• Windows operating system exit order. Windows operating system family

    Microsoft Windows

    Microsoft Windows (/ˈwɪndoʊz/) is a family of proprietary operating systems from Microsoft. Windows operating systems run on x86, x86-64, IA-64, ARM platforms. There were also versions for DEC Alpha, MIPS and PowerPC.

    Versions of Microsoft Windows

    There are the following versions of Microsoft Windows:

    1. Windows 1.0 (1985)

    2. Windows 2.0 (1987)

    3. Windows 3.0 (1990)

    4. Windows 3.1 (1992)

    5. Windows For Workgroups 3.1 (1992)

    6. Windows NT 3.1 (1993)

    7. Windows NT 3.5 (1994)

    8. Windows NT 3.51 (1995)

    9. Windows 95 (1995)

    10. Windows NT 4.0 (1996)

    11. Windows 98 (1998)

    12. Windows 98 SE (1999)

    13. Windows 2000 (2000)

    14 Windows Me (2000)

    15. Windows XP (2001)

    16. Windows XP 64-bit Edition (2003)

    17. Windows Server 2003 (2003)

    18. Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (2006)

    19. Windows Vista (2007)

    20. Windows Home Server (2007)

    21. Windows Server 2008 (2008)

    23. Windows Server 2008 R2 (previously known as Windows Server 7) (Scheduled for release late 2009 early 2010)

    24. Windows 8 (Scheduled for release in 2012)

    Let's take a closer look at each of these operating systems.

    Windows 1.x

    Windows 1.01, released on November 20, 1985, was Microsoft's first attempt at a multitasking operating environment for the IBM PC with a graphical interface.

    Unlike subsequent versions, Windows 1.0 provided only limited multitasking support for existing MS-DOS programs, focusing mainly on creating an environment paradigm for running and interacting applications, as well as a stable API for future Windows programs. Today, twenty-three years after exit Windows 1.0, you can not only run many programs created for this version on modern system Windows XP, but also compile their source code into fully functional "modern" applications (with minor modifications).

    Windows 1.0 is often considered a "shell" for the MS-DOS operating system (this definition often applies to later versions of Windows as well). In fact, Windows 1.0 ran from MS-DOS, its programs could call MS-DOS functions, and its GUI programs ran from the same EXE executables as regular programs MS DOS. However, Windows executable files had a different format (NE - English new executable), which could only be processed by Windows and which, for example, allowed loading code and data on demand. Applications were only required to manage memory using Windows' own memory allocation management system, which allowed the use of virtual memory.

    The definition of Windows 1.0 as a "shell for DOS" comes from the fact that it was created only as a graphical environment for running applications, and not as a full-featured operating system. However, Windows 1.0 included native drivers for graphics cards, mice, keyboards, printers, and serial ports. Applications were only expected to call APIs built on top of these drivers. Given the limited support for graphics and peripherals in MS-DOS, applications had to access the hardware (or, in some cases, the BIOS) directly to perform the necessary actions. Thus, Windows 1.0 was not just a shell for MS-DOS, but supplemented and partially replaced features not provided in MS-DOS. The level of MS-DOS replacement has increased in subsequent versions of Windows.

    The first released version of Windows was 1.01. Version 1.0 was not released due to a serious bug that prevented this version from being released.

    Version 1.02, released in May 1986, was international and had localizations for various European languages.

    Version 1.03, released in August 1986, was for the US only and contained improvements that made it more like an international release. It included drivers for European keyboards and additional drivers for screen and printers.

    Version 1.04, released in April 1987, added support for graphics adapters VGA, which appeared in the new PS / 2 series computers from IBM. At the same Microsoft time Together with IBM, they announced the OS / 2 operating system with a graphical interface - Presentation Manager, which, according to the company's intention, was supposed to eventually replace both MS-DOS and Windows.

    Windows 1.0 was superseded by Windows 2.0 released in November 1987.

    Windows 2.x

    Instead of the tiling of windows that was in Windows 1.x, Windows 2.x implemented a system of overlapping windows. It also takes advantage of the protected mode of the 80286 and better processors, allowing programs to go beyond the 640 KB DOS main memory. In June 1988, version 2.1 is released, renamed Windows 286. Also on December 9, 1987, Windows 386 is released, an edition of Windows 2.0 optimized for the latest Intel CPU. It has some impact on the market, but mainly due to the ability to run multiple DOS programs in<виртуальных машинах>CPU 386; it lays the foundation for most of the future features of Windows 3.0.

    Windows 3.x

    Windows 3.x - common name Microsoft operating system families released from 1990 to 1994. The first widespread version of Microsoft Windows was 3.0, allowing Microsoft to compete with the Macintosh and Commodore Amiga for GUI operating systems.

    Windows 3.0 was released on May 22, 1990, with a significantly updated user interface and technical improvements to take advantage of the memory management capabilities of the Intel 80286 and 80386 processors. Text programs created for MS-DOS could be run in a window (this feature was previously available to a more limited extent in Windows/386 2.1). This made the system usable as a simple multitasking base for older programs; however, for home computers, this feature was not of great importance, since most games and entertainment applications still required direct access to DOS.

    The MS-DOS Executive tool, which was previously used to run programs and manage files, has been replaced by the Program Manager and File Manager tools, making these actions easier. However, MS-DOS Executive was still shipped with the system as an alternative user interface. The Control Panel, which was previously an ordinary applet, has been redesigned and began to look more like its counterpart in the Mac OS operating system. It centralized system settings, including limited control over the color scheme of the interface. Several simple applications were included in the package, for example, the Notepad text editor and the Write word processor (both of which were inherited from previous versions of Windows), the macro recorder (new Windows feature 3.0; was subsequently removed), and a calculator (also from previous versions). The older Reversi game was supplemented with the Klondike solitaire card game.

    Windows 3.0 was the last version of Windows that Microsoft claimed to be fully compatible with older Windows applications.

    Media extensions were released in the fall of 1991 to support CD drives and sound cards as they became more common. These extensions have been released to OEMs, mainly manufacturers of CD drives and sound cards. They added simple audio I/O capability and an audio CD player to Windows 3.0. The new media extension features were not available in real mode. Subsequently, many of the features of these extensions were included in Windows 3.1.

    Windows 3.1 (originally codenamed Janus), released on March 18, 1992, was an extension of Windows 3.0. It included the TrueType font system (and a preinstalled set of fairly good fonts), making Windows a serious desktop publishing platform for the first time. Similar capabilities could be obtained in Windows 3.0 using the Adobe Type Manager application. This version of Windows also included a simple anti-virus program, Microsoft Anti-Virus for Windows, which later became notorious for identifying Windows 95 Setup as containing a computer virus. Starting with this version, Windows systems support 32-bit hard disk access.

    Windows 3.1 was designed to be as backward compatible as possible with older Windows platforms. Like version 3.0, Windows 3.1 had File Manager and Program Manager.

    A special version called Windows 3.1 for Central and Eastern Europe was also released, which supported Cyrillic and had fonts with diacritics.

    Built-in networking was introduced in Windows for Workgroups 3.1, an enhanced version of Windows 3.1. It included SMB support for NetBEUI and/or IPX file sharing, as well as the PC game Hearts and VSHARE.386, a virtual device driver for the SHARE.EXE program. Windows for Workgroups 3.11 supported 32-bit file access, full 32-bit network redirectors, and the VCACHE.386 file cache. In addition, support for the standard mode and the Reversi game were removed in version 3.11. Support for TCP/IP protocols in Windows 3.x was based on separate packages from third parties (such as Winsock). An add-on from Microsoft (codenamed Snowball) also provided TCP/IP support for Windows for workgroups, but this package was not widely available.

    Limited compatibility with the new 32-bit Win32 API that was used in Windows NT was provided additional package win32s.

    Windows 3.2 was a Chinese-only version.

    Over time, Windows 3.x was replaced by Windows 95, Windows 98 and later, which integrated both MS-DOS and Windows components into a single product.

    Later, Windows 3.x found its way into embedded systems. On November 1, 2008, Microsoft stopped issuing licenses for its use.

    Windows NT

    Windows NT (colloquially just NT) is a line of operating systems (OS) produced by Microsoft Corporation and the name of the first versions of the OS.

    Windows NT was designed from scratch, developed separately from other operating systems of the Windows family (Windows 3.x and Windows 9x) and, unlike them, was positioned as a reliable solution for workstations (Windows NT Workstation) and servers (Windows NT Server ). Windows NT gave rise to a family of operating systems that includes Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7.

    Development of Windows NT, under the working title NT OS/2, began in November 1988 by a team led by David Cutler who had moved to Microsoft from DEC, where they developed VAX and VMS. The work went hand in hand with IBM's development of its own operating system, OS/2 2.0, which was not finally released until April 1992. At the same time, Microsoft continued to develop its operating systems of the DOS and Windows family, which are distinguished by lower requirements for computer resources than IBM OS / 2. After Windows 3.0 was released in May 1990, Microsoft decided to add a Windows API compatible programming interface (API) to NT OS/2. This decision caused serious friction between Microsoft and IBM, which ended in a break in collaboration. IBM continued to develop OS/2 on its own, while Microsoft began working on the system, which was eventually released under the name Windows NT. Although this system did not bring immediate popularity, like DOS or Windows, Windows NT proved to be significantly more successful than OS / 2.

    It should be noted that OS / 2 APIs and then POSIX were originally planned as programming interfaces for NT OS, support for the Windows API was added last. In addition, Intel i860 and then MIPS were originally planned as a hardware platform for NT, support for Intel x86 was also added later. Then, during the evolution of this OS, support for both originally planned software interfaces and both originally planned hardware platforms disappeared. There was not even a single release version of this OS for the i860, although the name of the NT OS itself comes from the code name of this processor, N10. Microsoft now stands for NT as New Technology. And as an alternative to the POSIX subsystem, Microsoft began to offer a package Microsoft Services Windows for UNIX.

