The Evolution of Windows Operating System - Article Example

The Evolution of Windows Operating System The Evolution of Windows Operating System Introduction The evolution of Microsoft Corporation’s Windows Operating system is seen tobe quite interesting as a series of technological advancements have continually caused each succeeding operating system to have better capabilities as compared to the previous ones. Windows Operating System is seen to have developed from the previous command based MS-DOS that had been created by the young Microsoft Corp back in 1981 for use in running IBM PC`’s. MS-DOS is a program that was designed to help in running a computer’s hardware system, it’s programs as well as act as a suitable bridge between these two. Although MS-DOS was quite effective, it is as a result of its proving to be too difficult for some people to use as a result of having numerous cryptic commands that the Windows Operating System was developed. The development of the first Windows graphical user interface was first announced by Microsoft’s founder Bill Gates in 1983. The operating system was to be an upgrade from its MS-DOS operating system which had been shipped for IBM PC’s and other compatible computers since 1981. Windows 1.0 Microsoft worked on the first version of what was to be a new operating system and its Interface manager codename was almost taken as its final name. However, the Windows name was eventually selected because it best described the various computing windows or boxes that were found to be fundamental to the new operating system. Two years after its announcement, Microsoft was finally able to ship its Windows 1.0 operating system and as a result of this relatively long period between its announcement and shipping, skeptics were referring to it as vaporware before it was successfully launched. The new operating made it easier for people to use computers because rather than having to type the numerous and sometimes complex MS-DOS commands, one now had to simply move a mouse to a specific point and then proceed to click the way through various screens or windows (Shinder & Shinder, 2003). When launching the new unique software, Bill Gates is quoted as describing the software as being unique and designed for use by the more serious PC users. The new Windows 1.0 operating system afforded a number of features such as scroll bars, dialog boxes, icons and drop-down menus that made it much easier for an individual to use and learn new programs. The operating system also offered the capability for one to be able to successfully switch among several different files and programs without first having to quit and then restart each program. Some of the additional features that were integrated into the new Windows Operating system variously included Calculator, Windows Writer, Paint, Card file, MS-DOS file management, Notepad, a game-Reversi and a clock to aid users in the easier management of their various day to day activities (Vinay, 2009). Although quite popular, the operating system was to however face some challenges as Apple computers filed a suit against Microsoft’s Windows 1.0 operating system in 1988 which was launched about two years after Apple started on the sale of its Macintosh computers. These Macintosh computers ran on an operating system that afforded a graphical interface to the users. In the suit, Apple claimed that Microsoft had copied the feel and look of their operating system. Apple was to however lose the suit. Windows 2.0 – 2.11 Microsoft’s attempts at the development of more powerful and easier to use operating system did not end with the development of Windows 1.0, and their efforts resulted in the development and release of Windows 2.0 on December 9, 1987. Windows 2.0 was designed to be able to support expanded memory as well as present an interface offering desktop icons. With the operating system’s greatly improved graphical support, one could now be able to easily control the computer screen’s layout, overlap various active windows as well as use a number of keyboard shortcuts to successfully speed up the speed at which one was able to work on the new operating system. In 1988, windows 2.0 was supplemented by the developments of Windows/286 which was designed to help the operating system take full advantage of the newly developed Intel 286 processors which provided extended memory capabilities. When the 386 processors were developed Windows/386 was developed in 1988 to help in taking advantage of it. This version of the windows program was sold for $100 (Kayani et al., 2010). Windows 2.0 was largely packaged with AT&T Computers and used as a test software for numerous educational institutions. The version of windows 2.0 packaged for use by these institutions was designed to have plug n’ play capabilities. Some of the new terminologies that were introduced by Windows 2.0 and its various supplements included terms such as Maximize, Minimize; these terms replaced some of the terminologies that were presented by Windows 1.0 such as Zoom and Iconize. To run this version of Windows operating system, a computer was required to have a set of basic characteristics that included a minimum Ram size of 512 