UNIT 4 Windows Operating System Environment

An Operating system (OS) is a software which acts as an interface between the end user and computer hardware. Every
computer must have at least one OS to run other programs. An application likes Chrome, MS Word, Games, etc needs
some environment in which it will run and perform its task.

Majority of home users use a Windows based machine. Most of today’s applications and games are designed to run
solely on Microsoft systems.

Introduction to Microsoft Windows

The oldest of all Microsoft’s operating systems is MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System). MS-DOS is a text-based
operating system. Users have to type commands rather than use the more friendly graphical user interfaces (GUI’s)
available today. Despite its very basic appearance, MS-DOS is a very powerful operating system. There are many
advanced applications and games available for MS-DOS. A version of MS-DOS underpins Windows. Many advanced
administration tasks in Windows can only be performed using MS-DOS.

Windows versions through the years

1985: Windows 1.0

The history of Microsoft Windows dates back to 1985, when Microsoft released Microsoft windows Version 1.01.
Microsoft’s aim was to provide a friendly user-interface known as a GUI (graphical user interface) which allowed for
easier navigation of the system features. Windows 1.01 never really caught on. The release was a shaky start for the
tech giant. Users found the software unstable. (The amazing thing about Windows 1.01 is that it fitted on a single floppy
disk). However, the point-and-click interface made it easier for new users to operate a computer. Windows 1.0 offered
many of the common components found in today's graphical user interface, such as scroll bars and "OK" buttons.

 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

1987: Windows 2.0 and 2.11

Windows 2.0 was faster, more stable and had more GUI features. The GUI was very slightly improved but still looked too
similar to Windows 1.01.The system introduced the control panel and ran the first versions of Excel and Word. Windows
2.0 supported extended memory, and Microsoft updated it for compatibility with Intel's 80386 processor. It was during
this time that Microsoft became the largest software vendor in the world, just as computers were becoming more
commonplace. The fact that Windows systems were user-friendly and relatively affordable was a contributing factor to
the growing PC market.

 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
1990: Windows 3.0

Windows 3.0 supported 16 colors and included the casual games familiar to most Windows users: Solitaire,
minesweepers and Hearts. Games that required more processing power still ran directly on MS-DOS. Exiting to DOS gave
games direct hardware access made more system resources available. Microsoft made an enormous impression with
Windows 3.0 and 3.1. Graphics and functionality were drastically improved. The Windows 3 family provided multimedia
capabilities as well as vastly improved graphics and application support. Building on the success of Windows 3.x,
Microsoft released Microsoft Windows 3.11 for Workgroups. This gave Windows the ability to function on a network.

 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

1993: Windows New Technology (NT)

Windows NT's release marked the completion of a side project to build a new, advanced OS. NT was 32-bit and had a
hardware abstraction layer. DOS was available through the command prompt, but it did not run the Windows OS.
Microsoft designed NT as a workstation OS for businesses rather than home users. The system introduced the Start
button.

1995: Windows 95

In 1995 Windows went through a major revamp and Microsoft Windows 95 was released. This provided greatly
improved multimedia and a much more polished user interface. The now familiar desktop and Start Menu appeared.
Internet and networking support was built in.

Although Windows 95 was a home user operating system, it proved to be very popular in schools and businesses.
Windows 95 facilitated hardware installation with its Plug and Play feature. Microsoft also unveiled 32-bit color depth,
enhanced multimedia capabilities and TCP/IP network support.

 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

1998: Windows 98
Microsoft Windows 98 was very similar to Windows 95, it offered a much tidier display and enhanced multimedia
support. Microsoft improved speed and Plug and Play hardware support in Windows 98. The company also debuted USB
support and the Quick Launch bar in this release.

DOS gaming began to wane as Windows gaming technology improved. The popularity of the OS made it an attractive
target for malware. Microsoft integrated web technology into the Windows user interface and built its own web browser
into the desktop.

 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

2000: Windows Millennium Edition (ME)

Windows ME (Millennium Edition) was the last use of the Windows 95 codebase. Its most notable new feature was
System Restore. Many customers found this release to be unstable. Some critics said ME stood for "mistake edition."

Microsoft released the professional desktop OS Windows 2000 (initially called NT 5.0) in the same year for the business
market. Improvements to the overall operating system allowed for easier configuration and installation. Microsoft based
this OS on the more stable Windows NT code. Some home users installed Windows 2000 for its greater reliability.
Microsoft updated Plug and Play support, which spurred home users to switch to this OS. One big advantage of Windows
2000 was that operating system settings could be modified easily without the need to restart the machine. Windows
2000 proved to be a very stable operating system that offered enhanced security and ease of administration.

