UA-29869588-1
Microsoft Windows 3.1 and 3.11
Released in 1990,
Microsoft Windows 3.0 was a revolutionary operating system for the PC as one of
the most used GUI operating systems.
Later Windows 3.1
was released in 1992 by Microsoft and was one of the first major PC GUI
operating systems widely used. Windows 3.1 allowed users to utilize several
features previously not available in MS-DOS.
Some of these new features were the use of a mouse that allowed the user to
navigate and manipulate data on the computer with one hand and now did not have
to memorize MS-DOS commands. In addition to the mouse, Windows now allowed the
user to multitask, meaning the user could now run multiple applications at once
without having to close out of each program before running another. Windows
along with other GUI operating systems are one of the many reasons computers
have become easier and more widely used
Microsoft
Windows 95
The next instalment of Windows from Windows 3.11 is Windows 95. Windows 95 added major enhancements when compared to Windows 3.11.
While Windows ME includes some of the latest fixes and updates and some enticing new features, we recommend this update only for users that may find or want some of the new features listed below or for users who are purchasing a new computer with this operating system included.
Windows NT
Windows NT 4.0 has the look and feel of Windows 95; however, it is a completely different operating system. Windows NT contains advanced security features, advanced network support, full 32-bit operating system, advanced multitasking, user administration and much more. While NT is a very advanced operating system, it does lack the support of drivers, features, and gaming support when compared to Windows 95 and Windows 98 and is why, even today, Windows NT is still used primarily by businesses and technical users.
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is based of the Windows NT Kernel and is sometimes referred to as Windows NT 5.0. Windows 2000 contains over 29 Million lines of code, mainly written in C++. 8 Million of those lines alone are written for drivers. Currently, Windows 2000 is by far one of the largest commercial projects ever built.
Microsoft Windows XP
Codenamed Whistler, Microsoft Windows XP is short for Windows Experienced and is the convergence of the two major Microsoft operating systems into one.
Windows 7
Operating
Systems
An
operating system, or OS, is a software program that enables the computer
hardware to communicate and operate with the computer software. Without a
computer operating system, a computer would be useless.
Unix ABCs
Unix, which is not an acronym, was developed by some of the
members of the Multics team at the bell labs starting in the late 1960's by many of the same people who
helped create the C programming language. The Unix today,
however, is not just the work of a couple of programmers. Many other
organizations, institutes and various other individuals contributed significant
additions to the system we now know today.
Developed by Linus
Torvalds and further elaborated
by a number of developers throughout the world, Linux (lee'nuhks/ or
/li'nuks/,_not_/li:'nuhks) is
a freely available multitasking and multiuser operating system. From the
outset, Linux was placed under General Public License (GPL). The system can be
distributed, used and expanded free of charge. In this way, developers have
access to all the source codes, thus being able to integrate new functions or
to find and eliminate programming bugs quickly. Thereby drivers for new
adapters (SCSI controller,
graphics cards, etc.) can be integrated very rapidly.
MS-DOS3
Short for Microsoft Disk operating system, MS-DOS is a
non-graphical command line operating system derived from 86-DOS that was
created for IBM compatible computers. MS-DOS originally written by Tim
Paterson and introduced by Microsoft in August 1981 and
was last updated in 1994 when MS-DOS 6.22 was released. Today, MS-DOS
is no longer used; however, the command shell, more commonly known as the Windows
command lineis still used by many users. In the picture to the right, is an
example of what a MS-DOS window more appropriately referred to as the Windows
command line looks like under Microsoft Windows.
Today, most computer users are only familiar with how to navigate Microsoft
Windows using the mouse. Unlike Windows, MS-DOS is a command-line and is
navigated by using MS-DOS commands. For example, if you wanted to see all the
files in a folder in Windows you would double-click the folder to open the
folder in Windows Explorer. In MS-DOS, to view that same folder you would
navigate to the folder using the cd command and then list the files
in that folder using the dir command.
OS/2
Jointly developed by Microsoft and IBM to operate
with Intel microprocessors, OS/2 was originally a 16-bitoperating
system that was designed to work with 286 processors and first
introduced in 1987. OS/2 later became a graphical interface similar to
Windows, but also supported a command line. In fact, many OS/2 and DOS
commands are the same.
