On November 10, 1983, Microsoft announced Microsoft Windows, an extension of the MS
DOS operating system that would provide a graphical operating environment for PC users.
Microsoft called Windows 1.0 a new software environment for developing
and running applications that use bitmap displays and mouse pointing devices.
With Windows, the graphical user interface (GUI) era at Microsoft had begun.
The release of Windows XP in 2001 marked a major milestone
in the Windows desktop operating system family,
by bringing together the two previously separate lines
of Windows desktop operating systems.
With the upcoming release of Windows .
NET Server, Microsoft will complete a cycle of server operating system
upgrades it began nearly a decade ago in 1993,
with the release of the first version of Microsoft Windows NT Server.
To understand the progression of Windows server operating systems you have
to look back earlier than 1993, however,
to the even longer line of Windows desktop operating
systems stretching back to the early 1980s.
The first version of Windows was a milestone product because it allowed
PC users to switch from the MS DOS method of typing commands
at the C prompt (C:\) to using a mouse to point and click their way
through functions, such as starting applications, in the operating system.
Windows 1.0 also allowed users to switch between several programswithout
requiring them to quit and restart individual applications.
The product included a set of desktop applications,
including the MS DOS file management program,
a calendar, card file, notepad, calculator, clock, and telecommunications programs,
which helped users manage day to day activities.
Even before the Windows 1.0 graphical user interface,
there was this pre Windows 1.0 Interface Manager.With the second version of Windows,
Microsoft took advantage of the improved processing speed of the Intel 286 processor,
expanded memory, and inter application communication capabilities
using Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE). Windows 2.0
featured support for the VGA graphics standard,
and also allowed users to overlap windows, control screen layout,
and use keyboard combinations to move rapidly through Windows operations.
Many developers started writing their first Window based applications for Windows 2.x.
Following the release of Windows 2.0 was Windows/386 2.03,
which took advantage of the protected mode and extended memory
capabilities of the Intel 386 processor.
Subsequent Windows releases continued to improve the speed, reliability,
and usability of the PC, and improved the interface design and capabilities.
Microsofts first mainstream computing platform offered 32 bit performance,
advanced graphics, and full support of the more powerful Intel 386 processor.
A new wave of 386 PCs helped drive the popularity of Windows 3.0,
which offered a wide range of new features and capabilities,
including:Program Manager, File Manager, and Print ManagerA
completely rewritten application development environment with modular virtual
device drivers (VxDs), native support for applications running in extended memory,
and fully pre emptive MS DOS multitasking An improved set of Windows icons
The popularity of Windows 3.0 blossomed with the release of a completely new Windows
software development kit (SDK), which helped software developers focus more
on writing applications and less on writing device drivers.
Widespread acceptance among third party hardware and software developers
helped fuel the success of Windows 3.0.