 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

2001: Windows XP

Microsoft delivered Windows XP as the first NT-based system with a version aimed squarely at the home user. Home
users and critics rated XP highly. The system improved Windows appearance with colorful themes and provided a more
stable platform. Microsoft virtually ended gaming in DOS with this release. DirectX-enabled features in 3D gaming that
OpenGL had difficulties with. XP offered the first Windows support for 64-bit computing, but it was not very well
supported, lacking drivers and applications to run.

 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
2006: Windows Vista

Microsoft hyped Windows Vista after the company spent a lot of resources to develop a more polished appearance.
Vista had interesting visual effects but the OS was slow to start and run. Vista's flaws -- coupled with the fact that many
older computers lacked the resources to run the system -- led to many home and business users staying with XP.

 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

2009: Windows 7

Microsoft built Windows 7 on the Vista kernel. Windows 7 picked up Vista's visual capabilities but featured more
stability. To many end users, the biggest changes between Vista and Windows 7 were faster boot times, new user
interface and the addition of Internet Explorer 8. With true 64- bit support and more Direct X features, Windows 7
proved to be a popular release for Windows users.

 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

2012: Windows 8

Microsoft released Windows 8 with a number of enhancements and debuted its tile based Metro user interface.
Windows 8 took better advantage of multicore processing, solid-state drives (SSD), touch screens and other alternate
input methods.

 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

2015: Windows 10

Microsoft announced Windows 10 in September 2014, skipping Windows 9 and launched on July 2015. Version 10
includes the Start menu, which was absent from Windows 8. A responsive design feature called Continuum adapts the
interface depending on whether the user works with a touch screen or a keyboard and mouse for input. New features
like an onscreen back button simplified touch input. Microsoft designed the OS to have a consistent interface across
devices including PCs, laptops and tablets.
  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

Features of Windows Operating System

1. Control Panel: Windows provides a Control Panel feature that includes many tools to configure and manage the
resources on their computer. For example, users can change settings for audio, video, printers, mouse,
keyboard, network connections, date and time, power saving options, user accounts, installed applications, etc.

2. Cortana: Windows 10 introduced a feature named Cortana, which is able to accept voice commands. It can
perform various tasks such as it can answers your questions, search data on your computer, online purchases,
set reminders, and appointments, etc. Furthermore, it acts like other voice-activated services such as Google
Assistant, Alexa, or Siri, including one more benefit of searching the information on your computer. To open the
Cortana in Windows 10, press Window key + S.

3. File Explorer: It is also known as Windows Explorer, which displays your files and folders on the computer. It
allows users to browse the data on the hard drive, SSD and other inserted removable disks like pen drives and
CDs, and you can manage the content according to the requirements such as delete, rename, search, and
 transfer the data.

4. Internet browser: As the internet browser is very important to search for anything, view pages, online shopping,
play games, watch videos, etc. Windows come with a pre-installed internet browser. in Windows 10, the Edge
internet browser is the default browser. Furthermore, Internet Explorer was the default browser in Microsoft
Windows from the Windows edition 95 to 8.1 version.

5. Microsoft Paint: Since November 1985, Microsoft Windows comes with pre-installed Microsoft Paint. It is a
simple software to create, view, and edit an image. It offers several tools to draw an image, crop, resize, and
save an image with a different file extension.

6. Taskbar: Windows comes with a taskbar that displays currently opened programs, it also allows users to access
any specific programs. Additionally, it includes the notification area on the right side that shows date and time,
battery, network, volume, and other background running applications.

7. Start menu: Microsoft Windows contains a start menu to the left side of the taskbar. It displays programs and
utilities that are installed on the computer. It can be simply opened by clicking on the Start menu button or
pressing the start key on the keyboard.

8. Task Manager: Windows includes the task manager feature that provides detail of the running applications or
programs on the computer. You can also check how much of the system resources, such as RAM, CPU, disk I/O,
are being used by each of the applications.
9. Disk Cleanup: It is used to free up disk space with the help of deleting temporary or unnecessary files. It also
helps to enhance the performance of the computer, and boost storage space to download the programs and
documents. To open Disk Cleanup, follow the below steps:

o Open the File Explorer by pressing Window + E.

o Then, right-click on any disk drive and select Properties option from the drop-down list.

o Now, click on the Disk Cleanup.