KB, a Hard disk and Single floppy drive, MS-DOS version 3.0, the mouse facility was largely optional (Vinay, 2009). The sale of its Windows operating systems saw Microsoft emerge as the world’s largest PC software development company on the basis of the total sales it had made. It was generally during this time period that computers were seen to gradually start becoming a regular part of the lives of some office workers. This was a partial fulfillment of Gate’s dream of ensuring that there was a computer in every school, every office and every home across the world (Strother, 2008). Windows 3.0 Windows 3.0 which was successfully released on 22 May 1990 was the third major release of the Microsoft Windows operating system series. This version of Windows quickly became the most successful version as well as a very powerful rival to Commodore Amiga and Apple Macintosh in respect to operating systems offering graphical user interfaces. Windows 3.0 was later supplemented by the later launch of Windows 3.1 in 1992 and the success of these two operating systems saw them sell a combined total of more than 10 million copies within their first two years. This operating system versions made the technical and user environments much better so as to maximize on the use of the memory capabilities availed by the 80286 and the 80386 processors. In what was deemed to be a great improvement to the MS-DOS’s executive based file/program managers, the new operating system came with the two icon based multitasking programs, these were file manager and program manager (Kayani et al., 2010). Windows 3.1 is seen to have belonged to the family of 16-bit color system schemes that were made available for use on home computers. In these systems, a number of pre-installed sets of different font styles ere also made available to aid with the desktop publishing platform. The operating system offered three distinct memory modes in the form of the Real, Ehanced386 and standard modes. It was Windows 3.0 which was the very first Windows versions capable of running in these three distinct memory modes. In order to change Windows 3.0’s memory modes settings, one had to boot the operating system in Real memory mode so as to load the Swapfile.exe boot file. Windows 3.0 was installed using floppy discs that were packaged in large boxes having a set of heavy instruction manuals. The release of the Windows software development kit boosted the popularity of Windows 3.0 as it allowed for software developers to now solely concentrate on the development of software for use on the system as opposed to having to focus on the writing of drivers (Kayani et al., 2010). Windows 3.1X The Windows 3.1X series which was launched in March 1992 was the successor of both Windows 3.0 and Windows 3.1. This version contained a color scheme that was aptly named Hotdog Stand whose color scheme contained bright hues of black, yellow and red. This color scheme was specifically designed for use by people with some degree of color-blindness to make it easier for them to see graphics and texts on the screen (Vinay, 2009). In October 1992, Windows for workgroups 3.1 which was originally codenamed Winball and later Sparta was released and offered network support capabilities. It offered support for domain networking and peer-to-peer workgroups in a move that saw the operating system become a vital part in the fast emerging server/client computing evolution. To effect this capabilities Windows for workgroups 3.1 came with SMB file sharing support via NetBIOS which was essentially based on IPX and/or NBG or/and IPX network transport protocols. Windows 3.11 NT Windows NT 3.1, which was to become the first of window’s NT line of desktop and server operating systems released by Microsoft, was released for manufacturing on 27 July 1993,. In its release two versions of 3.1 NT were made available, these were Windows NT Advanced Server and Windows NT 3.1. Windows NT is seen to have provided a 16-bit compatible subsystem Windows on Windows that was popularly referred to as WOW. This subsystem allowed most of the applications designed for use on windows 3.X to run in an unmodified form on NT. This operating system however failed to offer any support to applications that primarily depended on DOS-level drivers or those applications that made direct access to the computer’s hardware. NT is also noted as having introduced a 32-bit Implementation of the Windows API which was referred to as Win32 that permitted for most of those applications initially designed to run on the previous 16-bit system to be recompiled for the new 32-bit system with minimal changes (Bangia & Singh, 2007). Windows 3.0 through to Windows NT are seen to have afforded a number of new utilities that variously included pre-installed font styles, The reverse game was replaced by Minesweeper, it was the first version to come preinstalled on hard drives so as to make it both faster and sleeker, it offered integration for the CD-ROM facility. It also offered support for multimedia extensions in addition to its supporting audio files with a bit rate minimum of 44.1 MHZ. To run the operating systems on a computer, the minimum system specifications were an 80286 