History

HISTORY        

The First Generation (1940's to early 1950's)

When electronic computers where first introduced in the 1940's they were created without any operating systems. All programming was done in absolute machine language, often by wiring up plugboards to control the machine's basic functions. During this generation computers were generally used to solve simple math calculations, operating systems were not necessarily needed.

The Second Generation (1955-1965)

The first operating system was introduced in the early 1950's, it was called GMOS and was created by General Motors for IBM's machine the 701. Operating systems in the 1950's were called single-stream batch processing systems because the data was submitted in groups. These new machines were called mainframes, and they were used by professional operators in large computer rooms. Since there was such as high price tag on these machines, only government agencies or large corporations were able to afford them.

The Third Generation (1965-1980)

By the late 1960's operating systems designers were able to develop the system of multiprogramming in which a computer program will be able to perform multiple jobs at the same time.The introduction of multiprogramming was a major part in the development of operating systems because it allowed a CPU to be busy nearly 100 percent of the time that it was in operation. Another major development during the third generation was the phenomenal growth of minicomputers, starting with the DEC PDP-1 in 1961. The PDP-1 had only 4K of 18-bit words, but at $120,000 per machine (less than 5 percent of the price of a 7094), it sold like hotcakes. These microcomputers help create a whole new industry and the development of more PDP's. These PDP's helped lead to the creation of personal computers which are created in the fourth generation. 

The Fourth Generation (1980-Present Day)

The fourth generation of operating systems saw the creation of personal computing. Although these computers were very similar to the minicomputers developed in the third generation, personal computers cost a very small fraction of what minicomputers cost. A personal computer was so affordable that it made it possible for a single individual could be able to own one for personal use while minicomputers where still at such a high price that only corporations could afford to have them. One of the major factors in the creation of personal computing was the birth of Microsoft and the Windows operating system. The windows Operating System was created in 1975 when Paul Allen and Bill Gates had a vision to take personal computing to the next level. They introduced the MS-DOS in 1981 although it was effective it created much difficulty for people who tried to understand its cryptic commands. Windows went on to become the largest operating system used in techonology today with releases of Windows 95, Windows 98, WIndows XP (Which is currently the most used operating system to this day), and their newest operating system Windows 7. Along with Microsoft, Apple is the other major operating system created in the 1980's. Steve Jobs, co founder of Apple, created the Apple Macintosh which was a huge success due to the fact that it was so user friendly. Windows development throughout the later years were influenced by the Macintosh and it created a strong competition between the two companies. Today all of our electronic devices run off of operating systems, from our computers and smartphones, to ATM machines and motor vehicles. And as technology advances, so do operating systems.    

           Early Versions      

The history of Windows dates back to 1981 when Microsoft started work on a program called "Interface Manager". 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 was to compete with Apple's operating system, but achieved little popularity. Windows 1.0 is not a complete operating system; rather, it extends MS-DOS. The shell of Windows 1.0 is a program known as the MS-DOS Executive. Components included Calculator, Calendar, Card file, Clipboard Viewer, Clock, Control Panel, Notepad, Paint, Revers Terminal and Write.

 Windows 1.0 does not allow overlapping windows. Instead all windows are tiled. Only modal dialog boxes may appear over other windows. Microsoft sold as included Windows Development libraries with the C development environment, which included numerous windows samples.

Windows 2.0 was released in December 1987, and was more popular than its predecessor. It features several improvements to the user interface and memory management. Windows 2.03 changed the OS from tiled windows to overlapping windows. The result of this change led to Apple Computer filing a suit against Microsoft alleging infringement on Apple's copyrights (eventually settled in court in Microsoft's favor in 1993).Windows 2.0 also introduced more sophisticated keyboard shortcuts and could make use of expanded memory.

Windows 3.x

Windows 3.0, released in 1990, improved the design, mostly because of virtual memory and loadable virtual device drivers (VxDs) that allow Windows to share arbitrary devices between multi-tasked DOS applications.^[18] Windows 3.0 applications can run in protected mode, which gives them access to several megabytes of memory without the obligation to participate in the software virtual memory scheme. They run inside the same address space, where the segmented memory provides a degree of protection. 

Windows 3.0 also featured improvements to the user interface. Microsoft rewrote critical operations from C into assembly. Windows 3.0 was the first version of Windows to achieve broad commercial success, selling 2 million copies in the first six months.

Windows 3.1, made generally available on March 1, 1992, featured a facelift. In August 1993, Windows for Workgroups, a special version with integrated peer-to-peer networking features and a version number of 3.11, was released. It was sold along with Windows 3.1. Support for Windows 3.1 ended on December 31, 2001.

Windows 3.2, released 1994, is an updated version of the Chinese version of Windows 3.1. The update was limited to this language version, as it fixed only issues related to the complex writing system of the Chinese language. Windows 3.2 was generally sold by computer manufacturers with a ten-disk version of MS-DOS that also had Simplified Chinese characters in basic output and some translated utilities.

Windows 9x

The next major consumer-oriented release of Windows, Windows 95, was released on August 24, 1995. While still remaining MS-DOS-based, Windows 95 introduced support for native 32-bit applications, plug and play hardware, preemptive multitasking, long file names of up to 255 characters, and provided increased stability over its predecessors. Windows 95 also introduced a redesigned, object oriented user interface, replacing the previous Program Manager with the Start menu, taskbar, and Windows Explorer shell. Windows 95 was a major commercial success for Microsoft; Ina Fried of CNET remarked that "by the time Windows 95 was finally ushered off the market in 2001, it had become a fixture on computer desktops around the world." Microsoft published four OEM Service Releases (OSR) of Windows 95, each of which was roughly equivalent to a service pack. The first OSR of Windows 95 was also the first version of Windows to be bundled with Microsoft's web browser, Internet Explorer. Mainstream support for Windows 95 ended on December 31, 2000, and extended support for Windows 95 ended on December 31, 2001.

Windows 95 was followed up with the release of Windows 98 on June 25, 1998, which introduced the Windows Driver Model, support for USB composite devices, support for ACPI, hibernation, and support for multi-monitor configurations. Windows 98 also included integration with Internet Explorer 4 through Active Desktop and other aspects of the Windows Desktop Update (a series of enhancements to the Explorer shell which were also made available for Windows 95). 

In May 1999, Microsoft released Windows 98 Second Edition, an updated version of Windows 98. Windows 98 SE added Internet Explorer 5.0 and Windows Media Player 6.2 amongst other upgrades. Mainstream support for Windows 98 ended on June 30, 2002, and extended support for Windows 98 ended on July 11, 2006.

On September 14, 2000, Microsoft released Windows Me (Millennium Edition), the last DOS-based version of Windows. Windows Me incorporated visual interface enhancements from its Windows NT-based counterpart Windows 2000, had faster boot times than previous versions (which however, required the removal of the ability to access a real mode DOS environment, removing compatibility with some older programs), expanded multimedia functionality (including Windows Media Player 7, Windows Movie Maker, and the Windows Image Acquisition framework for retrieving images from scanners and digital cameras), additional system utilities such as System File Protection and System Restore, and updated home networking tools.

 However, Windows Me was faced with criticism for its speed and instability, along with hardware compatibility issues and its removal of real mode DOS support. PC World considered Windows Me to be one of the worst operating systems Microsoft had ever released, and the fourth worst tech product of all time.