History of Microsoft Windows In 1983, [1] Microsoft announced the development of Windows, a graphical user interface (GUI) for its own operating system ( MS-DOS ). The product line has changed from a GUI product to a modern operating system over two families of design, each with its own codebase and default file system . The 3.x and 4.x family includes Windows 3.0 , Windows 3.1x , Windows 95 , Windows 98 , and Windows ME . Windows for Workgroups 3.11 added 32-bit networking and 32-bit disk access. Windows 95 added additional 32- bit capabilities (however, MS- DOS, some of the kernel, and supplementary utilities such as Disk Defragment remained 16- bit) and implemented a new object oriented user interface, elements of which are still used today. The Windows NT family started with Windows NT 3.1 in 1993. Modern Windows operating system versions are based on the newer Windows NT kernel that was originally intended for OS/2 . Windows runs on IA-32 , x86-64 , and on 32-bit ARM (ARMv7) processors. [2] [3] Earlier versions also ran on the i860 , Alpha, MIPS , Fairchild Clipper , PowerPC , and Itanium architectures. Some work was done to port it to the SPARC architecture. The familiar Windows Explorer desktop shell superseded Program Manager with the release of Windows 95, received major enhancements in 1997, and remained the default shell for all commercial Windows releases until Windows 8s Modern UI - derived Start screen debuted in 2012. Windows 1 and Windows 2 Main articles: Windows 1.0 , Windows 2.0 and Windows 2.1x The first independent version of Microsoft Windows, version 1.0, released on 20 November 1985, achieved little popularity. It was originally going to be called Interface Manager but Rowland Hanson , the head of marketing at Microsoft, convinced the company that the name Windows would be more appealing to customers. Windows 1.0 was not a complete operating system, but rather an operating environment that extended MS-DOS , and shared the latters inherent flaws and problems. The first version of Microsoft Windows included a simple graphics painting program called Windows Paint ; Windows Write , a simple word processor ; an appointment calendar; a card-filer; a notepad ; a clock; a control panel; a computer terminal ; Clipboard; and RAM driver. It also included the MS-DOS Executive and a game called Reversi . Microsoft had worked with Apple Computer to develop applications for Apples new Macintosh computer, which featured a graphical user interface . As part of the related business negotiations, Microsoft had licensed certain aspects of the Macintosh user interface from Apple; in later litigation, a district court summarized these aspects as screen displays. In the development of Windows 1.0, Microsoft intentionally limited its borrowing of certain GUI elements from the Macintosh user interface, to comply with its license. For example, windows were only displayed tiled on the screen; that is, they could not overlap or overlie one another. Microsoft Windows version 2 came out on 9 December 1987, and proved slightly more popular than its predecessor. Much of the popularity for Windows 2.0 came by way of its inclusion as a run-time version with Microsofts new graphical applications, Excel and Word for Windows . They could be run from MS-DOS, executing Windows for the duration of their activity, and closing down Windows upon exit. Microsoft Windows received a major boost around this time when Aldus PageMaker appeared in a Windows version, having previously run only on Macintosh . Some computer historians [ who? ] date this, the first appearance of a significant and non- Microsoft application for Windows, as the start of the success of Windows. Versions 2.0x used the real- mode memory model, which confined it to a maximum of 1 megabyte of memory. In such a configuration, it could run under another multitasker like DESQview, which used the 286 protected mode . Later, two new versions were released: Windows/286 2.1 and Windows/386 2.1. Like prior versions of Windows, Windows/286 2.1 used the real-mode memory model, but was the first version to support the High Memory Area . Windows/386 2.1 had a protected mode kernel with LIM- standard EMS emulation , the predecessor to XMS which would finally change the topology of IBM PC computing. All Windows and DOS-based applications at the time were real mode, running over the protected mode kernel by using the virtual 8086 mode , which was new with the 80386 processor. Version 2.03, and later 3.0, faced challenges from Apple over its overlapping windows and other features Apple charged mimicked the ostensibly copyrighted look and feel of its operating system and embodie[d] and generated a copy of the Macintosh in its OS. Judge William Schwarzer dropped all but 10 of Apples 189 claims of copyright infringement, and ruled that most of the remaining 10 were over uncopyrightabl e ideas. Success with Windows 3.0 Main article: Windows 3.0 Microsoft Windows scored a significant success with Windows 3.0 , released in May 1990. In addition to improved capabilities given to native applications, Windows also allowed users to better multitask older MS-DOS based software compared to Windows/386, thanks to the introduction of virtual memory . Windows 3.0s user interface finally resembled a serious competitor to the user interface of the Macintosh computer. PCs had improved graphics by this time, due to VGA video cards, and the protected/ enhanced mode allowed Windows applications to use more memory in a more painless manner than their DOS counterparts could. Windows 3.0 could run in real, standard, or 386 enhanced modes, and was compatible with any Intel processor from the 8086 /8088 up to the 80286 and 80386 . This was the first version to run Windows programs in protected mode, although the 386 enhanced mode kernel was an enhanced version of the protected mode kernel in Windows/386. A multimedia version, Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions 1.0, was released in October 1991. This was bundled with multimedia upgrade kits, comprising a CD-ROM drive and a sound card, such as the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Pro . This version was the precursor to the multimedia features available in Windows 3.1 and later, and was part of Microsofts specification for the Multimedia PC. The features listed above and growing market support from application software developers made Windows 3.0 wildly successful, selling around 10 million copies in the two years before the release of version 3.1. Windows 3.0 became a major source of income for Microsoft, and led the company to revise some of its earlier plans. It was discontinued on 31 December 2001. [4] A step sideways: OS/2 OS/2 logo Main article: OS/2 During the mid to late 1980s, Microsoft and IBM had cooperatively been developing OS/2 as a successor to DOS. OS/2 would take full advantage of the aforementione d protected mode of the Intel 80286 processor and up to 16 MB of memory. OS/2 1.0, released in 1987, supported swapping and multitasking and allowed running of DOS executables. A GUI, called the Presentation Manager (PM), was not available with OS/2 until version 1.1, released in 1988. Its API was incompatible with Windows. Version 1.2, released in 1989, introduced a new file system , HPFS , to replace the FAT file system. By the early 1990s, conflicts developed in the Microsoft/ IBM relationship. They cooperated with each other in developing their PC operating systems, and had access to each others code. Microsoft wanted to further develop Windows, while IBM desired for future work to be based on OS/2. In an attempt to resolve this tension, IBM and Microsoft agreed that IBM would develop OS/2 2.0, to replace OS/2 1.3 and Windows 3.0, while Microsoft would develop a new operating system, OS/2 3.0, to later succeed OS/2 2.0. This agreement soon however fell apart, and the Microsoft/ IBM relationship was terminated. IBM continued to develop OS/2, while Microsoft changed the name of its (as yet unreleased) OS/2 3.0 to Windows NT . Both retained the rights to use OS/2 and Windows technology developed up to the termination of the agreement; Windows NT, however, was to be written anew, mostly independently (see below). After an interim 1.3 version to fix up many remaining problems with the 1.x series, IBM released OS/2 version 2.0 in 1992. This was a major improvement: it featured a new, object- oriented GUI, the Workplace Shell (WPS), that included a desktop and was considered by many to be OS/2s best feature. Microsoft would later imitate much of it in Windows 95. Version 2.0 also provided a full 32-bit API, offered smooth multitasking and could take advantage of the 4 gigabytes of address space provided by the Intel 80386 . Still, much of the system had 16-bit code internally which required, among other things, device drivers to be 16-bit code also. This was one of the reasons for the chronic shortage of OS/2 drivers for the latest devices.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 02:28:28 +0000
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