Which version of windows were after windows 98

Microsoft Windows was announced by Bill Gates on November 10, 1983.^[1] Microsoft introduced Windows as a graphical user interface for MS-DOS, which had been introduced two years earlier.^[2] The product line evolved in the 1990s from an operating environment into a fully complete, modern operating system over two lines of development, each with their own separate codebase.

The first versions of Windows (1.0 through to 3.11) were graphical shells that ran from MS-DOS. Windows 95, though still being based on MS-DOS, was its own operating system, using a 16-bit DOS-based kernel and a 32-bit user space. Windows 95 also had a significant amount of 16-bit code ported from Windows 3.1.^[3][4][5] Windows 95 introduced many features that have been part of the product ever since, including the Start menu, the taskbar, and Windows Explorer (renamed File Explorer in Windows 8). In 1997, Microsoft released Internet Explorer 4 which included the (at the time controversial) Windows Desktop Update. It aimed to integrate Internet Explorer and the web into the user interface and also brought many new features into Windows, such as the ability to display JPEG images as the desktop wallpaper and single window navigation in Windows Explorer. In 1998, Microsoft released Windows 98, which also included the Windows Desktop Update and Internet Explorer 4 by default. The inclusion of Internet Explorer 4 and the Desktop Update led to an antitrust case in the United States. Windows 98 included USB support out of the box, and also plug and play, which allows devices to work when plugged in without requiring a system reboot or manual configuration. Windows Me, the last DOS-based version of Windows, was aimed at consumers and released in 2000. It introduced System Restore, Help and Support Center, updated versions of the Disk Defragmenter and other system tools.

In 1993, Microsoft released Windows NT 3.1, the first version of the newly developed Windows NT operating system. «NT» is an initialism for «New Technology».^[4] Unlike the Windows 9x series of operating systems, it is a fully 32-bit operating system. NT 3.1 introduced NTFS, a file system designed to replace the older File Allocation Table (FAT) which was used by DOS and the DOS-based Windows operating systems. In 1996, Windows NT 4.0 was released, which includes a fully 32-bit version of Windows Explorer written specifically for it, making the operating system work like Windows 95. Windows NT was originally designed to be used on high-end systems and servers, but with the release of Windows 2000, many consumer-oriented features from Windows 95 and Windows 98 were included, such as the Windows Desktop Update, Internet Explorer 5, USB support and Windows Media Player. These consumer-oriented features were further extended in Windows XP in 2001, which included a new visual style called Luna, a more user-friendly interface, updated versions of Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer 6 by default, and extended features from Windows Me, such as the Help and Support Center and System Restore. Windows Vista, which was released in 2007, focused on securing the Windows operating system against computer viruses and other malicious software by introducing features such as User Account Control. New features include Windows Aero, updated versions of the standard games (e.g. Solitaire), Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Mail to replace Outlook Express. Despite this, Windows Vista was critically panned for its poor performance on older hardware and its at-the-time high system requirements. Windows 7 followed in 2009 nearly three years after its launch, and despite it technically having higher system requirements,^[6][7] reviewers noted that it ran better than Windows Vista.^[8] Windows 7 removed many applications, such as Windows Movie Maker, Windows Photo Gallery and Windows Mail, instead requiring users to download separate Windows Live Essentials to gain some of those features and other online services. Windows 8, which was released in 2012, introduced many controversial changes, such as the replacement of the Start menu with the Start Screen, the removal of the Aero interface in favor of a flat, colored interface as well as the introduction of «Metro» apps (later renamed to Universal Windows Platform apps), and the Charms Bar user interface element, all of which received considerable criticism from reviewers.^[9][10][11] Windows 8.1, a free upgrade to Windows 8, was released in 2013.^[12]

The following version of Windows, Windows 10, which was released in 2015, reintroduced the Start menu and added the ability to run Universal Windows Platform apps in a window instead of always in full screen. Windows 10 was generally well-received, with many reviewers stating that Windows 10 is what Windows 8 should have been.^[13][14][15]

The latest version of Windows, Windows 11, was released on October 5, 2021. Windows 11 incorporates a redesigned user interface, including a new Start menu, a visual style featuring rounded corners, and a new layout for the Microsoft Store,^[16] and also included Microsoft Edge by default.

Windows 1.0[edit]

The first independent version of Microsoft Windows, version 1.0, released on November 20, 1985, achieved little popularity. The project was briefly codenamed «Interface Manager» before the windowing system was implemented—contrary to popular belief that it was the original name for Windows and Rowland Hanson, the head of marketing at Microsoft, convinced the company that the name Windows would be more appealing to customers.^[17]

Windows 1.0 was not a complete operating system, but rather an «operating environment» that extended MS-DOS, and shared the latter’s inherent flaws.

The first version of Microsoft Windows included a simple graphics painting program called Windows Paint; Windows Write, a simple word processor; an appointment calendar; a card-filer; a notepad; a clock; a control panel; a computer terminal; Clipboard; and RAM driver. It also included the MS-DOS Executive and a game called Reversi.

Microsoft had worked with Apple Computer to develop applications for Apple’s new Macintosh computer, which featured a graphical user interface. As part of the related business negotiations, Microsoft had licensed certain aspects of the Macintosh user interface from Apple; in later litigation, a district court summarized these aspects as «screen displays».
In the development of Windows 1.0, Microsoft intentionally limited its borrowing of certain GUI elements from the Macintosh user interface, to comply with its license. For example, windows were only displayed «tiled» on the screen; that is, they could not overlap or overlie one another.

On December 31, 2001, Microsoft declared Windows 1.0 obsolete and stopped providing support and updates for the system.

Windows 2.x[edit]

Microsoft Windows version 2.0 (2.01 and 2.03 internally) came out on December 9, 1987 and proved slightly more popular than its predecessor.
Much of the popularity for Windows 2.0 came by way of its inclusion as a «run-time version» with Microsoft’s new graphical applications, Excel and Word for Windows. They could be run from MS-DOS, executing Windows for the duration of their activity, and closing down Windows upon exit.

Microsoft Windows received a major boost around this time when Aldus PageMaker appeared in a Windows version, having previously run only on Macintosh. Some computer historians^[who?] date this, the first appearance of a significant and non-Microsoft application for Windows, as the start of the success of Windows.

Like prior versions of Windows, version 2.0 could use the real-mode memory model, which confined it to a maximum of 1 megabyte of memory. In such a configuration, it could run under another multitasker like DESQview, which used the 286 protected mode. It was also the first version to support the High Memory Area when running on an Intel 80286 compatible processor. This edition was renamed Windows/286 with the release of Windows 2.1.

A separate Windows/386 edition had a protected mode kernel, which required an 80386 compatible processor, with LIM-standard EMS emulation and VxD drivers in the kernel. All Windows and DOS-based applications at the time were real mode, and Windows/386 could run them over the protected mode kernel by using the virtual 8086 mode, which was new with the 80386 processor.

Version 2.1 came out on May 27, 1988, followed by version 2.11 on March 13, 1989; they included a few minor changes.

In Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., version 2.03, and later 3.0, faced challenges from Apple over its overlapping windows and other features Apple charged mimicked the ostensibly copyrighted «look and feel» of its operating system and «embodie[d] and generated a copy of the Macintosh» in its OS. Judge William Schwarzer dropped all but 10 of Apple’s 189 claims of copyright infringement, and ruled that most of the remaining 10 were over uncopyrightable ideas.^[18]

On December 31, 2001, Microsoft declared Windows 2.x obsolete and stopped providing support and updates for the system.

Windows 3.0[edit]

Windows 3.0, released in May 1990, improved capabilities given to native applications. It also allowed users to better multitask older MS-DOS based software compared to Windows/386, thanks to the introduction of virtual memory.

Windows 3.0’s user interface finally resembled a serious competitor to the user interface of the Macintosh computer. PCs had improved graphics by this time, due to VGA video cards, and the protected/enhanced mode allowed Windows applications to use more memory in a more painless manner than their DOS counterparts could. Windows 3.0 could run in real, standard, or 386 enhanced modes, and was compatible with any Intel processor from the 8086/8088 up to the 80286 and 80386. This was the first version to run Windows programs in protected mode, although the 386 enhanced mode kernel was an enhanced version of the protected mode kernel in Windows/386.

Windows 3.0 received two updates. A few months after introduction, Windows 3.0a was released as a maintenance release, resolving bugs and improving stability. A «multimedia» version, Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions 1.0, was released in October 1991. This was bundled with «multimedia upgrade kits», comprising a CD-ROM drive and a sound card, such as the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Pro. This version was the precursor to the multimedia features available in Windows 3.1 (first released in April 1992) and later, and was part of Microsoft’s specification for the Multimedia PC.

The features listed above and growing market support from application software developers made Windows 3.0 wildly successful, selling around 10 million copies in the two years before the release of version 3.1. Windows 3.0 became a major source of income for Microsoft, and led the company to revise some of its earlier plans. Support was discontinued on December 31, 2001.^[19]

OS/2[edit]

Main article: OS/2

During the mid to late 1980s, Microsoft and IBM had cooperatively been developing OS/2 as a successor to DOS. OS/2 would take full advantage of the aforementioned protected mode of the Intel 80286 processor and up to 16 MB of memory. OS/2 1.0, released in 1987, supported swapping and multitasking and allowed running of DOS executables.

IBM licensed Windows’s GUI for OS/2 as Presentation Manager, and the two companies stated that it and Windows 2.0 would be almost identical.^[20] Presentation Manager was not available with OS/2 until version 1.1, released in 1988. Its API was incompatible with Windows. Version 1.2, released in 1989, introduced a new file system, HPFS, to replace the FAT file system.

By the early 1990s, conflicts developed in the Microsoft/IBM relationship. They cooperated with each other in developing their PC operating systems and had access to each other’s code. Microsoft wanted to further develop Windows, while IBM desired for future work to be based on OS/2. In an attempt to resolve this tension, IBM and Microsoft agreed that IBM would develop OS/2 2.0, to replace OS/2 1.3 and Windows 3.0, while Microsoft would develop the next version, OS/2 3.0.

This agreement soon fell apart however, and the Microsoft/IBM relationship was terminated. IBM continued to develop OS/2, while Microsoft changed the name of its (as yet unreleased) OS/2 3.0 to Windows NT. Both retained the rights to use OS/2 and Windows technology developed up to the termination of the agreement; Windows NT, however, was to be written anew, mostly independently (see below).

After an interim 1.3 version to fix up many remaining problems with the 1.x series, IBM released OS/2 version 2.0 in 1992. This was a major improvement: it featured a new, object-oriented GUI, the Workplace Shell (WPS), that included a desktop and was considered by many to be OS/2’s best feature. Microsoft would later imitate much of it in Windows 95. Version 2.0 also provided a full 32-bit API, offered smooth multitasking and could take advantage of the 4 gigabytes of address space provided by the Intel 80386. Still, much of the system had 16-bit code internally which required, among other things, device drivers to be 16-bit code as well. This was one of the reasons for the chronic shortage of OS/2 drivers for the latest devices. Version 2.0 could also run DOS and Windows 3.0 programs, since IBM had retained the right to use the DOS and Windows code as a result of the breakup.

Windows 3.1x[edit]

In response to the impending release of OS/2 2.0, Microsoft developed Windows 3.1 (first released in April 1992), which included several improvements to Windows 3.0, such as display of TrueType scalable fonts (developed jointly with Apple), improved disk performance in 386 Enhanced Mode, multimedia support, and bugfixes. It also removed Real Mode, and only ran on an 80286 or better processor. Later Microsoft also released Windows 3.11, a touch-up to Windows 3.1 which included all of the patches and updates that followed the release of Windows 3.1 in 1992.

In 1992 and 1993, Microsoft released Windows for Workgroups (WfW), which was available both as an add-on for existing Windows 3.1 installations and in a version that included the base Windows environment and the networking extensions all in one package. Windows for Workgroups included improved network drivers and protocol stacks, and support for peer-to-peer networking. There were two versions of Windows for Workgroups, WfW 3.1 and WfW 3.11. Unlike prior versions, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 ran in 386 Enhanced Mode only, and needed at least an 80386SX processor. One optional download for WfW was the «Wolverine» TCP/IP protocol stack, which allowed for easy access to the Internet through corporate networks.

All these versions continued version 3.0’s impressive sales pace. Even though the 3.1x series still lacked most of the important features of OS/2, such as long file names, a desktop, or protection of the system against misbehaving applications, Microsoft quickly took over the OS and GUI markets for the IBM PC. The Windows API became the de facto standard for consumer software.

