Introduction to microsoft windows

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Introduction to Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a combination of operating systems and softwares. The first operating system was introduced in 1985; this was an addition to MS DOS. This Window was introduced in order to support the growing use of graphical user interface. The success of the Microsoft windows is closely related to the aim of its founder Bill Gates. His aim was to promote Windows as in a fast growing personal computer market. His dream thus turned to reality and he the market share of Microsoft reaches to about 91% in 2009

Early History of Windows

History of Windows Operating System started in 1981 when “Interface manager” came to surface. Windows 1.0 was released in 1985 after the release of Macintosh by Apple. Windows 1.0 was loaded with the features like calendar, clock, notepad, paint, cardfile and clipboard. The only drawback with these kinds of windows is it was not capable of allowing overlapping windows. The next windows known as windows version 2.0 was released in October 1987 with many improvements. Soon afterwards Windows 2.1 came to surface having two further divisions named as Windows/286 and windows/386. As compared to MS DOS Windows allowed for cooperative multi tasking therefore allowing the users to run multiple applications at the same time. Windows 3.0 and windows through were released in 1990 and 1992 respectively. Windows 3.1 allowed sharing of arbitrary devices involving multi task DOS operations. Windows 95 came to surface in 1995 it was capable of supporting very long file names of about 255 characters. Windows was introduced in 1998 and right after one year the second addition of windows 98 was released in 1999. In 2000 with a start of new century windows Millennium Addition was released. This version contained many additional features like System Restore. Microsoft Windows Operating systems were developed separately for domestic and professional IT users.

Difference between Professional and Regular Windows

The aim of the operating system manufacturers is to provide ultimate users with best user experience. For this purpose the professional and domestic Windows operating systems are designed separately. The Windows which are designed for domestic users have more multimedia support and user applications. The domestic users cannot make use of networking. However the windows which are designed to meet the specific needs of the IT professionals are capable to provide networking and other security features. For example the released of NT in 1993 was merely designed to cater the needs of the professionals. Windows 95 on the other hand came with incredible GUI features and was designed for hefty consumer market. Windows 98, Windows 2000 and Windows XP were designed for general users. However Windows XP has two versions Professional and home. Windows server 2003 is an example of professional Windows OS.

Early features of Windows Operating System

The early versions of Windows operating system were focused on providing simple and user friendly interface for single PC owner. The early versions did not support the network users and were not considered really conducive for security purposes. The early fame of Windows for its user friendly experience also put many threats to it like the attack of viruses and worms. The Windows 95 and 98 were automatically able to detect the attached hardware devices. Each next version came with improvement and was relatively more stable than its counterpart. These operating systems also contain virtual memory and virtual device drivers. The most attractive feature of windows OS was that it was compatible to the variety of softwares. This is the reason why Windows OS still accounts for more than 90% of the total operating system market.