processor or later version, MS-DOS 3.1 or later, a hard disk with a minimum capacity free space of 6 MB, a VGA/CGA or other compatible monitor. An Ms-Mouse utility was recommended for use on the system. Windows 95 On August 24, 1995 the largest release yet of an operating system by Microsoft Corp was made. In this launch, the company launched its newest operating system Windows 95. Windows was to become so popular that within five weeks after its launch, a record setting 7 million copies of the operating system were sold. Television commercials by Microsoft that sought to publicize the operating system featured the rolling stones, singing the song Start Me Up over images of the new Start button that was introduced with the system (Kempin, 2012). On its launch the press release simply began with the phrase It’s here. Windows 95 was initially referred as Chicago or Windows 4.0. Prior to its official launch a number of versions of the operating system were delivered, some of these included Build 58s, Build 122, Build 468 and Build 73g. Originally Windows 95 was developed as an evolution of Windows 386. Windows 95 was designed with facilitating the integration of Windows and MS-DOS products which were formerly separate. However the root shell on which the operating system still operated was Dos. The operating system also offered a greatly enhanced version of DOS which was referred to as MS-DOS 7.0. Windows 95 offered a number of significant improvements over its predecessor and especially in respect to its graphical user interface which was much better than that seen in Windows 3.1. The operating system introduced a number of key features that includes a Start button which provided a menu, the taskbar as well as the Windows Explorer file manager. This was to become the first operating system to feature the taskbar, Start, minimize, close, maximize buttons on each window. Windows 95 was equipped with built-in dial-up networking, internet support as well as new Plug and Play that made it quite easy for one to install new software and hardware. Its 32-bit operating system was also seen to offer more enhanced multimedia capabilities, integrated networking and more powerful features that were capable of helping support mobile computing. The new operating system also offered support for filenames having 255-characters mixed-case (Vinay, 2009). Windows 95 was compatible with 16-bit applications and its bottom level formed a relatively considerable number of Virtual Device Drivers which are responsible for the effective management of devices such as network cards, display and video. To run Windows 95 on a system, one required for their PC to have a 386DX or higher version of processor with the most recommended processor for this operating system being the 486 processor. The computer also needed to have a minimum ram capacity of 4 MB although the recommended RAM capacity was 8 MB. A number of upgrade versions for this operating system were made available in both CD-Rom and floppy disk formats in 12 different languages. Windows 98 On 25 June 1998, Windows 98 which was a graphical operating system originally codenamed as Memphis was released by Microsoft as the next successor to its Windows 95 operating system. On 5 May 1999, Windows 98 second edition which was commonly referred to as SE was released as an update to Windows 98 and it included Internet Explorer 5.0 which was significantly lighter and faster than the Internet Explorer 4.0 that came with the initial system. It also had greatly improved USB support and fixes designed to solve a number of minor issues present in Internet Explorer 4.0 (Vinay, 2009). Windows 2000 On 17 February, 2000, Microsoft Corporation launched Windows 2000 which is essentially a line of operating systems that was intended for use on notebook computers, business desktops and servers. There were a total of four editions of this operating systems that were produced, these were Advanced Server, Professional, Server and the Datacenter Server editions. Microsoft Corp also developed and sold Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Limited Edition and the Windows 2000 Advanced Server Limited Edition which were designed to run on 64-bit Intel Itanium Microprocessors after their release in 2001. Windows 2000 was designed to replace Windows 98, Windows NT Workstation 4.0, as well as Windows 95. It was built on top of Windows NT’s Workstation 4.0 codebase and is seen to have added a number of major improvements in internet compatibility, reliability, support for mobile computing and ease of use. It also greatly simplified hardware installation by adding a large number of Plug and Play hardware IEEE 1394 devices, USB devices as well as Infrared devices (Kayani et al., 2010). Microsoft Corp tried marketing the operating system as the most secure Windows version ever but eventually it became the target for a large number of virus attacks such as Nimda and Code Red. This resulted in operating system continuously receiving security vulnerabilities patches nearly nine months after its initial release (Lee, Shieh & Tygar, 2005). Windows Millennium Edition (ME) Windows ME was released on 14 Sept, 2000 which was just several months