    NT's portability was one of its top priorities. That is why the development of this OS was originally carried out for the i860 processor, although binary compatibility with OS / 2, which was one of the conditions for the NT OS / 2 project, would in any case require the creation of an x86 version of NT, or the inclusion of emulation of this platform in it. The number of platforms for which there were release versions of the Windows NT family of operating systems is impressive: in addition to the named MIPS and Intel x86, this includes PowerPC, DEC Alpha, Itanium and AMD x86-64. ISVs also developed versions of Windows NT for the Clipper and SPARC architectures; however, these versions were not released as standalone software products. The Unix and Mach operating systems were taken as examples of highly portable operating systems during the development of NT.

    To develop the NT operating system, Microsoft brought in a team from DEC, led by David Cutler, with experience building multitasking operating systems such as VAX/VMS and RSX-11. Some similarities noted between the internal architectures of Windows NT and the VMS family of operating systems gave grounds to accuse newly hired Microsoft employees of stealing DEC intellectual property. The resulting conflict was resolved amicably: DEC recognized Microsoft's ownership of the technologies underlying Windows NT, and Microsoft created and maintained a version of Windows NT for the DEC Alpha architecture.

    Despite their common roots, compatibility between Windows NT and OS/2 has decreased with each new release of this OS. Support for the OS/2 2.0 API, although planned for NT, was never completed; Windows NT 4.0 removed support for the HPFS file system, and Windows XP removed the Software Support Subsystem for OS/2 1.x.

    The user interface subsystem in Windows NT implements a windowing interface similar to previous versions of Windows. Two types of objects in this subsystem that were not present in 16-bit versions of Windows and in Windows 9x are window stations and desktops. A window station corresponds to a single Windows NT user session - for example, when connecting via Remote Desktop Service, a new window station is created. Each running process belongs to one of the window stations; services, except those marked as capable of interacting with the desktop, run in separate, invisible window stations.

    Each window station has its own clipboard, a set of global atoms (used for DDE operations), and a set of desktops. The desktop is the context for all global operations of the user interface subsystem, such as installing hooks and broadcasting messages. Each running thread belongs to one of the desktops - the one where the windows served by it are located; in particular, a single thread cannot create multiple windows belonging to different desktops. One of the desktops can be active (visible to the user and able to respond to his actions), the rest of the desktops are hidden. The ability to create several desktops for one session and switch between them has not yet been provided standard means Windows user interface, although there are third-party programs that provide access to this functionality.

    Window stations and desktops are the only objects in the Windows NT user interface subsystem that can be assigned permissions. The remaining types of objects - windows and menus - provide full access to any process that is with them in the same window station. That's why windows services NT runs in separate window stations by default: they run with elevated privileges, and allowing user processes to manipulate service windows indefinitely could lead to crashes and/or security issues.

    Windows NT provides several sets of APIs for application programs. The most basic of them is the so-called "native" API (NT Native API), implemented in the dynamic link library ntdll and consisting of two parts: NT kernel system calls (functions with Nt and Zw prefixes that transfer execution to ntoskrnl kernel functions with the same names ) and functions implemented in user mode (prefixed with Rtl). Some of the functions of the second group use system calls internally; the rest consist entirely of unprivileged code, and can be called not only from user-mode code, but also from drivers. In addition to the Native API functions, ntdll also includes the C standard library functions.

    The official documentation for the Native API is very sparse, but the community of enthusiasts managed to collect quite a lot of information about this interface through trial and error. In particular, in February 2000, Gary Nebbet's book "Handbook of Basic Functions of the Windows NT/2000 API" was published (); in 2002 it was translated into Russian (). The source of information about the Native API is the Windows DDK, which describes some of the kernel functions available through the Native API, as well as studying Windows code(reverse engineering) - through disassembly, either using leaked Windows 2000 source code or using Windows 2003 source code available through the Windows Research Kernel program.

    Programs that run before the subsystems that run the rest of the Windows NT APIs are loaded are limited to using the Native API. For example, the autochk program, which checks disks when the OS boots after an incorrect shutdown, uses only the Native API.

    Most often, Windows NT application programs use the Win32 API, an interface based on the Windows 3.1 API that allows existing programs to be recompiled for 16-bit versions of Windows with minimal source code changes. The compatibility of the Win32 API and the 16-bit Windows API is so great that 32-bit and 16-bit applications can freely exchange messages, work with each other's windows, etc. In addition to supporting the functions of the existing Windows API, a number of new features, including support for console programs, multithreading, and synchronization objects such as mutexes and semaphores. Documentation for the Win32 API is included with the Microsoft Platform SDK and is available on the website.

    The Win32 API support libraries are basically named the same as the Windows 3.x system libraries, with the addition of the 32 suffix: these are the libraries kernel32, advapi32, gdi32, user32, comctl32, comdlg32, shell32 and a number of others. The Win32 API functions can either independently implement the required functionality in user mode, or call the Native API functions described above, or access the csrss subsystem through the LPC mechanism, or make a system call to the win32k library that implements the necessary support for the Win32 API in mode kernels. Four listed options can also be combined in any combination: for example, the Win32 API function WriteFile calls the Native API function NtWriteFile to write to disk file, and calls the appropriate csrss function to output to the console.

    Win32 API support is included in the Windows 9x family; it can also be added to Windows 3.1x by installing the Win32s package. To facilitate the porting of existing Windows applications that use MBCS encodings to represent strings, all Win32 API functions that take strings as parameters have been created in two versions: functions with an A (ANSI) suffix accept MBCS strings, and functions with a W (wide ) accept Unicode strings. On Win32s and Windows 9x, only A-functions are supported, while on Windows NT, where all strings inside the OS are stored exclusively in Unicode, each A-function simply converts its string parameters to Unicode and calls the W version of the same function. When a function name in the source code of a program is specified without a suffix, the use of the A- or W-version of this function is determined by the compilation options. However, it is important to note that most of the new features introduced in Windows 2000 or later operating systems of the Windows NT family exist only in the Unicode version, because the problem of ensuring compatibility with older programs and with Windows 9x is no longer as acute as it used to be.

    Unlike most "free" Unix-like operating systems, Windows NT is NIST-certified to comply with the POSIX.1 standard, and even with the more stringent FIPS 151-2 standard. The psxdll library exports standard POSIX functions, as well as some Native API functions that have no analogues in POSIX - for example, for working with a heap, with structured exceptions, with Unicode encoding. These functions use both the Native API and LPC calls to the psxss subsystem, which is a regular Win32 process. The posix shell program is used to load this subsystem and execute a POSIX program. The POSIX support included with Windows NT does not contain extensions for graphics or multi-threaded applications.

    To run 16-bit programs written for OS/2 1.x, Windows NT includes two OS/2 system libraries (doscalls and netapi) and an os2 console emulator that loads and uses the os2srv subsystem via LPC calls and os2ss. The remaining OS/2 system libraries, except for the two named ones (kbdcalls, mailslot, moncalls, nampipes, quecalls, viocalls, and a dozen more), are not stored as separate files, but are emulated. Programs written for OS/2 2.0 and higher, as well as window programs and programs that work directly with computer devices, including drivers, are not supported by Windows NT.

    Both of these subsystems, which are optional for most applications to run, were removed in Windows XP and later editions of Windows. Using registry manipulation, they could also be disabled in previous versions of Windows NT, which was recommended by computer security experts in order to reduce the attack surface of a computer system.

    To ensure binary compatibility with existing programs for previous families of operating systems from Microsoft, the ntvdm emulator program was added to Windows NT, which implements a VDM (virtual DOS machine) within which a DOS program can be executed. Each running DOS program creates its own VDM, while several 16-bit Windows programs can run in separate threads within one VDM, which in this case plays the role of a subsystem. In order for Windows programs to be executed inside the VDM, the wowexec program must first be loaded into it, which establishes a connection between the VDM and the WOW platform (“Windows on Win32”), which allows using 16-bit Windows applications along with 32-bit ones. The ntvdm emulator program itself runs inside the Win32 subsystem, which allows Win32 programs to access DOS program windows as normal console windows, and Win16 program windows as normal graphical windows.

    Another binary compatibility technology implemented in Windows NT is thunks, which allow 32-bit programs to use 16-bit DLLs (for Windows or OS/2), and vice versa. Thunks for Win16 are implemented in the wow32 (32-bit entry points) and krnl386 (16-bit entry points) libraries; thunks for OS/2 - in the doscalls library (16-bit entry points). The 16-bit system libraries included with Windows NT for WOW use include krnl386, gdi, user, commctrl, commdlg, shell, and others. : DPMI is supported, allowing DOS programs to access extended memory. However, support for programs for DOS and Win16 in Windows NT is limited by security requirements: programs that work directly with computer devices, including drivers, are not supported.

    Due to hardware limitations of 64-bit platforms, support for VDM and WOW has been removed from 64-bit versions of Windows, and it is not possible to run 16-bit programs on them. The main API of these versions of Windows NT is the 64-bit version of the Win32 API; WOW64 technology is used to run 32-bit programs, similar to traditional WOW.

    As already noted, an x86 version of NT was required to be compatible with OS/2, but in order to ensure the portability of the generated code, NT development began with versions for RISC architectures, and only then x86 support was added. Initially, the development of the x86 version of Windows NT was focused on the 80486 processor, but by the time Windows release NT 3.1 also added support for 80386. The last version to support i386 was Windows NT 3.51, and starting with Windows 2000, i486 support was also dropped.

    The i860 processor, for which the initial development of the NT operating system was carried out, did not receive the support from computer manufacturers that Intel and Microsoft had hoped for by the time Windows NT was completed. As a result, the three platforms supported in Windows NT 3.1 were x86, Alpha, and MIPS. Support for these platforms continued in releases of Windows NT 3.x, with the addition of the PReP architecture based on the PowerPC processor in Windows NT 3.51. However, Windows NT 3.51 was not compatible with Macintosh computers with the same processor; in fact, only IBM PC clones with a PowerPC processor instead of x86 were supported. Such computers were produced mainly by the creators of PowerPC - IBM and Motorola.

    The first release of Windows NT 4 supported four platforms (x86, Alpha, MIPS, and PowerPC), but support for less common platforms was reduced as service packs were released: MIPS support was removed from SP1, and PowerPC support from SP3. Recent releases of Windows NT 4 only supported x86 and Alpha; although Alpha support was planned for inclusion in Windows 2000, it was dropped from the RC2 release.

    Windows 95

    Windows 95 (codenamed Chicago) is a hybrid 16-bit and 32-bit graphical operating system released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft Corporation. The Russian version went on sale on November 10, 1995.

