Gettingstarted:MicrosoftcofoundersPaulAllen(left)andBillGates

April4,1975wasadatetoremember,thechangeinmanhistoryforgood.thedateMicrosoftwasfoundedby BillGatesandPaulAlleninAlbuquerque.ItscurrentbestsellingproductsaretheMicrosoftWindows operatingsystemandtheMicrosoftOfficesuiteofproductivitysoftware.

ThedawnofMSDOS
InJune1980,GatesandAllenhireGatesformerHarvardclassmateSteveBallmertohelprunthecompany. Thenextmonth,IBMapproachedMicrosoftaboutaprojectcodenamed"Chess."Inresponse,Microsoft focusesonanewoperatingsystemthesoftwarethatmanages,orruns,thecomputerhardwareandalso servestobridgethegapbetweenthecomputerhardwareandprograms,suchasawordprocessor.Itsthe foundationonwhichcomputerprogramscanrun.Theynametheirnewoperatingsystem"MSDOS." WhentheIBMPCrunningMSDOSshipsin1981,itintroducesawholenewlanguagetothegeneralpublic. TypingC:andvariouscrypticcommandsgraduallybecomespartofdailywork.Peoplediscoverthe backslash(\)key. MSDOSiseffective,butalsoprovesdifficulttounderstandformanypeople.Therehastobeabetterwayto buildanoperatingsystem. DidyouknowMSDOSstandsforMicrosoftDiskOperatingSystem!!!.

19821985:IntroducingWindows1.0
Microsoftworksonthefirstversionofanewoperatingsystem.InterfaceManageristhecodenameandis consideredasthefinalname,butWindowsprevailsbecauseitbestdescribestheboxesorcomputing windowsthatarefundamentaltothenewsystem.Windowsisannouncedin1983,butittakesawhileto develop.Skepticscallitvaporware. OnNovember20,1985,twoyearsaftertheinitialannouncement,MicrosoftshipsWindows1.0.Now,rather thantypingMSDOScommands,youjustmoveamousetopointandclickyourwaythroughscreens,or windows.BillGatessays,ItisuniquesoftwaredesignedfortheseriousPCuser

19871992:Windows2.02.11Morewindows,morespeed
OnDecember9,1987MicrosoftreleasesWindows2.0withdesktopiconsandexpandedmemory.With improvedgraphicssupport,youcannowoverlapwindows,controlthescreenlayout,andusekeyboard shortcutstospeedupyourwork.SomesoftwaredeveloperswritetheirfirstWindowsbasedprogramsforthis release.

19901994:Windows3.0WindowsNTGettingthegraphics
OnMay22,1990,MicrosoftannouncesWindows3.0,followedshortlybyWindows3.1in1992.Taken together,theysell10millioncopiesintheirfirst2years,makingthisthemostwidelyusedWindowsoperating systemyet.ThescaleofthissuccesscausedMicrosofttoreviseearlierplans.VirtualMemoryimproves visualgraphics.In1990Windowsstartstolookliketheversionstocome. Windowsnowhassignificantlybetterperformance,advancedgraphicswith16colors,andimprovedicons.A newwaveof386PCshelpsdrivethepopularityofWindows3.0.WithfullsupportfortheIntel386processor, programsrunnoticeablyfaster.ProgramManager,FileManager,andPrintManagerarriveinWindows3.0.

WindowsNT
WhenWindowsNTreleasesonJuly27,1993,Microsoftmeetsanimportantmilestone:thecompletionofa projectbeguninthelate1980stobuildanadvancednewoperatingsystemfromscratch."WindowsNT representsnothinglessthanafundamentalchangeinthewaythatcompaniescanaddresstheirbusiness computingrequirements,"BillGatessaysatitsrelease. UnlikeWindows3.1,however,WindowsNT3.1isa32bitoperatingsystem,whichmakesitastrategic businessplatformthatsupportshighendengineeringandscientificprograms. DidyouknowThegroupthatdevelopsWindowsNTwasoriginallycalledthe"PortableSystems"team!!!.

19952001:Windows95thePCcomesofage(anddon'tforgetthe Internet)
OnAugust24,1995,MicrosoftreleasesWindows95,sellingarecordsetting7millioncopiesinthefirstfive weeks.ItsthemostpublicizedlaunchMicrosofthasevertakenon.TelevisioncommercialsfeaturetheRolling Stonessinging"StartMeUp"overimagesofthenewStartbutton.Thepressreleasesimplybegins:Its here.

CatchingtheInternetwave
Intheearly1990s,techinsidersaretalkingabouttheInternetanetworkofnetworksthathasthepowerto connectcomputersallovertheworld.In1995,BillGatesdeliversamemotitledTheInternetTidalWave,and declarestheInternetasthemostimportantdevelopmentsincetheadventofthePC. Inthesummerof1995,thefirstversionofInternetExplorerisreleased.Thebrowserjoinsthosealreadyvying forspaceontheWorldWideWeb.

19982000:Windows98,Windows2000
ReleasedonJune25,1998,Windows98isthefirstversionofWindowsdesignedspecificallyforconsumers. PCsarecommonatworkandhome,andInternetcafeswhereyoucangetonlinearepoppingup.Windows98 isdescribedasanoperatingsystemthatWorksBetter,PlaysBetter. WithWindows98,youcanfindinformationmoreeasilyonyourPCaswellastheInternet.Other improvementsincludetheabilitytoopenandcloseprogramsmorequickly,andsupportforreadingDVDdiscs anduniversalserialbus(USB)devices.AnotherfirstappearanceistheQuickLaunchbar,whichletsyourun programswithouthavingtobrowsetheStartmenuorlookforthemonthedesktop. DidyouknowWindows98isthelastversionbasedonMSDOS!!.

20012005:WindowsXPStable,usable,andfast
OnOctober25,2001,WindowsXPisreleasedwitharedesignedlookandfeelthat'scenteredonusabilityand aunifiedHelpandSupportservicescenter.Itsavailablein25languages.Fromthemid1970suntiltherelease ofWindowsXP,about1billionPCshavebeenshippedworldwide.

20062008:WindowsVistaSmartonsecurity 2009:Windows7
Windows7wasbuiltforthewirelessworldthataroseinthelate2000s.Bythetimeitwasreleased,laptops wereoutsellingdesktops,andithadbecomecommontoconnecttopublicwirelesshotspotsincoffeeshops andprivatenetworksinthehome.

2012:Windows8
Windows8isWindowsreimaginedfromthechipsettotheuserexperience.Itfunctionsasbothatabletfor entertainmentandafullfeaturedPCforgettingthingsdone.Itintroducesatotallynewinterfacethatworkssmoothly forbothtouchandmouseandkeyboard.Windows8alsoincludesenhancementsofthefamiliarWindowsdesktop, withanewtaskbarandstreamlinedfilemanagement. Windows8featuresaStartscreenwithtilesthatconnecttopeople,files,apps,andwebsites.Appsarefrontand center,withaccesstoanewplacetogetappstheWindowsStorebuiltrightintotheStartscreen. AlongwithWindows8,MicrosoftalsolaunchedWindowsRT,whichrunsonsometabletsandPCs.WindowsRTis designedforsleekdevicesandlongbatterylife,andexclusivelyrunsappsfromtheWindowsStore.Italsocomeswith abuiltinversionofOfficethat'soptimizedfortouchscreens. Geektrivia:PoweruserswillnoticethatWindows8hasmadethedetectionandcorrectionoffilesystemerrorsboth moretransparentandlessintrusive.