A Brief History of the Windows Operating System

Windows is the most widely used operating system in the world and is used internationally for both personal use and also business use. Since the first ever version was created way back in to the 1980's, Microsoft has released a total of 9 huge updates to its Windows operating system which we are going to take a look at in this article today.

The major thing that has changed between the earliest versions of Windows and the latest versions of Windows is the aesthetic design of the software. In 2012, we no longer have to write command prompts to get stuff done and now more than ever Windows is also becoming more and more touch screen friendly.

Windows 1.0: 1982 - 1985

Windows 1.0 was initially started during 1982 and heavily developed upon by Microsoft software engineers up until 1985. Windows 1.0 was initially revealed and announced to the world in 1983 however due to unforeseen circumstances the operating system only made it to market in 1985.

Windows 2.0: 1987 - 1992

Windows 2.0 was the successor to the fan growing Windows 1.0 operating system. Released to the world in 1987, Windows 2.0 was built to run on more powerful machines than 1.0. Due to the rising popularity and the scale of Windows, Microsoft became the world's number 1 software company based upon sales.

95

In August 1995 Microsoft unleashed Windows 95 on the world. The software, which sold a massive 7 million copies within its first five weeks of trade. Windows 95 was the first software release from Microsoft to include a task bar and start menu, features of which are apparent in the latest Windows versions today.

XP, released 2001

When Microsoft released Windows XP on October 25th 2001 it took the place of Windows 2000 and brought a whole new fresher look to the personal computer and was the first version to incorporate Windows Media Player. In later years, XP would become Microsoft's best selling software to date.

Vista, 2006

Vista was as large a step forward in aesthetic design from XP as XP was from Windows 2000. Unlike prior versions, Windows Vista featured a hugely modern design such as transparent task bars and also improved upon Windows XP's security. Unlike XP however Vista would later become Microsoft's biggest ever software flop.

7, 2009

7 is the very latest version of Microsoft's operating system on the market. Taking all of the design cues from Vista however bringing along a much more stable platform, Windows 7 is the single fastest selling operating system in history and is arguably the best operating system in the world right now.

8

Windows 8 is Microsoft's next generation operating system expected for released within 1 - 2 years. It brings with it numerous changes to Windows 7 including the 'metro' interface, designed specifically for touch screen devices. Windows 8 is Microsoft's answer to the rising popularity of the touch screen device.