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THINK BACK TO the early 1990s, and the computer you used in school or at work probably looks drastically different than the laptop you’re using today.
We’ve come a long way from the massive, chunky monitors.
And, as computers have become slimmer and more sleek, so has the software that goes along with it.
Here’s a look at how Windows has changed throughout the years:
Windows 1.0 was officially released in 1985, two years after Microsoft first announced the software. The company initially considered calling it Interface Manager, but instead called it Windows after the format in which programs were designed.
The second iteration of Windows launched in 1987, and introduced desktop icons, expanded memory, and the ability to overlap windows.
When Windows 3.0 debuted in 1990, it became the most widely used version of the software yet. Microsoft sold 10 million copies of Windows 3 in its first two weeks. With Windows 3.0, Microsoft significantly enhanced the software’s performance, improved app icons, and added 16 new colors to its graphics. You can also try it out online here.
Windows 95 was one of Microsoft’s most prominent software releases to date. The iconic Start button made its debut on Windows 95, as did Internet Explorer. Microsoft sold 7 million copies within its first five weeks of availability.
Windows 98 was released as the age of the internet was in full swing. Microsoft describes it as the first real software release for consumers. The ability to read DVDs and the Quick Launch menu were among Windows 98′s new features.
With Windows ME, or Millennium Edition, Microsoft added new media-focused features such as Windows Movie Maker. It was also the first version of Windows to support System Restore, which allows you to reset your system’s preferences to before a certain date. Windows ME faced some harsh criticisms when it hit the market, however. PCWorld listed it in their list of the Worst Tech Products of All Time countdown, and ABC’s review criticized it for being difficult to install.
Windows XP was praised for its cleaner aesthetics and smooth performance. “You’ll hear few complaints about the operating system itself, especially when it’s compared with previous versions,” David Pogue wrote in The New York Times’ review back in 2001.
“No matter what you think of Microsoft, using Windows XP on a new or very recent PC feels sure, swift and satisfying. And that’s a big deal.” Microsoft also says that it emphasized security with Windows XP.
Windows Vista introduced a new design and some minor updates to existing Windows programs, but it was ultimately met with criticism. Many reviews concluded that there was no compelling reason to upgrade from XP.
Windows 7 was received with praise when it launched in 2009. CNET called it “what Vista should have been.” It’s still used across corporate environments today.
Windows 8 is Microsoft’s most recent version of Windows. Microsoft completely changed the user interface of Windows 8 from the traditional desktop to a tiled, touch-friendly design. The goal was to optimize the OS for tablets, but Windows 8 has seen lukewarm reception at best. The software has been criticized for its complicated interface and lack of a Start menu, which Microsoft is rumored to bring back with Windows 9.
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I absolutely can’t bear Windows 8, it’s useless unless you have a touchscreen monitor, just saying :)
I am surprised you got any red thumbs for that. I thought the general consensus was Windows 8 is awful. I certainly wont be upgrading anytime soon, and honestly, if a better OS comes around, i would love the opportunity to jump ship from Microsoft
I bought a laptop with Win8 and had to install Win7. I actually cried with frustration trying to use Win8.
Try installing Windows Shell and Skip Metro Suite – both free, your Windows 8 will basically skip the live tiles, go straight to the desktop and the Start button is restored.
Shite… it’s “Classic Shell”, sorry
Not sure I can switch back to Win8 now. But thanks anyway, Cpm.
There are already better OSs available, if you’re not tied to windows specific software, then both OSX and Linux are far better, more secure operating systems. If you want to use an existing pc, then opt for linux, one of the many flavours of Ubuntu is worth checking out, lubuntu works well on older equipment, you can dual boot so you don’t loose windows while checking out linux.
You’re a funny man, if they can’t switch from metro to windows desktop on windows 8, how on earth do you expect them to use Linux? Or worse still, Mac OS?
MS may have made some errors with the stupid charms on Windows 8, but it’s still far better and does more than any other OS, that’s the reason Windows is still no. 1.
Windows 3.1 was my first OS, IBM 386 at the tender age of 11! Remember being so excited installing a 33.6k modem in the next machine.. Contact!! Anyway, have to drop my anorak to the dry cleaners..
And upgrading from 4 meg of ram to 8 meg was orgasmic. Trying to find proper video/sound/network and modem drives was some craic! 1 meg download every 3 minutes :-)
Remember fiddling with IRQ jumpers? Jaysis.. We got one of those fancy black IBM Aptivas with the pop up media bay. Came with a DVD player…. But no decoder card!