after the release of Windows 2000 and was built as a hybrid of 32-bit/16-bit graphical operating systems. It was intended for the home users market and some of the new features that came with this operating system included Windows Media player 7, Internet Explorer 5.5 a new Movie maker software that provided basic video editing capabilities for the product’s intended home users as well as the new system restore feature that allowed users to be able to rollback their operating system installations to a time before problems started to occur. It also provided extended gaming zone using Direct X. The Real mode Dos feature was also removed by Microsoft from this version. To run this operating system on a machine a minimum RAM size of 32 MB was required, together with a processor size of about 150MHZ. The hard disk’s minimum size was recommended at 320MB although the recommended size was 2GB (Kayani et al., 2010). Windows ME was seen to have a number of bugs, key of which being the time period for its production was very short and hence its code compilation was not extensively tested. Another key issue with this operating system was that due to is constant crashing and freezing, the operating system caused users to experience numerous conflict and unreliability of data. At times, there conflicts would reoccur even after a system restore operation had been undertaken. Windows XP On 25 Oct, 2001 Microsoft Corp released Windows XP one of the company’s best selling products. A few months after the operating system’s arrival, it was largely estimated that about 70% of home users and about 60% of businesses were using XP. The operating system managed to do an estimated over 400 million copies in sales by January 2006. Windows XP operating systems were initially intended for use on personal computers including media centers, business/home desktops, and notebook computers. Windows XP was designed to support both the 32-bit and the 64-bit architectures (Leiterman, 2010). Some of Windows XP’s key features included updated taskbar and start button facilities that allowed for more facilities to be accessed from clicking the start button. The taskbar now had a number of different additions such as taskbar group features and a quick launch. A number of changes were made to Windows Explorer relating to its visual aspects and formatting. A number of 2D interface enhancements, textures and Graphics were added to the system (Microsoft.com., 2013). Windows XP also features faster logon and boot times such that users no longer had to wait for rather extended time periods for the operating system to load on their computers. Windows XP also came with an advanced search utility that allowed for the user to easily search for both folders and files in the computer’s hidden files and system files databases. With the operating system’s built-in advanced plug and play functionality, users could be able to easily plug any peripheral device to the computer without having to worry about the supporting drivers as these were built-in to the system (Boyce, 2006). The minimum system requirements that one needed to have so as to successfully run Windows XP on their system included a Minimum RAM size of 64MB, a CD-ROM or DVD Drive device, a minimum hard disk capacity of about 1.5 GB as well as an EGA or a VGA Graphics monitor. Further commercially optimized editions of Windows XP included Windows XP Server 2008 and Windows XP server 2003 editions (Kayani et al., 2010). Windows Vista Before it was officially announced by Microsoft on July 22, 2005, Windows Vista had commonly been referred to by its codename of Longhorn. Development on this operating system was finally completed, it offered the most secure system yet. It was intended for use on Tablet PCs, Personal computers including those used in businesses and homes as well as Media Center PCs and laptops. The operating system’s User Account Control helped it in preventing the more potentially harmful software from successfully making any changes to the user’s computer system. Better computer data protection was achieved through the operating system’s BitLocker Drive Encryption as security needs continually increased as a resulted of increased laptop sales. Improvements were also made to its Windows Media Player program as the Microsoft realized that an increasing number of users now saw their PCs as being a central location where they could be able to access and use their various digital media. The operating system also touted improved search features, and redesigned print, audio, display and networking sub-systems. The operating system also included the version 3.0 of Windows .NET Framework which generally made it much easier for software developers to effectively write applications as compared to the more traditional Windows API (Microsoft.com., 2013). Windows Vista offered a number of new improvements that included, a better organized architecture for the computer’s file systems, the introduction of a virtual folder concept, extended search and file management technology, it introduced Windows Explorer 7, Integrated voice recognition, as well as the enhancement of Windows Automatic Updates (WAD). The system requirements for