OPERATING SYSTEM - (WINDOWS)

OPERATING SYSTEM

Microsoft Windows

​Microsoft Windows

• ​​On November 10, 1983, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, happened a modest event, which will have a very important impact on the software industry in the next decades—the little known company Microsoft Corporation formally announced a graphical user interface (GUI) for its own operating system (MS-DOS), which had shipped for IBM PC and compatible computers since 1981.

Interface Manager

• ​Initially the new product was developed under the name Interface Manager, but before the official introducing in 1985, the marketing gurus convinced Bill Gates, that Windows is a more suitable name.

​Microsoft & IBM

• The main partner of Microsoft since 1981 was IBM, when MS-DOS became the highly successful operating system, that came bundled with an IBM computer.

Top View - IBM

• That’s why in that same November of 1983, the owner of Microsoft Bill Gates decided to show a beta version of Windows to IBM’s management. Their response was negative though, probably because IBM was working on their own operating system, called Top View

​Top View - IBM

• IBM Top View was released in February of 1985 as a DOS-based multitasking program manager without any GUI features. IBM promised that future versions of Top View would have a GUI. That promise was never kept, and the program was discontinued barely two years later.

GUI - Graphical User Interface

• It seems Bill Gates realized how profitable a successful GUI for IBM computers would be, while he had seen Apple’s Lisa computer and later the more successful Macintosh computer. Both Apple computers came with a stunning graphical user interface.

Windows 1.0

• Microsoft needed more than 2 years to launch the announced product—Microsoft Windows 1.0 (see the upper image), which was introduced in November 20, 1985, and was initially sold for $100.

Windows 1.0

• MS Windows version 1.0 was considered buggy, crude, and slow. Its rough start was made worse by a threatened lawsuit from Apple Co. In September 1985, Apple lawyers warned Bill Gates that Windows infringed on Apple copyrights and patents, and that his corporation had stolen Apple’s trade secrets. Windows had similar drop-down menus, tiled windows and mouse support as Apple’s operating system. Gates decided to make an offer to license features of Apple’s OS. Apple agreed and a contract was drawn up.

Windows 1.0

• A couple of years later though Bill Gates will have again copyrights infringement problems with Apple (Apple vs. Microsoft & Hewlett-Packard copyright suit), and then he decided to claim that Apple had taken ideas from the graphical user interface developed by Xerox for Alto and Star computers.

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”.

​Windows 2

• 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 3.0

• 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 3.0

• 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.

Windows 3.1

• 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?)

​Windows 95

• 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

• 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.

​Windows 95

• 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 NT

• A version of the Windows operating system. Windows NT (New Technology) was a 32-bit operating system that supported preemptive multitasking. There are actually two versions of Windows NT: Windows NT Server, designed to act as a server in networks, and Windows NT Workstation for stand-alone or client workstations.

​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 95

• 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.

​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.

​Windows ME

• 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.

​Windows ME

• 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.

​Windows XP

• 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.

​Windows XP

• 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

• 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.

​Windows XP

• 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.

​Windows Vista

• 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.

​Windows Vista

• 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.

​Windows Vista

• Windows Media Player 11 and IE 7 debuted, along with Windows Defender an anti-spyware programmed. 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

• Windows Media Player 11 and IE 7 debuted, along with Windows Defender an anti-spyware programmed. 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

• 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.

​Windows 7

• 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

• 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.

​Windows 8

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

​Windows 8

• 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.

​Windows 8

• 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 8

• Windows RT (RUNTIME), 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

• 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 featured fast start-up and resume, built-in security, and the return of the Start Menu in an expanded form.

​Windows 10

• This version of Windows also featured Microsoft Edge, Microsoft’s new browser. Any qualified device (such as tablets, PCs, smartphones and Xbox consoles) was able to upgrade to Windows 10, including those with pirated copies of Windows.

​Windows 11

• Windows 11 is a major version of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft that was announced on June 24, 2021, and is the successor to Windows 10, which was released in 2015. Windows 11 was released to the public on October 5, 2021, as a free upgrade via Windows Update and Windows 11 Installation Assistant on eligible devices running Windows 10.

​Windows 11

• Windows 11 features major changes to the Windows shell influenced by the canceled Windows 10X, including a redesigned Start menu, the replacement of its "live tiles" with a separate "Widgets" panel on the taskbar, the ability to create tiled sets of windows that can be minimized and restored from the taskbar as a group.