Virtual Book

Windows 1.0

Windows 1.0 is the first major release of Microsoft Windows, a family of Windows Operating
Systems for Personal computers developed by Microsoft. It was first released to manufacturing in
the United States on November 20, 1985, while the European version was released as Windows
1.02 in May 1986.
Its development began after the Microsoft co-founder of Windows 1.0, Bill Gates, saw a
demonstration of a similar software suite, Visi on at COMDEX in 1982. The operating system was
showcased to the public in November 1983, although it ended up being released two years later.
Windows 1.0 runs on MS-DOS, as a 16-bit shell program known as MS-DOS Executive, and it
provides an environment which can run programs made with graphics designed for Windows, as
well as existing MS-DOS software. It introduced multitasking and the use of the mouse, and
various built-in programs such as Calculator, Paint, and Notepad. The operating environment
does not allow its windows to overlap, and instead, the windows are tiled. Windows 1.0 also
holds four releases, which hold minor updates to the system.
The system received lukewarm reviews; critics raised concerns about not fulfilling expectations,
its compatibility with very little software, and its performance issues, while it has also received
positive responses to Microsoft's early presentations and support from a number of hardware-
and software-makers. Its last release was 1.04, and it was succeeded by Windows 2.0, which
was released in December 1987. Microsoft ended its support for Windows 1.0 on December 31,
2001, making it the longest supported out of all versions of Windows.
 Windows 2.0

Windows 2.0 is a major release of Microsoft Windows, a family of graphical operating

systems for personal computers developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on
December 9, 1987, as a successor to Windows 1.0.
The product includes two different variants, a base edition for 8086 real mode, and
Windows/386, an enhanced edition for i386 protected mode. Windows 2.0 differs from its
predecessor (Windows 1.0) by allowing users to overlap and resize application windows, while
the operating environment also introduced desktop icons, keyboard shortcuts, and support for
16-color VGA graphics. It also introduced Microsoft Word and Excel, and integrated the Control
Panel.
Noted as an improvement of its predecessor, Microsoft Windows gained more sales and
popularity after the release of the operating environment, although it is also considered to be the
incarnation that remained a work in progress. Due to the introduction of overlapping
windows, Apple Inc. had filed a lawsuit against Microsoft in March 1988 after accusing them of
violating copyrights Apple held, although in the end, the judge ruled in favor of Microsoft. The
operating environment was succeeded by Windows 2.1 in May 1988, while Microsoft ended its
support on December 31, 2001.
 Windows 3.0

Windows 3.0 is the third major release of Microsoft Windows, launched in 1990. It features a
new graphical user interface (GUI) where applications are represented as clickable icons, as
opposed to the list of file names seen in its predecessors. Later updates would expand the
software's capabilities, one of which added multimedia support for sound recording and
playback, as well as support for CD-ROMs.
Windows 3.0 is the first version of Windows to perform well both critically and commercially.
Critics and users considered its GUI to be a challenger to those of Apple Macintosh and Unix.
Other praised features were the improved multitasking, customizability, and especially the
utilitarian management of computer memory that troubled the users of Windows 3.0's
predecessors. Microsoft was criticized by third-party developers for the bundling of its separate
software with the operating environment, which they viewed as an anticompetitive practice.
Windows 3.0 sold 10 million copies before it was succeeded by Windows 3.1 in 1992.
On December 31, 2001, Microsoft declared Windows 3.0 obsolete and stopped providing support
and updates for the system.
 Windows 3.11

Released on November 8, 1993, Windows 3.11 was introduced with repairs for network problems
which were present on Windows 3.1 As a minor update, new features were not present in this
version. It also did not run on IBM's OS/2 for Windows. Windows 3.11 allowed users to connect
to each other as peers to share the resources of their computers. Microsoft replaced all retail
and OEM versions of Windows 3.1 with Windows 3.11 and supplied a free upgrade to anyone
who owned Windows 3.1
 Windows 95

Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of

its Windows 9x family of operating systems. The first operating system in the 9x family, it is the
successor to Windows 3.1x, and was released to manufacturing on July 14, 1995, and generally
to retail on August 24, 1995, almost three months after the release of Windows NT 3.51.
Windows 95 is the first version of Microsoft Windows to include taskbar, start button, and
accessing the internet.[4][5] Windows 95 merged Microsoft's formerly separate MS-
DOS and Microsoft Windows products, and featured significant improvements over its
predecessor, most notably in the graphical user interface (GUI) and in its simplified "plug-and-
play" features. There were also major changes made to the core components of the operating
system, such as moving from a mainly cooperatively multitasked 16-bit architecture to a 32-
bit preemptive multitasking architecture, at least when running only 32-bit protected mode
applications.
Accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign,[1] Windows 95 introduced numerous
functions and features that were featured in later Windows versions, and continue in modern
variations to this day, such as the taskbar, notification area, and the "Start" button. It is
considered to be one of the biggest and most important products in the personal computing
industry.
Three years after its introduction, Windows 95 was followed by Windows 98. Microsoft ended
mainstream support for Windows 95 on December 31, 2000. Like Windows NT 3.51, Windows
95 received only one year of extended support, ending on December 31, 2001.
The initial design and planning of Windows 95 can be traced back to around March 1992, just
around the time before the release of Windows 3.1. At this time, Windows for Workgroups
3.11 and Windows NT 3.1 were still in development. At this point, Microsoft's strategy was to
have a next generation, high-end OS based on Windows NT, namely, Cairo, and a low-end,
consumer-focused one as an evolution of Windows 3.1. The latter strategy was to develop a 32-
bit underlying kernel and filesystem with 32-bit protect mode device drivers in Windows for
Workgroups 3.11, to be used as the basis for the next version of Windows, code named
"Chicago." Cairo would be Microsoft's next-generation operating system based on Windows NT,
featuring a new user interface and an object-based file system, but it was not planned to be
shipped before 1994. Cairo would never be shipped, however, although elements from the Cairo
project eventually shipped in Windows NT 4.0 in late July 1996, without the object-based file
system, which would later evolve into WinFS.
Simultaneously with Windows 3.1's release, IBM started shipping OS/2 2.0. Microsoft realized
they required an updated version of Windows that could support 32-bit applications and
preemptive multitasking, but could still run on low-end hardware (Windows NT did not). Initially,
the "Chicago" team did not know how the product would be packaged. Initial thoughts were there
might be two products, MS-DOS 7, which would just be the underlying OS, an evolution of the
Windows for Workgroups 3.11 kernel, with a character mode OS on top, and a fully integrated
graphical Windows OS. But soon into the project, the idea of MS-DOS 7 was abandoned and the
decision was made to develop only an integrated graphical OS Windows "Chicago."
 Windows 98

Windows 98 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of

its Windows 9x family of Microsoft Windows operating systems. The second operating system in
the 9x line, it is the successor to Windows 95, and was released to manufacturing on May 15,
1998, and generally to retail on June 25, 1998. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid 16-bit and 32-
bit[3] monolithic product with the boot stage based on MS-DOS.[4]
Windows 98 is a web-integrated operating system that bears numerous similarities to its
predecessor. Most of its improvements were cosmetic or designed to improve the user
experience, but there were also a handful of features introduced to enhance system functionality
and capabilities, including improved USB support and accessibility, as well as support for
hardware advancements such as DVD players. Windows 98 was the first edition of Windows to
adopt the Windows Driver Model, and introduced features that would become standard in future
generations of Windows, such as Disk Cleanup, Windows Update, multi-monitor support,
and Internet Connection Sharing.
Microsoft had marketed Windows 98 as a "tune-up" to Windows 95, rather than an entirely
improved next generation of Windows. Upon release, it received a positive reception for its web-
integrated interface and ease of use, as well as its addressing of issues present in Windows 95,
although some pointed out that it was not significantly more stable than its predecessor.
Windows 98 sold an estimated 58 million licenses and saw one major update, known
as Windows 98 Second Edition (SE), released on May 5, 1999. After the release of its
successor, Windows Me in 2000, mainstream support for Windows 98 and 98 SE ended on June
30, 2002, followed by extended support on July 11, 2006.
 Windows ME

Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me (marketed with the pronunciation of the pronoun
"me"), often capitalized as Windows ME, is an operating system developed by Microsoft as part
of its Windows 9x family of Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is the successor to Windows
98, and was released to manufacturing on June 19, 2000, and then to retail on September 14,
2000. Windows Me is the last version of Microsoft Windows to include pixelated effects. It was
Microsoft's main operating system for home users until the introduction of its successor Windows
XP in October 2001.
Windows Me was targeted specifically at home PC users, and included Internet Explorer
5.5 (later default was Internet Explorer 6), Windows Media Player 7 (later default was Windows
Media Player 9 Series) and the new Windows Movie Maker software, which provided basic video
editing and was designed to be easy to use for consumers. Microsoft also incorporated features
first introduced in Windows 2000, which had been released as a business-oriented operating
system seven months earlier, into the graphical user interface, shell and Windows Explorer.
Although Windows Me was still ultimately based around MS-DOS like its predecessors, access
to real-mode DOS was restricted to decrease system boot time.
Windows Me initially received a positive reception when it was released, however it soon
garnered a negative reception from many users due to stability problems. Windows Me became
infamously known by many as one of the worst versions of Windows ever released, being
unfavorably compared with its immediate predecessor, Windows 98, several years before.] In
October 2001, Windows XP was released to the public, having already been under development
at the time of Windows Me's release, and incorporated most, but not all, of the content of
Windows Me, while being far more stable because of it being based on the Windows NT kernel.
After the release of Windows XP in 2001, mainstream support for Windows Me ended on
December 31, 2003, followed by extended support on July 11, 2006.

Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed
by Microsoft and designed for businesses. It was the direct successor to Windows NT 4.0, and
was released to manufacturing on December 15, 1999, and was officially released to retail on
February 17, 2000 and September 26, 2000 for Windows 2000 Datacenter Server. It was
Microsoft's business operating system until the introduction of Windows XP Professional in 2001.
Windows 2000 introduced NTFS 3.0, Encrypting File System, as well as basic and dynamic disk
storage. Support for people with disabilities was improved over Windows NT 4.0 with a number
of new assistive technologies, and Microsoft increased support for different
languages and locale information. The Windows 2000 Server family has additional features, most
notably the introduction of Active Directory, which in the years following became a widely
used directory service in business environments.
Four editions of Windows 2000 were released: Professional, Server, Advanced Server,
and Datacenter Server; the latter was both released to manufacturing and launched months after
the other editions.] While each edition of Windows 2000 was targeted at a different market, they
shared a core set of features, including many system utilities such as the Microsoft Management
Console and standard system administration applications.
Microsoft marketed Windows 2000 as the most secure Windows version ever at the
time; however, it became the target of a number of high-profile virus attacks such as Code
Red and Nimda. For ten years after its release, it continued to receive patches for
security vulnerabilities nearly every month until reaching the end of support on July 13, 2010, the
same day that support ended for Windows XP SP2.
Windows 2000 and Windows 2000 Server were succeeded by Windows XP and Windows Server
2003, released in 2001 and 2003, respectively.
Windows 2000 is the final version of Windows NT that supports PC-98, i486 and SGI Visual
Workstation 320 and 540, as well as Alpha in alpha, beta, and release candidate versions. Its
successor, Windows XP, only supports x86, x64 and Itanium processors.

Windows XP
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to
manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade
to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and business users and Windows Me for home
users, and is available for any devices running Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows 2000, or
Windows Me that meet the new Windows XP system requirements.
Development of Windows XP began in the late 1990s under the codename "Neptune", built on
the Windows NT kernel and explicitly intended for mainstream consumer use. An updated
version of Windows 2000 was also initially planned for the business market. However, in January
2000, both projects were scrapped in favor of a single OS codenamed "Whistler", which would
serve as a single platform for both consumer and business markets. As a result, Windows XP is
the first consumer edition of Windows not based on the Windows 95 kernel or MS-DOS.
Windows XP removed support for PC-98, i486 and SGI Visual Workstation 320 and 540 and will
only run on 32-bit x86 CPUs and devices that use BIOS firmware.
Upon its release, Windows XP received critical acclaim, noting increased performance and
stability (especially compared to Windows Me), a more intuitive user interface, improved
hardware support, and expanded multimedia capabilities. Windows XP and Windows Server
2003 were succeeded by Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, released in 2007 and 2008,
respectively.
Mainstream support for Windows XP ended on April 14, 2009, and extended support ended on
April 8, 2014. Windows Embedded POSReady 2009, based on Windows XP Professional,
received security updates until April 2019. After that, unofficial methods were made available to
apply the updates to other editions of Windows XP. Microsoft discouraged this practice, citing
compatibility issues. However, over eight years from the end of life date (September 2022), the
majority of PCs in some countries (such as Armenia) still appeared to be running on Windows
XP. As of September 2022, globally, just 0.39% of Windows PCs and 0.1% of all devices across
all platforms continued to run Windows XP.

Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed
by Microsoft as the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released in 2001. At the time,
this 5-year gap was the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft's Windows
desktop operating systems. Development was finished on November 8, 2006, and over the
following three months, it was released in stages to computer hardware and software
manufacturers, business customers, and retail channels. On January 30, 2007, it was released
globally and made available for purchase and download from the Windows Marketplace, the first
release of Windows to be made available through a digital distribution platform.
Windows Vista introduced an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed "Aero," a
new search component called "Windows Search," redesigned networking, audio, print, and
display sub-systems, and new multimedia tools such as Windows DVD Maker among other
changes. Windows Vista aimed to increase the level of communication between machines on
a home network, using peer-to-peer technology to simplify sharing files and media between
computers and devices. Windows Vista included version 3.0 of the .NET Framework,
allowing software developers to write applications without traditional Windows APIs. Windows
Vista removed support for Itanium and devices without ACPI.
While these new features and security improvements garnered praise, Windows Vista received
mixed reviews and was also the target of significant criticism, such as of its high system
requirements, more restrictive licensing terms, lack of compatibility, longer boot time, and
excessive authorization prompts from User Account Control. Due to these and other issues,
Windows Vista saw lower initial adoption and satisfaction rates than Windows XP, and it is
generally considered a market failure. However, Windows Vista usage did exceed Microsoft's
pre-launch two-year-out expectations of achieving 200 million users, with an estimated 330
million Internet users in January 2009. On October 22, 2010, Microsoft ceased sales of retail
copies of Windows Vista, and the original equipment manufacturer's sales for Windows Vista
ceased the following year.
Mainstream support for Windows Vista ended on April 10, 2012, and extended support ended on
April 11, 2017. Windows Vista was succeeded by Windows 7.

Windows 7

Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It

was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22,
2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly three years earlier. Windows
7's server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 R2, was released at the same time. Windows 7
remained an operating system for use on personal computers, including home and
business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs and media center PCs, and itself was replaced in
November 2012 by Windows 8, the name spanning more than three years of the product.
Extended support ended on January 14, 2020, over ten years after the release of Windows 7,
after which the operating system ceased receiving further updates. A paid support program was
available for enterprises, providing security updates for Windows 7 for up to three years since the
official end of life.
Windows 7 was intended to be an incremental upgrade to Microsoft Windows, addressing
Windows Vista's poor critical reception while maintaining hardware and software compatibility.
Windows 7 continued improvements on the Windows Aero user interface with the addition of a
redesigned taskbar that allows pinned applications, and new window management features.
Other new features were added to the operating system, including libraries, the new file-sharing
system HomeGroup, and support for multitouch input. A new "Action Center" was also added to
provide an overview of system security and maintenance information, and tweaks were made to
the User Account Control system to make it less intrusive. Windows 7 also shipped with updated
versions of several stock applications, including Internet Explorer 8, Windows Media Player,
and Windows Media Center.
Unlike Windows Vista, Windows 7 received critical acclaim, with critics considering the operating
system to be a major improvement over its predecessor because of its improved performance, its
more intuitive interface, fewer User Account Control popups, and other improvements made
across the platform. Windows 7 was a major success for Microsoft; even before its official
release, pre-order sales for the operating system on the online retailer Amazon.com had
surpassed previous records. In just six months, over 100 million copies had been sold worldwide,
increasing to over 630 million licenses by July 2012. By January 2018, Windows 10 surpassed
Windows 7 as the most popular version of Windows worldwide. As of July 2023, 3.69% of
traditional PCs running Windows are running Windows 7. Windows 11 has recently taken second
place from Windows 7 as the most popular Windows edition on all continents. It still remains
popular, and 2nd most popular, in countries such as Sudan, Syria and China.
Windows 7 is the final version of Windows that supports processors
without SSE2 or NX (although an update released in 2018 dropped support for non-SSE2
processors). Its successor, Windows 8, requires a processor with SSE2 and NX in any supported
architecture.

Windows Nightmare
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