On December 31, 2001, Microsoft declared Windows 3.1 obsolete and stopped providing support and updates for the system. However, OEM licensing for Windows for Workgroups 3.11 on embedded systems continued to be available until November 1, 2008.^[21]

Windows NT 3.x[edit]

Meanwhile, Microsoft continued to develop Windows NT. The main architect of the system was Dave Cutler, one of the chief architects of VAX/VMS at Digital Equipment Corporation.^[22] Microsoft hired him in October 1988 to create a successor to OS/2, but Cutler created a completely new system instead. Cutler had been developing a follow-on to VMS at DEC called MICA, and when DEC dropped the project he brought the expertise and around 20 engineers with him to Microsoft.

Windows NT Workstation (Microsoft marketing wanted Windows NT to appear to be a continuation of Windows 3.1) arrived in Beta form to developers at the July 1992 Professional Developers Conference in San Francisco.^[23] Microsoft announced at the conference its intentions to develop a successor to both Windows NT and Windows 3.1’s replacement (Windows 95, codenamed Chicago), which would unify the two into one operating system. This successor was codenamed Cairo. In hindsight, Cairo was a much more difficult project than Microsoft had anticipated and, as a result, NT and Chicago would not be unified until Windows XP—albeit Windows 2000, oriented to business, had already unified most of the system’s bolts and gears, it was XP that was sold to home consumers like Windows 95 and came to be viewed as the final unified OS. Parts of Cairo have still not made it into Windows as of 2020: most notably, the WinFS file system, which was the much touted Object File System of Cairo. Microsoft announced that they have discontinued the separate release of WinFS for Windows XP and Windows Vista^[24] and will gradually incorporate the technologies developed for WinFS in other products and technologies, notably Microsoft SQL Server.

Driver support was lacking due to the increased programming difficulty in dealing with NT’s superior hardware abstraction model. This problem plagued the NT line all the way through Windows 2000. Programmers complained that it was too hard to write drivers for NT, and hardware developers were not going to go through the trouble of developing drivers for a small segment of the market. Additionally, although allowing for good performance and fuller exploitation of system resources, it was also resource-intensive on limited hardware, and thus was only suitable for larger, more expensive machines.

However, these same features made Windows NT perfect for the LAN server market (which in 1993 was experiencing a rapid boom, as office networking was becoming common). NT also had advanced network connectivity options and NTFS, an efficient file system. Windows NT version 3.51 was Microsoft’s entry into this field, and took away market share from Novell (the dominant player) in the following years.

One of Microsoft’s biggest advances initially developed for Windows NT was a new 32-bit API, to replace the legacy 16-bit Windows API. This API was called Win32, and from then on Microsoft referred to the older 16-bit API as Win16. The Win32 API had three levels of implementation: the complete one for Windows NT, a subset for Chicago (originally called Win32c) missing features primarily of interest to enterprise customers (at the time) such as security and Unicode support, and a more limited subset called Win32s which could be used on Windows 3.1 systems. Thus Microsoft sought to ensure some degree of compatibility between the Chicago design and Windows NT, even though the two systems had radically different internal architectures.

Windows NT was the first Windows operating system based on a hybrid kernel. The hybrid kernel was designed as a modified microkernel, influenced by the Mach microkernel developed by Richard Rashid at Carnegie Mellon University, but without meeting all of the criteria of a pure microkernel.

As released, Windows NT 3.x went through three versions (3.1, 3.5, and 3.51), changes were primarily internal and reflected back end changes. The 3.5 release added support for new types of hardware and improved performance and data reliability; the 3.51 release was primarily to update the Win32 APIs to be compatible with software being written for the Win32c APIs in what became Windows 95. Support for Windows NT 3.51 ended in 2001 and 2002 for the Workstation and Server editions, respectively.

Windows 95[edit]

After Windows 3.11, Microsoft began to develop a new consumer-oriented version of the operating system codenamed Chicago. Chicago was designed to have support for 32-bit preemptive multitasking like OS/2 and Windows NT, although a 16-bit kernel would remain for the sake of backward compatibility. The Win32 API first introduced with Windows NT was adopted as the standard 32-bit programming interface, with Win16 compatibility being preserved through a technique known as «thunking». A new object-oriented GUI was not originally planned as part of the release, although elements of the Cairo user interface were borrowed and added as other aspects of the release (notably Plug and Play) slipped.

Microsoft did not change all of the Windows code to 32-bit; parts of it remained 16-bit (albeit not directly using real mode) for reasons of compatibility, performance, and development time. Additionally it was necessary to carry over design decisions from earlier versions of Windows for reasons of backwards compatibility, even if these design decisions no longer matched a more modern computing environment. These factors eventually began to impact the operating system’s efficiency and stability.

Microsoft marketing adopted Windows 95 as the product name for Chicago when it was released on August 24, 1995. Microsoft had a double gain from its release: first, it made it impossible for consumers to run Windows 95 on a cheaper, non-Microsoft DOS, secondly, although traces of DOS were never completely removed from the system and MS DOS 7 would be loaded briefly as a part of the booting process, Windows 95 applications ran solely in 386 enhanced mode, with a flat 32-bit address space and virtual memory. These features make it possible for Win32 applications to address up to 2 gigabytes of virtual RAM (with another 2 GB reserved for the operating system), and in theory prevented them from inadvertently corrupting the memory space of other Win32 applications. In this respect the functionality of Windows 95 moved closer to Windows NT, although Windows 95/98/Me did not support more than 512 megabytes of physical RAM without obscure system tweaks. Three years after its introduction, Windows 95 was succeeded by Windows 98.

IBM continued to market OS/2, producing later versions in OS/2 3.0 and 4.0 (also called Warp). Responding to complaints about OS/2 2.0’s high demands on computer hardware, version 3.0 was significantly optimized both for speed and size. Before Windows 95 was released, OS/2 Warp 3.0 was even shipped pre-installed with several large German hardware vendor chains. However, with the release of Windows 95, OS/2 began to lose market share.

It is probably impossible to choose one specific reason why OS/2 failed to gain much market share. While OS/2 continued to run Windows 3.1 applications, it lacked support for anything but the Win32s subset of Win32 API (see above). Unlike with Windows 3.1, IBM did not have access to the source code for Windows 95 and was unwilling to commit the time and resources to emulate the moving target of the Win32 API. IBM later introduced OS/2 into the United States v. Microsoft case, blaming unfair marketing tactics on Microsoft’s part.

Microsoft went on to release five different versions of Windows 95:

• Windows 95 – original release
• Windows 95 A – included Windows 95 OSR1 slipstreamed into the installation
• Windows 95 B (OSR2) – included several major enhancements, Internet Explorer (IE) 3.0 and full FAT32 file system support
• Windows 95 B USB (OSR2.1) – included basic USB support
• Windows 95 C (OSR2.5) – included all the above features, plus IE 4.0; this was the last 95 version produced

OSR2, OSR2.1, and OSR2.5 were not released to the general public, rather, they were available only to OEMs that would preload the OS onto computers. Some companies sold new hard drives with OSR2 preinstalled (officially justifying this as needed due to the hard drive’s capacity).

The first Microsoft Plus! add-on pack was sold for Windows 95. Microsoft ended extended support for Windows 95 on December 31, 2001.

Windows NT 4.0[edit]

Microsoft released the successor to NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, on August 24, 1996, one year after the release of Windows 95. It was Microsoft’s primary business-oriented operating system until the introduction of Windows 2000. Major new features included the new Explorer shell from Windows 95, scalability and feature improvements to the core architecture, kernel, USER32, COM and MSRPC.^[25]

Windows NT 4.0 came in five versions:

• Windows NT 4.0 Workstation
• Windows NT 4.0 Server
• Windows NT 4.0 Server, Enterprise Edition (includes support for 8-way SMP and clustering)
• Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server
• Windows NT 4.0 Embedded

Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows NT 4.0 Workstation on June 30, 2002, and ended extended support on June 30, 2004, while Windows NT 4.0 Server mainstream support ended on December 31, 2002, and extended support ended on December 31, 2004. Both editions were succeeded by Windows 2000 Professional and the Windows 2000 Server Family, respectively.^[26][27][28]

Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows NT 4.0 Embedded on June 30, 2003, and ended extended support on July 11, 2006. This edition was succeeded by Windows XP Embedded.

Windows 98[edit]

On June 25, 1998, Microsoft released Windows 98 (code-named Memphis), three years after the release of Windows 95, two years after the release of Windows NT 4.0, and 21 months before the release of Windows 2000. It included new hardware drivers and the FAT32 file system which supports disk partitions that are larger than 2 GB (first introduced in Windows 95 OSR2). USB support in Windows 98 is marketed as a vast improvement over Windows 95. The release continued the controversial inclusion of the Internet Explorer browser with the operating system that started with Windows 95 OEM Service Release 1. The action eventually led to the filing of the United States v. Microsoft case, dealing with the question of whether Microsoft was introducing unfair practices into the market in an effort to eliminate competition from other companies such as Netscape.^[29]

In 1999, Microsoft released Windows 98 Second Edition, an interim release. One of the more notable new features was the addition of Internet Connection Sharing, a form of network address translation, allowing several machines on a LAN (Local Area Network) to share a single Internet connection. Hardware support through device drivers was increased and this version shipped with Internet Explorer 5. Many minor problems that existed in the first edition were fixed making it, according to many, the most stable release of the Windows 9x family.^[30]

Mainstream support for Windows 98 and 98 SE ended on June 30, 2002. Extended support ended on July 11, 2006.

Windows 2000[edit]

Microsoft released Windows 2000 on February 17, 2000, as the successor to Windows NT 4.0, 17 months after the release of Windows 98. It has the version number Windows NT 5.0, and it was Microsoft’s business-oriented operating system starting with the official release on February 17, 2000, until 2001 when it was succeeded by Windows XP. Windows 2000 has had four official service packs. It was successfully deployed both on the server and the workstation markets. Amongst Windows 2000’s most significant new features was Active Directory, a near-complete replacement of the NT 4.0 Windows Server domain model, which built on industry-standard technologies like DNS, LDAP, and Kerberos to connect machines to one another. Terminal Services, previously only available as a separate edition of NT 4, was expanded to all server versions. A number of features from Windows 98 were incorporated also, such as an improved Device Manager, Windows Media Player, and a revised DirectX that made it possible for the first time for many modern games to work on the NT kernel. Windows 2000 is also the last NT-kernel Windows operating system to lack product activation.

While Windows 2000 upgrades were available for Windows 95 and Windows 98, it was not intended for home users.^[31]

Windows 2000 was available in four editions:

• Windows 2000 Professional
• Windows 2000 Server
• Windows 2000 Advanced Server
• Windows 2000 Datacenter Server

Microsoft ended support for both Windows 2000 and Windows XP Service Pack 2 on July 13, 2010.

Windows Me[edit]

On September 14, 2000, Microsoft released a successor to Windows 98 called Windows Me, short for «Millennium Edition». It was the last DOS-based operating system from Microsoft. Windows Me introduced a new multimedia-editing application called Windows Movie Maker, came standard with Internet Explorer 5.5 and Windows Media Player 7, and debuted the first version of System Restore – a recovery utility that enables the operating system to revert system files back to a prior date and time. System Restore was a notable feature that would continue to thrive in all later versions of Windows.

Windows Me was conceived as a quick one-year project that served as a stopgap release between Windows 98 and Windows XP. Many of the new features were available from the Windows Update site as updates for older Windows versions (System Restore and Windows Movie Maker were exceptions). Windows Me was criticized for stability issues, as well as for lacking real mode DOS support, to the point of being referred to as the «Mistake Edition.»^[32] Windows Me was the last operating system to be based on the Windows 9x (monolithic) kernel and MS-DOS, with its successor Windows XP being based on Microsoft’s Windows NT kernel instead.

Windows XP, Server 2003 series and Fundamentals for Legacy PCs[edit]

On October 25, 2001, Microsoft released Windows XP (codenamed «Whistler»). The merging of the Windows NT/2000 and Windows 95/98/Me lines was finally achieved with Windows XP. Windows XP uses the Windows NT 5.1 kernel, marking the entrance of the Windows NT core to the consumer market, to replace the aging Windows 9x branch. The initial release was met with considerable criticism, particularly in the area of security, leading to the release of three major Service Packs. Windows XP SP1 was released in September 2002, SP2 was released in August 2004 and SP3 was released in April 2008. Service Pack 2 provided significant improvements and encouraged widespread adoption of XP among both home and business users. Windows XP was one of Microsoft’s longest-running flagship operating systems, beginning with the public release on October 25, 2001, for at least 5 years, and ending on January 30, 2007, when it was succeeded by Windows Vista.