    This is the first system of the Windows family, the interface of which is used in all subsequent versions of Windows: it was in it that such elements of the graphical interface as the desktop with icons, the taskbar and the Start menu appeared.

    Windows 95 is the result of an amalgamation of MS-DOS and Windows products that were previously distributed separately. Windows 95 is the third Windows system (after Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and Windows NT) to remove support for standard and real x86 processors and require an Intel 80386 or higher processor in protected mode. Windows 95 contains significant improvements to the graphical interface and internals of the system, including the desktop and Start menu, support for long (up to 256 characters) filenames, and a plug and play system.

    The main innovation in Windows 95 was the ability to run 32-bit applications based on the Win32 API. This feature first appeared in Windows NT, but systems in this family had higher hardware requirements and therefore could not be compared in popularity with the "regular" Windows series (which was represented by the Windows 3.x family before the release of Windows 95).

    Windows 95 implemented only a subset of the Win32 features available in Windows NT. However, this was enough to allow many applications based on the Win32 API to run on both Windows NT (which was positioned as a system for business use) and Windows 95 (targeted for the consumer market). This contributed to the popularity of Windows 95.

    The introduction of 32-bit file access in Windows for Workgroups 3.11 meant that 16-bit MS-DOS real mode was no longer used for file manipulation during Windows runtime, and the introduction of 32-bit disk access in Windows 3.1 avoided the use of BIOS for managing hard drives. As a result, the role of MS-DOS has effectively been reduced to booting the Windows kernel running in protected mode. DOS could still be used to run older device drivers for compatibility purposes, but Microsoft recommended against using them as it interfered with proper multitasking and reduced system stability. Using the Control Panel, the user could determine which MS-DOS components were still in use on his system; optimal performance was achieved if there were none. The Windows kernel still used the old "MS-DOS-style" calls in what is known as failsafe mode, but this mode was only used to fix problems loading native protected mode drivers.

    32-bit file access was required for long filenames, a feature available in Windows 95 through the use of the VFAT file system (a variant of FAT16). This feature was available to both Windows programs and MS-DOS programs launched from Windows (they needed to be slightly tweaked, since accessing files by long names required a larger buffer for the path and, as a result, different system calls). Other DOS-compatible operating systems required an update in order to use long filenames. Using older versions of the DOS file management utilities could corrupt long filenames when copying and moving them. During the automatic upgrade process from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95, DOS and third party utilities that could corrupt long filenames were detected and disabled. For those cases where it was necessary to use old disk utilities that did not accept long file names (for example, the defrag program from the MS-DOS 6.22 package), the LFNBACK program was provided to save and restore long names. The program is located in the \ADMIN\APPTOOLS\LFNBACK directory on the Windows 95 CD.

    The Windows 95 graphical interface has become much more powerful and easier to use, resulting in a rivalry in the desktop operating system market that ended in victory for Microsoft. Windows 95 was an undeniable market success, and within a year or two of its release, it became the most successful operating system ever created. Windows 95 made graphical interface features such as the Start button and taskbar available to the masses (although similar features had been implemented earlier - in the Arthur and RISC OS operating systems - the market for these systems was extremely limited). These features have become a constant attribute of all subsequent versions of Windows, and subsequently copied in other graphical interfaces.

    The "plug and play" system implemented in Windows 95 (literally - "plug and play") automatically installs device drivers, assigns them interrupt numbers, etc. - previously this had to be done manually. In turn, the advent of Windows 95 led to the emergence of devices specifically designed for "plug and play" - for example, they are inactive until the system assigns addresses and interrupts to them. At an early stage of implementation, numerous hardware recognition errors occurred, so “plug and play” was often jokingly called “plug and pray” - literally “plug and pray”.

    The release of Windows 95 was accompanied by a massive advertising campaign(according to many estimates - the largest in the history of software), including a commercial with the song "Start Me Up" (a hint at the "Start" button - "Start") performed by the Rolling Stones. The campaign also included stories from people queuing outside stores to purchase a copy of the system; there were even tales of people who didn't have computers buying Windows 95 just because of all the hype, without even knowing what Windows was.

    Initially, Windows 95 was sold on 13 floppy disks in a special DMF (Distribution Media Format, 1.68 MB capacity) or on CDs (the CD version included many useful additional files). Some developments that could not be completed by the time Windows 95 was officially released were later included in Microsoft Plus! (for example, Internet Explorer).

    The first versions of Windows 95 did not have built-in support for working with the Internet, but there was a "Microsoft Network" icon on the desktop - it was later removed.

    Windows 95 has been superseded by other operating systems in the Windows 9x line - Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, and Windows ME. The Windows NT kernel used in Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista is much more stable and functional than its predecessors used in the Windows 9x line, but does not support older MS-DOS games and applications well. To date, all operating systems of the Windows 9x line, especially Windows 95, have almost fallen into disuse. On December 31, 2002, Microsoft ended support for Windows 95.

    Windows 98

    Windows 98 (codenamed Memphis) is a graphical operating system released by Microsoft on June 25, 1998.

    In fact, this operating system is an updated version of Windows 95, which is still a hybrid 16/32-bit product based on MS-DOS. AGP support has been improved, USB drivers have been improved, support for working with multiple monitors and WebTV support have been added. As in Windows 95 OSR 2.5, Internet Explorer 4 (Active Desktop feature) is integrated into the system interface.

    The internal number of the "first edition" of Windows 98 is 4.10.1998, SE is 4.10.2222.

    System requirements for Windows 98: 486DX/66 MHz processor or better, 16 MB of RAM and at least 195 MB of free disk space with standard installation.

    Windows 98 Second Edition (Windows 98 SE) was released on May 5, 1999. The updated version includes many fixes, Internet Explorer 4 has been replaced with a much faster and lighter Internet Explorer 5, and Internet Connection Sharing has been added. Also added MS NetMeeting 3 and DVD playback support.

    System RAM requirements for Windows 98 SE have increased to 24 MB.

    Microsoft planned to end support for Windows 98 on July 16, 2004. However, due to the incredible popularity of this operating system, support was extended until July 30, 2006.

    Windows 2000

    Windows 2000 (also referred to as Win2k, W2k, or Windows NT 5.0, codenamed Cairo) is Microsoft's Windows NT family of operating systems designed to run on computers with 32-bit processors (with an Intel IA-32 compatible architecture).

    The first beta version of the system was released on September 27, 1997. The system was originally called Windows NT 5.0 because it was the next major version of Windows NT after Windows NT 4.0. However, on October 27, 1998, it received its own name, Windows 2000. Final version The system was released to the general public on February 17, 2000.

    Windows 2000 is available in four editions: Professional (workstation and power user edition), Server, Advanced Server, and Datacenter Server (for use on servers). In addition, there is a "limited edition" of Windows 2000 Advanced Server Limited Edition and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Limited Edition designed to run on 64-bit Intel Itanium processors.

    Some of the most significant improvements in Windows 2000 over Windows NT 4.0 are: Support for the Active Directory directory service. The Active Directory back end comes with the Server, Advanced Server, and Datacenter Server editions, while the Professional edition provides full support for the client-side service. IIS version 5.0. Compared to IIS 4.0, this version includes, among other things, version 3.0 of the ASP web programming system. File system NTFS version 3.0 (also called NTFS 5.0 internally in Windows 2000 - NT 5.0). This version of NTFS for the first time introduced support for quotas, that is, restrictions on the maximum amount of stored files for each user. Updated user interface, including Internet-based Active Desktop Explorer version 5 and thus similar to the interface of Windows 98. Language integration: previous versions of Windows were released in three versions - for European languages ​​(single-byte characters, writing only from left to right), for Far Eastern languages ​​​​(multi-byte characters) and for Middle Eastern languages ​​\u200b\u200b(writing from right to left with contextual variants of letters). Windows 2000 combines these features; all its localized versions are made on a single basis.

    Subsequently, Windows 2000 was replaced by Windows XP (client side) and Windows Server 2003 (server side) operating systems. However, Windows 2000 remains popular, especially in large companies where updating operating systems on a large number of computers is associated with serious technical and financial difficulties. According to a study by Assetmetrix, in early 2005, Windows 2000 accounted for more than 50% of Windows workstation operating systems in companies with more than 250 computers. At the same time, in companies with less than 250 Windows computers XP is more popular. On June 30, 2005, Microsoft ended mainstream support for the Windows 2000 operating system. Extended support will continue through June 30, 2010.

    Windows ME

    Windows Millennium Edition (Windows ME; also abbreviated as Windows Me) is a mixed 16/32-bit operating system released by Microsoft on September 14, 2000. It was named so in honor of the new III millennium (Latin millennium - millennium).

    It differs from its predecessors - Windows 95 and Windows 98 - with relatively small updates, such as the new Internet Explorer 5.5 and Windows Media Player 7. There was also Windows Movie Maker with basic digital video editing features. The system interface has changed - features that first appeared in Windows 2000 were added to it.

    One of the most notable changes in Windows ME is that MS-DOS real mode is disabled by default, preventing programs that require this mode from being used. However, with the help special utilities this feature can be unlocked. Windows ME boot is the same Windows process 95 and 98.

    Windows XP

    Windows XP (code name during development - Whistler; internal version - Windows NT 5.1) is an operating system of the Windows NT family from Microsoft Corporation. It was released on October 25, 2001 and is an evolution of Windows 2000 Professional. The name XP comes from the English. experience (experience). The name entered the practice of use as a professional version.

    Unlike previous system Windows 2000, which came in both server and client versions, Windows XP is a client-only system. Its server version is the later released Windows Server 2003. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are based on the same operating system kernel, as a result of which their development and updating is more or less parallel.

    Since April 14, 2009, Microsoft has stopped free support for the operating system (OS) Windows XP, now Windows XP users will not be able to contact Microsoft for free technical support in case of incidents, for design changes and in other situations. Now they will have to use the services of "extended support" for this - this means that all calls will become paid. Extended support will continue until April 8, 2014.

    In addition, free support for Office 2003 and Windows Server 2003 has ended.

