History of Windows

Windows 1.0

Microsoft finally announced Windows in November 1983, with pressure from just-released VisiOn and impending TopView. This was after the release of the Apple Lisa (but prior to the Macintosh), and before Digital Research announced GEM, another competing graphical environment. Windows promised a simple graphical interface, device-independent graphics, and multitasking support. The development was delayed several times, however, and the first version was available to the consumer market (after 55 programmer years of development) in November 1985. The selection of applications was sparse, however, and Windows sales were modest. These were the major features of Windows 1.0:

Graphical user interface (GUI) with drop-down menus, tiled windows, and mouse support

Device-independent screen and printer graphics

Cooperative multitasking of Windows applications

Windows 2.0

Windows 2.0, introduced in the fall of 1987, provided significant usability improvements to Windows. With the addition of icons and overlapping windows, Windows became a viable environment for development of major applications (such as Excel, Word for Windows, Corel Draw!, Ami, PageMaker, and Micrografx Designer). Sales were spurred by the runtime (Single Application Environment) versions supplied by the independent software vendors. When Windows/386 (see next section) was released, Microsoft renamed Windows 2.0 to Windows/286 for consistency. These were the major changes from earlier versions of Windows:

Overlapping windows

PIF files for DOS applications

Windows/386

In late 1987, Microsoft released Windows/386. While it was functionally equivalent to Windows/286, it could run multiple DOS applications simultaneously in the extended memory. Multiple DOS virtual machines with preemptive multitasking was a new feature in Windows from its earlier versions.

Windows 3.0

Microsoft Windows 3.0, released in May 1990, was a complete overhaul of the Windows environment. It could address memory beyond 640KB, and it had a much more powerful user interface; independent software vendors started developing Windows applications with vigor. The powerful new applications helped Microsoft sell more than 10 million copies of Windows, making it the best selling GUI in the history of computing. These were the major changes from earlier versions of Windows:

Standard (286) mode, with large memory support

386 Enhanced mode, with large memory and multiple preemptive DOS session support

No runtime versions available

Program Manager and File Manager added

Network support

Support for more than 16 colors

Application Programming Interface (API) support for combo boxes, hierarchical menus, and private .inifiles

Windows 3.1

Microsoft Windows 3.1, released in April 1992, provided significant improvements to Windows 3.0. In its first two months on the market, it sold over three million copies, including upgrades from Windows 3.0. These were the major changes from Windows 3.0:

No Real (8086) mode support

TrueType scalable font support

Multimedia capability

Object Linking and Embedding (OLE)

Application reboot capability

Mouse Trails for easier mouse use with LCD display devices

Better interapplication protection and better error diagnostics

API multimedia and networking support

Source level API compatibility with Windows NT

Windows 95

Windows 95 was released in August 1995. Aimed at the desktop market, it was very different from Windows 3.1 and no longer required a separate DOS. Designed to coexist with Windows NT, it offered a greater degree of backward compatibility with older drivers and software, at the expense of the greater stability and security of Windows NT. These were the new features:

A new, more object-oriented GUI

The new WIN32 API

Preemptive multitasking of Win32 applications

32-bit flat memory model

Protected memory

Built-in networking support, including dial-up support

New 32-bit driver model

Windows 98

Windows 98 was released as an upgrade to Windows 95. It had the same interface and features of Windows 95, but also included the following updates:

32-bit file allocation system (FAT32) allowing for hard disk drives larger than 2GB and efficient use of disk space, and allowing files to load more quickly and take up less space on disk; FAT32 can read hard disk drives as big as 2TB (2000GB)

Support for Universal Serial Bus (USB) peripherals

Support for WebTV (which became MSN TV)

Support for more than one monitor

Microsoft Web Server

Microsoft Task Scheduler

Many of these features were also available in a later version of Windows 95 (known as OSR2) distributed with new PCs in 1998. OSR2 was never available for retail sale.

In 1999, Microsoft released Windows 98SE (Second Edition), which improved Windows greatly and also added the following features:

Support for DVD-ROM

Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)

Improved startup time for programs

Improved USB support

Windows Me

Windows Me, or Millenium Edition, was released in 2000 as an upgrade to Windows 98SE. Very similar to its predecessor, Windows Me included new home networking capabilities, video capture and editing, and a new mechanism for system restoration in case of emergency.

Microsoft replaced Windows Me with Windows XP, described below.

Windows NT

Note: For security and support reasons, UITS recommends using Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XPProfessional, rather than NT Workstation 4.0, on Indiana University's network. Microsoft retired both mainstream and extended support for this version in June 2004, which means security updates are no longer being developed. For more information, see Microsoft's Windows Desktop Product Lifecycle Guidelines page at:

http://support.microsoft.com/?LN=en-us&pr=lifecycle

Windows NT was a separate product from Windows 3.x, Windows 95, and Windows 98. It was aimed at the enterprise market, for use on high-end workstations and servers. The first version, 3.1, and versions 3.5 and 3.51, used the same interface as Windows 3.1. Version 4.0 used the interface first introduced with Windows 95.