Windows XP is available in a number of versions:

• Windows XP Home Edition, for home users
• Windows XP Professional, for business and power users contained a number of features not available in Home Edition.
• Windows XP N, like above editions, but without a default installation of Windows Media Player, as mandated by a European Union ruling

• 

  Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE), released in October 2002 for desktops and notebooks with an emphasis on home entertainment. Contained all features offered in Windows XP Professional and the Windows Media Center. Subsequent versions are the same but have an updated Windows Media Center.

  • Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004, released on September 30, 2003
  • Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, released on October 12, 2004. Included the Royale theme, support for Media Center Extenders, themes and screensavers from Microsoft Plus! for Windows XP. The ability to join an Active Directory domain is disabled.
• Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, for tablet PCs
  • Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005
• Windows XP Embedded, for embedded systems
• Windows XP Starter Edition, for new computer users in developing countries
• Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, released on April 25, 2005, for home and workstation systems utilizing 64-bit processors based on the x86-64 instruction set originally developed by AMD as AMD64; Intel calls their version Intel 64. Internally, XP x64 was a somewhat updated version of Windows based on the Server 2003 codebase.
• Windows XP 64-bit Edition, is a version for Intel’s Itanium line of processors; maintains 32-bit compatibility solely through a software emulator. It is roughly analogous to Windows XP Professional in features. It was discontinued in September 2005 when the last vendor of Itanium workstations stopped shipping Itanium systems marketed as «Workstations».

Windows Server 2003[edit]

On April 25, 2003, Microsoft launched Windows Server 2003, a notable update to Windows 2000 Server encompassing many new security features, a new «Manage Your Server» wizard that simplifies configuring a machine for specific roles, and improved performance. It is based on the Windows NT 5.2 kernel. A few services not essential for server environments are disabled by default for stability reasons, most noticeable are the «Windows Audio» and «Themes» services; users have to enable them manually to get sound or the «Luna» look as per Windows XP. The hardware acceleration for display is also turned off by default, users have to turn the acceleration level up themselves if they trust the display card driver.

In December 2005, Microsoft released Windows Server 2003 R2, which is actually Windows Server 2003 with SP1 (Service Pack 1), together with an add-on package.
Among the new features are a number of management features for branch offices, file serving, printing and company-wide identity integration.

Windows Server 2003 is available in six editions:

• Web Edition (32-bit)
• Enterprise Edition (32 and 64-bit)
• Datacenter Edition (32 and 64-bit)
• Small Business Server (32-bit)
• Storage Server (OEM channel only)

Windows Server 2003 R2, an update of Windows Server 2003, was released to manufacturing on December 6, 2005. It is distributed on two CDs, with one CD being the Windows Server 2003 SP1 CD. The other CD adds many optionally installable features for Windows Server 2003. The R2 update was released for all x86 and x64 versions, except Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition, which was not released for Itanium.

Windows XP x64 and Server 2003 x64 Editions[edit]

On April 25, 2005, Microsoft released Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003, x64 Editions in Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter SKUs. Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is an edition of Windows XP for x86-64 personal computers. It is designed to use the expanded 64-bit memory address space provided by the x86–64 architecture.^[33]

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is based on the Windows Server 2003 codebase, with the server features removed and client features added. Both Windows Server 2003 x64 and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition use identical kernels.^[34]

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is not to be confused with Windows XP 64-bit Edition, as the latter was designed for Intel Itanium processors.^[35][36] During the initial development phases, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition was named Windows XP 64-Bit Edition for 64-Bit Extended Systems.^[37]

Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs[edit]

In July 2006, Microsoft released a thin-client version of Windows XP Service Pack 2, called Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (WinFLP). It is only available to Software Assurance customers. The aim of WinFLP is to give companies a viable upgrade option for older PCs that are running Windows 95, 98, and Me that will be supported with patches and updates for the next several years. Most user applications will typically be run on a remote machine using Terminal Services or Citrix.

While being visually the same as Windows XP, it has some differences. For example, if the screen has been set to 16 bit colors, the Windows 2000 recycle bin icon and some XP 16-bit icons will show. Paint and some games like Solitaire aren’t present too.

Windows Home Server[edit]

Windows Home Server (code-named Q, Quattro) is a server product based on Windows Server 2003, designed for consumer use. The system was announced on January 7, 2007, by Bill Gates. Windows Home Server can be configured and monitored using a console program that can be installed on a client PC. Such features as Media Sharing, local and remote drive backup and file duplication are all listed as features. The release of Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 added support for Windows 7 to Windows Home Server.

Windows Vista and Server 2008[edit]

Windows Vista was released on November 30, 2006, to business customers—consumer versions followed on January 30, 2007. Windows Vista intended to have enhanced security by introducing a new restricted user mode called User Account Control, replacing the «administrator-by-default» philosophy of Windows XP. Vista was the target of much criticism and negative press, and in general was not well regarded, this was seen as leading to the relatively swift release of Windows 7.

One major difference between Vista and earlier versions of Windows, Windows 95 and later, was that the original start button was replaced with the Windows icon in a circle (called the Start Orb). Vista also featured new graphics features, the Windows Aero GUI, new applications (such as Windows Calendar, Windows DVD Maker and some new games including Chess, Mahjong, and Purble Place),^[38] Internet Explorer 7, Windows Media Player 11, and a large number of underlying architectural changes. Windows Vista had the version number NT 6.0. During its lifetime, Windows Vista had two service packs.

Windows Vista shipped in six editions:^[39]

• Starter (only available in developing countries)
• Home Basic
• Home Premium
• Business
• Enterprise (only available to large business and enterprise)
• Ultimate (combines both Home Premium and Enterprise)

All editions (except Starter edition) were available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The biggest advantage of the 64-bit version was breaking the 4 gigabyte memory barrier, which 32-bit computers cannot fully access.

Windows Server 2008[edit]

Windows Server 2008, released on February 27, 2008, was originally known as Windows Server Codename «Longhorn». Windows Server 2008 built on the technological and security advances first introduced with Windows Vista, and was significantly more modular than its predecessor, Windows Server 2003.

Windows Server 2008 shipped in ten editions:

• Windows Server 2008 Foundation (for OEMs only)
• Windows Server 2008 Standard (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 Enterprise (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 Datacenter (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems (IA-64)
• Windows HPC Server 2008
• Windows Web Server 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Storage Server 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Small Business Server 2008 (64-bit only)
• Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2[edit]

Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and reached general retail availability on October 22, 2009.^[40][41] Since its release, Windows 7 had one service pack.

Some features of Windows 7 were faster booting, Device Stage, Windows PowerShell, less obtrusive User Account Control, multi-touch, and improved window management. The interface was renewed with a bigger taskbar and some improvements in the searching system and the Start menu.^[42] Features included with Windows Vista and not in Windows 7 include the sidebar (although gadgets remain) and several programs that were removed in favor of downloading their Windows Live counterparts. Windows 7 met with positive reviews, which said the OS was faster and easier to use than Windows Vista.

Windows 7 shipped in six editions:^[43]

• Starter (available worldwide)
• Home Basic
• Home Premium
• Professional
• Enterprise (available to volume-license business customers only)
• Ultimate

In some countries in the European Union, there were other editions that lacked some features such as Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center and Internet Explorer—these editions were called names such as «Windows 7 N.»
Microsoft focused on selling Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional. All editions, except the Starter edition, were available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
Unlike the corresponding Vista editions, the Professional and Enterprise editions were supersets of the Home Premium edition.

At the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) 2008, Microsoft also announced Windows Server 2008 R2, as the server variant of Windows 7. Windows Server 2008 R2 shipped in 64-bit versions (x64 and Itanium) only.

Windows Thin PC[edit]

In 2010, Microsoft released Windows Thin PC or WinTPC, which was a feature-and size-reduced locked-down version of Windows 7 expressly designed to turn older PCs into thin clients. WinTPC was available for software assurance customers and relied on cloud computing in a business network. Wireless operation is supported since WinTPC has full wireless stack integration, but wireless operation may not be as good as the operation on a wired connection.^[44][45]

Windows Home Server 2011[edit]

Windows Home Server 2011 code named ‘Vail’^[46] was released on April 6, 2011.^[47] Windows Home Server 2011 is built on the Windows Server 2008 R2 code base and removed the Drive Extender drive pooling technology in the original Windows Home Server release.^[48] Windows Home Server 2011 is considered a «major release».^[46] Its predecessor was built on Windows Server 2003. WHS 2011 only supports x86-64 hardware.

Microsoft decided to discontinue Windows Home Server 2011 on July 5, 2012, while including its features into Windows Server 2012 Essentials.^[49] Windows Home Server 2011 was supported until April 12, 2016.^[50]

Windows 8 and Server 2012[edit]

On June 1, 2011, Microsoft previewed Windows 8 at both Computex Taipei and the D9: All Things Digital conference in California.^[51][52] The first public preview of Windows Server 2012 was shown by Microsoft at the 2011 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference.^[53] Windows 8 Release Preview and Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate were both released on May 31, 2012.^[54] Product development on Windows 8 was completed on August 1, 2012, and it was released to manufacturing the same day.^[55] Windows Server 2012 went on sale to the public on September 4, 2012. Windows 8 went on sale to the public on October 26, 2012. One edition, Windows RT, runs on some system-on-a-chip devices with mobile 32-bit ARM (ARMv7) processors. Windows 8 features a redesigned user interface, designed to make it easier for touchscreen users to use Windows. The interface introduced an updated Start menu known as the Start screen, and a new full-screen application platform. The desktop interface is also present for running windowed applications, although Windows RT will not run any desktop applications not included in the system. On the Building Windows 8 blog, it was announced that a computer running Windows 8 can boot up much faster than Windows 7.^[56] New features also include USB 3.0 support, the Windows Store, the ability to run from USB drives with Windows To Go, and others.

Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 were released on October 17, 2013. Windows 8.1 is available as an update in the Windows Store for Windows 8 users only and also available to download for clean installation.^[57] The update adds new options for resizing the live tiles on the Start screen.^[58] Windows 8 was given the kernel number NT 6.2, with its successor 8.1 receiving the kernel number 6.3. So far, neither has had any service packs yet, although many consider Windows 8.1 to be a service pack for Windows 8. However, Windows 8.1 received two main updates in 2014.^[59] Both versions received some criticism due to the removal of the Start menu and some difficulties to perform tasks and commands.

Windows 8 is available in the following editions:

• Windows 8
• Windows 8 Pro
• Windows 8 Enterprise
• Windows RT

Microsoft ended support for Windows 8.1 on January 10, 2023. As a result, installation of Google Chrome on PCs running Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 (even x86-64 CPUs with SSE3 instruction set), iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches with A9, A10 Fusion, A10X Fusion and A11 Bionic running iOS 14, iOS 15 and iOS 16, Intel- and ARM-based Macs running macOS Catalina, macOS Big Sur and macOS Monterey and pre-Android 12 devices, will no longer be allowed starting February 2023. This means future Google Chrome versions beyond 110 now requires iOS 16 or later and iPhones and iPads with A12 Bionic or newer, Android 12 or later, Windows 11 or later and PCs with x86-64 CPUs with SSE4.1 instruction set, macOS Ventura or later and ARM-based Macs released in 2020 or later, but Google Chrome is still supported on 64-bit Linux distributions beyond Windows 8.1’s end-of-support date.

Windows 10 and later Server versions[edit]

Windows 10 was unveiled on September 30, 2014, as the successor for Windows 8, and was released on July 29, 2015.^[60] It was distributed without charge to Windows 7 and 8.1 users for one year after release. A number of new features like Cortana, the Microsoft Edge web browser, the ability to view Windows Store apps as a window instead of fullscreen, the return of the Start menu, virtual desktops, revamped core apps, Continuum, and a unified Settings app were all features debuted in Windows 10. The system was announced as a service OS that would receive constant performance and stability updates. Unlike Windows 8, Windows 10 received mostly positive reviews, praising improvements of stability and practicality than its predecessor, however, it received some criticism due to mandatory update installation, privacy concerns and advertising-supported software tactics.

Although Microsoft claimed Windows 10 would be the last Windows version, eventually a new major release, Windows 11, was announced in 2021. That made Windows 10 last longer as Microsoft’s flagship operating system than any other version of Windows, beginning with the public release on July 29, 2015, for six years, and ending on October 5, 2021, when Windows 11 was released. Until late 2021, Windows 10 had received twelve main updates.

