The user interface was refreshed in this release, including new, more vivid icons. It was accompanied by Windows for Workgroups 3. An add-on pack named Win32s was also introduced in , which allowed Windows 3. The last minor update to the series, Windows for Workgroups 3.
The new operating system intended to be a preemptive multitasking system with multiprocessing support. The design included a portable kernel with executive services layered on top of a hardware abstraction layer, and multiple environmental subsystems running in user mode offering support for multiple APIs.
Initially, NT was developed for the Intel i processor, partially to ensure portability by preventing programmers from introducing xspecific paradigms into code. When the team learned about the disappointing performance of the i, the operating system was ported to the i and MIPS architectures. Following the success of Windows 3. The change was first announced in January with the new operating system initially being called Advanced Windows.
User interface was added to Windows NT in the first half of , with network support following during summer. The first prototype version was shipped to selected partners in September and the new operating system was publicly demonstrated for the first time at Fall COMDEX in October.
Windows NT 3. The next minor version, Windows NT 3. Several plans for a low-end Win32 environment were considered, including a variant of the NT kernel cut down in order to run on an average Windows 3.
On 24 August , Microsoft released Windows 95 , previously known under its codename "Chicago", with a brand new user interface with a Start menu, taskbar, and the desktop, as provided by the new Windows Explorer. Although previous versions already included certain bit components, it was the first version to be able to run most bit user applications, while it kept a great degree of compatibility with already existing bit ones.
Among other improvements in this version was the support for long filenames through an extension to the FAT16 file system. Most MS-DOS user applications were either extended with Windows code or entirely replaced with a Windows version, keeping only the ones that were required to run without Windows, e.
Alongside the new shell, Windows NT 4. The classic Windows line received a major update on 25 June with the release of Windows 98 , codenamed "Memphis". It was the first version to integrate Internet Explorer deeply into the operating system's user interface as a part of the Windows Desktop Update.
A feature called Active Desktop made it even possible to set a webpage as the desktop background. Under the hood Windows 98 introduced the new Windows Driver Model, which enabled the use of the same drivers on Windows 9x as well as on the radically different Windows NT based operating systems. It carried over the improvements made to the user interface in its NT-based counterpart, Windows Windows Me is based on Windows 98, however, access to the real mode MS-DOS was restricted in order to decrease boot time among other changes to the kernel.
It was infamously known for its stability problems partially caused by the rushing of its release following the cancelation of the Neptune project. It was replaced by Windows XP in , ending the era of classic Windows. In the late s it became more feasible to discontinue the aging Windows 9x line and release a consumer version based on Windows NT.
Similar to Memphis, the user interface of Windows NT 5. Management tools, most of which were left unchanged since the first NT release, were rewritten using the new Microsoft Management Console. On servers, the new version brought improvements from the canceled Cairo project, such as Active Directory. Beside working on the successor of Windows NT 4. An Enterprise edition of Windows NT 4. Terminal Server Edition followed in , which introduced the Terminal Services feature, allowing remote access to Windows computers.
Windows NT Embedded 4. As Windows NT 5. In , Microsoft announced that Windows NT 5. In the end, it was released on 17 February with Internet Explorer 5.
Work on Neptune begun several months before Windows was finished. The Neptune team heavily cooperated with the team working on Millennium, with the two projects sharing certain components. Development concentrated on a new task-oriented user interface called Activity Centers, which was also included in contemporary Millennium builds.
The project also toyed around with the idea of hybrid startup, later implemented in Windows 8. Neptune was canceled in early together with its business counterpart codenamed Odyssey and replaced with a new, more conservative project codenamed Whistler that would eventually become Windows XP. Windows XP was released on 25 October and was a relatively minor update to Windows , mostly focusing on user experience and better compatibility with Windows 9x.
A new theme called Luna was introduced, replacing the classic theme used in previous versions. A new login screen and fast user switching was also added, as well as better support for digital cameras, MS-DOS emulation and wireless networking.
Windows XP was originally released in Home Edition and Professional variants, with an embedded version following a few months after. Two additional editions for consumer use were introduced in , both based on the original Professional edition. Development of the server counterpart continued after the release of the client version, resulting in Windows Server , which was released in spring and used a newer kernel.
Work on an AMD64 version started late in the development process and finished in with the release of x64 editions of both Windows Server and Windows XP Professional also based on codebase. It is based on the original Home Edition, but is noticeably more limited with some features removed and only 3 programs being allowed to run at a time.
Work on a new, major release of Windows started already before Whistler concluded development. The project, codenamed Blackcomb as a reference to the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort in British Columbia, was originally announced as the successor of Windows XP with new features such as a. NET user interface, integration with web services, or an advanced storage subsystem.
