31-08-2017, 01:59 PM
Windows operating system, computer operating system (OS) developed by Microsoft Corporation to run personal computers (PC). With the first graphical user interface (GUI) for IBM-compatible PCs, the Windows operating system soon dominated the PC market. Approximately 90 percent of PCs run a version of Windows.
The first version of Windows, released in 1985, was simply a GUI offered as an extension of Microsoft's existing disk operating system, or MS-DOS. Based in part on the licensed concepts that Apple Inc. had used for its Macintosh System Software, Windows first allowed DOS users to visually navigate a virtual desktop by opening graphical "windows" that displayed folder and file contents with the click of a mouse button, instead of typing commands and directory paths into a text prompt.
Later versions introduced greater functionality, including native Windows File Manager, Program Manager and Print Manager, and a more dynamic interface. Microsoft also developed specialized Windows packages, including Windows for Workgroups and the powerful, enterprise-oriented Windows NT. The 1995 consumer release Windows 95 fully integrated Windows and DOS and featured built-in Internet support, including the World Wide Web Internet Explorer browser.
With the 2001 version of Windows XP, Microsoft unified its various Windows packages under a single banner, offering multiple editions for consumers, businesses, multimedia developers and others. Windows XP abandoned the Windows 95 kernel (basic software code) for a more powerful code base and offered a more convenient interface and improved application and memory management. The successful XP standard was reached in late 2006 by Windows Vista, which experienced a troublesome development and found considerable market resistance, quickly acquiring the reputation of being a large, slow and resource-consuming system. Responding to Vista's disappointing adoption rate, Microsoft launched in 2009 Windows 7, an operating system whose interface was similar to that of Vista, but was enthusiastic for its remarkable speed improvement and modest system requirements.
The first version of Windows, released in 1985, was simply a GUI offered as an extension of Microsoft's existing disk operating system, or MS-DOS. Based in part on the licensed concepts that Apple Inc. had used for its Macintosh System Software, Windows first allowed DOS users to visually navigate a virtual desktop by opening graphical "windows" that displayed folder and file contents with the click of a mouse button, instead of typing commands and directory paths into a text prompt.
Later versions introduced greater functionality, including native Windows File Manager, Program Manager and Print Manager, and a more dynamic interface. Microsoft also developed specialized Windows packages, including Windows for Workgroups and the powerful, enterprise-oriented Windows NT. The 1995 consumer release Windows 95 fully integrated Windows and DOS and featured built-in Internet support, including the World Wide Web Internet Explorer browser.
With the 2001 version of Windows XP, Microsoft unified its various Windows packages under a single banner, offering multiple editions for consumers, businesses, multimedia developers and others. Windows XP abandoned the Windows 95 kernel (basic software code) for a more powerful code base and offered a more convenient interface and improved application and memory management. The successful XP standard was reached in late 2006 by Windows Vista, which experienced a troublesome development and found considerable market resistance, quickly acquiring the reputation of being a large, slow and resource-consuming system. Responding to Vista's disappointing adoption rate, Microsoft launched in 2009 Windows 7, an operating system whose interface was similar to that of Vista, but was enthusiastic for its remarkable speed improvement and modest system requirements.