    Windows XP analyzes the performance of the system with certain visual effects and, depending on this, activates them or not, taking into account a possible drop or increase in performance. Users can also change these settings using the settings dialogs, and can either choose the flexibility of the activity of certain visual effects, or give it to the system to control, or choose the best performance or the best look of the graphical interface. Some effects, such as alpha blending, etc., require a powerful graphics subsystem, on older video cards, performance can be severely reduced, and Microsoft recommends disabling these features in this case.

    In Windows XP, it became possible to use "Visual Styles" that allow you to change GUI user. Luna is a new GUI style that ships with XP and is the default interface for PCs with more than 64MB of RAM. It is possible to use other "Visual Styles", but they must be digitally signed by Microsoft (since they are essential to the functioning of the system).

    To get around this limitation, some users use special software such as TGTSoft's StyleXP, and sometimes a modified version of the uxtheme.dll library.

    There is also a "classic" style that mimics the Windows 2000 interface style (which uses 4 MB less memory than Luna), as well as numerous third-party styles. For the Media Center version, Microsoft developed the "Royale" "visual style" that is included with this version of Windows XP and available for installation on other versions of XP.

    More than 100 icons have been created for Windows XP by The Iconfactory, known for its collection of free icons for the Mac OS X operating system.

    Windows XP also has a command line interface (CLI, "console"), cmd.exe, for controlling the system with commands from the console or running scripts called "batch files" (with cmd extensions) based on MS "batch" files. -DOS. The Windows XP CLI syntax is not well documented in the built-in help system. More detailed general information can be obtained by typing "help" at the command prompt for general information about available commands and "command name /?". The command line interface is available in both windowed and full-screen views (switching between them by pressing Alt+Enter), the preferred view can be specified in the appropriate settings dialog, along with parameters such as font size and type, etc. When work in this mode the user can call previous commands (for example, the up key returns the previous command), use autocompletion of file and directory names, as well as commands.

    Microsoft periodically releases service packs for its operating systems that fix known problems and add new features. At the moment there are three of them.

    Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Windows XP was released on September 9, 2002. The most important innovations are USB 2.0 support, a utility that allows you to select default programs for browsing the web, mail, instant messaging, and various implementations of the Java virtual machine. Starting with SP1, the EFS encryption file system was able to use the AES encryption algorithm with a 256-bit key.

    Starting with SP1, LBA-48 is supported, which allows the operating system to work with HDDs with a capacity of more than 137 GB, activated by default.

    Service Pack 2 (SP2) (codenamed "Springboard") was released on August 6, 2004. SP2 added new features to Windows XP, including an improved firewall; support for Wi-Fi with a setup wizard and Bluetooth, as well as improvements in IE6 such as the ability to block pop-ups. This service pack has made significant changes to the security of Windows XP. So, the built-in firewall has undergone significant changes, which has been renamed Windows Firewall and is now activated for all connections created by default. Extended memory protection has appeared, in particular, against buffer overflow attacks both using the NX-bit technology and a number of other tricks. The changes also affected services - services such as telnet and the messaging service are disabled by default, a number of services run with reduced rights, etc. Changes in the security area also affected the mail Outlook Express and IE browser. Windows XP Service Pack 2 includes Windows Security Center, which makes it easier to monitor the security of the system by monitoring and reminding the user to install or update the antivirus and its databases, activate the built-in or third-party firewall, update the operating system, or change web browser settings. Third-party antiviruses and firewalls have the ability to interact with it using an API interface. Autorun functions have also been improved when loading a CD or connecting flash drives and similar devices.

    In early August 2007, Microsoft began beta testing SP3 with a limited group of beta testers. Despite the fact that the beta version was distributed only to a select few, its distribution has appeared in peer-to-peer networks. Since December 12, 2007 version RC1 SP3 is available for download and testing to everyone.

    The final version of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP was released on April 21, 2008, but only to business customers such as original equipment manufacturers and MSDN and TechNet subscribers. The rest of the users were able to get the third service pack from the Windows Update online service or through the Microsoft downloads May 6th, and also through the automatic update service at the beginning of the summer. Initially, the RTM version of Windows XP SP3 was released in Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.

    The package includes all updates released since the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 in 2004, as well as a number of other new items. Among them, the protection function network access(Network Access Protection) and a new activation model borrowed from Windows Vista, in addition, there is an improved detection of so-called black hole routers, etc.

    Effective July 1, 2008, Microsoft stopped selling Windows XP SP2 to its vendors. Windows XP SP3 is currently shipped in OEM and BOX supplies, it is possible to "downgrade" under corporate licensing. And also on sale is Get Genuine Kit Windows XP SP3 designed for licensing installed pirated software, under corporate licensing package Get Genuine Solution Windows XP.

    Windows XP Service Pack 3 will also be distributed as part of the Windows 7 "Windows XP Mode" feature.

    Windows Server 2003

    Windows Server 2003 (code name during development - Whistler Server, internal version - Windows NT 5.2) is an operating system of the Windows NT family from Microsoft, designed to work on servers. It was released on April 24, 2003.

    Windows Server 2003 is an evolution of Windows 2000 Server and a server variant of the Windows XP operating system. Microsoft originally planned to call this product "Windows .NET Server" to promote their new Microsoft .NET platform. However, this name was subsequently dropped so as not to cause a misconception about .NET in the software market.

    Windows Server 2008 is the next server version of Windows NT, which will replace Windows Server 2003.

    Windows Server 2003 basically develops the functions incorporated in the previous version of the system - Windows 2000 Server. This was also indicated by the NT 5.2 version of the system kernel (NT 5.0 for Windows 2000). The following are some of the more notable changes from Windows 2000 Server.

    Windows Server 2003 is the first Microsoft operating system to ship with the .NET Framework preinstalled. This allows the system to act as an application server for the Microsoft .NET platform without installing any additional software.

    Windows Server 2003 includes version 6.0 of Internet Information Services, which has a very different architecture from IIS 5.0 available in Windows 2000. In particular, to improve stability, it is possible to isolate applications from each other in separate processes without compromising performance. A new HTTP.sys driver has also been created to process HTTP requests. This driver runs in kernel mode, resulting in faster request processing.

    According to Microsoft, in Windows Server 2003 a lot of attention was paid to system security. In particular, the system is now installed in the most limited form, without any additional services, which reduces the attack surface. Windows Server 2003 also includes the Internet Connection Firewall software. Subsequently, a service pack was released to the system, which is fully focused on improving the security of the system and includes several additional features to protect against attacks. According to the American security standard Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC), Windows Server 2003 belongs to the security class C2 - Controlled Access Protection

    Windows Server 2003 first introduced the Volume Shadow Copy Service, which automatically saves old versions custom files, allowing you to return to a previous version of a document if necessary. Working with shadow copies is possible only with the installed "client shadow copies» on the PC of the user whose documents you want to restore.

    Also in this version of the system, the set of administration utilities called from the command line has been expanded, which simplifies the automation of system management.

    A new concept has been introduced - “roles”, server management is based on them. Simply put, to get a file server, you need to add the role - "file server".

    Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs

    Windows FLP or Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (Code Name: Eiger) - Microsoft version Windows, released July 8, 2006. - Compact OS from Microsoft for legacy PCs, based on Microsoft Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 2. It is intended to be used together with terminal servers (Microsoft, Citrix). It is also possible to run a small number of local applications.

    Windows Vista

    Windows Vista is an operating system of the Microsoft Windows NT family, a line of operating systems used on consumer personal computers. At the development stage, this operating system was codenamed "Longhorn".

    In the Windows NT product line, Windows Vista is version number 6.0 (Windows 2000 is 5.0, Windows XP is 5.1, Windows Server 2003 is 5.2). The abbreviation "WinVI" is sometimes used to refer to "Windows Vista", which combines the name "Vista" and the version number written in Roman numerals.

    Windows Vista, like Windows XP, is exclusively a client system. Microsoft also released a server version of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008.

    On November 30, 2006, Microsoft officially released Windows Vista and Office 2007 to corporate customers. On January 30, 2007, sales of the system for ordinary users began.

    Early in its development, the system was known by the code name Longhorn, after the Longhorn Saloon near the Whistler ski resort in British Columbia. The name "Vista" was announced on July 22, 2005. A few months later, Microsoft also renamed Windows Longhorn Server to Windows Server 2008. As of November 8, 2006, a full version of Windows Vista is available to OEMs. The public release for end users took place on January 30, 2007.

    It's worth noting that many of the features planned for Windows Vista were dropped by Microsoft due to public outcry. For example, OpenGL was supposed to be implemented as an add-on to Direct3D. This would lead to a serious drop in OpenGL performance compared to Direct3D and fix the OpenGL version. Fears were not justified, support for OpenGL in Windows Vista remained. Not included in Windows Vista and the WinFS file system - this time due to performance problems.

    Windows Wista features include:

    1. According to Microsoft itself, the boot time of the system is less than in Windows XP and on most computers is less than a minute. Reduced the time to enter and exit sleep mode to 6 seconds. But with the advent of the user interface, you have to wait significantly longer to start full time job while running background processes that hinder the work of third-party programs There is an opinion that Windows Vista is the worst operating system released by Microsoft. Windows Vista also took first place in the "Fail of the Year" competition, held by the Pwnie award site, created in 2007. Moreover, according to The Inquirer.net, a number of unprecedented promotions related to the promotion of WV in the market, it can be concluded that Microsoft management recognized Windows Vista as a failure.

    2. Thanks to the "Windows ReadyBoost" technology, it became possible to use the capacity of external USB flash drives as RAM, which in some cases increases performance by 40%.

    3. The logical model of interaction with graphic devices has been completely redesigned.

    4. user account Control (UAC) - control system accounts users, which requires the explicit permission of the user when performing any action that requires administrative powers, regardless of the rights of the current user account. If the user is not an administrator, a prompt will be displayed in which you can select an administrative account and perform an operation with its rights by entering a password - this allows you to configure the system and install applications from a restricted user account without explicitly using the runas mechanism and without having to switch to another account (which was required in XP, for example, in case of changing TCP/IP settings). If the user is a member of the "Administrators" group, then he will need (in the default settings) to confirm the use of rights by responding to a system prompt. UAC requests data in Secure Desktop mode, which protects against interception of data and control over the input window by third-party programs (approximately the same mode was used when logging into an NT domain with the requirement to press Ctrl-Alt-Del twice). UAC can be disabled for certain categories of accounts and reconfigured using a local (or group when used in a domain) security policy: for example, you can set the mandatory password entry for the use of administrative privileges by all users (including administrators), prohibit these actions for users of restricted accounts, and etc.