Stable releases[edit]

• Version 1507 (codenamed Threshold 1) was the original version of Windows 10 and released in July 2015.^[61]
• Version 1511, announced as the November Update and codenamed Threshold 2. It was released in November 2015. This update added many visual tweaks, such as more consistent context menus and the ability to change the color of window titlebars. Windows 10 can now be activated with a product key for Windows 7 and later, thus simplifying the activation process and essentially making Windows 10 free for anyone who has Windows 7 or later, even after the free upgrade period ended. A «Find My Device» feature was added, allowing users to track their devices if they lose them, similar to the Find My iPhone service that Apple offers. Controversially, the Start menu now displays «featured apps». A few tweaks were added to Microsoft Edge, including tab previews and the ability to sync the browser with other devices running Windows 10.^[62][63] Kernel version number: 10.0.10586.
• Version 1607, announced as the Anniversary Update and codenamed Redstone 1. It was the first of several planned updates with the «Redstone» codename. Its version number, 1607, means that it was supposed to launch in July 2016, however it was delayed until August 2016. Many new features were included in the version, including more integration with Cortana, a dark theme, browser extension support for Microsoft Edge, click-to-play Flash by default, tab pinning, web notifications, swipe navigation in Edge, and the ability for Windows Hello to use a fingerprint sensor to sign into apps and websites, similar to Touch ID on the iPhone. Also added was Windows Ink, which improves digital inking in many apps, and the Windows Ink Workspace which lists pen-compatible apps, as well as quick shortcuts to a sticky notes app and a sketchpad. Microsoft, through their partnership with Canonical, integrated a full Ubuntu bash shell via the Windows Subsystem for Linux. Notable tweaks in this version of Windows 10 include the removal of the controversial password-sharing feature of Microsoft’s Wi-Fi Sense service, a slightly redesigned Start menu, Tablet Mode working more like Windows 8, overhauled emoji, improvements to the lock screen, calendar integration in the taskbar, and the Blue Screen of Death now showing a QR code which users can scan to quickly find out what caused the error.^[64] This version of Windows 10’s kernel version is 10.0.14393.
• Version 1703, announced as the Creators Update and codenamed Redstone 2. Features for this update include a new Paint 3D application, which allows users to create and modify 3D models, integration with Microsoft’s HoloLens and other «mixed-reality» headsets produced by other manufacturers, Windows My People, which allows users to manage contacts, Xbox game broadcasting, support for newly developed APIs such as WDDM 2.2, Dolby Atmos support, improvements to the Settings app, and more Edge and Cortana improvements. This version also included tweaks to system apps, such as an address bar in the Registry Editor, Windows PowerShell being the default command line interface instead of the Command Prompt and the Windows Subsystem for Linux being upgraded to support Ubuntu 16.04.^[65] This version of Windows 10 was released on April 11, 2017, as a free update.^[66]
• Version 1709, announced as the Fall Creators Update and codenamed Redstone 3. It introduced a new design language—the Fluent Design System and incorporates it in UWP apps such as Calculator. It also added new features to the Photos application, which were once available only in Windows Movie Maker.
• Version 1803, announced as the April 2018 Update and codenamed Redstone 4 introduced Timeline, an upgrade to the task view screen such that it has the ability to show past activities and let users resume them. The respective icon on the taskbar was also changed to reflect this upgrade. Strides were taken to incorporate Fluent Design into Windows, which included adding Acrylic transparency to the Taskbar and Taskbar Flyouts. The Settings App was also redesigned to have an Acrylic left pane. Variable Fonts were introduced.
• Version 1809, announced as the Windows 10 October 2018 Update and codenamed Redstone 5 among new features, introduced Dark Mode for File Explorer, Your Phone App to link Android phone with Windows 10, new screenshot tool called Snip & Sketch, Make Text Bigger for easier accessibility, and Clipboard History and Cloud Sync.
• Version 1903, announced as the Windows 10 May 2019 Update, codenamed 19H1, was released on May 21, 2019. It added many new features including the addition of a light theme to the Windows shell and a new feature known as Windows Sandbox, which allowed users to run programs in a throwaway virtual window. Notably, this was the first version to allow an application to default to using UTF-8 as the process code page^[67] and to default to UTF-8 as the code page in programs such as Notepad.
• Version 1909, announced as the Windows 10 November 2019 Update, codenamed 19H2, was released on November 12, 2019. It unlocked many features that were already present, but hidden or disabled, on 1903, such as an auto-expanding menu on Start while hovering the mouse on it, OneDrive integration on Windows Search and creating events from the taskbar’s clock. Some PCs with version 1903 had already enabled these features without installing 1909.
• Version 2004, announced as the Windows 10 May 2020 Update, codenamed 20H1, was released on May 27, 2020. It introduces several new features such as renaming virtual desktops, GPU temperature control and type of disk on task manager, chat-based interface and window appearance for Cortana, and cloud reinstalling and quick searches (depends from region) for search home.
• Version 20H2, announced as the Windows 10 October 2020 Update, codenamed 20H2, was released on October 20, 2020. It introduces resizing the start menu panels, a graphing mode for Calculator, process architecture view on task manager’s Details pane, and optional drivers delivery from Windows Update and an updated in-use location icon on taskbar.
• Version 21H1, announced as the Windows 10 May 2021 Update, codenamed 21H1, was released on May 18, 2021.
• Version 21H2, announced as the Windows 10 November 2021 Update, codenamed 21H2, was released on November 16, 2021.
• Version 22H2, announced as the Windows 10 2022 Update, codenamed 22H2, was released on October 18, 2022.

Windows Server 2016[edit]

Windows Server 2016 is a release of the Microsoft Windows Server operating system that was unveiled on September 30, 2014. Windows Server 2016 was officially released at Microsoft’s Ignite Conference, September 26–30, 2016.^[68] It is based on the Windows 10 Anniversary Update codebase.

Windows Server 2019[edit]

Windows Server 2019 is a release of the Microsoft Windows Server operating system that was announced on March 20, 2018. The first Windows Insider preview version was released on the same day. It was released for general availability on October 2, 2018. Windows Server 2019 is based on the Windows 10 October 2018 Update codebase.

On October 6, 2018, distribution of Windows version 1809 (build 17763) was paused while Microsoft investigated an issue with user data being deleted during an in-place upgrade. It affected systems where a user profile folder (e.g. Documents, Music or Pictures) had been moved to another location, but data was left in the original location. As Windows Server 2019 is based on the Windows version 1809 codebase, it too was removed from distribution at the time, but was re-released on November 13, 2018. The software product life cycle for Server 2019 was reset in accordance with the new release date.

Windows Server 2022[edit]

Windows Server 2022 is a release of the Microsoft Windows Server operating system which is based on the Windows 10 November 2021 Update codebase.

Windows 11[edit]

Windows 11 is the next generation release of Windows NT, and the successor to Windows 10. Codenamed «Sun Valley», it was unveiled on June 24, 2021, and was released on October 5, 2021.^[69] It is distributed for free to all Windows 10 users with compatible PCs via a Windows Update. Microsoft’s PC Health Check App lets you check compatibility for your PC. According to Microsoft, Windows 11 will be released for newer PCs first and then the initial release will continue till mid-2022. Windows 11 revamps the GUI and brings modern code, thus making it much faster than Windows 10. It is also noted that Windows 11 updates are significantly compressed, so the updates are downloaded faster. Also, Windows 11 does not show signs of the ‘Installing Updates’ screen while installing updates during ‘Update and Restart’ phase, thus finishing updates within 5 minutes.

The system incorporates a renewed interface called «Mica», which includes translucent backgrounds, rounded edges and color combinations. The taskbar and the Start Menu have been redesigned and for the first time it is possible to place the icons in the center of the bar. The MSN widget panel, the Microsoft Store, and the file browser, among other applications, have also been redesigned. However, some features and programs such as Cortana, Internet Explorer and Paint 3D were removed. Apps like 3D Viewer, Paint 3D, Skype and OneNote for Windows 10 can be downloaded from the Microsoft Store.^[70] It is expected that it will soon include compatibility with Android applications. It is worth noting the increase in requirements compared to its predecessors, requiring a minimum of 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of free space and a TPM 2.0 security chip, besides losing official compatibility with 7th generation Intel Core processors, 1st generation AMD Ryzen, and earlier. In addition to this, it is the first version of Windows that only supports 64-bit processors.

Stable releases[edit]

• Version 21H2, codenamed 21H2 and formerly Sun Valley, was the initial version of Windows 11 released on October 5, 2021.
• Version 22H2, announced as the Windows 11 2022 Update, codenamed 22H2, was released on September 20, 2022.

See also[edit]

• Comparison of operating systems
• History of operating systems
• List of Microsoft codenames

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

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. The product line has changed from a GUI product to a modern operating system over two families of design, each with its own codebase and default file system.

The 3.x and 4.x family includes Windows 3.0, Windows 3.1x, Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me. Windows for Workgroups 3.11 added 32-bit networking and 32-bit disk access. Windows 95 added additional 32-bit capabilities (however, MS-DOS, some of the kernel, and supplementary utilities such as Disk Defragment remained 16-bit) and implemented a new object oriented user interface, elements of which are still used today.

The Windows NT family started with Windows NT 3.1 in 1993. Modern Windows operating system versions are based on the newer Windows NT kernel that was originally intended for OS/2. Windows runs on IA-32, x86-64, and Itanium processors. Microsoft is also working to bring Windows NT onto ARM in the next release of Windows. Earlier versions also ran on the i860, Alpha, MIPS, Fairchild Clipper, and PowerPC architectures. Some work was done to port it to the SPARC architecture.

With Windows NT 4.0 in 1996, the shell changed from Program Manager to Windows Explorer.

Windows 1.0 and Windows 2.0

The first independent version of Microsoft Windows, version 1.0, released on 20 November 1985, achieved little popularity. It was originally going to be called «Interface Manager» but Rowland Hanson, the head of marketing at Microsoft, convinced the company that the name Windows would be more appealing to customers.

Windows 1.0 was not a complete operating system, but rather an «operating environment» that extended MS-DOS, and shared the latter’s inherent flaws and problems.

The first version of Microsoft Windows included a simple graphics painting program called Windows Paint; Windows Write, a simple word processor; an appointment «calendar»; a «cardfiler»; a «notepad»; a «clock»; a «control panel«; a «computer terminal«; «Clipboard«; and RAM driver. It also included the MS-DOS Executive and a game called Reversi.

Microsoft had worked with Apple Computer to develop Desk Accessories and other minor pieces of software that were included with early Macintosh system software.

As part of the related business negotiations, Microsoft had licensed certain aspects of the Macintosh user interface from Apple; in later litigation, a district court summarized these aspects as «screen displays».
In the development of Windows 1.0, Microsoft intentionally limited its borrowing of certain GUI elements from the Macintosh user interface, to comply with its license.

For example, windows were only displayed «tiled» on the screen; that is, they could not overlap or overlie one another. There was no trash can icon with which to delete files, since Apple claimed ownership of the rights to that paradigm.

Microsoft Windows version 2 came out on 9 December 1987, and proved slightly more popular than its predecessor.

Much of the popularity for Windows 2.0 came by way of its inclusion as a «run-time version» with Microsoft’s new graphical applications, Excel and Word for Windows. They could be run from MS-DOS, executing Windows for the duration of their activity, and closing down Windows upon exit.

Microsoft Windows received a major boost around this time when Aldus PageMaker appeared in a Windows version, having previously run only on Macintosh.

Versions 2.0x used the real-mode memory model, which confined it to a maximum of 1 megabyte of memory.
In such a configuration, it could run under another multitasker like DESQview, which used the 286 protected mode.

Later, two new versions were released: Windows/286 2.1 and Windows/386 2.1. Like prior versions of Windows, Windows/286 2.1 used the real-mode memory model, but was the first version to support the High Memory Area. Windows/386 2.1 had a protected mode kernel with LIM-standard EMS emulation, the predecessor to XMS which would finally change the topology of IBM PC computing. All Windows and DOS-based applications at the time were real mode, running over the protected mode kernel by using the virtual 8086 mode, which was new with the 80386 processor.

Version 2.03, and later 3.0, faced challenges from Apple over its overlapping windows and other features Apple charged mimicked the ostensibly copyrighted «look and feel» of its operating system and «embodie[d] and generated a copy of the Macintosh» in its OS. Judge William Schwarzer dropped all but 10 of Apple’s 189 claims of copyright infringement, and ruled that most of the remaining 10 were over uncopyrightable ideas.

Success with Windows 3.0

Main article: Windows 3.0

Microsoft Windows scored a significant success with Windows 3.0, released in May 1990. In addition to improved capabilities given to native applications, Windows also allowed users to better multitask older MS-DOS based software compared to Windows/386, thanks to the introduction of virtual memory.

Windows 3.0’s user interface was finally a serious competitor to the user interface of the Macintosh computer. PCs had improved graphics by this time, due to VGA video cards, and the protected/enhanced mode allowed Windows applications to use more memory in a more painless manner than their DOS counterparts could. Windows 3.0 could run in real, standard, or 386 enhanced modes, and was compatible with any Intel processor from the 8086/8088 up to the 80286 and 80386. This was the first version to run Windows programs in protected mode, although the 386 enhanced mode kernel was an enhanced version of the protected mode kernel in Windows/386.

