HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF WINDOWS.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF WINDOWS.
The history of Windows dates back to September 1981, when Chase Bishop, a computer scientist, designed the first model of an electronic device and project "Interface Manager" was started. It was announced in November 1983 (after the apple Lisa, but before the Macintosh under the name "Windows", but Windows 1.0 was not released until November 1985. Windows 1.0 lacked a degree of functionality, achieved little popularity and was to compete with Apple's own operating system. Windows 1.0 is not a complete operating system; rather, it extends MS DOS. The shell of Windows 1.0 was a program known as the executive. Other supplied programs were calculator, Calendar , card file, clipboard viewer, Clock, control panel, notepad, paint, reveres, terminal, and write. Windows 1.0 did not allow overlapping windows. Instead all windows were tiled. Only dialog boxes could appear over other windows.
               MICROSOFT WINDOWS VARSIONS.

          There are various versions of windows which was been used worldwide. Some of those versions are as follows below:

Microsoft Windows version 2.0, was released in December 1987, featured several improvements to the user interface and memory management. And was slightly more popular than its predecessor. Windows 2.03 changed the Operating System from tiled windows to overlapping windows.
          Windows 2.1 Was released in two different versions: Windows/386 employed the 386 virtual 8086 mode to multitask several DOS programs, and the paged memory model to emulate expanded memory using available extended memory. Windows/286 (which, despite its name, would run on the 8086) still ran in real mode, but could make use of the high memory area.
          Windows 3.0 and 3.1, windows 3.0, released in 1990, improved the design, mostly because of virtual memory and loadable virtual device drivers that allowed them to share arbitrary devices between multitasked DOS windows. Also, Windows applications could now run in protected mode, when Windows was running in Standard or 386 Enhanced Mode, which gave them access to several megabytes of memory and removed the obligation to participate in the software virtual memory scheme. They still ran inside the same address space, where the segmented memory provided a degree of protection, and multi-tasked cooperatively. Windows 3.0 also featured improvements to the user interface.
          Windows 9x, windows 95 was released on August 24, 1995, featuring a new object oriented user interface, support for long file name of up to 255 characters, the ability to automatically detect and configure installed hardware  and preemptive multitasking. Windows 95 was designed to replace not only Windows 3.1, but also Windows for Workgroups, and MS-DOS. It could natively run 32-bit applications, and featured several technological improvements that increased its stability over Windows 3.1. Windows New Technology family In July 1993, Microsoft released windows new technology based on a new kernel. The New Technology family of Windows systems was fashioned and marketed for higher reliability business use, considered to be the professional Operating System. The first release was windows new technology (1993), numbered "3.1" to match the consumer Windows version, which was followed by windows NT 3.5 (1994), Windows NT 3.51 (1995),  Windows new technology 4.0 (1996) and windows 2000. Windows New Technology was the first Windows version to utilize. Windows NT 4.0 was the first in this line to implement the "Windows 95" user interface (and the first to include Windows 95's built-in 32-bit runtimes) also Microsoft released windows 2000 as part of the NT line in February 2000. During 2004 part of the source code for Windows 2000 was leaked onto the Internet.          Windows XP, Vista and 7 After a lengthy development process, Windows Vista was released on Microsoft moved to combine their consumer and business operating systems with Windows XP that was released on October 25, 2001. Windows XP is built on the Windows NT kernel, retooled to also function as a home operating system. This new version was widely praised in computer magazines. November 30, 2006 for volume licensing and January 30, 2007 for consumers. It contains a number of new features, from a redesigned shell and user interface to significant technical changes, with a particular focus on security features. It is available in a number of different editions, and has been subject to some criticism. Vista's server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 was released in early 2008.
On July 22, 2009, Window 7and windows silver 2008 are released as RTM (release to manufacturing) while the former was released to the public 3 months later on October 22, 2009.

          Windows 8, the successor to Windows 7, was released to the market on 26 October 2012. Windows 8 has been designed to be used on both tablets and the conventional Personal Computer. The Microsoft Surface tablet was released alongside Windows 8, as a competitor to the Apple I pad and Android tablets. Microsoft Surface is available in two editions, Surface with Windows RT and Surface with Windows 8 Pro, aimed at designers and other work-based users. The Surface RT runs a limited version of Windows 8, Windows RT, and will not run many classic Windows desktop applications, as users can download new applications from the Windows App Store. However, the Surface Pro, released on February 9, 2013, has a full desktop operating system capable of running all classic desktop applications. See Microsoft Surface for more information. Windows 8 was released to manufacturing on 1 August 2012, with a build of 6.2.9200. It is available for purchase in two versions, Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro.

REFERENCES.


www.hxalu.com, Oxford  Advanced Learners Dictionary 7th New Edition, www.webopedia.com, www.microsoftcooperation.com,  ask.com.