    5. Bitlocker Drive Encryption - Provides the ability to encrypt the system drive using the command line interface and other sections. This uses a USB key or Trusted Platform Module to store the encryption keys. To encrypt partitions, by default, the AES algorithm is used with a key length of 128 bits in CBC encryption mode. This feature is available in Vista Enterprise or Ultimate editions.

    6. Encryption system EFS files. This system, which first appeared in Windows 2000, works in Vista Business, Enterprise or Ultimate editions and provides the ability to "transparent" file encryption at the file system level. AES algorithms(with 256-bit key) or 3-DES. For each file, an encryption key is randomly generated, which, in turn, is encrypted with the users' public key (2048 bits by default). In Vista, using policies, it became possible to set different lengths of the user's public key (1024, 2048, 4096, ...), store the key on smart cards (by default, the key is stored locally, protected by the user's password) and encrypt the paging file, as well as require mandatory encrypting a user's document folder.

    7. Prevention of virus infection from removable media. By default, Windows Vista disables autorun programs from flash cards and USB devices. This prevents the computer from being infected by viruses that spread through flash drives. There are also policies that control access to external media(including USB), which also contributes to the protection of confidential data.

    8. Block direct writing to disk. Windows Vista prevents direct writing to the drive (\\.\PhysicalDriveX) if a file system is mounted from the drive.

    There is an opinion that Windows Vista is the worst operating system released by Microsoft. Windows Vista also took first place in the "Fail of the Year" competition, held by the Pwnie award site, created in 2007. What's more, The Inquirer.net suggests that a series of unprecedented WV-related promotions in the market place suggests that Microsoft's management has declared Windows Vista a failure.

    Windows Home Server

    Windows Home Server is Microsoft's server operating system, which is based on Windows Server 2003 SP2 and is aimed at home users (as the name implies - English home - home) for use in home networks.

    Windows Server 2008

    Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (codename "Longhorn Server") - a new version server operating system from Microsoft. This version is intended to replace Windows Server 2003 as a representative of the Vista generation (NT 6.x) operating systems.

    Windows Server 2008 includes an installation option called Server Core. Server Core is a significantly lighter installation of Windows Server 2008 that does not include the Windows Explorer shell. All configuration and maintenance is done through the command line interface. Windows strings, or by connecting to the server remotely via the Management Console. At the same time, Notepad and some control panel elements are available, for example, Regional Settings.

    Windows Server 2008 has seen a significant update to Terminal Services. Terminal Services now supports Remote Desktop Protocol 6.0. The most notable improvement, called Terminal Services RemoteApp, allows you to publish one specific application, instead of the entire desktop.

    Another important feature added to Terminal Services is Terminal Services Gateway and Terminal Services Web Access (now completely web-based). Terminal Services Gateway allows authorized computers to securely connect to Terminal Services or Remote Desktop from the Internet using RDP over HTTPS without VPN usage. This does not require opening an additional port on the firewall; RDP traffic is tunneled over HTTPS. Terminal Services Web Access allows administrators to provide access to Terminal Services through a Web interface. When using TS Gateway and TS RemoteApp, data transfer occurs via HTTP(S) and remote applications appear to the user as if they were running locally. Multiple applications run in a single session to ensure there is no need for additional licenses per user.

    With Terminal Services Easy Print, administrators no longer need to install any printer drivers on the server. In doing so, Easy Print Driver redirects the user interface and all features of the source printer. In addition, it improves performance when submitting print jobs by converting jobs to XPS format before sending them to the customer.

    Windows Server 2008 is the first Windows operating system to be released with built-in Windows PowerShell, an extensible shell with a command line interface, and an accompanying scripting language developed by Microsoft. The PowerShell scripting language was designed specifically for administrative tasks, and can replace the need for cmd.exe and Windows Script Host.

    Self-healing NTFS

    In previous versions of Windows, if the operating system detected errors in the file system of an NTFS volume, it marked the volume as "dirty"; error correction on the volume could not be performed immediately. With self-healing NTFS, instead of locking the entire volume, only corrupted files/folders are locked, which remain inaccessible for the duration of the repair. Thanks to this, it is no longer necessary to reboot the server to fix file system errors.

    Also, the operating system now displays S.M.A.R.T information. hard drives to help identify possible hard drive failures. This feature first appeared in Windows Vista.

    Server Manager is a new role-based management tool for Windows Server 2008. It is a combination of Manage This Server and the Security Configuration Wizard from Windows Server 2003. Server Manager is an improved Server Configuration Wizard that was launched by default in Windows Server 2003 at logon. Now it allows not only to add new roles, but also consolidates all the operations that users can perform on the server, and also provides a consolidated, single portal view of the current status of each role.

    Not possible at the moment remote use Server Manager, but a client version is planned.

    Windows 7

    Windows 7 (formerly codenamed Blackcomb and Vienna) is a version of the Windows NT family of computer operating systems following Windows Vista. In the Windows NT line, the system is version number 6.1 (Windows 2000 - 5.0, Windows XP - 5.1, Windows Server 2003 - 5.2, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 - 6.0). The server version is Windows Server 2008 R2.

    Microsoft has made a statement that the operating system will go on sale October 22, 2009, less than three years after the release of the previous operating system, Windows Vista. Volume Licensing Partners and Customers were granted access to RTM on July 24, 2009.

    Windows 7 included both some of the developments that were excluded from Windows Vista, as well as innovations in the interface and built-in programs.

    Windows 7 will have a feature to disable or enable the Internet Explorer browser.

    Windows 7 will have support for multitouch monitors. This feature was demonstrated by Microsoft at the annual TechEd'08 conference in Orlando. The demonstration used assembly 6.1.6856, as well as an experimental model of a laptop with a multitouch screen. According to some information, Windows 7 will partially implement the functionality planned in Windows Vista (had the code name "Longhorn"). Closer integration with Windows Live programs and services is also planned.

    Windows 7 implements a more flexible User Account Control (UAC) setting, which, unlike Windows Vista, has two more intermediate states between the "Enable" and "Disable" modes.

    Changes have been made to BitLocker encryption technology, and the BitLocker to go removable media encryption feature has been added, which allows you to encrypt removable media, even without a TPM module.

    Improvements have also been Windows firewall- the function of notifying the user about the blocking of the program, trying to access the network, has returned.

    Windows 7 will not be able to play licensed Blu-Ray video discs, but it will be able to read and write information to them.

    With Group Policy and the AppLocker feature, it will be possible to prevent certain applications from running.

    The Branch Cache feature will reduce latency for users working with a computer remotely. For example, a file available over the network is cached locally, so it is no longer downloaded from a remote server, but from a local computer. This function can work in two modes - Hosted Cache and Distributed Cache. In the first case, the file is stored on a dedicated local server running Windows Server 2008 R2, in the second, on the client's computer.

    The DirectAccess feature allows you to establish a secure connection to the server in the background, unlike VPN, which requires user interaction. DirectAccess can also use group policies before the user logs in.

    Remote Desktop Host allows a user to connect to a remote computer with administrator rights.

    Microsoft is also considering the possibility of releasing Windows 7 not only on optical discs, but also on flash media, which should simplify the process of installing the platform on netbooks that do not have a built-in optical drive.

    Windows 7 will also use the sandbox mode, the implementation of which was discussed during alpha and beta testing (under development by Longhorn). All unmanaged code will run in an environment (sandbox) in which the operating system will restrict the program's access to the computer's hardware and network. Access to low-level sockets, as well as direct access to the file system, hardware abstraction layer (HAL), full access to a memory address, will be prohibited. All access to external applications, files and protocols will be regulated by the operating system and stopped immediately (theoretically). If this approach is successful, then it promises almost complete security, since with this approach malware it is theoretically impossible to cause any damage to a system if it is locked inside a metaphorical "glass box". This approach is associated with Virtual PC. If everything is correct, this environment will be able to adapt to the code base that was written in its language. This will remove most of the problems that arise as a result of backward compatibility when migrating to a new operating system.

    When using applications in Beta 1, memory leaks were found in some applications, which led to a complete freeze, despite the sandbox mode. Theoretically, if the regime does not become more effective, this could cause a surge in the development of programs that deliberately use these vulnerabilities for their own purposes.

    Bill Gates mentioned the ubiquitous instant search string (similar to Spotlight). The content indexing service has evolved since Windows XP, and a similar search bar was included in Windows Vista. Windows 7 also uses DirectX 11.

    Will Windows 7 get a new kernel?

    No. Although it must be said that such developments were carried out. At least that's what one Microsoft engineer said back in October last year. According to him, 200 programmers at the company were working on a smaller kernel for Windows 7. The kernel even got its own name, MinWin, and was supposed to take up six times less memory than the Vista kernel.

    However, Flores and Sinofsky said that Windows 7 will not get a new kernel. “Contrary to some speculation, Microsoft is not building a new kernel for Windows 7,” Flores said. However, Sinofsky put it a little differently, "...the kernel in Windows Server 2008 is an evolution of the Windows Vista kernel, and the Windows 7 kernel will be a further evolution of that kernel."

    Windows Server 2008 R2

    Windows Server 2008 R2 is a server version of Windows 7 that is in development and will go on sale October 22, 2009. Like Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 will use the Windows NT 6.1 kernel. New features include improved virtualization, a new version of Active Directory, Internet Information Services 7.5, and support for up to 256 processors. The system will be released only in 64-bit version. Support for booting Windows from MBR partitions has also been removed.

    Microsoft announced Windows Server 2008 R2 at the Professional Developers Conference as a server edition of Windows 7. On January 7, 2009, the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 beta was made available to Microsoft TechNet and MSDN subscribers who participated in the Windows 7 preview program. On January 9, beta the version has been made publicly available for download on the Microsoft Download Center. April 30, 2009 - Release Candidate (RC) became available to TechNet and MSDN subscribers. May 5, 2009 - Windows Server 2008 R2 RC available on Microsoft Download Center June 2, 2009 - Microsoft announced that the RTM version will be available to Microsoft partners in the second half of July 2009. Release on sale will take place on October 22, 2009.

