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What Is Windows Operating System

The document discusses the history and versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system. It provides details on the initial release of Windows 1.0 in 1985 and progresses through versions like Windows 95, Windows XP, Windows 7, and the current widely used version Windows 10.

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Omkar Manthena
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24 views

What Is Windows Operating System

The document discusses the history and versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system. It provides details on the initial release of Windows 1.0 in 1985 and progresses through versions like Windows 95, Windows XP, Windows 7, and the current widely used version Windows 10.

Uploaded by

Omkar Manthena
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is Windows Operating System?

By definition, an Operating System is a group of several GUIs (Graphical User Interface)


families, all of which are developed, sold and marketed by Microsoft. 
The latest version of Microsoft Operating System which is being widely used across the
world is Windows 10. 

History and Development of Windows


It was 1983 when work on “Interface Manager” was started by Microsoft but it was in
November 1995, when the first Windows 1.0 was introduced. Later on, with developments in
technology, the requirement of the people and increased demand for Graphical User
Interface, Microsoft kept releasing revised versions of Operating Systems.

Versions of Windows Operating System


Let us understand the different versions of Windows Operating System along with the
features of each of them individually. 
1. Windows 1.0

 It was released on November 20, 1985 


 Pure Operating Environment
 Used Graphical User Interface
 Simple Graphics
 Offered limited multi-tasking was expected to have a better future potential

2. Windows 2.0
 It was released on December 9, 1987
 16-bit Graphic User Interface (GUI) based operating environment
 Introduced Control Panel, and the first version of MS Word and Excel
 Unlike Windows 1.0, it had the capacity to allow applications to overlap each other
 It was also the last Windows OS which did not require a hard disk
 Hardware played an important role

3. Windows 3.0

 It was released in 1990


 It was better at multitasking
 Used 8086 microprocessors
 It has both, conventional and extendable memory
 First version of Windows to gather critical appreciation
 Better memory/ storage

4. Window 95

 It was the first complete Operating System 


 It was released on August 15, 1995
 It merged MS-DOS and Windows products
 It simplified plug and play features
 Taskbar and Start menu was introduced with this Windows OS
 Advanced from 16 bit GUI to 32 bit GUI
 Long file names could be saved
 Initially, computers with Windows 95 did not have Internet Explorer installed but by
the release date of Windows 95, the first version of Internet Explorer was installed in
the software
 On December 31, 2001, Windows declared this version of OS outdated and ended its
support for the same

5. Windows 98

 It was released to manufacturing on May 15, 1998


 It was a 16 bit and 32 bit product based on MS DOS
 It was not an entirely new version but just a tuned-up version to Windows 95
 Internet Explorer 4.01 was released along with this Windows version
 It did not support USB printers or mass storage devices 
 An update to this version “Windows SE” was released in 1999

6. Windows 2000

 It was officially released on February 17, 2000. However, its manufacturing had
begun in late 1999
 A core set of features was followed for manufacturing Windows 2000 but 4 different
editions, targeting different sectors of the market were released. These included:
Server, Professional, Advanced Server and Datacenter Server
 It was considered as one of the most secure OS ever
 A local disk manager was introduced with these Windows
 Multilingual User Interface – it supported many different languages

7. Windows XP

 While the manufacturing started on August 24, 2001, the official product was released
on October 25, 2001
 Advanced portable PC support
 Automatic wireless connection support
 Fast start-up
 Better Graphical User Interface (GUI)
 Help and support centre

8. Windows Vista

 It was released on January 30, 2007


 It had an upgraded version of Graphical User Interface
 It was the first operating system to use DVD-ROM for installation
9. Windows 7

 It was released on October 22, 2009


 A large number of new features were introduced
 Redesigned Windows shell with an updated taskbar
 Incremental upgrade to the Windows line
 Libraries were added in the file management system
 A few features from the past Windows were removed
 Extended hardware support

10. Windows 8

 It was released for retail on October 26, 2012


 Optimisations for touch-based
 Installed in new devices like Laptops, Mobile phones, tablets, etc.
 Increased integration with cloud services
 Windows Store service for software distribution
 Task manager had been redesigned
 New security features were introduced
 Online Applications could be directly downloaded

11. Windows 10

 It was released on July 29, 2015


 Addresses shortcomings in the user interface first introduced with Windows 8
 A virtual desktop system
 It had the ability to run windows store apps within windows on the desktop rather
than in the full-screen mode
 Included new icons
 To reduce storage shortcomings, Windows 10 automatically compresses the file size

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