Windows NT 4.0 offered the following new features:

NTFS file system support

Security model

Remote Access Server (RAS)

OS/2 and POSIX subsystems

Ability to run on Intel, Alpha, MIPS, and Motorola processors

Windows NT 4.0 came in two versions: Advanced Server and Workstation. The Advanced Server version included additional software that allowed it to perform the role of the enterprise server. It had the following features in addition to those found on the Workstation version:

Software for controlling and managing domains

Internet Information Server (IIS)

Support for Microsoft BackOffice products

DHCP, DNS, and WINS server software

Windows 2000

Windows 2000 was released as an update to Windows NT 4.0. It was not an upgrade to Windows 98 or 98SE.

Windows 2000 built on Windows NT and offered the following improvements:

Full 32-bit operating system

Support for NTFS or FAT32, with support for hard disk drives as big as 32GB when running FAT32

Windows File Protection, which prevented installed applications from deleting necessary system files

Elimination of many reboot scenarios, including program installations that require a reboot to function correctly

Support for up to 4GB of Random Access Memory (RAM)

Microsoft Management Console (MMC)

Stronger Internet integration with Internet Explorer 5.0.1

Windows 2000 came in three varieties: Professional, Server, and Advanced Server. Professional was designed for desktop and laptop systems, both stand-alone and networked, for individual use. Server was designed to run file and printer servers. Advanced Server was designed to run more powerful servers; it had support for an additional 4GB of RAM (for a total of 8GB).

Windows XP

Released in late 2001, Windows XP was the replacement for both the 95/98 and NT families of Windows. Based on the same code used to create Windows 2000, XP came in two workstation versions at launch: Home and Professional. Both versions incorporate the features of Windows 2000. Since its original release, three new editions of Windows XP have been released. These include Media Center Edition, Tablet PC Edition, and XP Professional x64 (64-bit) Edition.

Note: If you want to upgrade an older version of Windows to XP, UITS recommends a clean install rather than a traditional upgrade, due to the strong underlying differences between the older family of operating systems and Windows XP. For instructions, see ARCHIVED: How do I install Windows XP?

Windows XP Home Edition

Windows XP Home Edition was the replacement for Windows 95, 98, and Me.

Some of the new features that Windows XP Home Edition offered include:

Fast, easy switching between users on the same computer without the need to close applications

Luna, a newly designed desktop, which puts frequently used features in the most easily found locations of the Start menu

An enhanced Windows Media Player, which integrates DVD playback, music organization, and CD burning

Windows Messenger, which offers built-in instant messaging over the Internet

Windows Movie Maker, which offers built-in video capture and editing

Internet Explorer 6, the latest version of the Microsoft web browser

Remote Assistance, which allows technicians to take temporary control of the computer to diagnose and fix problems, or to demonstrate features

System Restore, which allows the computer to restore itself to an earlier configuration if something goes wrong

Network Setup Wizard, which allows easier setup of home networks for file, printer, and Internet connection sharing

Windows XP Professional Edition

Windows XP Professional Edition was the replacement for Windows NT and 2000. In addition to the features of Home Edition, it added new features to improve networking and task efficiency:

Remote Desktop, which allows the creation of virtual sessions on one computer from another computer over the Internet

Encrypting File System, which offers better security by transparently key-encrypting files

Fast Resume from Hibernation, which allows work to resume faster and saves battery life in laptop computers

Support for 802.1x networking for more secure wireless networking

Windows XP Media Center Edition

Windows XP Media Center Edition extends many of the enhanced multimedia capabilities available in Windows XP Professional. Media Center Edition is a superset of Windows XP that incorporates a fully functional Windows XP computing environment and enhances the computer for home entertainment. Media Center Edition is not available for retail sale; instead, it is available only with the purchase of a new Media Center PC from a Microsoft computer manufacturer partner.

Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

Windows XP Tablet PC Edition offers enhanced computing capabilities in a mobile computing environment. It runs only on a Tablet PC and is not available for retail sale. Tablet PC Edition uses Windows XP Professional as a base, making it possible to run Windows XP-compatible applications.

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

This Windows XP 64-bit edition was designed to address the needs of high-performance computing applications. It features:

Support for up to 16GB of RAM and 16TB of virtual memory

Integration for both 64-bit and 32-bit applications, allowing you to run 32-bit applications designed for other versions of Windows XP

Support for the same programming model as the 32-bit Windows environment, allowing programmers to develop applications for Windows XP Professional x64 Edition without learning a new environment

Windows Server 2003

Windows Server 2003 was released as an upgrade to Windows 2000 Server.Additional features in Windows Server 2003 include:

Increased dependability

Built-in support for web services

Common language runtime that reduces the number of bugs and security holes caused by common programming mistakes

Increased security for Internet connections

Support for both 32-bit and 64-bit processors (depending on the version)

Symmetric multi-processing support for up to 64 processors

Support for up to 512GB of RAM

Microsoft created several different versions of Windows 2003 Server: Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition, Datacenter Edition, Web Edition, and Small Business Server 2003.

Windows Vista

Released in 2007, Windows Vista is not an upgrade to Windows XP, but an entirely new operating system. Some of the many new features of Vista include:

Updated graphical user interface called Windows Aero

Improved search

Redesigned networking, audio, print, and display systems

New multimedia creation tools

Improvements in peer-to-peer technology

Security enhancements

Адрес публикации: https://www.prodlenka.org/metodicheskie-razrabotki/324385-history-of-windows