Here’s a brief overview of every version of Windows.
This was the first version of a Microsoft OS that you didn’t have to enter commands to use.
Instead, you could point and click in a boxa windowwith a mouse.
Microsoft
It took two years from the announcement to finally ship.
Obscure Fact:What we call Windows today was almost called “Interface Manager.”
Interface Manager was the code name of the product and was a finalist for the official name.
Doesn’t have quite the same ring as “Windows,” does it?
Windows 2.0
Released:Dec. 9, 1987
Replaced:Windows 1.0.
Windows 1.0 wasn’t warmly received by critics, who felt it was slow and too mouse-focused.
The mouse was relatively new to computing at the time.
Desktop icons were also introduced, as were keyboard shortcuts.
Windows 3.0/3.1
Released:May 22, 1990.
Windows 3.1: March 1, 1992.
Replaced:Windows 2.0.
It was more popular than Windows 1.0.
Lifewire
Windows 3.0/3.1 ran faster than ever on new Intel 386 chips.
The GUI improved with more colors and better icons.
This version is also the first really big-selling Microsoft operating system, with more than 10 million copies sold.
It also included new management abilities like Print Manager, File Manager, and Program Manager.
Obscure Fact:Windows 3.0 cost $149; upgrades from earlier versions were $50.
It boasted a huge marketing campaign that captured the public’s imagination in a way nothing computer-related ever had.
It also had internet support and plug-and-play capabilities that made it easier to install software and hardware.
They were built on Windows 95, offering basically incremental upgrades.
Obscure Fact:Windows ME was an unmitigated disaster.
Parts of Windows 2000 technology remain in active use more than 20 years later.
Despite its age, it’s still Microsoft’s second-most-popular OS, behind Windows 7.
That is a hard-to-grasp statistic.
Obscure Fact:By one estimate, Windows XP has sold more than one billion copies over the years.
Innovative/Notable:Vista is the anti-XP.
Its name is synonymous with failure and ineptitude.
Obscure Fact:Vista is No.
2 onInfo World’slist of top all-time tech flops.
It improved in every way on Vista and helped the public eventually forget the OS version of the Titanic.
It’s stable, secure, graphically friendly, and easy to use.
It didn’t work, for the most part.
Users missed their Start menu and consistently expressed confusion about usingWindows 8.
Microsoft then named the user interface “Modern,” but that wasn’t warmly received either.
Second, Windows 10 will allegedly be the last-named version of Windows.
Future updates will be delivered in semi-annual update packages, instead of distinct new versions.
Also, in Windows 11, Edge takes over as the default internet tool.
FAQ
You cantell which version of Windows you havebased on the interface.
If you’re still unsure,bring up the command promptand enterwinverto see your Windows version.
Toupgrade from Windows 10 Home to Pro, selectStart>options>Update & Security.
Next, chooseActivation> selectGo to the StoreorChange product key.
Windows 10 Pro supports extra features such as the ability to access your desktop remotely from another rig.
The very first operating system, called GMOS, was developed by General Motors for the IBM 701.
