The Advanced Server version included additional software that allowed it to perform the role of the enterprise server. It had the following features in addition to those found on the Workstation version:. Windows was released as an update to Windows NT 4. It was not an upgrade to Windows 98 or 98SE. Windows came in three varieties: Professional, Server, and Advanced Server.
Professional was designed for desktop and laptop systems, both stand-alone and networked, for individual use. Server was designed to run file and printer servers.
Based on the same code used to create Windows , XP came in two workstation versions at launch: Home and Professional. Both versions incorporate the features of Windows Since its original release, three new editions of Windows XP have been released. Note: If you want to upgrade an older version of Windows to XP, UITS recommends a clean install rather than a traditional upgrade, due to the strong underlying differences between the older family of operating systems and Windows XP.
In addition to the features of Home Edition, it added new features to improve networking and task efficiency:. Media Center Edition is a superset of Windows XP that incorporates a fully functional Windows XP computing environment and enhances the computer for home entertainment. Media Center Edition is not available for retail sale; instead, it is available only with the purchase of a new Media Center PC from a Microsoft computer manufacturer partner.
It runs only on a Tablet PC and is not available for retail sale. This Windows XP bit edition was designed to address the needs of high-performance computing applications. It features:. Windows Server was released as an upgrade to Windows Server.
Additional features in Windows Server include:. Released in , Windows Vista is not an upgrade to Windows XP, but an entirely new operating system. Some of the many new features of Vista include:. Later a version of Windows Vista without Windows Media Player was created in response to anti-trust investigations.
Considered by many as what Windows Vista should have been, Windows 7 was first released in October It was faster, more stable and easier to use, becoming the operating system most users and business would upgrade to from Windows XP, forgoing Vista entirely.
Windows 7 saw Microsoft hit in Europe with antitrust investigations over the pre-installing of IE, which led to a browser ballot screen being shown to new users allowing them to choose, which browser to install on first boot.
A desktop was still included, which resembled Windows 7. Windows 8 was faster than previous versions of Windows and included support for the new, much faster USB 3. The Windows Store, which offers universal Windows apps that run in a full-screen mode only, was introduced. Programs could still be installed from third-parties like other iterations of Windows, but they could only access the traditional desktop interface of Windows.
The radical overhaul was not welcomed by many. Microsoft attempted to tread a fine line between touchscreen support and desktop users, but ultimately desktop users wanting to control Windows with a traditional mouse and keyboard and not a touchscreen felt Windows 8 was a step back.
There were also too few touchscreens in use, or on offer, to make its touch-oriented interface useful or even necessary - despite the parallel rise of tablets such as the iPad, and smartphones, which had begun outselling PCs by the end of It looked and felt like Windows 8, but could not run traditional Windows applications, instead solely relying on the Windows Store for third-party apps. A free point release to Windows 8 introduced in October , Windows 8.
Windows 8. Users could also choose to boot directly into the desktop of Windows 8. Announced on 30 September , Windows 10 has only been released as a test version for keen users to try.
Some interesting features include the ability to switch between a keyboard and mouse mode and a tablet mode, for those computers like the Surface Pro 3 with a detachable keyboard. Code name: Interface Manager. No of copies sold: , Sales consequently doubled. Code name: Nixa. No of copies sold: Over 1 million. While Xerox were the first to develop the GUI, Apple were the first to try and fully commercialize it for the original Macintosh.
Windows 3. The origins of Windows 3. Microsoft employees David Weise and Murray Sargent independently decided to develop a protected mode Windows as an experiment. They presented the prototype to company executives, and this transformed it into an official project.
Code name: Cedar. No of copies sold: 10 million. In , Apple finally gave legal expression to its resentment, filing a lawsuit against Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, accusing Windows 2.
The judge ruled in favor of Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard in all but 10 of the patents. Which two applications first introduced in Windows 2. You will find the answer at the end of the page. Code name: Odyssey. No of copies sold: 1 million in first month. Despite its best efforts, however, Windows would fall victim to several virus attacks, including the notorious Code Red. They gave us rap and tractors. The 90s were a decade to remember for Microsoft.
The noughties would be a more mixed bag. New versions of Windows, even, would henceforth come in for occasional criticism. See if you think the accusation sticks In this case in point, Bill Gates grinds his teeth behind a fixed grin, as the world is shown something it already knew only too well: a blue Windows error screen. Code name: Memphis. No of copies sold: Over 25 million. Microsoft sound engineer Ken Kato composed the iconic startup sound for Windows He considered it a "tough act to follow.
Code name: Chicago. No of copies sold: 40 million in the first year. Windows 95 was the moment when Windows got real. A proper marketing drive from Microsoft, which included Start Me Up and the above dancefloor aberration, helped drive consumer interest, and Windows 95 sold over 40 million in the first year.
For Windows 95 the desktop design was given a makeover, significant elements of which adhere to this day.
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