Oh yeah.
I tried to connect to a VPN on a Windows 8 machine recently, having (mostly) used XP the past 12-13 years I nearly put my foot through the machine.
Hopefully the swift demise of Win8 in the short term and a better interface for those of us not using touchscreens.
You can download software on windows 8 machines that gives you the windows 7 interface, very handy and it a free as well.
The Windows 9 ui will be device dependent, basically if you use it on a desktop you’ll get a desktop interface, and a mobile ui on mobile devices
what’s the point of buying windows 8, then downloading software to make it seem like the earlier version?
You’re missing Windows NT and Windows 2000 Pro,
Windows 2000 Pro was pretty rock solid as far as Windows went, Windows ME never should have been released instead they should have worked on game comparability for Windows 2000 Pro and released that to the general public instead of business only.
Probably left out because they’re more for business, than personal, pc’s
Perhaps, but the article refers to what people used in school or work.
:)
Fair enough!
Maybe they’re working from home though!
NT 3.51 was a beast. Rock solid. As was NT 4.0.
As you would expect from the guy who wrote VMS and who MS stole from DEC to write NT :-)
The Commodore 64 back in the eighties, i well remember when we had to get in the queue for night classes.
Windows 8 = Mac 1.0
Macs are good. But in 30 yrs of technical publications work I’ve not once encountered a Apple product. Never, nay…
Gimme DOS any day. Id love a game of prince of persia now. Best game ever…
… And Lemmings, I used to love Chuck Yaeger’s flight simulator too.
Doom and wolf were more classics from that era.
Wolf = Castle Wolfenstein? If so, great game.
The very same. Dont make em like they used to
I’ll challenge anyone to a game of quake or doom!
What about Half-Life? Legend!
Doom was the first program that I can recall actually getting frightened playing.
F15 strike eagle II anyone?
Robocop,chuckie egg,rainbow island,batman and ikari warrior on the Amstrad 6128+.. great music! Must get it fixed and have a burn off em again…
Leisure Suit Larry :)
Eagles Nest on the Amstrad! Took forever to load though!!
Gorillas on dos 3.0 get your angles correct and hit that other gorilla brilliant.
Half life was deadly alan
harrier attack!!
So many rage moments with Windows ME. There was many a blue-screen-of-death to be had.
Fail to understand all the moaning in the comments……..just get a Mac. When you go Mac you will never go back! No viruses and they just work! ( just in case I get a reply that there are Mac viruses out there….OK …perhaps but I have never had any, nor know anyone who ever had one either , never seen any evidence ever ever). Windows users just wish there were…but they don’t exist
I primarily use Mac, but in my line of work I need to use Windows (and sometimes Linux), as do a lot of others I imagine! Not everyone can afford the Mac price-tag like yourself Dave!
When you get a mac you become a slave to the temple of Steve Jobs, start dressing like a hipster, wasting money on Starbucks slop as well as you suddenly wont mind paying well over the odds for Foxconn-made junk that will die just when the warranty expires.
Why would I buy a Mac, I want an computer not a Facebook machine for twice the price
Virus for macs are not so common because NO ONE uses Mac for anything important, it would be a total waste of time infecting a Mac, all you would gain…. Anyway enjoy you draconian DDRM and not actually owning your machine and software
There are so few viruses for macs because NO ONE uses them for important work, it is a complete waste of time developing virus for a facebook machine that you don’t actually own, you just paid for the right to used it and steals the rights to your photos and videos.
Enjoy you draconian DDRM and no games
There are so few viruses for macs because NO ONE uses them for important work, it is a complete waste of time developing virus for a facebook machine that you don’t actually own, (you just paid for the right to used it) and steals the rights to your photos and videos.
Enjoy you draconian DDRM and no games
Dave, only idiots and naive users get viruses these days! Doesn’t matter which OS you use.
Journal must be using Mac servers for verification purposes, ignore my duplicate posts please
“just get a Mac”
A Mac is fine if you’re looking for a toy for playing games and messing on facebook. Some of us are developers and want our software to function on more than just macs.
There’s a lot of developers who use Macs (myself included).
Build a Hackintosh :-D
No one user them for important work, most developers I know use mac, the others use Linux, only those forced would ever use windows, add to that film production, music, photography etc, etc, you clearly have never used a mac. Mind you it appears from your post that you regard “important work” as playing games!