    Currently, Microsoft Windows is installed on approximately 88% of personal computers and workstations. In addition, its competitor, Mac OS X, is also gaining momentum (about 10%). Despite the competition, Microsoft and Apple are cooperating, constantly increasing the compatibility of the two systems.

    Over the 30-year history of the OS, nine major versions of the system have been released, from Bill Gates-designed Windows 1.0 to the latest release under the leadership of new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Windows is the most widely used operating system and is installed on more than 88% of personal computers in the world.

    The very first Windows 1.0 was released in November 1985. In truth, the first released version was Window 1.01, since 1.0 had a serious bug. This was Microsoft's first real attempt at a 16-bit graphical user interface.

    However, Windows 1.0, unlike Mac OS, was not an independent operating system and was only a graphical add-on over DOS. Because of this, many users, by inertia, continued to use the "Command Prompt" to control the system, although there was mouse support in the system.

    To get users used to the new input system, Microsoft came up with the Reversi game, which had to be played with the mouse. In this way, users learned to move the mouse by clicking on various objects on the screen with it. The same goal was pursued by Minesweeper.

    The second and third versions of Windows were also a "shell" for MS-DOS, but had a number of innovations. In 2.0, released on December 9, 1987, it became possible to arrange windows one above the other in an arbitrary order, for the first time the "Control Panel" appeared (which is still used today), as well as program description files (PIF files). It also became the first Windows platform to introduce Microsoft applications Word and Excel.

    The third version, which appeared on May 22, 1990, received the "Program Manager" and "File Manager", as well as an updated version of the "Control Panel" and Solitaire Solitaire, which is still an integral part of Windows. In addition, the new operating system looks much better with 256-color VGA support and GUI changes.

    However, the company is no stranger to experimentation. So, at CES in 1995, a software product for Windows 3.0 Microsoft Bob was presented, which was developed without the participation of Bill Gates. The idea was to create a “social interface” by replacing the “Program Manager” with a cartoon house, where the corresponding applications were stored in “rooms”, and a dog named Rover served as the default guide around the house.

    Photo Essay: Bill Gates is 60

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    Then it was updated, in Microsoft Office a character such as Paperclip appeared. It can be said that Bob anticipated the emergence of modern virtual personal assistants like Cortana and Siri. In July 2013, Bill Gates commented on Windows Bob's legacy: "We were just ahead of our time, as is the case with most of our mistakes."

    A full-fledged Microsoft operating system did not appear until August 1995. Windows 95 was a significant milestone in the development of Windows. Compared to 3.0, it had a huge number of innovations.

    There were already familiar to all users of the Start menu, icons for quick access to files and applications on the desktop. Windows 95 pioneered a 32-bit environment, the Taskbar, and was multitasking oriented. MS-DOS still played an important role in Windows 95 and was required to run a number of programs and items. Interaction with files and folders was made through icons.

    Internet Explorer also appeared in Windows 95, but it was not installed by default - it required the Windows 95 Plus package. In later versions, Internet Explorer was installed initially, since Netscape Navigator and NCSA Mosaic browsers were popular at that time.

    Windows 98, which was released on June 25, 1998, was even more consumer-oriented than its predecessor, Windows 95. It introduced a number of user interface improvements through "Windows Desktop Update" in Internet Explorer 4, including the "Quick Launcher" , the active desktop, the ability to minimize the window by clicking on the title bar, as well as the Back and Forward buttons and the address bar in Windows Explorer.

    In 2000, the company introduced two completely different operating systems at once - Windows 2000 and Windows ME. The first belonged to the NT family of operating systems (new technologies), while the second was built on the Windows 9x platform. Windows Millennium can be called the next step in the development of Windows 98, adding some elements of the Windows 2000 interface and making it as simple as possible for modern home use.

    Windows ME has been heavily criticized by users due to its instability and unreliability, frequent freezes and crashes. Some users have deciphered ME as Mistake Edition (erroneous edition). This version is still considered one of the worst products from Microsoft.

    Windows 2000 was aimed at business customers, and subsequently became the basis for Windows XP.

    In Windows 2000, automatic updates played an important role. In addition, the hibernation mode appeared for the first time in it. Windows 2000 Professional introduced numerous enhancements, such as the plug-and-play concept: when a new peripheral was connected, the operating system would find the right drivers for it and it would start working.

    The release of the triumphant Windows XP took place in October 2001. The new system was a kind of symbiosis of Windows 2000 and Windows ME. Like Windows 2000, it was based on Windows NT, but it added client-oriented elements from Windows ME.

    The new OS introduced a new design of the graphical interface, anti-aliasing of text on LCD monitors, the ability to quickly switch between users, and many other nice features. Windows XP is a "long-liver" among operating systems: three major updates were released for it, and support for the OS ended only in 2014, that is, 13 years after the release - this support period is the longest among all Windows operating systems.

    The system also had shortcomings. For example, when installing the OS, the user is prompted to create an account with administrator rights to work, which leads to a potential vulnerability of the system to viruses. Also, the disadvantages include quite high at that time system requirements A: 500 MHz or more processor and 128 MB or more RAM.

    After the huge success of Windows XP, Microsoft released Windows Vista. The release of the system took place in 2007. The new OS was a kind of attempt to revolutionize the design of the graphical interface. Microsoft also tried to fix the security flaws that plagued XP users.

    However, the new system came out extremely mediocre. This is evidenced by the fact that the OS won first place in the "Failure of the Year" competition in 2007.

    Users were also disappointed with the new product from Microsoft. They especially highlight problems with speed, incompatibility with many old programs, as well as overestimated system requirements that exceed those stated. The new Aero interface also did not please users. After the release of Windows 7 in 2009, Vista, already unpopular, almost completely died out. For 2015, the market share of Windows Vista is less than 2%.

    Microsoft's next operating system, Windows 7, was introduced on October 22, 2009. It was supposed to eliminate all the shortcomings that existed in Vista. The design of Aero has been greatly improved, support for older programs that are not available to run on Windows Vista. Also introduced in Windows 7 is Windows XP mode, which allows you to run older applications in a Windows XP virtual machine, which provides almost complete support for older applications.

    An important feature new system is closer integration with driver manufacturers: most are detected automatically. As a result, Microsoft released an operating system that appealed to a large number of users: in the first eight hours, the number of pre-orders exceeded the demand that Windows Vista had in the first 17 weeks.

    But even here it was not without a fly in the ointment. The main disadvantage of the system is again high system requirements, due to which the autonomy of laptops in some cases decreased to 30%. Despite this, the system remains popular to this day: as of September 2015, the share of Windows 7 occupies more than 55% of the market.

    In October 2012, Microsoft presents another product - Windows 8. The new system received a radically new interface, more "sharpened" for use on tablets. So, in Windows 8, the Start button disappeared, in its place, access to the Metro interface is located.

    The interface was a tiled platform. Also in the new system appeared the Windows Store application store, similar to the Play Store and the App Store. The main innovations of Windows 8, in addition to the new interface, can be considered native support for USB 3.0, improved search and a new task manager.

    However, most of the users did not appreciate the system: Microsoft made too much bias towards touch control. This affected the convenience of managing the system on desktops.

    The new version of Windows 8.1 was an attempt to fix bugs. The Start button returned to its rightful place and it became possible to set the launch of the standard desktop by default. Despite an attempt to fix the bugs in Windows 8, the update was also received without enthusiasm.

    Microsoft's latest operating system is Windows 10, introduced in July 2015. Windows 10 should unite all devices, including embedded systems, smartphones, tablets, laptops, PCs and game consoles. Upgrading to Windows 10 is available to users of Windows 7, 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 devices free of charge for a year.

    The main innovations of the system are the improved Start menu, Cortana voice assistant, as well as the ability to interact simultaneously with the touch interface and with the traditional one on hybrid devices.

    With Windows 10, Microsoft collects a lot of data about your computer usage. Examples of such data are name, email address and others. Because of this, a flurry of criticism fell upon Microsoft. Part of the criticism also relates to Windows sharing Wi-Fi passwords with other users. In any case, data collection can be turned off at any time, all instructions are searched on the Internet.

    Windows can rightfully be called an integral part of an entire generation of PC users. Thanks to the Microsoft OS, millions of people have discovered information Technology and access to global network. And no matter how they blamed her, in any case, she will remain relevant for more than one year.

    In the world of Windows, you won't surprise anyone. Our name has become almost a household name. But most ordinary users do not think at all about what Windows systems are and how they work. And of course, few people have a complete understanding of the organizational structure of these operating systems.

    What is Windows?

    Most users are used to the fact that when the computer is turned on, the OS loads, in which environment you can then work with various programs. But what is the role of the operating system itself?

    The system on the computer, if we do not talk about the "iron" components present, plays both a dominant and an intermediate role at the same time. The intermediate role is that it is a link between the installed software (software), the user and the hardware. In other words, it is through the Windows functional set that the user can run various applications that can interact with each other. But the calculations are already performed by the central processor with parallel loading of the components of currently active programs (not counting their own processes necessary for the operation of the system itself) into RAM. So what is Windows? A bridge that connects the user and application applications with "iron" components, which are entrusted with the functions of performing all processes (computing operations, issuing results and their subsequent processing).

    On the other hand, speaking about what Windows is, the system can be compared with a kind of organization of human society. "Windows" is a kind of leader who gives instructions to other members of the rank below, and also establishes rights or prohibits the execution of certain processes.

    A bit of history

    But the family of these operating systems has not always been so popular. Previously, when computers were mainly used in DOS-like systems, and to interact with a computer it was necessary to enter quite a lot of commands, there was no need to talk about any convenience of work.

    Only in 1985, when the first version of Windows 1.01 was released, developed according to the latest principles of object-oriented programming, users were able to work with the computer through a graphical interface, which later became even more convenient, but did not undergo fundamental changes.

    This was followed by modifications 2.0, 3.x, but finally the system, as we see it today, was formed only with the release of the revolutionary Windows time 95. This was followed by desktop versions 98, 2000, Millennium (ME), XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 (the last version of Windows), not counting the huge number of server modifications.

