3. *On November 10, 1983, Bill Gates started Microsoft with Paul
Allen
* Microsoft announced Microsoft Windows, an extension of the
MS-DOS operating system that would provide a graphical
operating environment for PC users.
* With Windows, the graphical user interface (GUI) era at
Microsoft had begun.

4. * Microsoft shipped out the first copy of Windows 1.0 on
November 20, 1985
* This 16-bit OS that cost less than 1MB in overall is
Microsoft’s very first operating system that allows multi
tasking with graphical user interface on PC platform that runs
on MS-DOS 5.0..
* Windows 1.0 only required a minimum of 256 kilobytes (KB),
two double-sided floppy disk drives, and a graphics adapter
card.

5. * The first version of Microsoft Windows included a simple
graphics painting program called Windows Paint; Windows
Write, a simple word processor; an appointment "calendar"; a
"card-filer"; a "notepad"; a "clock"; a "control panel"; a
"computer terminal"; "Clipboard"; and RAM driver
* Windows 1.0 was not a complete operating system, but rather
an "operating environment" that extended MS-DOS, and
shared the latter's inherent flaws and problems

7. *Microsoft Windows version 2 came out on 9 December
1987, and proved slightly more popular than its
predecessor
* Microsoft's new graphical applications, Excel and Word
for Windows. They could be run from MS-DOS, executing
Windows for the duration of their activity, and closing
down Windows upon exit.
*Control Panel made its first appearance in Windows 2.0.

9. * The third major release of the Windows platform from Microsoft
offered improved performance, advanced graphics with 16
colors, and full support of the more powerful Intel 386 processor.
* Windows 3.0, which offered a wide range of useful features and
capabilities, including:
 Program Manager, File Manager, and Print Manager
 An improved set of Windows icons.
 A completely rewritten application development environment

11. * Windows NT was the first Windows operating system to combine
support for high-end, client/server business applications with the
industry's leading personal productivity applications.
* Windows NT 3.1 was a 32-bit operating system .
* New features included a preemptive multitasking scheduler for
Windows–based applications, domain server security.
* support for multiple processor architectures, and the NTFS file
system
* Windows NT was originally called “Portable Systems”

12. * Windows 95 was the successor to the three existing general-purpose
desktop operating systems from Microsoft—Windows 3.1, Windows
for Workgroups, and MS-DOS
* The 32-bit operating system also offered enhanced multimedia
capabilities, more powerful features for mobile computing, and
integrated networking
* Windows 95 featured the first appearance of the Start
menu, taskbar, and minimize, maximize, and close buttons on each
window
* Windows 95, with built-in Internet support and dial-up
networking, marked the coming of the Internet Age

14. * Windows 98 was the upgrade from Windows 95. Described as an
operating system that "Works Better, Plays Better," Windows 98
was the first version of Windows designed specifically for
consumers.
* Other features are replacement of Internet Explorer 4.0 with
Internet Explorer 5.0. Also included is Internet Connection
Sharing, which allows multiple computers on a LAN to share a
single Internet connection through NAT.
* Windows 98 was the first Windows system that supported DVD
discs and universal serial bus (USB) devices
* Windows 98 was the last version based on MS-DOS

16. *Windows 2000 Professional was also designed to replace
Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT Workstation
4.0 on all business desktops and laptops.
*Among other improvements, Windows 2000 Professional
simplified hardware installation by adding support for a
wide variety of new Plug and Play hardware, including
advanced networking and wireless products, USB
devices, IEEE 1394 devices, and infrared devices.

17. *Designed for home computer users, Windows Me offered
consumers numerous music, video, and home networking
enhancements and reliability improvements.
*Windows Movie Maker provided users with the tools to
digitally edit, save, and share home videos. And with
Microsoft Windows Media Player 7 technologies, users
could find, organize, and play digital media easily.
*Windows Me was the last Microsoft operating system to
be based on the Windows 95 code base

18. * Between the original launch of Windows and the release of Windows XP,
about one billion PCs were shipped worldwide
* Windows XP was compiled from 45 million lines of code
* Windows XP is heavily based on the Windows NT and 2000 core
* The "XP" in Windows XP stands for "experience," symbolizing the
innovative experiences that Windows can offer to personal computer
users.
* Windows XP introduced several new features to the Windows line,
including:
* Fast user switching
* Remote Desktop Functionality.
* Support for most DSL modems as well as networking over FireWire,
and Bluetooth

19. * More than 1.5 million devices were compatible with Windows
Vista at launch
* Vista had the longest startup/logon music ever.
* Seven years in the making, the OS, released on Jan. 30, 2007 to
consumers and Nov. 30, 2006 to business users
* Windows Vista intended to have enhanced security by
introducing a new restricted user mode called User Account
Control, replacing the "administrator-by-default" philosophy of
Windows XP
* Vista also features new graphics features, the Windows Aero GUI
, new applications.
*a revised and more secure version of Internet Explorer, a new
version of Windows Media player, and a large number of
underlying architectural changes.

21. * The next version of Windows is already in beta and is likely to ship in
2009.
* Windows 7 is the next major release after Windows Vista and was
planned for a three-year development timeframe
* Some features of Windows 7 are faster boot-up, Device Stage, Windows
PowerShell, improved window management, home group networking,
multiple thumbnails for combined taskbar buttons, and better power
management for notebooks.
* Windows sold 240 million in 2010 which means that Microsoft sold
more than 6 lakhs Windows 7 copies per day, 27,397 copies per hour,
and 7.6 copies each second
* Windows 7 has largest users share among all other OS about 41.35%

22. * Theoperating system was released to manufacturing on
August 1, 2012, and was released for general availability on
October 26, 2012
* Windows 8 introduces a new touch-friendly shell and user
interface based on Microsoft's "Metro" design
language, featuring a new Start screen with a grid of
dynamically updating tiles that represent applications
* Windows 8 is available in 109 different languages.
* Windows 8 works with files of up to 16 exbibytes , which
equates to 687 million Blu-Rays
* Estimates
suggest roughly 4.5 billion people will use
Windows 8 in the future.