I develop for iOS and android on a mac, in fact really the limit is you need a windows machine if you want to use microsofts tools for developing for windows. you have the roles reversed. Most developers I know find windows a pain to develop on. Linux or mac all the way.
Tomás is clearly using a PC. Clearly using a PC. Clearly using a PC…..
“There’s a lot of developers who use Macs (myself included).”
They’re called losers.
Could you elaborate a bit more on that Jack, please?
Sad pee cee addict! Microsoft have you addicted to inferior quality and virus ridden junk.
Dave, do you think there are fewer viruses for macs because of something Apple did to protect you? If so, you are sadly mistaken… and vulnerable.
I wrote my first (and last) virus as an MS DOS batch file. Must have been about 15 years ago.
If it was a batch file it was not a virus.
When I was 15 I used to sometimes walk into a store that was selling PCs and put several of them out on display. I’d change the autoexec.bat file so that when it booted up next it would format the harddrive. It eventually taught them to lock down their machines =D
I remember using the dos editor to blank .pwl files, log into store PCs then change the the screensaver to statements about how “I rock”. Simpler times
” I’d change the autoexec.bat file so that when it booted up next it would format the harddrive. ”
I didn’t think you could automatically confirm a y/n for something like that using ms dos.
Mine was along the same lines, except it installed automatically from a floppy disk, then four or five reboots later it deleted all of the exe files, renamed itself and the clean autoexec(old).bat file, then delete itself, leaving the non malicious file there. I created it because I was being sent abroad for a week, for work, and some smartass on work experience in the office started telling me, quite seriously, that he would take my job when I was gone. He was gone when I got back, not sure if it was my doing, or not.
Perhaps it isn’t a virus as you pointed out, malicious programme/file so.
Now you mention it, I might have used deltree rather than format. One way or another there was a switch that disabled the prompt. Was too long ago now.
Windows 8 is great, it runs very fast on laptops and is super compatible with everything, people can’t handle having to learn something new.. I found Windows 8 to be very user friendly, it took about 3 days to get used to the new interface…I suppose people out there want a modern looking windows xp?
A lot would argue they already had a win xp replacement in win 7.
Where’s Windows 98 Second Edition?!
Prior to Windows 2000 Pro, Windows 98SE was pretty good
Windows 95 was huge success by focusing on the end user. That was nearly 20 years ago. As response to recent editions has been luke-warm, what will the next 20 years bring us from MS?
Still takes 10 minutes to boot up, so no improvement there.
Been looking, The new pc’s have windows 8.1 pre-installed, the start button has been re-introduced. I’m on 7 at the moment, machine is on life support, so I’m just going to have to suck it up and move with the times.
@Susan – you can fields two free programmes that basically make your PC Win 7 again, the first is called Start Menu ( I think), and the second skips the tiles and goes straight to the Win 8 desktop, I can’t remember that one’s name though. They work a dream.
*Windows Shell, and Skip Metro Suite.
Surprised you couldn’t come up with a pun on your pen name Cpm …
?
I liked xp but have been using mac since 2006 and have not looked back
What about windows 2000? It came out at the same time as windows ME and was far superior, based on windows NT technology. Windows XP was not a successor to windows ME, it was a successor to windows 2000 because MS decided to abandon their extremely buggy stream that originated with windows 95 in favour of the one that originated with windows NT.
Is anyone still running CP/M or CP/M 86?
Used to need it to run WordStar, SuperCalc and dBaseII on an Apple II.
I think some CP/M machines are still running. Originated at JPL in Pasadena, IIRC.
Those were the days. I remember getting excited about 300baud modem speeds.
Don’t forget “Windows RG” windows really good edition. Link: http://windowsreallygoodedition.com note adobe flash required and use a full web browser for best experience!
Started out on dos and windows 3 also used gem for project planning software
That was last week wasn’t it? :P
Geoworks/PC-Geos is worth mentioning. It came pre-installed on top of msdos on Philips PCs here in the early 90s. As well as the Nokia 9000 Smartphone, HP omnigo proto tablet and an ATT tablet. Stable fast and tightly coded. With great vector graphics. Everything Windows 3 was not. Microsoft forced manufacturers to buy licences for every PC they produced. Whether their product was installed. Killing off any competition before it could get a foothold.
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