Evolution of Windows

The famous operating system in Thailand is Microsoft Windows. It is easy to use and very convenient for users because before Microsoft Windows came, we used MS-DOS. We must type command to operate but for Microsoft Windows, we use mouse to click a command instead of typing the command. Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. In 1983 Microsoft announced the development of Windows. After that Microsoft released many versions of Windows. The first is Windows 95. Next is Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows XP and Windows Vista.

The first is Windows 95. It was released on August 24 1995.
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was intended to integrate Microsoft's formerly separate MS-DOS and Windows products and includes an enhanced version of DOS. Windows 95 has been released on both floppy disks and on CD-ROM for some computer systems at that time did not include a CD-ROM drive. It used 13 floppy disks for installation. At the release date of Windows 95, Internet Explorer 1.0 was available for surfing the internet but only in the Plus! Add-on pack for Windows 95 which was a separate product but it has a few bugs on it. They developed it better in version 2.0 but there was no uninstaller, it could be deleted difficulty. Finally, the last version of Internet Explorer supported on Windows 95 is Internet Explorer 5.5 which was released in 2000 and Windows 95 shipped with Microsoft's own dial-up online service called The Microsoft Network.

Next is Windows 98. Windows 98 is a graphical operating system released on 25 June 1998 and the successor to Windows 95. Windows 95 was the first operating system to use the Window Driver Model (WDM) and it comes with System tools. For example, ScanDisk, used to maintain the file system and Disk Defragmenter, used to counter the negative effects of filesystem fragmentation. Windows 98 Second Edition is an updated release of Windows 98, released on 5 May 1999. It includes fixes for many minor issues, improved USB support and included Internet Connection Sharing, which allows multiple computers on a LAN to share a single Internet connection through Network Address Translation.

After that, Windows ME or Windows Millennium Edition was released on 14 September 2000. Windows ME was the successor to Windows 98 and it was targeted specifically at home PC users. It included Windows Media Player 7 and the new Windows Movie Maker software which provided basic video editing and was designed to be easy for home users. Windows ME could be upgraded to Internet Explorer 6. Microsoft also updated the graphical use interface and the shell features and Windows Explorer. The updated features in Windows ME is Compressed Folders. Windows ME includes support for ZIP files through a shell extension known as Compressed Folders and Automatic Updates, it will automatically downloads and installs critical updates from the Windows Update Website with little user interaction.

Then Windows XP was first released on 25 October 2001. Windows XP can be used on personal computers including home and business desktops, notebook computers and media centers. Windows XP is the successor to both Windows 2000 Professional and Windows ME and the name “XP” stands for eXPerience. The new features of Windows XP are improved interface, the interface is more task-based than the basic one included since Windows 95 and Fast User Switching, it allows another user to log in and use the system without having to log out the previous user and quit his or her applications. Previously only one user at a time could be logged in and the Remote Assistance allows a Windows XP user to temporarily take over a remote Windows XP computer over a network or the internet.

Finally, Windows Vista was released on January 30 2007. Windows Vista contains many changes and new features, including an updated graphical user interface and visual style called Windows Aero, improved searching features and redesigned networking. Vista also aims to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network using peer-to-peer technology. Windows Vista has been to improve the state of security in the Windows operating system. While these new features and security improvements have garnered positive reviews and Vista has targeted its high system requirements.

From Windows 95 to Windows Vista many things have been changed, for example a graphical user interfaces or a new features system. It takes 12 years. I wonder 10 years later how Microsoft Windows looks like. It may no longer use keyboard and mouse, just touch the screen on the air but for now I use Windows XP because Windows Vista has very high system requirements. I have not enough money to improve my computer to use Windows Vista.