    Basic interface elements

    But the main element since the advent of the system have been and remain windows (where, in fact, the name came from). They are used to display absolutely all programs, processes, etc.

    In version 95, several more elements appeared, without which it is almost impossible to imagine the system today - the "Start" button (which, however, the developers tried to abandon in the eighth modification, but returned to its place in the tenth) and various panels, the main of which is "Dashboards".

    A brief description of the Windows system and its competitors

    But why did Windows become one of the most common operating systems, even if only until recently all modifications were paid? This is due not only to the convenience of work or the presence of hacked versions, most of which are accounted for by users of the post-Soviet space.

    The fact is that the developers initially tried to create a universal system that could work with most known hardware devices ( motherboards, processors, RAM, hard disks etc.), and in which it would be possible to run any program, regardless of its developer or purpose.

    Of course, Linux systems (a system that was originally free) and Mac OS X are stepping on the heels of Windows systems today. But the first is quite specific and is especially popular only among a narrow circle of users, while the second can only function on special equipment ( It's not for nothing that Windows platforms are classified as PCs, and Mac systems are classified as Intel). But the most interesting thing is that competing operating systems are not affected by viruses, while Windows has a lot of security holes (this will be discussed separately).

    How to find out the system version?

    Now let's dwell on how to look at the characteristics of Windows 7, for example, or any other. In each system, get brief information it is possible through the RMB menu on the computer icon with the choice of the properties item (almost everyone knows this).

    But to clarify the system parameters or determine the exact build number, it is better to use the msinfo32 command entered in the Run console, or the winver line written in the same menu. For convenience, you can also use the system section in the "Control Panel".

    Why is the system crashing?

    Naturally, the possibilities of Windows are very wide, but not unlimited. Many users complain that it is this OS that crashes very often and causes a huge number of errors to appear.

    Here it is worth clarifying that in almost 99.9% of cases it is not the system that is “buggy”, but the installed software, or installed equipment does not meet the requirements of the OS itself. The same incorrect installed drivers, different memory strips and much more can cause conflicts. By the way, one of the latest modifications of Windows 10 Pro is the least prone to failures.

    Security and update installation issues

    The security system, despite the many protective equipment, is far from top notch. It was only in Windows 10 Pro and other versions of the tenth group that a built-in antivirus appeared, and before that it was necessary to use third-party developments. In addition, the firewall is quite problematic. And there are enough holes in the system through which viruses or malicious codes can penetrate.

    That is why you need to constantly install Windows updates. In most cases, the release of such updates is just related to patching holes in the security system, although you can install updates for other software as well. Microsoft products, including office packages or specialized platforms like DirectX, .NET Framework, Visual C++, etc., which are essential for the correct operation of many modern programs that are demanding on system resources.

    As a rule, in any version, installing Windows updates in automatic mode is activated by default. But if failures occur, you can find and install them yourself by setting a manual search in the Update Center. But, unfortunately, some updates themselves can cause system errors due to their incorrect or incomplete installation, or even due to the fact that they were not originally performed as they should, but this is already the fault of Microsoft programmers.

    Rollback and system recovery

    Finally, many users are interested in the question of whether Windows can be restored. Can. Starting with the ME version, this family has become smarter. This was expressed in the fact that backup copies of the OS state at a certain point in time were created (and are being created) on the hard disk. In addition, in modern modifications, you can not wait for the automation of these processes, but create a disk or flash drive for quick system recovery, not to mention full copying of hard drives.

    Usually, after the occurrence of critical failures, recovery starts automatically without user intervention. If this does not happen, you can always use the additional boot menu, which in all systems except Windows 10, is called by pressing the F8 key at startup, and choose to boot the last known good configuration. True, the latest version of Windows (the tenth) uses slightly different ways to enter such a menu, although you can easily return the use of F8 if you wish.

    If this does not help, when starting from removable media, you can launch the command line and restore the OS using a specialized set of tools (checking the disk or file system, online recovery, overwriting boot sectors or the bootloader itself, etc.) . In some cases, it is enough to use the Safe Start mode (Safe Mode), which allows you to fix many problems if the system cannot boot in normal mode (installing and uninstalling programs, including drivers, removing viruses, changing the settings of the OS itself, manually starting the "Recovery Center" etc.).

    Brief conclusions

    That's all in a nutshell about Windows systems. Here, purely technical issues related to the principles of operation of the OS were not touched upon, since this is not particularly necessary for the average user. But to summarize, we can say that Windows is a unified shell that allows you to manage all the elements of the computer (hardware and software) and to interact between the computer and the user. It is rather problematic to describe all the capabilities of modern operating systems, since it will take more than one page. But we can say with confidence that the development of the family of these operating systems does not stand still, and in the future we can expect the appearance of a fairly large number of innovations.

    History of Windows development

    In anticipation of the release decided to remember how it all began. So I suggest you take a short digression into history. Windows.

    (November 20, 1985)

    The very first graphical operating system Microsoft-Windows, version 1.01 (version 1.0 never saw the light of day due to bugs). Based on MS-DOS 2.0. Multi-window interface, 256 colors and the ability to use the mouse (left key only). There are a small number of built-in programs - a clock, a calendar, a notepad and the Reversi game.

    (April 2, 1987)

    Contains the same applications as , but with improved controls and mode support VGA. Now you can freely resize windows and move them to any area of ​​the screen, as well as overlap one another.

    (May 22, 1990)

    Support for extended memory access mode was introduced, which made it possible for programs to use up to 16 MB of memory. Pseudo-multitasking and the ability to execute DOS programs each in a separate window were implemented. Significantly improved user interface - there are Program Manager And File Manager(future Conductor), redone Control Panel, system settings are centralized.

    (March 18, 1992)

    It was originally planned as a small improvement of version 3.0. Added support for scalable fonts true type and fixed a number of system errors. Starting from this version of the system Windows support 32-bit hard disk access. An enhanced version with networking support has also been released − Windows for Workgroups 3.1

    Windows 3.11 for Workgroups (December 31, 1993)

    The latest and most famous of the line based on MS-DOS. It has the ability to combine computers into a peer-to-peer network, as well as work as a network client for the server Windows NT. Version 3.11 introduced 32-bit virtual device (VxD) drivers and 32-bit file access, and removed standard mode support, which meant that processors below 386 were dropped.

    (July 27, 1993)

    Despite the fact that outwardly very similar to , it is not its continuation. This system opens a new line of operating systems targeted for use on servers and high performance workstations. IN file system was first used NTFS. Also new was support for symmetric multiprocessing and technology OpenGL, which allows you to work with 3-dimensional objects. Improved versions appeared in 1994 Windows NT — Windows NT Workstation 3.5, and in 1995 - Windows NT Workstation 3.51, more productive and less demanding on hardware resources. All listed versions Windows NT have an interface With File Manager And Program Manager.

    (August 24, 1995)

    Came out to replace and was intended primarily for home use. It was in it that such GUI elements as the desktop with icons, the taskbar and the Start menu first appeared, as well as support for long (up to 256 characters) file names and the system plug and play. Missing in the first version Internet Explorer, it had to be installed separately from the package Microsoft Plus!

    Windows NT 4.0(July 29, 1996)

    Latest operating system version Microsoft Windows NT published under this name. (the next, fifth operating system of the family NT came out under the name ). Windows NT 4.0 had a user interface in the style and was intended to be used as a workstation operating system ( Windows NT Workstation) and server ( Windows NT Server).

    (June 25, 1998)

    It is an updated version . Improved support AGP, improved drivers USB, added support for working with multiple monitors. In May 1999, the second edition was released - Windows 98 SE (Second Edition)), which included many fixes and additions - Internet Explorer 5, Internet Connection Sharing ( ICS, Internet Connection Sharing), MS NetMeeting 3 and playback support DVD. The system was wildly popular, which is why Microsoft even extended its support.

    (February 17, 2000)

    The system was originally called Windows NT 5.0, because it was the next version Windows NT after NT4.0, but subsequently received its own name . Published in four editions: professional(for workstations), server, advanced server And Datacenter Server(for servers). Win2K brought with it some very important innovations, namely directory service support Active Directory, web server IIS 5.0, NTFS version 3.0 (which introduced quota support for the first time) and the EFS file system ( Encrypted File System), which can be used to encrypt files and folders. Compared with NT4.0 The user interface has been updated and the color scheme has been redesigned.

    Windows Millennium Edition (September 14, 2000)

    Named so in honor of the new millennium. Last (and not very successful) attempt Microsoft improve . A large number of changes have been made to it - system restore ( System Restore), protection system files (Windows File Protection), computer hibernation support (not always worked), new reference system in the form of pop-up tips. There are new multimedia and Internet features, such as Internet Explorer 5.5, Windows Media Player 7 And Windows movie maker with basic digital video editing features. Despite all the innovations (or maybe because of them) Millennium Edition was the most "buggy" and unreliable operating system from the line Windows 9x.

    (October 25, 2001)

    Name XP comes from English. e XP erience(experience). It is an improved version professional, and initially the changes affected mostly the appearance and user interface. Unlike , which was released for both workstations and servers, is an exclusively client system (its server version is Windows Server 2003). There were 2 major versions of XP released − Home And Professional Edition, for home and corporate use. Also released in April 2005 Windows XP Professional x64 Edition- the first desktop 64-bit operating system Windows.

    From 2003 to 2011 was the most popular operating system, and gave way only at the end of 2011, skipping ahead . However, despite this, remains one of the company's most successful and well-known products Microsoft.

    (November 30, 2006)

    Sixth generation of operating systems Windows NT. Vista has a version number of 6.0, so the abbreviation "WinVI" is sometimes used to designate it, which combines the name " Vista” and the version number written in Roman numerals. Like Windows XP, Vista- exclusively client system. Its server counterpart is Windows Server 2008. In total, as many as 6 versions of the system were released - Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Corporate And Ultimate, and each version (except starter) in 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

    IN contains a large number of innovations - interface Windows Aero , hibernation mode, technology Ready Boost(using flash drives for the paging file). A lot of changes in terms of security - a user account control system has appeared ( User Access Control, UAC), the EFS file encryption system has been improved, and the disk encryption system has also appeared bitlocker, and in home versions function enabled parental control, which helps to limit the use of the computer by children.