However, the company realized that it wouldn't be able to hit the expected release date of late with the planned feature set and decided to first ship a bridge-gap release known as Longhorn , named after a bar between the two mountains, followed by Blackcomb itself in or Development of Longhorn started in , initially as a spinoff of the still-ongoing server version of Windows XP.
At the time, Longhorn work was mostly confined to Lab06 , the lab that worked on the Windows shell and user experience. With the cancellation of Longhorn Server in late , most user experience features were moved to Longhorn while server-oriented improvements were slated for Blackcomb.
As development progressed, many features originally planned for Blackcomb became part of Longhorn, causing both projects to be postponed even further. The project was subject to severe feature creep, as well as organizational issues. Many components were extended using. Most builds were plagued with memory leaks, resulting in only two semi-public releases during this period.
In the end, the Longhorn project was reset in the middle of The feature set was reviewed and many features such as WinFS or Castles were postponed or canceled in order to create a more realistic set of goals for the new major version.
The first build of Longhorn after the reset was released to WinHEC attendees in the spring of , followed by the first beta release three months later, which introduced the Windows Vista name. The development continued at a steady pace, with Beta 2 shipping in May and two release candidates following in the months after. Windows Vista was finally released on 30 January in considerably more editions than its predecessor, which included Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Ultimate and Enterprise.
The new version included a new overhauled user interface called Windows Aero , as well as new security features such as User Account Control. It grew on to become one of the most disliked releases of Windows due to its immense lack of stability of the original release, although later updates greatly improved the situation. The large jump in system requirements caused by the long gap since the last Windows release and computer manufacturers marking underperforming systems as Vista Capable also contributed to its bad reputation.
The server counterpart, Windows Server was released a year later on 27 February and is based on Windows Vista Service Pack 1. As Windows Vista was nearing completion in early , the Blackcomb project was renamed to Vienna.
However, so many features have been postponed into it after the development reset in that its objectives became very unrealistic, which lead to its eventual cancelation. A new project codenamed Windows 7 was set up in its place, which aimed to make minor improvements to the core Windows Vista experience such as the introducing the Superbar, Libraries or Homegroups and address the negative feedback its predecessor faced.
Windows allowed customization of its user interface since its first versions. This was improved with Windows 3. This was subsequently refined in Windows 98 and Windows with the possibility to use 2-color gradients for the titlebar.
Windows XP introduced visual styles , a set of bitmaps that allowed deeper customization of user interface elements. However, users could still switch to Windows Classic if they so chose, which was necessary for accessibility functions such as the High Contrast themes that relied on the classic theme's ability to set individual colors. Windows Vista introduced the hardware-accelerated Desktop Window Manager , which allowed for advanced effects such as translucent title bars used by the new Windows Aero theme.
For users whose hardware couldn't handle Aero, Windows Vista also included the software rendered Windows Basic theme. The option to disable the DWM was removed in Windows 8 , together with the ability to switch to the classic theme. The Aero Lite theme was introduced in Windows 8 to replace the classic theme, which allows the user to customize its colors to a greater extent than regular visual styles, which allowed it to be used for the High Contrast accessibility feature.
However, the classic theme implementation as well as support for disabled DWM still remains included with Windows for compatibility purposes. Since its initial release, Windows has supported numerous platforms and systems. The original DOS-based line was constrained to systems based on the processor and later its successors, most important of which was the IBM PC and its successors, including their clones.
With the introduction of the portable Windows NT line, support for other processor designs was added. At its peak, Windows NT 4. However, the alternative platforms suffered from poor hardware support as well as lack of available software, which lead to the discontinuation of all platforms but x86 in Windows Windows XP then added support for the newly introduced Itanium, a bit processor designed by Intel purported to eventually replace the aging x86 family.
However, its performance proved to be underwhelming and AMD introduced its own bit processor design which was based on the x86, support for which was added in a Windows Server service pack and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. During the development of Longhorn, Microsoft was experimenting with an ARM port, although it was later scrapped. The idea was revived for Windows 8 in order to target cheap, low power devices.
Thanks for your feedback. Set me up. Or is service not your middle name? Folks all speculation about Windows 9 is exactly that, pure speculation. However unless. A preview version of Threshold is expected to be made available to developers as early as October of this year which works with a potential late September announcement.
Microsoft really does need to pull its finger out and get rid of the cursed Windows 8. For those who have never used Windows 8, it is an operating system which dumbs down your computer so that it behaves like a tablet. I have a dumb computer and sort of llike it that way. PP PS - I like start page tiles It might have had a good underlying operating system, but to the practical user it made Vista look good and gave no reasons as to why anyone would upgrade from Windows 7.
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