A «multimedia» version, Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions 1.0, was released in October 1991. This was bundled with «multimedia upgrade kits», comprising a CD-ROM drive and a sound card, such as the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Pro. This version was the precursor to the multimedia features available in Windows 3.1 and later, and was part of Microsoft’s specification for the Multimedia PC.

The features listed above and growing market support from application software developers made Windows 3.0 wildly successful, selling around 10 million copies in the two years before the release of version 3.1. Windows 3.0 became a major source of income for Microsoft, and led the company to revise some of its earlier plans. It was discontinued on 31 December 2001.

A step sideways: OS/2

Main article: OS/2

During the mid to late 1980s, Microsoft and IBM had cooperatively been developing OS/2 as a successor to DOS. OS/2 would take full advantage of the aforementioned protected mode of the Intel 80286 processor and up to 16 MB of memory. OS/2 1.0, released in 1987, supported swapping and multitasking and allowed running of DOS executables.

A GUI, called the Presentation Manager (PM), was not available with OS/2 until version 1.1, released in 1988. Its API was incompatible with Windows. (Among other things, Presentation Manager placed X,Y coordinate 0,0 at the bottom left of the screen like Cartesian coordinates, while Windows put 0,0 at the top left of the screen like most other computer window systems.) Version 1.2, released in 1989, introduced a new file system, HPFS, to replace the FAT file system.

By the early 1990s, conflicts developed in the Microsoft/IBM relationship. They cooperated with each other in developing their PC operating systems, and had access to each others’ code. Microsoft wanted to further develop Windows, while IBM desired for future work to be based on OS/2. In an attempt to resolve this tension, IBM and Microsoft agreed that IBM would develop OS/2 2.0, to replace OS/2 1.3 and Windows 3.0, while Microsoft would develop a new operating system, OS/2 3.0, to later succeed OS/2 2.0.

This agreement soon however fell apart, and the Microsoft/IBM relationship was terminated. IBM continued to develop OS/2, while Microsoft changed the name of its (as yet unreleased) OS/2 3.0 to Windows NT. Both retained the rights to use OS/2 and Windows technology developed up to the termination of the agreement; Windows NT, however, was to be written anew, mostly independently (see below).

After an interim 1.3 version to fix up many remaining problems with the 1.x series, IBM released OS/2 version 2.0 in 1992. This was a major improvement: it featured a new, object-oriented GUI, the Workplace Shell (WPS), that included a desktop and was considered by many to be OS/2’s best feature. Microsoft would later imitate much of it in Windows 95. Version 2.0 also provided a full 32-bit API, offered smooth multitasking and could take advantage of the 4 gigabytes of address space provided by the Intel 80386. Still, much of the system had 16-bit code internally which required, among other things, device drivers to be 16-bit code also. This was one of the reasons for the chronic shortage of OS/2 drivers for the latest devices. Version 2.0 could also run DOS and Windows 3.0 programs, since IBM had retained the right to use the DOS and Windows code as a result of the breakup.

Windows 3.1 and NT 3.x

In response to the impending release of OS/2 2.0, Microsoft developed Windows 3.1, which included several minor improvements to Windows 3.0 (such as display of TrueType scalable fonts, developed jointly with Apple), but primarily consisted of bugfixes and multimedia support. It also excluded support for Real mode, and only ran on an 80286 or better processor. Later Microsoft also released Windows 3.11, a touch-up to Windows 3.1 which included all of the patches and updates that followed the release of Windows 3.1 in 1992. Around the same time, Microsoft released Windows for Workgroups (WfW), which was available both as an add-on for existing Windows 3.1 installations and in a version that included the base Windows environment and the networking extensions all in one package. Windows for Workgroups included improved network drivers and protocol stacks, and support for peer-to-peer networking. One optional download for WfW was the «Wolverine» TCP/IP protocol stack, which allowed for easy access to the Internet through corporate networks. There were two versions of Windows for Workgroups, WfW 3.1 and WfW 3.11. Unlike prior versions, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 ran in 386 enhanced mode only, and needs at least an 80386SX processor.

All these versions continued version 3.0’s impressive sales pace. Even though the 3.1x series still lacked most of the important features of OS/2, such as long file names, a desktop, or protection of the system against misbehaving applications, Microsoft quickly took over the OS and GUI markets for the IBM PC. The Windows API became the de-facto standard for consumer software.

Meanwhile, Microsoft continued to develop Windows NT. The main architect of the system was Dave Cutler, one of the chief architects of VMS at Digital Equipment Corporation (later acquired by Compaq, now part of Hewlett-Packard). Microsoft hired him in August 1988 to create a successor to OS/2, but Cutler created a completely new system instead. Cutler had been developing a follow-on to VMS at DEC called Mica, and when DEC dropped the project he brought the expertise and around 20 engineers with him to Microsoft. DEC also believed he brought Mica’s code to Microsoft and sued. Microsoft eventually paid US$150 million and agreed to support DEC’s Alpha CPU chip in NT.

Windows NT 3.1 (Microsoft marketing wanted Windows NT to appear to be a continuation of Windows 3.1) arrived in Beta form to developers at the July 1992 Professional Developers Conference in San Francisco. Microsoft announced at the conference its intentions to develop a successor to both Windows NT and Windows 3.1’s replacement (Windows 95, codenamed Chicago), which would unify the two into one operating system. This successor was codenamed Cairo. In hindsight, Cairo was a much more difficult project than Microsoft had anticipated and, as a result, NT and Chicago would not be unified until Windows XP—albeit Windows 2000, oriented to business, had already unified most of the system’s bolts and gears, it was XP that was sold to home consumers like Windows 95 and came to be viewed as the final unified OS. Parts of Cairo have still not made it into Windows as of 2009 — specifically, the WinFS file system, which was the much touted Object File System of Cairo. Microsoft announced that they have discontinued the separate release of WinFS for Windows XP and Windows Vista and will gradually incorporate the technologies developed for WinFS in other products and technologies, notably Microsoft SQL Server.

Driver support was lacking due to the increased programming difficulty in dealing with NT’s superior hardware abstraction model. This problem plagued the NT line all the way through Windows 2000. Programmers complained that it was too hard to write drivers for NT, and hardware developers were not going to go through the trouble of developing drivers for a small segment of the market. Additionally, although allowing for good performance and fuller exploitation of system resources, it was also resource-intensive on limited hardware, and thus was only suitable for larger, more expensive machines.

However, these same features made Windows NT perfect for the LAN server market (which in 1993 was experiencing a rapid boom, as office networking was becoming common). NT also had advanced network connectivity options and NTFS, an efficient file system. Windows NT version 3.51 was Microsoft’s entry into this field, and took away market share from Novell (the dominant player) in the following years.

One of Microsoft’s biggest advances initially developed for Windows NT was a new 32-bit API, to replace the legacy 16-bit Windows API. This API was called Win32, and from then on Microsoft referred to the older 16-bit API as Win16. The Win32 API had three main implementations: one for Windows NT, one for Win32s (which was a subset of Win32 which could be used on Windows 3.1 systems), and one for Chicago. Thus Microsoft sought to ensure some degree of compatibility between the Chicago design and Windows NT, even though the two systems had radically different internal architectures. Windows NT was the first Windows operating system based on a hybrid kernel.

After Windows 3.11, Microsoft began to develop a new consumer oriented version of the operating system codenamed Chicago. Chicago was designed to have support for 32-bit preemptive multitasking like OS/2 and Windows NT, although a 16-bit kernel would remain for the sake of backward compatibility. The Win32 API first introduced with Windows NT was adopted as the standard 32-bit programming interface, with Win16 compatibility being preserved through a technique known as «thunking«. A new object oriented GUI was not originally planned as part of the release, although elements of the Cairo user interface were borrowed and added as other aspects of the release (notably Plug and Play) slipped.

Microsoft did not change all of the Windows code to 32-bit; parts of it remained 16-bit (albeit not directly using real mode) for reasons of compatibility, performance, and development time. Additionally it was necessary to carry over design decisions from earlier versions of Windows for reasons of backwards compatibility, even if these design decisions no longer matched a more modern computing environment. These factors eventually began to impact the operating system’s efficiency and stability.

Microsoft marketing adopted Windows 95 as the product name for Chicago when it was released on 24 August 1995. Microsoft had a double gain from its release: first, it made it impossible for consumers to run Windows 95 on a cheaper, non-Microsoft DOS; secondly, although traces of DOS were never completely removed from the system and MS DOS 7 would be loaded briefly as a part of the booting process, Windows 95 applications ran solely in 386 enhanced mode, with a flat 32-bit address space and virtual memory. These features make it possible for Win32 applications to address up to 2 gigabytes of virtual RAM (with another 2 GB reserved for the operating system), and in theory prevented them from inadvertently corrupting the memory space of other Win32 applications. In this respect the functionality of Windows 95 moved closer to Windows NT, although Windows 95/98/ME did not support more than 512 megabytes of physical RAM without obscure system tweaks.

IBM continued to market OS/2, producing later versions in OS/2 3.0 and 4.0 (also called Warp). Responding to complaints about OS/2 2.0’s high demands on computer hardware, version 3.0 was significantly optimized both for speed and size. Before Windows 95 was released, OS/2 Warp 3.0 was even shipped preinstalled with several large German hardware vendor chains. However, with the release of Windows 95, OS/2 began to lose market share.

It is probably impossible to choose one specific reason why OS/2 failed to gain much market share. While OS/2 continued to run Windows 3.1 applications, it lacked support for anything but the Win32s subset of Win32 API (see above). Unlike with Windows 3.1, IBM did not have access to the source code for Windows 95 and was unwilling to commit the time and resources to emulate the moving target of the Win32 API. IBM later introduced OS/2 into the United States v. Microsoft case, blaming unfair marketing tactics on Microsoft’s part.

Microsoft went on to release five different versions of Windows 95:

• Windows 95 — original release
• Windows 95 A — included Windows 95 OSR1 slipstreamed into the installation.
• Windows 95 B — (OSR2) included several major enhancements, Internet Explorer (IE) 3.0 and full FAT32 file system support.
• Windows 95 B USB — (OSR2.1) included basic USB support.
• Windows 95 C — (OSR2.5) included all the above features, plus IE 4.0. This was the last 95 version produced.

OSR2, OSR2.1, and OSR2.5 were not released to the general public; rather, they were available only to OEMs that would preload the OS onto computers. Some companies sold new hard drives with OSR2 preinstalled (officially justifying this as needed due to the hard drive’s capacity).

The first Microsoft Plus! add-on pack was sold for Windows 95.

Windows NT 4.0

Main article: Windows NT 4.0

Windows NT 4.0 was the successor of 3.51 (1995) and 3.5 (1994). Microsoft released Windows NT 4.0 to manufacturing in July 1996, one year after the release of Windows 95. Major new features included the new Explorer shell from Windows 95, scalability and feature improvements to the core architecture, kernel, USER32, COM and MSRPC.
Windows NT 4.0 came in four versions:

• Windows NT 4.0 Workstation
• Windows NT 4.0 Server
• Windows NT 4.0 Server, Enterprise Edition (includes support for 8-way SMP and clustering)
• Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server

Windows 98

On 25 June 1998, Microsoft released Windows 98 (codenamed Memphis). It included new hardware drivers and the FAT32 file system which supports disk partitions that are larger than 2 GB (first introduced in Windows 95 OSR2). USB support in Windows 98 is marketed as a vast improvement over Windows 95. The release continued the controversial inclusion of the Internet Explorer browser with the operating system that started with Windows 95 OEM Service Release 1. The action eventually led to the filing of the United States v. Microsoft case, dealing with the question of whether Microsoft was introducing unfair practices into the market in an effort to eliminate competition from other companies such as Netscape.

In 1999, Microsoft released Windows 98 Second Edition, an interim release. One of the more notable new features was the addition of Internet Connection Sharing, a form of network address translation, allowing several machines on a LAN (Local Area Network) to share a single Internet connection. Hardware support through device drivers was increased. Many minor problems that existed in the first edition were fixed making it, according to many, the most stable release of the Windows 9x family.

Windows 2000

Main article: Windows 2000

Microsoft released Windows 2000 in February 2000. It has the version number Windows NT 5.0. It was successfully deployed both on the server and the workstation markets. Amongst Windows 2000’s most significant new features was Active Directory, a near-complete replacement of the NT 4.0 Windows Server domain model, which built on industry-standard technologies like DNS, LDAP, and Kerberos to connect machines to one another. Terminal Services, previously only available as a separate edition of NT 4, was expanded to all server versions. A number of features from Windows 98 were incorporated also, such as an improved Device Manager, Windows Media Player, and a revised DirectX that made it possible for the first time for many modern games to work on the NT kernel. Windows 2000 is also the last NT-kernel Windows operating system to lack product activation.