    And with all the wealth of possibilities Vista is the worst operating system released Microsoft. Due to the huge number of "jambs" and clearly overestimated hardware requirements, users massively deleted from their computers and switched back to XP.

    Windows 7 (October 22, 2009)

    Released less than three years later and in fact is its "licked" and brought to mind version. For example, a more flexible setting has been implemented User Account Control(UAC), which, unlike now has two more intermediate states, improved compatibility with older applications, changes to encryption technology bitlocker and added the function of encrypting removable media BitLocker to go, which allows you to encrypt removable media. Also, the appearance has been slightly changed, and to the interface Aero added several new features ( shake, peak And snap). New network technologies — Direct Access And Branch Cache , however, they are only available in older versions .

    Like Vista, Windows 7 published in 6 editions - Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Corporate And Ultimate, and everything except starter available in 64-bit version. Server version of the seven - Windows Server 2008 R2, was released only in 64-bit version.

    To date occupies almost 50% of the desktop operating system market and is in first place in the world in terms of use.

    (year 2012)

    February 29, 2012 on the site Microsoft beta version is now available for download. consumer preview”) New logo, new splash screen and new interface Metro. What else awaits us in the new operating system, we have to find out in the near future.

    Today, many people use the operating system from Microsoft and do not really think about how this interesting product was invented. In fact, there are many interesting things in the history of the emergence of the most popular OS. It is worth mentioning that the history of Windows has several decades. During this time, the OS has gone through a number of metamorphoses: from an inconvenient graphical shell for MS-DOS to a full-fledged and very convenient operating system. Everyone knows that Bill Gates invented Windows, but few know how he did it. Let's try to consider all the stages of development of Windows. For the history of the Windows operating system is very interesting and fascinating.

    origins

    The history of Windows began in 1985, when a young and unknown student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bill Gates, made a graphical environment for the operating system of that time. He called his brainchild Windows 1.0. However, this version did not take root, because it contained serious errors. But version 1.01 was already devoid of flaws. However, many computer technology gurus considered Windows to be a useless add-on with no future. They believed it distracted users from learning MS-DOS. And who was right?

    Windows 95

    In 1995, Microsoft released an operating system called Windows 95. It was the first full OS. And the graphical interface, and data protection - everything was up to the mark for that time. However, the system did not live long, as a critical vulnerability was discovered in its code. Nevertheless, 80% of personal computers were running Windows 95 at that time. The history of Windows development begins in 1995.

    Around the same time, the first versions of the Microsoft Office suite of programs appeared, which provides work with documents. From this point on, Windows becomes a complete and universal system. It is beginning to be used for all tasks. And this is the first sign of the popularity of the operating system. However, version 95 did not become a truly "popular" system. The reason for this is a lot of errors in the structure of the OS. That is why Microsoft decided to radically change the structure of Windows.

    Windows 98

    This is the 1995 revised version. In Win 98, all the errors of the previous version have already been taken into account and corrected. It was she who became "folk". Now they are talking about Microsoft as the geniuses of the computer world. The system combined ease of operation, high reliability and almost complete absence of freezes. After unsuccessful "miscarriages" in the face of previous versions, the company managed to release something really good and efficient. All versions of the 90s can only work with 32-bit processors.

    The 98th version of Windows has made a real revolution in the world of operating systems. Now work on the computer has become available to everyone. And not like at the dawn of technology, when only a select few could work with a PC. In any case, the history of Windows does not end there. Ahead of us is waiting for a lot of interesting and incredible.

    Windows 2000

    This is the first system based on the NT engine. This system opened a new milestone in the development of Windows. Version 2000 was positioned as a system for home and office. Among its innovations were very interesting features. For example, support for multimedia functions out of the box. This option has since become the hallmark of any OS from Microsoft.

    Windows 2000 also introduced the latest advances in computer security. The system has become very popular with both ordinary users and those involved in business. For security, coupled with functionality, is what is needed for this area. Professional version has been adopted by many organizations.

    Windows ME

    Perhaps the most disastrous version of Windows after Vista. It was released as an update to version 2000. multimedia capabilities. But the stability of the system left much to be desired. Constant freezes and reboots did not add popularity to the OS. As a result, Microsoft decided to curtail the project and not be dishonored. Well, a very reasonable decision.

    The most interesting thing is that ME was also created on the basis of NT. But something went wrong. And it turned out that ME is the most unpopular version of Windows. The history of the NT-based system does not end here, but only begins. For after the failed version, the developers managed to release a real masterpiece. It was a generous gift to users. Probably for their patience.

    Windows XP

    The legendary "piggy" is still considered the most successful operating system from Microsoft. And it's not even about the beautiful interface. Much more valuable is that the system has gained amazing multimedia capabilities, increased stability and security. And after the release of all three Service Packs, working with her became very pleasant. No glitches, freezes and sudden reboots, plus support for text anti-aliasing for more comfortable work - this is the recipe for the perfect operating system. Until now, many "oldfags" categorically do not want to change XP for something new.

    The legendary OS managed to become one thanks to a successful combination of an updated interface, stability and security. But it would be wrong not to mention that it is with XP that the era begins convenient Internet. Sitting online with XP turned out to be much more comfortable than with the 2000 version. Yes, and all the games were launched with a bang. Despite the fact that Microsoft has not supported XP for three years, few dare to switch to something new. Since XP, the history of Windows has taken a new turn and given us access to new technologies.

    Windows Vista

    Worst operating system from Microsoft. Moreover, both users and serious critics think so. The fact is that there were many flaws in Vista. This is the biggest reason for failure. A secondary reason is that the world was not ready for such an OS. Too many graphical frills. Not all computers of that time were able to provide smooth operation on Vista. This is another reason for her unpopularity.

    The rest of the punctures should include frankly no stability and a problem with the drivers. Manufacturers didn't try hard to release drivers for this OS because they didn't believe in its success. And they were right. Another shameful page in the track record of the company from Redmond. By the way, "micro-soft" tried to fix this "jamb" as soon as possible. The history of Windows operating systems continues.

    Windows 7

    Perhaps the most popular operating system at the moment. It represents what, according to the ideas of the developers, "Vista" should have become. The seventh version has become a kind of work on the bugs. And Microsoft programmers succeeded quite well. It turned out quite sane Windows 7. The history of its creation is simple. New technologies demanded a new system. And the developers had nothing more to do.

    Among the improvements in the system should include deep optimization in working with computer hardware. "Seven" works with the processor and RAM many times better than the legendary XP. Yes, and it looks several times better than "piggy". However, there is a problem that scared away users at the initial stage - gluttony. Running the "seven" on older PCs was problematic. The reason for this is the graphical interface. However, everything settled down, and now most users use Windows 7. The story once again surprised us.

    Windows 8 and 8.1

    The onset of the era of tablets forced Microsoft to urgently do something in order not to lose leadership in the operating system market. The technical features of the new devices did not allow the use of a desktop OS. So a new version of Windows was born. It is based on the same properties of the NT engine, but since then the OS has been adapted for devices with a touch screen. This is how Windows 8 appeared. The history of its popularity (or unpopularity) is ambiguous and requires some explanation.

    The first thing that shocked users who "moved" from the "seven" was a welcome screen with an incomprehensible Metro tiled interface. It was a shock. Undoubtedly, the interface is very convenient for touch screens. But he throws the average PC user into a panic. Even more alarmism was caused by the absence of the familiar "Start" button. That is, the button itself is there, but it opens the same tiled interface. Everything became very unusual. This is the reason for the failure of the G8 at the initial stage.

    Windows 10 Latest OS

    Yes, that's exactly what Microsoft said. No more for operating systems serial number. All innovations will be introduced in the process scheduled update"tens". Disputes over the latter system have not subsided so far. Some admire its unsurpassed optimization and the twelfth version of DirectX. Others in every way scold the spy "things" of the new system. And they are absolutely right. The controversial thing is Windows 10. Its history is just beginning. So it's impossible to say anything objectively.

    It is worth noting what distinguishes this version from all previous Windows. The history of files in it is hidden so deeply that it is very difficult to find it. According to the official statement, this is due to the best privacy policy. What kind of privacy if "ten" regularly sends all data about users to Microsoft? And she, in turn, provides this information to the NSA and the FBI upon request. Even text entered from the keyboard is intercepted.

    But we should not deny the clear advantages of the new OS. So, we can note the reduced boot time, better work with iron and the power saving mode. The last option is relevant only for laptops, but this does not make it unnecessary. Viewing the history of Windows in version 10 is not difficult - this is also a plus. In addition, it supports all the innovations in the world of IT technologies. Including virtual reality helmets.

    Mobile segment

    Together with desktop OS, Microsoft developed and mobile platform. For these purposes, the company even bought the legendary Finnish brand Nokia. But the brainchild of Bill Gates did not achieve much success in this field. The history of Windows Mobile is full of tragic mistakes. Whatever version of the system is a failure. Why is that? Perhaps all because everyone should mind their own business and not go where they don’t understand anything? Be that as it may, Microsoft did not succeed in the mobile segment.

    Mobile versions of Windows are extremely buggy and unstable. They do not know how to work normally with the hardware of a smartphone, and the Windows Store (an analogue of the "Market" for "Android") cannot boast of a wide range of applications and games. Developers are in no hurry to create versions for the Windows Phone platform. This is due to the fact that the share of devices on this platform is negligible. So it makes no sense for developers to spray.

    Conclusion

    The history of Microsoft's Windows operating system has had it all: ups and downs, successes and failures. But hardly anyone will undertake to refute that Windows is the most popular OS in the world. Yes, "Linux-like" systems are now gaining momentum. Yes, and Mac OS has increased its market share. But they will not reach the level of Microsoft in the market of operating systems. At least for now. Windows is really a "people's" system. Most manufacturers support this OS. Others have a uniform disgrace with the presence of drivers for devices. Be that as it may, if you want a fast, productive and stable system - buy Windows. Nothing better has come up yet.

    There are, of course, security problems, but this is specific to a particular OS. "Linux", of course, is much safer, but very inconvenient. Therefore, feel free to put "Vidovs" - and you will be happy. Just do not forget that the pirated version will be of little use. It is better to spend a certain amount of rubles and forget about all the problems associated with pirated software and operating systems.

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