Development of Microsoft Windows

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Since 1985, Microsoft Windows has become a series of versatile 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems, compared to the early 16-bit graphical DOS operating environments. At the 2004 IDC Directions conference, IDC Vice President Avneesh Saxena stated that Windows had approximately 90% of the client operating system market.^[1]

1 MS-DOS based Windows
2 NT based Windows
3 CE based Windows
4 References

[edit] MS-DOS based Windows

[edit] Windows 1.x

In 1981, Microsoft began working on Interface Manager, a multi-tasking graphical user interface for MS-DOS. This was first released as Windows 1.0 on November 20, 1985. It was released in four versions: 1.01, 1.02, 1.03 and 1.04. 1.02 was the first multi-lingual version and had editions in several European languages. 1.03 was, unlike 1.02, only released in a US version, however it included drivers for European keyboards and additional screen and printer drivers. 1.04 introduced support for the new VGA graphics standard.

[edit] Windows 2.x

Windows 2.0 introduced support for overlapping windows and changed the window-manipulation terminology in the graphical user interface. For example, "Iconize" and "Zoom" was changed to "Minimize" and "Maximize". Less than a year later, Windows/286 was released. Windows/286 took advantage of the HMA to increase the memory available to Windows programs. Later, Windows/386 was released, which introduced a protected mode kernel, above which the GUI and applications were running as a virtual 8086 mode task.

[edit] Windows 3.x

Windows 3.0 was released on May 22, 1990 and was a significant improvement compared to Windows 2.x and 1.x. There are still many similarities in the graphical user interface of modern versions of Windows, such as the fonts and the icons. Windows 3.0 introduced File Manager and Program Manager which replaced the MS-DOS Executive in 2.x. It could run in three different memory modes, Real mode, Standard mode, and 386 Enhanced Mode.

Windows 3.1 was released in 1992, and included a TrueType font system. Windows 3.1 removed support for running Windows in real mode, and Reversi was replaced by Minesweeper. 2 betas of Windows 3.1 was released, and the code name of Windows 3.1 was Janus. It was also the first version of Windows that had the well-known "Windows flag" as logo on the startup screen. Windows for Workgroups 3.1, released in October 1992, featured native network support, and one year later, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 was released, which supported 32-bit file access.

[edit] Windows 9x

Main articles: Development of Windows 95 and Development of Windows 98

Windows 95, the first release in the 9x series, was a large improvement over 3.11. Windows 95 had a new graphical user interface featuring the Start menu, supported long filenames, and included "The Microsoft Network" client program.

Windows 98, released on June 25, 1998, added support for multiple monitors, WebTV, the FAT32 file system, and added functional USB drivers, Internet Explorer 4.0, and the Active Desktop feature which was integrated into Windows Explorer. One year later, an updated version called Windows 98 Second Edition was released.

Windows Me, released on September 2000, was the last release in the 9x family, and included Internet Explorer 5.5, Windows Media Player 7, Windows Movie Maker and System Restore. Windows Me also removed support for real mode, letting the system boot faster.

[edit] NT based Windows

Main articles: Development of Windows XP and Development of Windows Vista

Windows NT
Windows 2000
Windows XP
Windows Vista is the latest release of Microsoft Windows, and has hundreds of new features, including the grapical user interface Windows Aero, Windows Sidebar, Previous Versions, Windows SideShow, and many other features. It also includes updated versions of many existing applications such as Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, and Outlook Express. The security is also improved with technologies such as User Account Control and Windows Firewall. Vista was in development for about five years. The final version was announced on November 8, 2006.
Windows 7 is a future version of Microsoft Windows, planned to be released in 2009 or later. It was previously codenamed Blackcomb, than Vienna. Windows 7 is expected to be available in both 32-bit and 64-bit client versions and a 64-bit server version.