While Windows 2000 upgrades were available for Windows 95 and Windows 98, it was not intended for home users.

Windows 2000 was available in six editions:

• Windows 2000 Professional
• Windows 2000 Server
• Windows 2000 Advanced Server
• Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
• Windows 2000 Advanced Server Limited Edition
• Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Limited Edition

Windows Millennium Edition (Me)

In September 2000, Microsoft introduced Windows Me (Millennium Edition), which upgraded Windows 98 with enhanced multimedia and Internet features from Windows 2000. It also introduced the first version of System Restore, which allowed users to revert their system state to a prior «known-good» point in the case of system failure. System Restore was a notable feature that made its way into Windows XP. The first version of Windows Movie Maker was introduced also.

Windows Me was conceived as a quick one-year project that served as a stopgap release between Windows 98 and Windows XP. Many of the new features were available from the Windows Update site as updates for older Windows versions (System Restore and Windows Movie Maker were exceptions). Windows Me was criticized for stability issues, and for lacking real mode DOS support, to the point of being referred to as the «Mistake Edition» or «Many Errors.» Windows Me was the last operating system to be based on the Windows 9x (monolithic) kernel and MS-DOS.

Windows XP

On 25 August 2001, Microsoft released Windows XP (codenamed «Whistler»). The merging of the Windows NT/2000 and Windows 95/98/Me lines was finally achieved with Windows XP. Windows XP uses the Windows NT 5.1 kernel, marking the entrance of the Windows NT core to the consumer market, to replace the aging 16/32-bit branch. The initial release met with considerable criticism, particularly in the area of security, leading to the release of three major Service Packs. Windows XP SP1 was released in September 2002, SP2 came out in August 2004 and SP3 came out in April 2008. Service Pack 2 provided significant improvements and encouraged widespread adoption of XP among both home and business users. Windows XP lasted longer as Microsoft’s flagship operating system than any other version of Windows, from 25 October 2001 to 30 January 2007 when it was succeeded by Windows Vista.

Windows XP is available in a number of versions:

• Windows XP Home Edition, for home desktops and laptops — lacked features such as joining Active Directory Domain, Remote Desktop Server and Internet Information Services Server.
  • Windows XP Home Edition N, as above, but without a default installation of Windows Media Player, as mandated by a European Union ruling
• Windows XP Professional, for business and power users contained all features in Home Edition.
  • Windows XP Professional N, as above, but without a default installation of Windows Media Player, as mandated by a European Union ruling
• Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE), released in October 2002 for desktops and notebooks with an emphasis on home entertainment. Contained all features offered in Windows XP Professional and the Windows Media Center. Subsequent versions are the same but have an updated Windows Media Center.
  • Windows XP Media Center Edition 2003
  • Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004
  • Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, released on 12 October 2004. Included Windows XP Service Pack 2, the Royale Windows Theme and joining a Windows Active Directory Domain is disabled.
• Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, for tablet PCs
  • Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005
• Windows XP Embedded, for embedded systems
• Windows XP Starter Edition, for new computer users in developing countries
• Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, released on 25 April 2005 for home and workstation systems utilizing 64-bit processors based on the x86-64 instruction set developed by AMD as AMD64; Intel calls their version Intel 64
• Windows XP 64-bit Edition, is a version for Intel’s Itanium line of processors; maintains 32-bit compatibility solely through a software emulator. It is roughly analogous to Windows XP Professional in features. It was discontinued in September 2005 when the last vendor of Itanium workstations stopped shipping Itanium systems marketed as «Workstations».
  • Windows XP 64-bit Edition 2003, based on the Windows NT 5.2 codebase.

Windows Server 2003

On 25 April 2003 Microsoft launched Windows Server 2003, a notable update to Windows 2000 Server encompassing many new security features, a new «Manage Your Server» wizard that simplifies configuring a machine for specific roles, and improved performance. It has the version number NT 5.2. A few services not essential for server environments are disabled by default for stability reasons, most noticeable are the «Windows Audio» and «Themes» services; Users have to enable them manually to get sound or the «Luna» look as per Windows XP. The hardware acceleration for display is also turned off by default, users have to turn the acceleration level up themselves if they trust the display card driver.

December 2005, Microsoft released Windows Server 2003 R2, which is actually Windows Server 2003 with SP1 (Service Pack 1) plus an add-on package.
Among the new features are a number of management features for branch offices, file serving, printing and company-wide identity integration.

Windows Server 2003 is available in six editions:

• Web Edition (32-bit)
• Standard Edition (32 and 64-bit)
• Enterprise Edition (32 and 64-bit)
• Datacenter Edition (32 and 64-bit)
• Small Business Server (32-bit)
• Storage Server (OEM channel only)

Windows XP x64 and Server 2003 x64 Editions

On 25 April 2005, Microsoft released Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003, x64 Editions in Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter SKUs. Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is an edition of Windows XP for x86-64 personal computers. It is designed to use the expanded 64-bit memory address space provided by the x86-64 architecture.

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is based on the Windows Server 2003 codebase; with the server features removed and client features added. Both Windows Server 2003 x64 and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition use identical kernels.

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is not to be confused with Windows XP 64-bit Edition, as the latter was designed for Intel Itanium processors. During the initial development phases, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition was named Windows XP 64-Bit Edition for 64-Bit Extended Systems.

Windows Server 2003 R2

Windows Server 2003 R2, an update of Windows Server 2003, was released to manufacturing on 6 December 2005. It is distributed on two CDs, with one CD being the Windows Server 2003 SP1 CD. The other CD adds many optionally installable features for Windows Server 2003. The R2 update was released for all x86 and x64 versions. Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition was not released for Itanium.

Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs

In July 2006, Microsoft released a thin-client version of Windows XP Service Pack 2, called Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (WinFLP). It is only available to Software Assurance customers. The aim of WinFLP is to give companies a viable upgrade option for older PCs that are running Windows 95, 98, and Me that will be supported with patches and updates for the next several years. Most user applications will typically be run on a remote machine using Terminal Services or Citrix.

Windows Home Server

Windows Home Server (codenamed Q, Quattro) is a server product based on Windows Server 2003, designed for consumer use. The system was announced on 7 January 2007 by Bill Gates. Windows Home Server can be configured and monitored using a console program that can be installed on a client PC. Such features as Media Sharing, local and remote drive backup and file duplication are all listed as features.

Windows Vista

Windows Vista was released on 8 November 2006 to business customers, consumer versions following on 30 January 2007. Windows Vista intended to have enhanced security by introducing a new restricted user mode called User Account Control, replacing the «administrator-by-default» philosophy of Windows XP. One major difference between Vista and earlier versions of Windows, Windows 95 and later, is that the original start button was replaced with just the Windows icon. Vista also features new graphics features, the Windows Aero GUI, new applications (such as Windows Calendar, Windows DVD Maker and some new games including Chess, Mahjong, and Purble Place), Internet Explorer 7, Windows Media Player 11, and a large number of underlying architectural changes. Windows Vista has the version number NT 6.0.

Windows Vista ships in six editions:

• Starter (only available in developing countries)
• Home Basic
• Home Premium
• Business
• Enterprise (only available to large business and enterprise)
• Ultimate (combines both Home Premium and Enterprise)

All editions (except Starter edition) are currently available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The biggest advantage of the 64-bit version is breaking the 4 gigabyte memory barrier, which 32-bit computers cannot fully access.

Windows Server 2008

Windows Server 2008, released on 27 February 2008, was originally known as Windows Server Codename «Longhorn». Windows Server 2008 builds on the technological and security advances first introduced with Windows Vista, and is significantly more modular than its predecessor, Windows Server 2003.

Windows Server 2008 ships in ten editions:

• Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows HPC Server 2008
• Windows Web Server 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Storage Server 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Small Business Server 2008 (64-bit only)
• Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems
• Windows Server 2008 Foundation Server

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009 and reached general retail availability on October 22, 2009. Since its release, Windows 7 had one service pack.

Some features of Windows 7 were faster booting, Device Stage, Windows PowerShell, less obtrusive User Account Control, multi-touch, and improved window management. Features included with Windows Vista and not in Windows 7 include the sidebar (although gadgets remain) and several programs that were removed in favor of downloading their Windows Live counterparts. Windows 7 was met with positive reviews, which said the OS was faster nad easier to use than Windows Vista.

Windows 7 ships in six editions:

• Starter (available worldwide)
• Home Basic
• Home Premium
• Professional
• Enterprise (available to volume-license business customers only)
• Ultimate (available to retail market with limited availability to OEMs)

In some countries in the European Union, there were other editions that lack some features such as Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center and Internet Explorer – these editions were called names such as «Windows 7 N.» Microsoft focuses on selling Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional. All editions, except the Starter edition, were available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

Unlike the corresponding Vista editions, the Professional and Enterprise editions are supersets of the Home Premium edition.

At the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) 2008, Microsoft also announced Windows Server 2008 R2, as the server variant of Windows 7. Windows Server 2008 R2 shipped in 64-bit versions (x64 and Itanium) only.

Windows Home Server 2011

Windows Home Server 2011 code named ‘Vail’ was released on 6 April 2011. Windows Home Server 2011 is built on the Windows Server 2008 R2 code base It follows the release of Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 which added support for Windows 7 to Windows Home Server. Windows Home Server 2011 is considered a «major release». (its predecessor having been built on Windows Server 2003) and only supports x86-64 hardware.

Windows Thin PC

In 2011, Microsoft introduced Windows Thin PC or WinTPC, which is a feature- and size-reduced locked-down version of Windows 7 expressly designed to turn older PCs into thin clients. WinTPC is available for software assurance customers and relies on cloud computing in a business network. Wireless operation is supported since WinTPC has full wireless stack integration, but wireless operation may not be as good as the operation on a wired connection.

Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012

Windows 8 was previewed by Microsoft on June 1, 2011 at both Computex Taipei and the D9: All Things Digital conference in California. The first public preview of Windows Server 2012 was shown by Microsoft at the 2011 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference. Windows 8 Release Preview and Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate were both released on May 31, 2012. Product development on Windows 8 was completed on August 1, 2012, and it was released to manufacturing the same day. Windows Server 2012 went on sale to the public on September 4, 2012. Windows 8 went on sale to the public on October 26, 2012. One edition, Windows RT, runs on some system-on-a-chip devices with mobile 32-bit ARM (ARMv7) processors. Windows 8 features a redesigned user interface, designed to make it easier for touchscreen users to use Windows. The interface introduced an updated Start menu known as the Start screen, and a new full-screen application platform. The desktop interface is also present for running windowed applications, although Windows RT will not run any desktop applications not included in the system. On the Building Windows 8 blog, it was announced that a computer running Windows 8 can boot up much faster than Windows 7. New features also include USB 3.0 support, the Windows Store, the ability to run from USB drives with Windows To Go, and others.

Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 were released on October 17, 2013. Windows 8.1 is available as an update in the Windows Store for Windows 8 users only and also available to download for clean installation. The update adds new options for resizing the live tiles on the Start screen. Windows 8 was given the kernel number NT 6.2, with its successor 8.1 receiving the kernel number NT 6.3. Both versions received some criticism due to the removal of the Start menu and some difficulties to perform tasks and commands.

Windows 8 is available in the following editions:

• Windows 8
• Windows 8 Pro
• Windows 8 Enterprise
• Windows RT

Product progression

Original line

• Windows 1.0
• Windows 2.0
• Windows 2.1 (Windows/286 and Windows/386)
• Windows 3.0
• Windows 3.1 (with a respective Windows for Workgroups release)
• Windows 3.11 (also with a respective Windows for Workgroups release)
• Windows 3.2 (a minor update to 3.1 for Simplified Chinese support)

Windows 9x

• Windows 95 (version 4.0)
• Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE (version 4.1)
• Windows Me (version 4.9)

Windows NT

• Windows NT 3.1
• Windows NT 3.5
• Windows NT 3.51
• Windows NT 4.0
• Windows 2000 (NT version 5.0)
• Windows XP and Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (NT version 5.1)
• Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (NT version 5.2)
• Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 (NT version 6.0)
• Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (NT version 6.1)
• Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 (NT version 6.2)
• Windows 8.1 (NT version 6.3)
• Windows 10 (NT version 10.0.1xxxx)
• Windows 10X (cancelled)
• Windows 11 (NT version 10.0.2xxxx)

See also

• Microsoft Windows
• Windows Versions
• Comparison of operating systems
• Microsoft codenames
• Microsoft version numbering

External links

• A history of Windows (1975-2015) at Microsoft (archived 2016-06-18)
  • Windows Version History (1.x-3.11) at Microsoft (archived 2005-05-25)
  • Microsoft History (1975-1995) at Microsoft Library (archived 1996-10-17)
• Windows at GUIdebook Graphical User Interface Gallery
• Microsoft Windows history at Computer Hope
• Microsoft Windows version history at Wikipedia

Операционной системе Windows уже более трех десятилетий, и именно в этом году самая известная ОС в ноябре будет отмечать 35 летие. За это время было много версий системы, которые компания Microsoft разрабатывала и предлагала пользователям.