In 1992, a new 32-bit version
was released for 386 and above PCs and was solely an IBM product.
Later in 1994, IBM released a version it called OS/2 Warp that
included Internet access and additional features. At the same time,
Microsoft was working on OS/2 version 3.0; however, it later became Microsoft
Windows NT.
OS/2 never became as popular
as the other Microsoft operating systems, and software developers never created
a substantial number of programs to run primarily under OS/2. Although some
computer experts say later versions of OS/2 are superior to Windows,
Windows and the number of products created for it greatly outnumber OS/2
programs.
IBM officially announces on
July 14, 2005 that all sales of OS/2 will end on December 23, 2005
and that all support from IBM for OS/2 will end on December 16, 2005.
Windows CE ABCs
Microsoft Windows CE 1.0 was originally released in 1996 to
compete in the Palm Device Assistant Category. Windows CE, as shown below, has
many of the same features as Windows
95.
In addition to the look of
Windows 95, Windows CE also includes similar applications such as Pocket Excel,
Pocket Word, and Pocket Power.
Microsoft Windows 3.1 and 3.11
Released in 1990,
Microsoft Windows 3.0 was a revolutionary operating system for the PC as one of
the most used GUI operating systems.
Later Windows 3.1
was released in 1992 by Microsoft and was one of the first major PC GUI
operating systems widely used. Windows 3.1 allowed users to utilize several
features previously not available in MS-DOS.
Some of these new features were the use of a mouse that allowed the user to
navigate and manipulate data on the computer with one hand and now did not have
to memorize MS-DOS commands. In addition to the mouse, Windows now allowed the
user to multitask, meaning the user could now run multiple applications at once
without having to close out of each program before running another. Windows
along with other GUI operating systems are one of the many reasons computers
have become easier and more widely used
Microsoft
Windows 95
The next instalment of Windows from Windows 3.11 is Windows 95. Windows 95 added major enhancements when compared to Windows 3.11.
Windows 98
Microsoft
Windows 98 is the upgrade to Microsoft Windows
95. While this was not as big as release as Windows 95, Windows 98 has
significant updates, fixes and support for new peripherals.
Windows ME
Windows
Millennium, also known as Windows
ME, was introduced September 14, 2000 to the general public as the upgrade
for Windows 95 and Windows 98 users and is designed for end-users. Overall,
Windows ME has the look and feel of Windows 98 with some additional fixes and
features not available in previous operating systems.While Windows ME includes some of the latest fixes and updates and some enticing new features, we recommend this update only for users that may find or want some of the new features listed below or for users who are purchasing a new computer with this operating system included.
Windows NT
Windows NT 4.0 has the look and feel of Windows 95; however, it is a completely different operating system. Windows NT contains advanced security features, advanced network support, full 32-bit operating system, advanced multitasking, user administration and much more. While NT is a very advanced operating system, it does lack the support of drivers, features, and gaming support when compared to Windows 95 and Windows 98 and is why, even today, Windows NT is still used primarily by businesses and technical users.
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is based of the Windows NT Kernel and is sometimes referred to as Windows NT 5.0. Windows 2000 contains over 29 Million lines of code, mainly written in C++. 8 Million of those lines alone are written for drivers. Currently, Windows 2000 is by far one of the largest commercial projects ever built.
Microsoft Windows XP
Codenamed Whistler, Microsoft Windows XP is short for Windows Experienced and is the convergence of the two major Microsoft operating systems into one.
Windows Vista
Microsoft
Windows Vista is an upgrade to Microsoft Windows XP and Windows 2000 users.
Windows Vista contains a dramatic new look for users used to previous versions
of Microsoft Windows that has been designed to help create an overall better
experience.Windows 7
Unlike
Windows Vista, which introduced a large number of new features, Windows 7 was
intended to be a more focused, incremental upgrade to the Windows line, with
the goal of being compatible with applications and hardware with which Windows
Vista was already compatible. Presentations given by Microsoft in 2008 focused
on multi-touch support, a redesigned Windows shell with a new taskbar,
referred to as the Superbar, a home networking system called HomeGroup, and
performance improvements. Some standard applications that have been included
with prior releases of Microsoft Windows, including Windows
Calendar, Windows Mail, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Photo
Gallery, are not included in Windows 7 most are instead offered
separately at no charge as part of the Windows Live Essentials suite
