Evolution of Microsoft Windows Operating Systems
First of all, let’s talk about Microsoft Corporation. It is an American multinational company in the software and computer hardware industry.
Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975, to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for Altair 8800 computers. They introduced their famous operating system Windows in 1985, they introduced their computers, game consoles, and cloud services. Now Microsoft is one of the tech giants on earth. They own 125.8 billion USD revenue(2019).
In 1981 Microsoft released its DOS operating system called MS-DOS for x86 based personal computers. MS-DOS was a command-line operating system with no graphical interface. After a few years, they introduced Windows 1. This is where it all started for windows.
- Windows 1 (1985)
It was their first attempt on introducing an operating system with a graphical interface. Windows 1 ran on top of MS-DOS. In that period mouse was not a common computer input device. Windows 1 heavily relied on the use of a mouse. To help users to become familiar with this, Microsoft included a game called Reversi, which relies on mouse control.
- Windows 2 (1987)
In this version, they introduced minimize and close options to windows instead of iconizing or zooming. In Windows 2, windows could overlap each other as you can see it in the above image. In this period they also introduced Microsoft Excel and Word.
In this period Aldus Corporation released the PageMaker version for windows computers. It was the first appearance of non-Microsoft applications for windows.
- Windows 3 (1990)
This was the first Windows version that requires a hard drive. It allowed users to use older MS-DOS-based software. It supported 256 colors bringing a more modern colorful look to the interface.
It can be considered as the first Windows version to see more widespread success and it was a challenger to Apple’s Macintosh. Windows 3 was coming pre-installed on computers from manufacturers including Zenith Data Systems.
Microsoft released a major update for Windows 3 with bug fixes and Multimedia Extension 1.0 in 1991.
- Windows 3.1 (1992)
In this version, Microsoft introduced TrueType scalable fonts and Windows 3.1 included improved disk performance multimedia support. This was the first Windows version which was distributed on a CD-ROM. Windows 3.1 required 1MB of RAM to run and allowed supported MS_DOS programs to be controlled with a mouse for the first time.
- Windows NT 3.1 (1993)
Meanwhile, Microsoft continued to develop Windows NT. They aimed to create a successor to OS/2 but the developers created a completely new system instead. Microsoft wanted to develop a successor to Windows NT 3.0 and replace Windows 3.1. But they could not do that until Windows XP released.
- Windows 95 (1995)
In Windows 95, it was the first appearance of the Start button, Start menu and taskbar. This version had the ‘plug-and-play’ feature for the first time. Internet Explorer was introduced in this period.
- Windows NT 4.0 (1996)
Windows NT 4.0 was the successor of NT 3.5 and 3.51. It had the new Explorer shell from Windows 95 and some scalability and feature improvements. Windows NT 4.0 came in four versions.
- Windows 98 (1998)
Windows 98 included new hardware drivers and FAT32 file system which supports disk partitions larger than 2GB. In this version, they introduced back and forward navigation buttons in the address bar. USB support was much improved in Windows 98 and led to its widespread adoption, including USB hubs and USB mice.
In the second edition of Windows 98, they introduced the Internet Connection Sharing feature, allowing several machines on a LAN to share a single internet connection.
- Windows 2000 (2000)
It was the 5th version of Windows NT. It was successfully deployed both on the server and the workstation markets. Amongst Windows 2000’s most significant new features was Active Directory, a near-complete replacement of the NT 4.0 Windows Server domain model, which built on industry-standard technologies like DNS, LDAP, and Kerberos to connect machines.
- Windows ME (2000)
Microsoft released Windows ME (Short for Millennium Edition) as a successor to Windows 98. It was the last DOS-based operating system.
In this version, they introduce a new multimedia-editing application called Windows Movie Maker, Internet Explorer 5.5 and Windows Media Player 7. It has the System Restore feature for the first time.
- Windows XP (2001)
In Windows XP, Microsoft was able to bring Windows NT and Windows 9x versions on one line. It was based on Windows NT like Windows 2000 but brought the consumer-friendly elements from Windows ME.
The Start menu and taskbar got a visual overhaul, bringing the familiar green Start button, blue taskbar, and vista wallpaper, along with various shadow and other visual effects.
Microsoft stopped services and support for Windows XP in 2014–13 years from the release. Windows XP was running on nearly 430 million of computers when it was discontinued.
Microsoft XP had a built-in firewall but it had some sort of security problems.
- Windows Vista (2007)
Vista updated the look and feel of Windows with more focus on transparent elements, search and security. Its development, under the codename “Longhorn”, was troubled, with ambitious elements abandoned in order to get it into production.
Vista intended to have enhanced security by introducing a new restricted user mode called User Account Control, replacing the administrator-by-default philosophy of Windows XP. Vista was the target of much criticism and negative press, and in general, was not well regarded, this was seen as leading to the relatively swift release of Windows 7.
In Vista, they introduced Speech Recognition, Windows DVD Maker and photo gallery. It was the first Windows OS to be distributed on DVDs.
- Windows 7 (2009)
Windows 7 was intended to fix all the problems and criticism faced by Vista. It was faster, more stable and user-friendly, so most users intended to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7, ignoring Windows Vista.
Some features of Windows 7 are faster booting, Device Stage, Windows PowerShell, less obtrusive User Account Control, multi-touch, and improved window management.
- Windows 8 (2012)
Windows 8 introduced the Start Screen instead of the Start menu in favor of a more touch-friendly Start Screen. Windows 8 was faster than previous versions. It included support for USB 3.0 devices.
But this new look was not welcomed by many traditional desktop users wanting to control mouse and keyboard.
- Windows 8.1 (2013)
Microsoft re-introduced Start Menu in Windows 8.1. Users could switch the Start menu or Start Screen in this version. It could satisfy both touch screen users and standard desktop users.
- Windows 10 (2015)
Windows 10 — despite being the ninth version of Windows, is designed to unify all Windows platforms across multiple devices, including Windows Phone and tablets, with universal apps that can be downloaded from the Windows Store and run on all Windows devices.
The Windows Runtime app ecosystem was revised into the Universal Windows Platform (UWP). These universal apps are made to run across multiple platforms and device classes, including smartphones, tablets, Xbox One consoles, and other compatible Windows 10 devices. Windows apps share code across platforms, have responsive designs that adapt to the needs of the device and available inputs, can synchronize data between Windows 10 devices.
Summary
Future
There are some rumors spreading through the internet saying Microsoft will release a new version of Windows called Windows 11 in 2020. But Microsoft has not announced any release date or mentioned anything about version called Windows 11.
In their blog (Computex blog post), the writer says Microsoft will concern about cloud-powered operating systems. They want to create an operating system to work with 5G connectivity. That means a lot more amazing features have to come.