В настоящее время последней версией операционной системы Microsoft является Windows 10. Версия, которая для многих, несомненно, является лучшей в истории, с современным интерфейсом и множеством параметров конфигурации. В нашей статье мы предлагаем посмотреть, как со временем система совершенствовалась и адаптировалась к потребностям пользователей.

Windows 1.0

Хотя до появления Windows 1.0 уже говорили о существовании первой версии Windows, правда заключается в том, что до 20 ноября 1985 года эта первая версия системы не была официально анонсирована. Версия, которая предлагала мало функциональных возможностей и не была полной операционной системой, поскольку это было скорее графическое расширение MS-DOS.

Windows 1.0 поддерживалась до 31 декабря 2001 года, несмотря на то, что версия почти не обладала функциональностью, Redmond предлагал поддержку чуть более 16 лет.

Windows 2.0

Между тем, всего через два года, в ноябре 1987 года, появилась Windows 2.0. Эта версия была быстро обновлена ​​до v2.03, которая уже включала известные всем окна. Не говоря уже о том, что в неё уже были включены определенные утилиты, которые, можно сказать, должны были стать источником нынешних средств автоматизации делопроизводства.

Эта версия Windows поддерживалась до той же даты, что и предыдущая версия. То есть до 31 декабря 2001 года, когда Microsoft решила прекратить поддержку Windows 1.0 и 2.0.

Windows 3.0

22 мая 1990 года была выпущена операционная система Windows 3.0 с графическим интерфейсом. Это была первая коммерчески успешная версия, продавшая до двух миллионов копий всего за несколько месяцев с момента ее запуска.

С обновлением до версии 3.1 система получила знаменитую игру Minesweeper, которая на протяжении многих лет радовала пользователей. Кроме того, мы также должны выделить наличие файлов и менеджера программ. Данную версию компания поддерживала до 31 декабря 2001 года. Та же дата, что и у двух предыдущих ОС.

Windows 95

24 августа 1995 года – важная дата в жизни операционной системы Windows, поскольку это день, когда была выпущена знаменитая версия Windows 95. Эта версия предлагает значительно улучшенный интерфейс и в ней уже появляется «Панель задач» и меню «Пуск», два очень важных элемента, которые до сих пор являются частью операционной системы Windows. Также стоит отметить, что Windows 95 включала в себя Internet Explorer, веб-браузер, который сопровождал систему в течение многих лет и, следовательно, поддержку Интернета.

Эта версия, предназначенная для потребительского рынка и с которой переходили от 16-разрядной многозадачной архитектуры к 32-разрядной соответствующей архитектуре, а также многозадачности. Стандартная поддержка для Windows 95 продолжалась до 31 декабря 2000 года, а расширенная до 31 декабря 2001 года.

Windows 98

Хотя до появления Windows 98 мы должны упомянуть, что была версия Windows NT, которая была ориентирована на бизнес-клиентов. Однако 25 июня 1998 года Microsoft выпустила новую версию своей операционной системы. Как и предыдущая, она получила в качестве своего имени последние две цифры года своего запуска, и это была версия, которая шла с файловой системой FAT32 и пыталась расширить доступ к сети. Кроме того, она включала в себя поддержку DVD и USB.

Однако большая сложность системы привела к значительному снижению производительности, что делает ее одной из наиболее критикуемых версий Windows за ее медлительность и ненадежность по сравнению с Windows 95. Несмотря на это, Windows 98 имела стандартную поддержку до 30 июня 2002 года и расширенную поддержку, которая закончилась 11 июля 2006 года.

Windows 2000

29 марта 1999 года была запущена операционная система Windows NT 5.0 EUR Edition, которая представляла собой не что иное, как немецкую версию Windows NET 5.0 и впоследствии называлась Windows 2000.

Windows 2000 включала новые опции для лучшей защиты файлов и даже имела собственную домашнюю версию, Windows 2000 Millennium Edition (ME), которая включала новые инструменты и опции мультимедиа. Стандартная поддержка для этого выпуска закончилась 30 июня 2005 г., а расширенная поддержка – 13 июля 2010 г.

Windows XP

Еще один большой скачок в развитии операционной системы Microsoft произошел 25 октября 2001 года, когда была запущена Windows XP. Это был большой успех, поскольку это действительно был высококачественный продукт. Версия, которая была построена из ядра Windows NT и выпускалась в двух разных редакциях: Home и Professional.

В визуальном аспекте необходимо выделить значительные улучшения в пользовательском интерфейсе с новыми значками, меню и параметрами, которые позволили пользователям углубляться и контролировать все виды задач в системе. Но Windows XP не только предлагала графические улучшения, но и значительно увеличила скорость и маневренность.

В Windows XP встроены такие функции, как шифрование системных файлов, поддержка сетей WiFi, удаленная помощь и 64-разрядная версия, что вызвало взрыв на рынке операционных систем. Эта версия имела стандартную поддержку от Microsoft до 14 апреля 2009 года, в то время как расширенная поддержка продолжалась до 8 апреля 2014 года.

Windows Vista

Windows Vista, выпущенная Microsoft 30 января 2007 года и включающая в себя бесчисленное количество новых функций, переработанную оболочку и интерфейс с серьезными изменениями, нацеленные на повышение безопасности, однако не понравилась подавляющему большинству пользователей.

С Windows Vista мы смогли увидеть интерфейс Aero UI, который, несомненно, предлагал отличную визуальную привлекательность, но оказался слишком проблематичным на менее мощных компьютерах. Множество обстоятельств сделало Windows Vista провалом в истории операционных систем, несмотря на большие ожидания компании.

Постоянные проблемы, медлительность и перегрузки затмили все графические новинки. Эта версия получала стандартную поддержку от компании до 10 апреля 2012 года, а расширенная поддержка была продлена до 11 апреля 2017 года.

Windows 7

22 октября 2009 года Microsoft объявила о выпуске Windows 7 в качестве замены Windows Vista и стала одной из самых важных версий ОС компании.

В данную систему была добавлена ​​поддержка мультитач, переработанная оболочка Windows, новая панель задач, сетевая система, улучшения производительности и скорости, а также сокращение потребления ресурсов. Кроме того, Windows 7 представила новый дизайн панели задач, сделав ее более широкой, и систему с большими значками. Стандартная поддержка Windows 7 продолжалась до 13 января 2015 года, а расширенная поддержка до 14 января 2020 года.

Windows 8

Почти три года спустя, 26 октября 2012 г., была выпущена Windows 8. Версия, в которой была добавлена ​​поддержка микропроцессоров ARM. Интерфейс в новой системе был изменен, чтобы сделать ее более удобной для устройств с сенсорными экранами. Также в системе было удалено меню «Пуск», что не нравилось подавляющему большинству пользователей.

Плохие отзывы пользователей о новом интерфейсе Metro заставили Microsoft запустить Windows 8.1, чтобы добавить некоторые улучшения. Стандартная и расширенная поддержка для Windows 8 закончилась 12 января 2016 года, тогда как для Windows 8.1 стандартная поддержка продолжалась до 9 января 2018 года, а расширенная поддержка все еще действует до 10 января 2023 года.

Windows 10

29 июля 2015 года Microsoft выпустила последнюю и ожидаемую версию своей операционной системы Windows 10. Версия, которая имеет большой набор приложений и современный интерфейс с отличной производительностью. Кросс-платформенность новой системы позволяет использовать ее на компьютерах и мобильных устройствах.

Но это не единственные новинки, поскольку также стоит отметить универсальные приложения: новый браузер Edge, помощник Cortana, новая страница конфигурации системы, TimeLine и возвращение меню «Пуск», которое жаждали подавляющее большинство пользователей. Одним словом – это лучшая версия системы на сегодняшний день и продукт, отвечающий потребностям пользователей.

Windows 10 имеет стандартную поддержку, действующую до 9 января 2024 года, в то время как расширенная поддержка продлится до 9 января 2029 года.

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Microsoft Windows has seen nine major versions since its first release in 1985. Over 29 years later, Windows looks very different but somehow familiar with elements that have survived the test of time, increases in computing power and – most recently – a shift from the keyboard and mouse to the touchscreen.

Here’s a brief look at the history of Windows, from its birth at the hands of Bill Gates with Windows 1 to the latest arrival under new Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella.

Windows 1

This is where it all started for Windows. The original Windows 1 was released in November 1985 and was Microsoft’s first true attempt at a graphical user interface in 16-bit.

Development was spearheaded by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and ran on top of MS-DOS, which relied on command-line input.

It was notable because it relied heavily on use of a mouse before the mouse was a common computer input device. To help users become familiar with this odd input system, Microsoft included a game, Reversi (visible in the screenshot) that relied on mouse control, not the keyboard, to get people used to moving the mouse around and clicking onscreen elements.

Windows 2

Two years after the release of Windows 1, Microsoft’s Windows 2 replaced it in December 1987. The big innovation for Windows 2 was that windows could overlap each other, and it also introduced the ability to minimise or maximise windows instead of “iconising” or “zooming”.

The control panel, where various system settings and configuration options were collected together in one place, was introduced in Windows 2 and survives to this day.

Microsoft Word and Excel also made their first appearances running on Windows 2.

Windows 3

The first Windows that required a hard drive launched in 1990. Windows 3 was the first version to see more widespread success and be considered a challenger to Apple’s Macintosh and the Commodore Amiga graphical user interfaces, coming pre-installed on computers from PC-compatible manufacturers including Zenith Data Systems.

Windows 3 introduced the ability to run MS-DOS programmes in windows, which brought multitasking to legacy programmes, and supported 256 colours bringing a more modern, colourful look to the interface.

More important — at least to the sum total of human time wasted — it introduced the card-moving timesink (and mouse use trainer) Solitaire.

Windows 3.1

Windows 1 and 2 both had point release updates, but Windows 3.1 released in 1992 is notable because it introduced TrueType fonts making Windows a viable publishing platform for the first time.

Minesweeper also made its first appearance. Windows 3.1 required 1MB of RAM to run and allowed supported MS-DOS programs to be controlled with a mouse for the first time. Windows 3.1 was also the first Windows to be distributed on a CD-ROM, although once installed on a hard drive it only took up 10 to 15MB (a CD can typically store up to 700MB).

Windows 95

As the name implies, Windows 95 arrived in August 1995 and with it brought the first ever Start button and Start menu (launched with a gigantic advertising campaign that used the Rolling Stones’ Start Me Up, and a couple of months later Friends stars Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry. Could it be any more up-to-date?)

It also introduced the concept of “plug and play” – connect a peripheral and the operating system finds the appropriate drivers for it and makes it work. That was the idea; it didn’t always work in practice.

Windows 95 also introduced a 32-bit environment, the task bar and focused on multitasking. MS-DOS still played an important role for Windows 95, which required it to run some programmes and elements.

Internet Explorer also made its debut on Windows 95, but was not installed by default requiring the Windows 95 Plus! pack. Later revisions of Windows 95 included IE by default, as Netscape Navigator and NCSA Mosaic were popular at the time.

Windows 98

Released in June 1998, Windows 98 built on Windows 95 and brought with it IE 4, Outlook Express, Windows Address Book, Microsoft Chat and NetShow Player, which was replaced by Windows Media Player 6.2 in Windows 98 Second Edition in 1999.

Windows 98 introduced the back and forward navigation buttons and the address bar in Windows Explorer, among other things. One of the biggest changes was the introduction of the Windows Driver Model for computer components and accessories – one driver to support all future versions of Windows.

USB support was much improved in Windows 98 and led to its widespread adoption, including USB hubs and USB mice.

Windows ME

Considered a low point in the Windows series by many – at least, until they saw Windows Vista – Windows Millennium Edition was the last Windows to be based on MS-DOS, and the last in the Windows 9x line.

Released in September 2000, it was the consumer-aimed operating system twined with Windows 2000 aimed at the enterprise market. It introduced some important concepts to consumers, including more automated system recovery tools.

IE 5.5, Windows Media Player 7 and Windows Movie Maker all made their appearance for the first time. Autocomplete also appeared in Windows Explorer, but the operating system was notorious for being buggy, failing to install properly and being generally poor.

