The first incarnation of Windows wasn't really Windows as you think of them now, on current Windows we can now open drag and overlap multiple Windows, Microsoft's first Operating Systems Windows 1 released in November 1995 was flat allowing you to only open windows side by side and running on top of Microsoft's DOS OS this was cutting edge in its day allowing for the use of mouse control.
In December 1987 Microsoft released the next evolution Windows 2, this was the first OS to come with overlapping Windows a control panel for easy access to system settings and also introduced the minimise and maximise Windows function, basically this was the great grandparent of what we use now. Windows 2 was also the birth of Word and Excel.
Next is Windows 3 launched in May 1990 this was the first OS that required a hard drive this was Microsoft's first major contender against rival Operating Systems. Windows 3 allowed the running of MS-DOS programs in Windows, it also brought 256-bit colours this gave a more colourful and modern look to the user interface, also this version introduced the biggest waste of time management in the guise of Solitaire.
Windows 3.1 the update for Windows 3 was a significant one because it brought truetype fonts making it a useful publishing tool, Minesweeper was also introduced in this update.
Windows 95 released in August 1995 was a massive leap in the Operating System with the introduction of the 'START' button with the start menu to. This was the OS I remember most due to the Rolling Stones sound track on the advert.
Released in June 1998 Windows 98 was the step up from 95 same OS just that bit better. It came with Internet Explorer 4, Outlook Express, Windows address book and microsoft chat.
Windows ME Microsoft second most hated OS released in September 2000 ME was the last in the Windows 9x series.
Windows ME was mainly targeted at the home user it included Internet Explorer 5.5, Windows Media Player 7 and the then new Windows Movie Maker software which enabled basic video editing for the home user, also the graphical user interface was updated.
Windows XP released in October 2001 was by far one of the best versions of Windows, it was based on Windows NT with all the consumer comforts of ME, the Start menu and taskbar got a visual makeover bringing the well known green Start Button and blue task bar along with shadow and other visual effects. Cleartype was designed to make text easier to read on lcd screens. XP was the longest running of all past Operating Systems in its run there was three major updates and support for it up to April 2014 a massive 13 years from its original release date. before it was discontinued XP was thought to be used on around 430m PC's
Windows Vista the replacement for XP, it was doomed for failure just because it was replacing XP, everyone loved XP the comfy blanket of Operating Systems and Microsoft was asking users to give up there comfy blanket for a new one wasn't gonna happen for millions of users. UAC (User Account Control) was a security approval/disapproval for installs, as this prompted you on just about everything users were just clicking yes all the time or like myself turning it off altogether. Vista ran slowly on older machines even though they were meant to be 'Vista Ready' which caused lawsuits because not all versions of Vista could run on Vista ready PC's. Gamers were happy though with the DirectX 10 technology, Windows Media Player 11 and Internet Explorer 7 were on this version along with Windows Defender. Personally I did like Vista or the features in it.
Windows 7 released in October 2009 and was inevitably everything Vista should have been. It set out with the goal of fixing all the issues users hated in Vista, with minor tweaks in its appearance, heavy user friendly feature and less irritating prompting. Windows 7 was so easy to uses and very customisable to give it that more personal touch I personally can't remember having an issues with this OS and right up until 10 it was my favourite. Windows 7 was faster, stable and a lot easier to use meaning most users made this there upgrade of choice after moving on from XP. Snap was first introduced in Windows 7 allowing you to move windows to the top or side of the screen making for faster more automatic resizing. Windows 7 in Europe were hit with an antitrust investigation over the pre-installation of Internet Explorer so a browser selection screen was implemented giving users the choice of what browser they wanted to install.
Released in October 2012 Windows 8 was an OS that personally I couldn't stand, the idea of it appealed but removing the start button and forcing what looked like a mobile phone OS onto a PC was just silly. The pinning to start was a pain to if like me you have more than one hard drive it made using the other hard drive a total pain, I have an installed games and music drive and neither were liked by Windows 8. The introduction of metro the tiled interface adding app and programs onto one tiled screen. The positives for this were increased performance and improved security and better function for tablet users, gave support for the faster USB 3 interface it did also come with a traditional Windows 7 style desktop pain to find and access when you first used Windows 8.
Windows 8.1 the improved release reintroducing the start button bringing up desktop view, users could also bypass metro booting straight into windows which was more suitable for user using a desktop/laptop.
Windows 10 was release July 2015 and is the best of windows 7 and 8 it's fast secure and very easy to use. it gives you your friendly Windows desktop with the convenience of a metro style start menu. Upon installation you are prompted to input an email address and if you don't have one or are not wanting to input one it's not that clear as how to proceed. Once past there and Windows 10 is installed you are greeted with your desktop and start button, the taskbar has a few new features like cortana a search feature that allows you to type or verbally ask questions to Cortana, and Cortana on most occasion will verbally reply one of the most asked questions is "sing me a song" or "tell me a joke" and she will. The other noticeable change is internet explorer this is not your default browser it's been replaced by the new microsoft edge, windows media player has been swapped as default by groove, photos and videos have new default apps to all these can be easily changed to customise Windows 10 to your personal preferences. one of the intermittent problems iv had is the start menu and Cortana stops working first time this happened it was a huge pain to fix. In July 2016 Microsoft released an anniversary update for edge and cortana improvements. Overall Windows 10 for me is a brilliant OS and does everything i ask of it gives me all the security and freedom to have it just I want it.
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