a system to successfully use Vista included a hard disk free space of about 15GB, a minimum processor size of 800 MHZ, A hard disk capacity of more than 20GB as well as a graphics supportable memory of about 32MB (Kayani et al., 2010). Windows Vista had a number of major flaws that primarily included its restrictive licensing terms did not allow for previous generations of software developed prior to the operating system to be compatible with Windows Vista. It’s relatively high system requirements also proved to be a rather hectic and major problem as a large number of people used computers that were not able to meet its system specifications and hence could not be able to purchase and install the system onto their computers. Windows 7 Windows 7 was initially codenamed by Microsoft Corp as Blackcomb and Vienna prior to its release on 22nd October, 2009 for home and business use in a market that was now seeing laptops begin to outsell desktop computers. As opposed to its processor, Windows 7 was released to offer an incremental update to Windows Vista and is compatible with all the applications, hardware and drivers that were compatible with Windows Vista. It is because of this aspect that windows 7 got a heavier response as compared to windows Vista. This operating system is designed to be more user friendly and introduces touch 3D graphics. One of the most striking updates from previous operating systems is that the taskbar was greatly revolutionized by a new coding system that allowed instant access for frequently used, newly installed and auto available items. The system requirements for a machine to be able to successfully run this operating system included fro a 32-bit architecture, a minimum RAM size of 1GB was required, a free hard disk capacity of 16GB, as well as a 32-bit Processor with a minimum size of IGHZ. For a 64-bit architecture, a RAM size of about 2GB , a DVD optical drive, a 64-bit processor with a size of 1GHZ, DirectX9 Graphics processor as well as a Hard Disk size of 20GB were required (Kayani et al., 2010). Windows 8 In designing Windows 8, Microsoft completely ditched the familiar Start menu that had become a common feature in its operating system and in its place created a new screen that is filled with a rather colorful array of tiles which when swiped allow for the user to access applications, task or files. Windows 8 is specially designed for use on touch screens although one can also be able to use it with a basic keyboard and mouse. It has been widely argued that Windows 8 is an attempt by the Microsoft Corp to try and keep the traditional laptop PC alive in a market that is seeing laptops PC loose out their sales volumes to Tablet PC’s. Microsoft recently introduced Windows 8.1 which is seen to offer a number of improvements over Windows 8 such as Workplace join and Work folders that now enable various Windows powered devices to be able to more easily connect to various corporate resources (Microsoft.com., 2013). Conclusion The power of Computing on the Windows Operating system is seen to gradually have been increasing with each operating system that is launched by Microsoft Corp. Likewise, the system requirements necessary for the successful running of these operating systems have also been increasing starting from Windows 1.0 which only required about 256K of RAM to Windows 7 and Windows 8 which now required more than 16GB of hard disk free space. Both the speed and user friendliness of these operating systems has also been increasing and although the tablet market is greatly threatening the operating system’s market, it can be argued that with their latest Windows 8 operating system, Microsoft have firmly established themselves in this rapidly emerging market and will continue to produce even better and more secure operating systems in the days to come. References Bangia, R. & Singh, B. (2007). Operating Systems and Software Diagnostics. Firewall Media. Boyce, J. (2006). Microsofta. Windowsa. XP Power Productivity. Hoboken : John Wiley & Sons. Kayani, M. A., Iqbal, M. A., Abrar, W., Ijaz, N., & Rabbani, M. (2010). Evolutionary Aspects Of Windows Operating System To Enhance Existing Technology. International Journal on Computer Science & Engineering, 2(5). Kempin, J. (2012). Resolve and fortitude : Microsofts "secret power broker" breaks his silence. [S.l.] : J. Kempin. Lee, T. D, Shieh, P. S., & Tygar, D. J. (2005). Computer security in the 21st century. New York: Springer. Leiterman, J. (2010). 32/64-Bit 80x86 Assembly Language Architecture. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Microsoft.com. (2013) A history of Windows. Retrieved on May, 2014 from http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/history#T1=era10 Shinder, L. D. & Shinder, W. T. (2003). MCSA/MCSE exam 70-290 : managing and maintaining a Windows Server 2003 environment : study guide & DVD training system. Rockland, MA : Syngress Pub. Strother, R. (2008). Bill Gates. Edina, Minn. : ABDO Pub. Co. Vinay. (2009). Evolution of Windows Operating System from windows 1.0 to windows 7. Retrieved on April, 2014 from http://www.ihackintosh.com/2009/02/evolution-of -windows-operating-system-from-windows-10-to-windows-7/ Read More