Windows 2000

The enterprise twin of ME, Windows 2000 was released in February 2000 and was based on Microsoft’s business-orientated system Windows NT and later became the basis for Windows XP.

Microsoft’s automatic updating played an important role in Windows 2000 and became the first Windows to support hibernation.

Windows XP

Arguably one of the best Windows versions, Windows XP was released in October 2001 and brought Microsoft’s enterprise line and consumer line of operating systems under one roof.

It was based on Windows NT like Windows 2000, but brought the consumer-friendly elements from Windows ME. The Start menu and task bar got a visual overhaul, bringing the familiar green Start button, blue task bar and vista wallpaper, along with various shadow and other visual effects.

ClearType, which was designed to make text easier to read on LCD screens, was introduced, as were built-in CD burning, autoplay from CDs and other media, plus various automated update and recovery tools, that unlike Windows ME actually worked.

Windows XP was the longest running Microsoft operating system, seeing three major updates and support up until April 2014 – 13 years from its original release date. Windows XP was still used on an estimated 430m PCs when it was discontinued.

Its biggest problem was security: though it had a firewall built in, it was turned off by default. Windows XP’s huge popularity turned out to be a boon for hackers and criminals, who exploited its flaws, especially in Internet Explorer, mercilessly — leading Bill Gates to initiate a “Trustworthy Computing” initiative and the subsequent issuance of to Service Pack updates that hardened XP against attack substantially.

Windows Vista

Windows XP stayed the course for close to six years before being replaced by Windows Vista in January 2007. Vista updated the look and feel of Windows with more focus on transparent elements, search and security. Its development, under the codename “Longhorn”, was troubled, with ambitious elements abandoned in order to get it into production.

It was buggy, burdened the user with hundreds of requests for app permissions under “User Account Control” — the outcome of the Trustworthy Computing initiative which now meant that users had to approve or disapprove attempts by programs to make various changes. The problem with UAC was that it led to complacency, with people clicking “yes” to almost anything — taking security back to the pre-UAC state. It also ran slowly on older computers despite them being deemed as “Vista Ready” — a labelling that saw it sued because not all versions of Vista could run on PCs with that label.

PC gamers saw a boost from Vista’s inclusion of Microsoft’s DirectX 10 technology.

Windows Media Player 11 and IE 7 debuted, along with Windows Defender an anti-spyware programme. Vista also included speech recognition, Windows DVD Maker and Photo Gallery, as well as being the first Windows to be distributed on DVD. Later a version of Windows Vista without Windows Media Player was created in response to anti-trust investigations.

Windows 7

Considered by many as what Windows Vista should have been, Windows 7 was first released in October 2009. It was intended to fix all the problems and criticism faced by Vista, with slight tweaks to its appearance and a concentration on user-friendly features and less “dialogue box overload”.

It was faster, more stable and easier to use, becoming the operating system most users and business would upgrade to from Windows XP, forgoing Vista entirely.

Handwriting recognition debuted in 7, as did the ability to “snap” windows to the tops or sides of the screen, allowing faster more automatic window resizing.

Windows 7 saw Microsoft hit in Europe with antitrust investigations over the pre-installing of IE, which led to a browser ballot screen being shown to new users allowing them to choose, which browser to install on first boot.

Windows 8

Released in October 2012, Windows 8 was Microsoft’s most radical overhaul of the Windows interface, ditching the Start button and Start menu in favour of a more touch-friendly Start screen.

The new tiled interface saw programme icons and live tiles, which displayed at-a-glance information normally associated with “widgets”, replace the lists of programmes and icons. A desktop was still included, which resembled Windows 7.

Windows 8 was faster than previous versions of Windows and included support for the new, much faster USB 3.0 devices. The Windows Store, which offers universal Windows apps that run in a full-screen mode only, was introduced. Programs could still be installed from third-parties like other iterations of Windows, but they could only access the traditional desktop interface of Windows.

The radical overhaul was not welcomed by many. Microsoft attempted to tread a fine line between touchscreen support and desktop users, but ultimately desktop users wanting to control Windows with a traditional mouse and keyboard and not a touchscreen felt Windows 8 was a step back. There were also too few touchscreens in use, or on offer, to make its touch-oriented interface useful or even necessary — despite the parallel rise of tablets such as the iPad, and smartphones, which had begun outselling PCs by the end of 2010.

Windows RT, which runs on ARM-based processors traditionally found in smartphones and non-PC tablets, was introduced at the same time as Windows 8 with the Microsoft Surface tablet. It looked and felt like Windows 8, but could not run traditional Windows applications, instead solely relying on the Windows Store for third-party apps.

Windows 8.1

A free point release to Windows 8 introduced in October 2013, Windows 8.1 marked a shift towards yearly software updates from Microsoft and included the first step in Microsoft’s U-turn around its new visual interface.

Windows 8.1 re-introduced the Start button, which brought up the Start screen from the desktop view of Windows 8.1. Users could also choose to boot directly into the desktop of Windows 8.1, which was more suitable for those using a desktop computer with a mouse and keyboard than the touch-focused Start screen.

Windows 10

Announced on 30 September 2014, Windows 10 has only been released as a test version for keen users to try. The “technical preview” is very much still a work in progress.

Windows 10 represents another step in Microsoft’s U-turn, bringing back the Start menu and more balance to traditional desktop computer users.

Some interesting features include the ability to switch between a keyboard and mouse mode and a tablet mode, for those computers like the Surface Pro 3 with a detachable keyboard.

Windows 10 – despite being the ninth version of Windows – is designed to unify all Windows platforms across multiple devices, including Windows Phone and tablets, with universal apps that can be downloaded from the Windows Store and run on all Windows devices.

It won’t be available until 2015, likely after Microsoft’s Build developer conference in April, so for now Windows 8.1 is the latest version of Windows.

Microsoft unveils Windows 10: ten things to know

Don’t be surprised if I say that 9 out of 10 computers run some version of the Windows operating system, today. However, no one could have predicted this outcome when the whole journey started with MS-DOS and a vision to have every computer on a desktop. Below, you will find a chronology of events that take you through highlights from the first 25 years of Windows, more preferably – A History of Windows.

In 1975, Gates and Allen formed a partnership called Microsoft. Like most start-ups, Microsoft began small but had a huge vision—a computer on every desktop and in every home. During the next years, Microsoft began to change the ways we work.

In June 1980, Gates and Allen hired Gates’ former Harvard classmate Steve Ballmer to help run the company.

IBM approached Microsoft about a project code-named “Chess.” In response, Microsoft focused on a new operating system—the software that manages, or runs, the computer hardware and also serves to bridge the gap between the computer hardware and programs, such as a word processor. It’s the foundation on which computer programs can run. They named their new operating system “MS-DOS.”

When the IBM PC is running MS-DOS shipped in 1981, it introduced a whole new language to the general public.

Microsoft worked on the first version of a new operating system. Interface Manager was the code name and was considered as the final name, but Windows prevailed because it best described the boxes or computing “windows” that were fundamental to the new system. Windows was announced in 1983, but it took a while to develop. Skeptics called it “vaporware.”

On November 20, 1985, two years after the initial announcement, Microsoft shipped Windows 1.0.

MS-DOS

Windows 1.0 required a minimum of 256 kilobytes (KB), two double-sided floppy disk drives, and a graphics adapter card. A hard disk and 512 KB memory was recommended for running multiple programs or when using DOS 3.0 or higher.  It was originally developed by Microsoft for  IBM-compatible personal computers. Although the first version of OS from Microsoft, MS-DOS was a little-used or preferred alternative to Apple’s Macintosh. Despite witnessing little success, Microsoft continued to offer support for MS-DOS till the development of Windows XP.

Q: Ever wondered, what MS-DOS stood for?

Microsoft Disk Operating System

Windows 1.0 – 2.0 (1985-1992)

Instead of typing MS-DOS commands, Windows 1.0 allowed users to point and click to access the windows.

In 1987 Microsoft released Windows 2.0, which was designed for the Intel 286 processor. This version added desktop icons, keyboard shortcuts, and improved graphics support.

Q: Why was Windows OS named so?

Microsoft Windows 1.0 was named so since the computing boxes, or Windows  design represented a fundamental aspect of the operating system.

Windows 3.0 – 3.1 (1990–1994)

Microsoft released Windows 3.0 in May 1900 offering better icons, performance and advanced graphics with 16 colors designed for Intel 386 processors. Its popularity grew by manifolds following the release of SDK that helped software developers focus more on writing and less on writing device drivers. With Windows 3.0 Microsoft completely rewrote the application development environment. The OS included Program Manager, File Manager, Print Manager and games, remember Solitare, a complete time-waster??

Q: What does SDK stand for?

SDK refers to a set of tools that allows for the creation of applications for certain software.

Windows 95 (August 1995)

A major release of the Microsoft Windows operating system that caused Apple’s Market share to decline or shrink was Windows 95. Windows 95 as the name suggests was released in 1995 represented a significant advance over its precursor, Windows 3.1. By the way, this was also the time when the first version of Microsoft’s proprietary browser – Internet Explorer 1 was rolled out in August 1995 to catch up the Internet wave.

Windows 98 (June 1998)

Described as an operating system that “Works Better & Plays Better, ‘Windows 98’ offered support for a number of new technologies, including FAT32, AGP, MMX, USB, DVD, and ACPI. Also, it was the first OS to include a tool called Windows Update. The tool alerted the customers when software updates became available for their computers.

Q: Which was the last version based on MS-DOS application?

Windows 98 indeed, was the last version based on MS?DOS.

Windows ME – Millennium Edition (September 2000)

The Windows Millennium Edition, referred as “Windows Me” was an update to the Windows 98 core that included some features of the Windows 2000 operating system. The version had the “boot in DOS” option removed but included other enhancements like Windows Media player and Movie Maker for basic video editing.

Q: System Restore, a feature that rolled your PC software configuration back to a date or time before a problem occurred first appeared in which version of Windows?

Windows ME – Millennium Edition

Windows NT 3.1 – 4.0 (1993-1996)

A version of the Windows OS with 32-bit support for preemptive multitasking. Two versions of Windows NT:

1. Windows NT Server – Designed to act as a server in networks
2. Windows NT – Workstation for stand-alone or client workstations

Windows 2000 (February 2000)

W2K (abbreviated form) was an operating system for business desktop and laptop systems to run software applications, connect to Internet and intranet sites, and access files, printers, and network resources. Windows 2000 4 versions released by Microsoft

1.  Professional (for business desktop and laptop systems)
2.  Server (both a Web server and an office server)
3.  Advanced Server (for line-of-business applications)
4.  Datacenter Server (for high-traffic computer networks)

Windows XP (October 2001)

This version of the OS was built on Windows 2000 Kernel and was introduced in 2001 along with a redesigned look and feel. It was made available to the public in 2 versions

1. Windows XP Home
2. Windows XP Professional

Microsoft focused on mobility for both editions, including plug and play features for connecting to wireless networks was introduced in this version of Windows, and it proved to one of Microsoft’s best-selling products. Its use started declining with more Windows 7 deployments.

Windows Vista (November 2006)

A marketing flop! People expected too much from its WOW factor. Windows Vista released in November 2006 was widely criticized for performance related issues.

Windows 7 (October 2009)

Windows 7 made its official debut on October 22, 2009. The OS included enhancements in the form of fast start-up time, Aero Snap, Aero Shake, support for virtual hard disks, a new and improved Windows Media Center, and better security features.

Windows 8

Bill Gates’ vision of future computing was Touch and voice replacing mouse and keyboard. We already have the touch with Windows 8, a completely redesigned OS built from the ground up.

The OS replaces the more traditional Microsoft Windows OS look and feels with a new “Modern Interface” consisting of flat tiles that first debuted in the Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system.

Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 changed a few things for the better which were found wanting in Windows 8.

Notable changes included a visible Start button, improved Start screen, Internet Explorer 11, tighter OneDrive integration, Bing-powered unified search box, the ability to land on the desktop on login instead of the Start screen.

Windows 10

Windows 10 has been described as the ‘last operating system’ from Microsoft. It is now a series of releases that receives half-yearly feature updates. They are referred to as Windows 10 v1501, Windows 10 1803 and so on..

The OS introduced Edge a new browser meant to replace Internet Explorer. It supports Universal Apps which Universal apps can be designed to run across multiple Microsoft product families like PCs, tablets, smartphones, embedded systems, Xbox One, Surface Hub and Mixed Reality. It has been well received – but its Automatic Windows Update system is one area that is disliked by some.

Windows 11

Windows 11, released in 2021, has all the features, power, and security of Windows 10. The primary difference appears to be a redesigned desktop and the Settings menu. But apart from this, there are several other new features under the hood.

Source: Microsoft.

Now read next: History of Microsoft Office Software.