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The word “windows” represents an operating system first introduced by Microsoft, founded by Bill Gates, in the year 1985. The first ever windows was built to provide users with the ability to manage files or programs & run them easily on desktop and laptops just like Macintosh.
Current Versions
Currently used versions of Windows include:
- Windows XP -- Currently in use by millions of computers worldwide, XP is the venerable operating system recently replaced by Windows Vista which was released to consumers in Feb. 2007 (a business version was released the previous fall).
- Windows Server -- Last updated with Windows Server 2003, this the server-based operating system provided by Microsoft. Rumor has it that Microsoft is working on an updated for 2007 or 2008 which would be built upon the same code-base as Windows Vista.
- Windows Vista -- More than 5 years in the making, Windows Vista contains hundreds of new features, including improved searching, multimedia creation and playback, networking ability, parental controls and a
visual makeover with animations, transparencies and other eye candy.
Version History
A brief history of different versions of windows introduced by Microsoft has been presented below:
1985: The first ever windows operating system named Windows 1.0 was introduced by Microsoft, founded by Bill Gates.
1986: The previous version of Windows i.e. Windows 1.0 was upgraded to Windows 1.03
1987: A new version of Windows was introduced i.e. Windows 2.0
1988: The previous version of Windows i.e. Windows 2.0 was upgraded to Windows 2.1
1990: A new version of Windows was introduced i.e. Windows 3.0
1991: The previous version of Windows i.e. Windows 3.0 was reintroduced along with multimedia extensions i.e. support for multimedia applications.
1992: The previous version of Windows i.e. Windows 3.0 with multimedia extensions was further upgraded to Windows 3.1. Again at the end of year, the older version of windows was further upgraded to Windows 3.11. This year was the end of Windows 3 series.
1994: A new graphical based, user friendly operating system with complete multimedia capabilities was introduced by Microsoft, called Windows 95. Many changes were introduced in Windows 95 in the year 1995 and in the same year 1st service pack was introduced.
1998: In this year, Microsoft introduced Windows 98 that featured the support for gaming and also working on this window was much easier as compared to earlier versions of Windows.
1999: Windows 98 was reintroduced with the new upgraded version referred to as Windows 98 SE (Second Edition). In the same year Microsoft introduced a beta version of a new windows operating system, called Windows Millennium Beta. In the same year, Windows 2000 was launched that saw many service packs and was meant for networking operations.
2000: The final release of Windows Millennium was introduced. This is the first ever windows that didn’t had a service pack and it was considered to be the most stable and easy to use operating system.
2001: A new version of windows was introduced that changed the look and feel of work and included many new features that previous operating system didn’t posses. This new operating system was named Windows XP. During the year, many improvements were made to Windows XP and finally, at the end, Windows XP was upgraded to Windows XPProfessional. Also, Windows XP Embedded was introduced.
2002: Microsoft introduced many versions of windows in this year i.e. Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, Windows .NET Server, Windows CE for smart displays and Windows 2000 service pack 3.
2003: Along with introduction of Service Pack 1&2 for Windows XP, Service Packs for Windows 2003 Server, Windows XP 64-bit Edition was also introduced in this year.
2005: This year saw mixes of improvements and introduction. Only 64-bit Editions of some of the operating system were introduced and others were only upgraded with modifications.
2006: A new operating system, full of graphics was introduced by Microsoft, called Windows Vista. This new windows was introduced in Beta mode as it had many fixes to be made.
2007: Finally, Windows Vista was launched with many different versions and at the same time, a new service pack was announced. The new versions of Windows Vista includes Windows Vista Home Edition, Windows Vista Basic Edition, Windows Vista Premium Edition and Windows Vista Ultimate Edition
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