physical processors, and is targeted at power users.
Windows Vista is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, Tablet PCs, and media center PCs. Prior to its announcement on July 22, 2005, Windows Vista was known by its codename “Longhorn.” Development was completed on November 8, 2006. Windows Vista contains many changes and new features, including an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed Windows Aero, improved searching features, new multimedia creation tools such as Windows DVD Maker, and redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems.Windows Vista includes version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, which aims to make it significantly easier for software developers to write applications than with the traditional Windows API.
Windows 7
Windows 7 (formerly codenamed Blackcomb and Vienna) is the next release of Microsoft Windows, an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, Tablet PCs, netbooks and media center PCs.Microsoft released beta version of Windows 7 which gets a very heavy response.Unlike its predecessor, Windows 7 is intended to be an incremental upgrade to Vista, with the goal of being fully compatible with device drivers, applications, and hardware which Windows Vista is already compatible with.Presentations given by the company in 2008 have focused on multi-touch support, a redesigned Windows Shell with a new taskbar, a home networking system called HomeGroup,and performance improvements. Some applications that have been included with prior releases of Microsoft Windows, most notably Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Photo Gallery, are no longer included with the operating system; they are instead offered separately (free of charge) as part of the Windows Live Essentials suite.
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